Page:The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, vol. 2.djvu/234

 had said they would be able to bring fifty or one hundred men who were in their service, and they wanted volunteers of that kind who would lead so many men and be responsible for them. (A voice, ‘Have a review on Saturday.’)”


 * “Mr. Wylie said it would assist in the organization, and in the regulation of the Demonstration, if men gave in their names with a list of men who were willing to act with each, and would follow his lead. The Chairman would then know the Section Leaders, to whom to send word, and they in turn would inform their Company. There was, of course, only one leader, Mr. Sparks, but he could not speak to 5,000 men, and this means of communication was necessary. (A voice—It looks more like business now.)”

The meeting appears to have been greatly encouraged, in the carrying out of their demonstration, by the report made to the meeting of a Committee which had waited on Mr. Escombe, Her Majesty’s Minister of Defence in this Colony. The Committee reported as follows:


 * “Mr. Escombe treated the Committee at an interview that morning, extending over two hours, in a fair and reasonable manner. He said: ‘The Government is with you to a man, and wish to expedite this in every possible way. But you must be careful not to do anything which will hamper our hands. Spurring an unwilling horse to death is a very different thing to spurring a willing horse to death.’ Then the Committee said: ‘If the Government did nothing, Durban would have to do it herself, and go in force to the Point, and see what could be done.’ They capped that by remarking: ‘We presume that you, as representing the Government and good authority of the Colony would bring force to oppose us?” Mr. Escombe said: ‘We will do nothing of the sort; we are with you and we are going to do nothing of the sort to oppose you. But, if you put us in such a position, we may have to go to the Governor of the Colony and ask him to take over the reins of this Colony as we can no longer conduct the Government. You will have to find some other persons.’ (Uproar.)”

It is not for us to express our opinion regarding such words as these, if they were actually uttered by the Minister of Defence, but we would most respectfully draw your attention to the extreme danger of allowing a large body of excited men to proceed to the point, however peaceful their original intentions may have been, and more especially, when from the utterances of the speakers and the comments thereon of the meeting, the gravest cause of anxiety must be aroused regarding the objects of the Demonstration, and the safety of the passengers on the two steamers.

We would respectfully submit that as law-abiding inhabitants of this Colony, we have endeavoured cheerfully to submit to the requirements of the Government, despite serious loss to us, and that having so complied, we are entitled, on obtaining pratique, to discharge our steamers’ passengers at