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Relations with Tributary State and Frontier Affairs. |
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Police and crime: further strengthening of British control by establishing outposts; recovery of stolen guns |
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32. No political disturbance and no head-taking raid marked the year under review, though one such raid was planned by a British village against a village across the border, and was discomfited by timely interposition and punishment. The authority of the British Government over the district was consolidated by the establishment of certain outposts. Hitherto, we had only occupied Kohima, Khonoma and Wokha, and the posts along the road to Golaghat, and the Nagas in the outlying villages had hardly realised our power. Now two strong outposts have been constructed, one at Henima in the west, half-way towards the North Cachar border, and one at Lozema in the east, half-way to Wokha, a strong village never before visited, which barely recognised our rule, and refused to pay its house-tax. Two temporary outposts were also established at Kigwema and Viswema, to put a stop to intertribal quarrels, and were withdrawn when this was effected. These measures have had an excellent effect on the minds of the Nagas. The thefts of rifles from the Kohima barracks (thefts in which their owners were often accomplices) have stopped: a policeman, a regimental sepoy, and two Nagas have been imprisoned for their share in these thefts, and all the stolen rifles (24 in number) have been recovered, besides 30 Naga guns, through the exertions mainly of Subadar Mimaram and Jemadar Kurmo Singh. Twenty Nagas voluntarily brought in guns of their own and asked to be allowed to retain them on receiving regular licenses, where were given them. A large number of persons who shared the property stolen from the shopkeepers murdered at Langtingbra in the beginning of 1882 have been convicted, though the actual murderers have not as yet been brought to justice. Of ordinary crime, there was very little. Some Nagas of Kohima crossed the Doyong and pretended to levy tribute from three villages on the other side of the border in the British name: they were made to refund their collections and were heavily fined. In two cases where a man was killed in a sudden quarrel, without any special premeditation, the injured village received blood-money and the feud was stopped. |
