The news that the Police had been attacked and two of them murdered, came to everyone in the Colony as a bolt from the blue. Nothing of the kind had been experienced since the affair in Polela district in 1892.[97] But, strange though occurrences among Natives sometimes appear to be, they are almost invariably capable of explanation. In this particular instance (1906), so far as we have been able to ascertain, the explanation seems to be briefly as follows:
In 1895 a dispute arose between Chief Mveli's father, Hemuhemu, and several of the tribe, of both sexes (connected with the group that attacked the police at Trewirgie). They had recently become converts to Christianity. The Chief, having taken exception to disrespect shown by one of them, as well as to immoral behaviour by women and girls through remaining out after dark on the pretext of attending Christian services, imposed a penalty under his ordinary tribal authority. Against this decision they appealed; first to the Native High Court, then the Supreme Court. The latter decided, inter alia, that, as the appellants were Christians, the Chief had no right to treat them as he did the rest of the tribe. He was reminded that, as a deputy of the Supreme Chief (Governor), he was bound to conform to the instruction the Governor had received from the Queen to the effect that religion was to be fostered to the utmost of his power amongst the Natives, and that such steps were to be taken by the Governor as appeared to him necessary for converting the people to the Christian faith. The appellants were, therefore, declared to be independent of the Chief's control, in certain important respects, though allowed to continue to live within his ward.[98]
This case, and the highly unsatisfactory influence it began forthwith to exert on those concerned as well as on others, had, by 1906, passed almost out of the recollection of Europeans; not so with the Natives. The Christians referred to and their children, having been accorded certain liberties by the highest legal authority, were not slow in assuming a more complete independence than the said authority had supposed they would do. In short, they became what are commonly known as Ethiopians, that is, a class whose church organization, like their social life, is wholly free from European control.[99] Their denomination was the African Congregational Church. They then became a set of "free-lances," socially, politically and religiously. Is it surprising, then, that a group of barbarians with the merest veneer of Christianity, cut off from all effective controlling influences, should, in course of time, have developed rebellious tendencies? The rigid application of the principles of European civilization to ordinary heathen life, without regard to after-effects, is one of the most subtle dangers to which Natal, in common with all other countries in which there are lower races subject to Christian government, has constantly been exposed.
Among the Ethiopians referred to, but especially in connection with the Trewirgie outbreak,[100] two names—Makanda and Mjongo—stand out prominently. These men were the ringleaders of the attack in question. The former, otherwise known as David, had, years before, been turned out of the tribe by the Chief on account of seditious practice, but, during the last Boer War, he associated with Mjongo, a member of the same tribe, and returned to his old haunts near Byrnetown, under the guise of a sawyer. As such, he worked in the Enon forest along with Mjongo, but, in addition, claimed to be a 'teacher of religion.' So zealous was he in this respect that he was soon recognized as the local leader of the Ethiopians,—a position he held, in conjunction with another Native, until 1906. As sawyer, he resorted to dishonest practices; as preacher, his influence was subversive of law and order.
Mjongo, at this time, was a man of about 58 years of age. For more than thirty years he had been employed, off and on, as a sawyer. "By skill and assiduity," says Mr. Frank Gordon of Enon, one of his oldest masters, "he was early taken note of by bush-owners, and must, during all these years, have broken in some hundreds of sawyers. Many of these set up on their own account no doubt; many formed a sort of gang who followed Mjongo, and who, in a measure, relied on him to support them with suitable work.... This gave him a certain ascendancy over this class of industry throughout the district." Although an intelligent and competent workman, and in receipt of high wages, he was never free from debt.
The gravity of the assault on the police at once impressed itself on the Government, already alive to the necessity of detecting and dealing promptly with any tendencies towards actual hostility.
Ministers communicated with the Governor, who, at the time, was temporarily residing in Durban. Sir Henry McCallum returned to headquarters and discussed the situation with the ministry, when it was decided immediately to call out a portion of the Active Militia to deal with the outbreak, and to proclaim martial law over the whole Colony. The Militia were accordingly mobilized on the 9th February, and martial law proclaimed on the 10th.
This calling out of troops and application of martial law have been frequently discussed, different opinions being expressed. Some good people, especially those living beyond the borders of the Colony, although knowing very little of the facts, came to the conclusion that there was no spontaneous rising at all, but that such hostility as had occurred was due to the Government having goaded the Natives by a reckless display of force into arming, more in self-defence than for any other purpose. As this point is of importance, amounting almost to an accusation of tyrannous practice or, at least, of being panic-stricken, an attempt will be made to set forth some of the principal reasons that induced Ministers to advise a resorting to such measures.
The Natives at several of the magistracies, e.g. Mapumulo, Durban, Pietermaritzburg and Empandhleni (Nkandhla), had already behaved with insolence and defiance, particularly at Mapumulo, where the Government had been openly defied by Natives in large numbers when attempting to collect the poll tax. And yet, not only had the tax been imposed on all Europeans and Asiatics, but a very liberal concession had been made exclusively to Natives, viz. that those already liable for the hut tax would be exempt altogether from paying poll tax. This, in itself, was evidence of a desire to be fair and reasonable. Notwithstanding this the Natives, as shown by numerous records, generally assumed an attitude of disrespect and defiance. In so doing, they acted hastily and recklessly, owing largely, no doubt, to the difficulty of understanding the exact effect of the law. It was enough that it was extra taxation, and appeared to put a premium on the already increasing independence of youths. No allowance whatever was made for the bona-fide straits the Government was in for the want of revenue, nor yet for the fact that the additional burden would not, after all, exceed one shilling per head per annum on the total Native population.[101] Chiefs, aided and abetted by their adherents, made attempts to combine against the Government. At Mid-Illovo, European farmers felt obliged to go into lager, whilst others prepared to do the same at such places as Highflats, Ixopo and Richmond. It will, no doubt, be conceded that defiance in any community calls for firm and prompt action by those in authority; not less necessary is it when savages, known to be warlike and impulsive, have to be dealt with.