James Stuart

“ Any reflecting person will, we venture to think, arrive at the conclusion that a Native corps, established on a sound basis, is a wise and necessary provision, and this from several points of view. It does what nothing else can do so well, namely, proves to the people that the Government has confidence in them (as it unquestionably ought to have) and, by enabling them to share directly in the defence of the State, powerfully induces them to take a deep and abiding interest in the welfare, not only of themselves, but of the entire community, white and black. ”

“ The malcontents, knowing that the effects of European rule were felt as more or less oppressive by the majority of their kinsmen—just as the majority would, in time, have regarded as oppressive the rule of the highest type of British or any other rulers that could possibly have been selected—and knowing that the poll tax had still further embittered their race against European rule, calculated that the time was ripe for general rebellion. ”

“ Thus, the price of our precipitate destruction of Native modes of life, or rather callousness in not subserving these modes to the best of our ability, not by way of amusement or sentiment, but because imperatively necessary for the welfare of the State and the interests of the Natives themselves, is that our own character, traditions, creed, language, etc., will ultimately be undermined and displaced by those of the people. ”

“ The moment had arrived when the possibility of a universal rising in Zululand, as well as in Natal, had to be faced and provided against. If one Chief, without specific grievance of his own, was ready to associate himself with those who had taken up arms against the Government, it was probable others would do the same on a fitting opportunity arising. As for the rest of the Native population, it seemed certain that an isolated Chief here and there would remain loyal with his people, though the great bulk would watch events and go with the tide whichever way it happened to flow. ”

“ War is not a pastime, as some people seem to think, but a reality, as stern in operation as any law of nature. At any rate, that is how it is viewed by Zulus, and the sooner Europeans look at it in the same way when at war with these tribes, the better for them and the tribes.
Although, for a few days, many rebels remained in hiding, none ventured to take refuge in the stronghold which, having become a place of bad omen, was entirely deserted. It had become the home of the dead. ”

“ The Zulus are a noble race of savages, but none the less deserving of our consideration because they are savages. The headlong collapse of such a people is a tragedy of the first magnitude. That it should be taking place before our very eyes, without reasonably adequate steps being taken by the State to resist it by providing the most natural and effective machinery for controlling it, is a crime. ”

“ It was one thing for the legislature to provide the law, the money, the men, the horses, the equipment, ordnance and transport, but he that was to transform these masses of incongruous material into the desired entity could only be born, not made.
Without the active sympathy of a Government, an organizer can accomplish but little. To prepare for war is a task which, in order that it may be properly fulfilled, exacts tribute in numberless directions. ”

“ Thus the primary object in establishing a corps is not so much the intrinsic value of the fighting material recruited, as that it is an outward and visible sign to Natives in general that the rulers look on their interests as indissolubly connected with those of Europeans, which is only another way of saying that a premium is set on the promotion of patriotism, loyalty and contentment. As matters are at present in South Africa, anyone can see with half an eye that, in the absence of these corps, the respective Governments have neglected to use material that lies near at hand. ”

“ The decision of Sigananda to rebel is surprising when one considers that his district is one of the healthiest and most fertile in Zululand. In many respects it is an ideal place to live in, especially for Natives. Far from the larger European centres, it has an abundance of firewood, wattles, etc., and is, moreover, peculiarly favourable for raising stock. All these advantages became of no account as soon as the blighting word arrived from the royal house that Bambata was to be befriended. Dinuzulu's pleasure first, everything else nowhere. ”

“ Most of the criticism in question came as usual from a few noisy people in England, who quite forgot the absurdly few casualties that were sustained by the Imperial troops in the Zulu War, as compared with the number of Zulus who were killed; nor did they remember that Pretorius, at the famous battle of Blood River, had three men wounded (including himself) , as against 3,000 Zulus killed. It is one of the ironies of life that persons wholly ignorant, or almost wholly ignorant, of local conditions, succeeded in getting many to attend to and believe their clamour. ”

“ The purity and coolness of the air are exhilarating, so much so that one becomes oblivious to the cares of life as he wanders about the woodlands, toils up the sharp ascents, or bends over one of the many brooks to regale himself with some of the clearest crystal water to be found on the face of the globe. ”

“ The Government was manifestly under every obligation to protect the people, not less Native loyalists than members of its own and other European and Asiatic races. After all, there is such a law as that of self-preservation. That is what mainly warranted these undoubtedly severe, but unavoidable measures. And yet the troops were exceedingly well-disposed to the Zulu race as a whole. Satisfactory relations exist to-day between the Natives and the colonists, and will long continue to exist, unless petty, misguided policies be brought into practice. ”

“ The greater the injury inflicted, with the least loss to himself, is one of the highest marks of generalship, particularly where his opponent vastly exceeds him in numbers. As, in every military school, one finds it approved to strike effective blows at the enemy's morale, under what circumstances can this be better done than when he is driven to finding himself out-generalled at every point, and losing more men than his adversary? ”

“ The elimination of the higher machinery of Native government, e.g. the King and his councils, has imposed on an alien people, animated by vastly different ideals, the duty of controlling present Native progress, if such, in fact, it be. If evidences of imperfect grafting of the Native system of administration into our own have often been conspicuous during the last seventy years, it will surprise no one; nor will anyone be astonished to hear that strong Commissions have been appointed at different times specially to investigate the condition of the Natives. ”

“ He knew that, man for man, he was infinitely better acquainted with forests, streams, dongas, caves, hills and valleys than the Europeans, most of whom had spent the greater part of their lives in towns at a distance and in sedentary occupations. But, whilst practising these methods, the motive was invariably to draw the troops on after him in the hope of small parties becoming detached when the opportunity was smartly seized, and the severest blow possible struck. This being the game, can it be wondered at that the rebels were severely punished whenever they were come upon? ”

