The Life of Gordon, Volume IIBoulger, Demetrius Charles
History
The Life of Gordon, Volume II
Boulger, Demetrius Charles
Generals -- Great Britain -- Biography; Gordon, Charles George, 1833-1885
"3. The Colonial Government act in the nomination of native
magistrates as if their duties were such as any one could
fulfil, instead of being, as they are, duties requiring the
greatest tact and judgment. There can be no doubt but that in a
great measure, indeed one may say entirely, disturbances among
the natives are caused by the lack of judgment, or of honesty, or
of tact, on the part of the magistrates in the native
territories. There may be here and there good magistrates, but
the defects of the bad ones re-act on the good ones. Revolt is
contagious and spreads rapidly among the natives.
"4. One may say no supervision, in the full sense of the term,
exists over the actions of magistrates in native territories.
They report to headquarters what suits them, but unless some very
flagrant injustice is brought to light, which is often condoned,
the Government know nothing. The consequence is that a continual
series of petty injustices rankle in the minds of the natives,
eventually breaking out into a revolt, in the midst of which
Government does not trouble to investigate the causes of such
revolt, but is occupied in its suppression. The history of the
South African wars is essentially, as Sir G. Cathcart puts it,
"Wars undertaken in support of unjustifiable acts." Sir Harry
Smith was recalled for supporting an inefficient official of the
now Free State Territory. Any one who chooses can investigate the
causes of the late wars, and will find out that they arose in a
great measure from the ignorance of the Government, their support
of incapable officials, and their weakness in not investigating
causes before they proceeded to coercion.
"5. Government by coercion is essentially rotten. The Duke of
Wellington said that any fool could govern by that means. And it
is still more rotten when Government governs by the rule of
coercion without the power of coercion except at great expense.
"6. A properly constituted Commission of independent men
proceeding to the native territories, not accepting the
hospitality of those whose conduct they _go_ to investigate, not
driving through the territories in hot haste, as is the manner of
some Ministers, but a Commission who would patiently and
fearlessly inquire into every detail of administration, into
every grievance, is the _sine quâ non_ of any quiet in the native
territories. This Commission should detail on brass plates the
_modus vivendi_, the limits of territory of each district chief,
and a body of trustees should be appointed to watch over any
infraction of such charter.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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