Early in 1880 a commission was appointed for each district, consisting of the magistrate, the principal chief of the district and the most influential trader. A fair and just value was to be given to each man upon delivering up his weapon or weapons. The Colonial Government completely ignored the fact that it was to blame in the first instance for the number of guns in the country, and that it had employed the Basuto to fight for it; in fact, was actually doing so at the time when the Act was passed, when it employed Basuto to aid in the siege of Morosi's Mountain. A deputation of chiefs was sent to Cape Town, but their petition was refused. Even the majority of the missionaries regarded the policy of the Colonial Government as an act of unnecessary oppression, and many of them did not hesitate to say so openly. On the 28th of June the wise old chief Molapo died in the north of Basutoland, and his death no doubt hastened matters, for, had he lived, he would have used all his influence, which was considerable, on the side of the Government. His sons Joel and Jonathan succeeded him, but Joel was always strongly against the Government, and Jonathan was a young man without much power over the other chiefs. The French Protestant missionaries, though earnestly exhorting the people to refrain from bloodshed, were known by the Basuto to sympathise with them; consequently, their persons, homes, and mission stations were untouched during the rebellion which followed. The Roman Catholic Missions, which also belonged to the French, likewise remained unmolested, but the English missionaries and their stations fared badly indeed. The one at Mohale's Hoek was utterly destroyed. At Sekubu in the north everything perishable was burnt, the stone buildings alone remaining standing, and the mission buildings at Thlotse fared hardly better, the church to this day (though no longer used as such, having been replaced by a much larger building) bearing many marks of the conflict. The Government fixed upon the 12th of July as the day for the final disarmament of the people. Many loyalists sent in their arms, a course of action which resulted in many real hardships for them, and to this day the greater number have never received more than two-thirds (if that) of the compensation owed them by the Government, though many rebels received full compensation. Chief Jonathan remained loyal throughout, and, by his firmness, kept together a large following, who were of the greatest possible assistance to Major Bell, the magistrate of Leribe.