“ The moral is that the aborigines resent the manifold restrictions they are perpetually and systematically subjected to; these and the rigid application to their affairs of the principles of Western Civilization, by means of legislation or otherwise, as well as the thousands of opportunities afforded unscrupulous Europeans and semi-educated Natives of exploiting the people, tend to fill up their cup of bitterness. They yearn for practical sympathy and that friendly recognition of their deeper needs which ends not in mere perception. ”

“ One can understand Bambata's animus towards the Government, but, as has already been shown, Bambata was backed or supported by Dinuzulu. Had his actions not been so directed, it is impossible to understand how the many rebels that joined him could have done so merely for the sake of fighting against the Government in the certain knowledge of being speedily annihilated. So many members of a normally sane and phlegmatic people would never have followed an ignis fatuus and sacrificed themselves on the mere chance that the public would benefit. ”

“ How often has it not happened in the world's affairs that large and liberal action towards a people, so far from making foes, has transformed them into loyal and permanent allies. Let us, therefore, not blind ourselves too much to the fact that our Native races, although they may have fought us in the past, stand in as great, if not greater, need of similar consideration, though on humbler, simpler lines, than any other corporate people. ”

“ It seems to occur to no one that a State policy which resolutely and deliberately aims at maintaining the status quo ante in a sane and judicious manner, instead of assuming its downfall as inevitable, and forthwith setting about in a thousand ways to make it even more ruinously rapid and catastrophic than it would be without these reckless methods, is worthy of serious and sober consideration. ”

“ Dinuzulu had evidently been exercising an evil influence in the country, and had become a menace to law and order. The three columns then in Zululand and Vryheid district had, he was told, entered Zululand to put an end to the disorder, and would not leave until all the prevailing unrest had disappeared.
The Chief replied that he could not imagine what offence he had committed. That he should be charged with high treason, as he had been informed was the case, was ridiculous. How could a man like himself think of taking up arms against the Government? ”

“ No one, of course, is infallible, ourselves among the number, but a personal experience of over forty years in the country, together with an intimate knowledge of the people, does tend to convince us that such is not the general desire,—not at present, whatever may be the case in the future,—and has only become that of the half-educated because, the various European administrations being what they have been and are, it seems to them so inevitable that nothing remains but to adopt European civilization in its entirety, and that as speedily as possible. ”

“ There is no instinct among the Zulus stronger than that of desiring to do what everybody else is doing. Such arises, no doubt, from the force of long-continued custom. Living, as they once did, under the rule of as despotic kings as could be found anywhere on the globe, whose political and social habits made all sorts of demands on the people, they became alive to the necessity of being always on the alert for fear of being punished unless conforming to what others were doing. ”

“ What, more than cheaply-achieved successes, is better calculated to depress the exuberant spirits of barbarous rebels and sooner bring about their surrender? Justifiable or unjustifiable, rebellion should, in the interests of the community, be stamped out and stamped out thoroughly.
The losses of European troops in various Native wars in South Africa, particularly in recent times, have almost always been greater than those sustained by Natal in 1906, relatively to the personnel engaged. ”

“ The girl belonged to the Bomvu tribe, that is, to a tribe living next to Bambata's, whose services to the Government, by invading and spoiling Bambata's ward along with the troops, besides other acts of conspicuous loyalty during the Rebellion, have become widely known.
Bambata was naturally impulsive, determined and daring, with an experience of fighting, if only faction fighting. A man of that kind, already inclined to intemperance, with all his substance wasted, and ruin, in the shape of loss of chieftainship, staring him in the face, would not require urging to take up arms. ”

“ It is beside the question to set about to defend the principles of any policy when such impression is abroad and the country in a ferment; if people believe they are being down-trodden, the belief, justifiable or not, is what has to be reckoned with. In Natal, it was a fact that many Natives believed themselves to be a down-trodden race, and it was this general fact which seems to us to have been a main underlying cause of their rebelliousness. But, whilst being a cause, one thing must be borne clearly in mind. The insurrection was partial, not universal. ”

“ To sacrifice their lives for someone is everything, to have to do so for an absent reality, nothing.
Another lesson is the necessity of pursuing the enemy the moment he starts hostilities. Quick pursuit is what every Zulu holds as a primary maxim of warfare. Such action inspires loyalists with confidence, because affording them protection at the time they most require it.
The policy of the rebels having been to avoid conflict whenever the conditions were unfavourable, meant that the campaign resolved itself into one where the troops had always to assume the offensive. ”

“ To be shot down or stabbed in battle is regarded by Natives as the natural consequence of war, and, when an advantage has been obtained, they are surprised if it be not used to the greatest effect. It is difficult to describe the contempt with which the warlike Zulu regards what we are pleased to style magnanimity—the magnanimity, for instance, of Gladstone in 1881, with certain victory in view, and the magnanimity of restoring Cetshwayo to Zululand in 1883. They reason thus: Two peoples are at war; one must defeat the other, and the best way is to do so in a thorough-going way. ”

“ The content of mere rumour is, of course, of no value as history, but, in the history of a Native rising, that rumours of a disturbing or unsettling character were constantly afloat, [Pg 115] and nearly always associated with a particular person, is a fact of considerable significance, and, therefore, worthy of record. When any rumour arose likely to agitate Europeans or Natives, it became the duty of the Government to trace and contradict it in the best way it could. ”

“ I rejoice to think that the period of strain through which the Colony of Natal has passed may now be considered at an end, and I desire on behalf of His Majesty's Government to express our sense of the courage and self-reliance with which the emergency has been met. The conduct of the troops in the field and the management of the operations appear from all accounts to have been admirable and to have been well supported by the determination and self-restraint of the Government and the people. ”