THE ZULU REBELLION,

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13235, 21 July 1906, Page 5

THE ZULU REBELLION,

CHARGES AGAINST ROYSTDK'S HORSE. SHOOTING NATIVES IN COLD BLOOD.. LOOTING LOYAL NATIVES' [ CATTLE. By : Telegraph.— Astocisti'oa.—Copy tight. .:■■■■: (Received July 20. 10.8 p.m.) PirxERMABiTZBURG, July 20. ; The Bishop of Zululand (the RightEev. W. N. 0. Vyvyan) has charged Boystoifs Horse with shooting natives in colt!, blood, stealing cattle of loyal natives, and other conduct disgraceful in Englishmen. " A military coxvrt of inquiry has dealt with the charges, and its report in the main exonerates the corps. The court found that it' was unavoidable that five natives were shot while trying to escape. Colonel Royston, in his evidence, admitted that his column had looted stock belonging to natives who were believed to be disloyal. : . v -

SURRENDER OF REBELS.

WHAT THE WITCH DOCTORS

SAID.

(Received July SO, 9.53 p.m.)

PIETERMARITZBURG, July 20,

Two hundred more rebels have surrendered to Brigadier Mackenzie. They expressed joyful surprise at the leniency of the terms offered them. They fully expected to be shot.

They say witch doctors had told them that unless they killed , the whites the god, Mabelegoze, would send a pestilence upon them, and thus forced them into rebellion.

BAMBAATA'S HEAD.

DISCUSSION IN COMMONS.

MR. CHURCHILL ON THE MAHDI INCIDENT. .

London, July 19.

* In the House of Commons yesterday, during a,crossfire of questions by Mr. Keir Hardie, Mr. Dalziel, and other Radicals, regarding the exposure of Bambaata's head, Mr. Churchill made a thrust at Lord Kitchener. He said' the events in Natal were not half so disgraceful to civilisation as was the treatmentof the Mahdi's body.

The Daily Chronicle and the Westminster Gazette, referring to this remark, say they regret Mr. Churchill's methods as a Minister. ;

On the death of the Mahdi in 1885 the remains were placed an a tomb at Omdurman, which became the rallying place of his followers. After Lord Kitchener bad defeated the Khalifa in the battle of Omdurman he took the city, and then caused; the tomb of the Mahdi to be razed, and the remains of the prophet to be cast into the Nile. Lord Kitchener realised the tremendous responsibilities attaching to the act, and that he would be violently condemned for it. His object was for ever to destroy the " mana" attaching to the name of the dead Mahdi, and crush the., fanatical movement. Had the tomb and Mahdi's remains been left undisturbed the Moslems would have considered it their duty to recover them from the possession of the " infidels." Lord Kitchener acted ruthlessly in the interests of peace, and the history of the Soudan since then seems to have provided the justification he anticipated. The fact that the body had been so disposed of was made public by Mr. Winston Churchill, then a war correspondent, and he violently condemned the Commander-in-Chief. Foreign critics, notably Germ'ans, have put it to Lord Kitchener's credit that be had the great courage to so shock British susceptibilities for the attainment of a worthy purpose. The Moslems look forward to the day when a Mahdi will lead them to victory against infidels, and to the conquest of the world. As the dead Mahdi had been a great conqueror, his name was still a power in the land, and the Khalifa was his lieutenant, carrying out his programme.