TOPIC:

Todd was a Colonial man with all the idiosyncracies and penchants of a man of his times. Were he to be alive today he would be deemd to be highly incorrect politically.

John Thomas Todd

Conductor, Natal Transport – Anglo Boer War
Superintendent of Police, Verulam Local Board

- Queens South Africa Medal with clasps Transvaal & Laing’s Nek

John Todd was a colonial settler to the very marrow of his bones. Born in Verulam, a sugar cane growing area just north of Durban, on 14 September 1856 he was the son of immigrants William Todd and his wife Betsy (Betty)

He was to prove quite an eccentric character and one feared by those of the indentured Indian peasants that had been brought to Natal to supply the need for labour on the sugar plantations that worked for him.

Little is known of his early years and he first came to our attention on January 24, 1883 when at the age of 26 he married 19 year old Charlotte Maud Spring at Verulam. We know that he was a Farmer in the Inanda area (next to Verulam) and that the Rev. Nuttall officiated at the ceremony. Once the knot had been tied the happy couple betook themselves to the farm to start their new life together.

As has already been mentioned labour of any description was very hard to come by in Natal and the Government had taken the decision to import Coolies from India to work in the sugar cane fields. Many of these indentured labourers came out from India in the 1890’s and were placed with sugar growers who paid them a rudimentary wage as well as providing them with a food allowance and living quarters in return for their labour. The entire arrangement was driven by and fell under the control of the Indian Immigrant Protection Office. All complaints from either servant or master; were directed to this worthy and he was, likewise, responsible for inspecting the labourers working conditions as well as ensuring that they were repatriated to India on termination of their period of engagement.

Todd must have been a prosperous farmer as he had quite a number of these Coolies (as they were called) in his employ. Records show that they had come out to Natal from Madras in India at various times in 1894 and were placed with Todd.

Matters came to a head in 1895, less than a year after they had been in his employ with several Coolies making statements alleging ill treatment and a host of other issues to the Protector of Indian Immigrants as follows,

“Rama Naiker’s Statement – 19 January 1895

I am indentured to Mr John (John Thomas Todd of Inanda) I complain that every Sunday I am made to work attending to cattle, pigs and horses all day leaving off at 5 o’ clock in the evening – for which I receive no extra pay. I have had no wages for past 2 months.
My master never allows me leave to buy anything.

Day before yesterday my master assaulted me – giving me 5 or 6 kicks behind and striking me about the head with his hands.

The Kafirs also knock me about and on complaining to my master he takes no notice but says we can fight it out. The only witnesses I have are the Kafirs and my ship mate Roman Nair. I have been six months with Mr Todd.”

The second statement came from Kuppan (number 56059), a 20 year old from North Arcot. He stated as follows,

“I am indentured to Mr John. I complain that my master owes me 2 months wages and if I ask him for it he kicks me, if I can receive proper wages I will return and go on with my work. I work all Sundays till evening but I will not continue to do this unless I receive extra pay.

If my master will not treat me properly after the Protector has written to him I will not complain again to him or the Protector but will drown myself in the sea.”

The third and final statement came from one Munien (number 56069), a 25 year old from South Arcot who stated that,

“I am indentured to Mr John (John T Todd of Inanda) I complain that day before yesterday my employer assaulted me – giving me several slaps and blows with his fists about the head and shoulders and gave me a kick behind.

This happened in the kitchen where I work – I have no witnesses. I am obliged to work every Sunday till 8 or 9 o’ clock in the evening and receive no extra pay for this.

The rations I receive are not sufficient – only lasting 5 days in each week. For past 2 months I have had no pay. Each time I ask my employer he says I will get it by and by.

I ask the Protector to see that I get fair treatment for the future. I do not like the quality of rations I receive.”

Todd, having been made aware of these allegations, wrote to the Protector on 23 January 1895 as follows,

“Dear Sir

I received your letter with depositions enclosed, it would take some time to answer all the charges, so I have decided to come down and see you personally as there are several questions I wish to ask.

Yours truly

John T. Todd”

Whether or not he made the trip is unknown but he did respond in writing as follows,

“Re: Complaint of Coolies

I admit being 2 months in arrears with their wages but had on the day of their deserting the money to pay them.

With reference to Sunday work – some of them have to milk the cows morning and evening. This takes say 1 ½ hours each time perhaps 2 hours. They have also to assist the Kafirs to feed the calves and pigs; the former 3 or 4 times the latter twice.

I almost invariably have a Kafir boy on the place on Sundays who does most of the Sunday work. It is perfectly false for them to say that they are working all day Sunday. When they are late on Sunday morning it is because they never stir till called out and sometimes I don’t think of it till rather late.

The statement by Rama Naiker and Koman Nair that the Kafirs knock them about are partly true but the knocking about is a very mild one. There is however another side to it for on one occasion a Kafir pushed Koman N over and he was very soon assaulted by the whole 5 Coolies and 2 women were standing ready to help also in case of need and had it not been for 2 other Kafirs who came to the rescue it would have fared badly with the Kafir.

The Indian Munien is also a regular pugilist and has not only had two fights with Kafirs but disabled one of his own friends for a day.
Ram Naiker’s complaint about not getting leave to go and buy what he requires is false because I not only gave him leave one day, but also twice a week a Kafir or a Coolie goes to Verulam with butter and when down he or they can easily buy whatever they require.

Rations – I give 6 lbs rice and 6 lbs meal weekly to the men and half the amount to the women also the other articles of food enumerated in the Government paper.

I don’t deny having boxed the ears of 3 or 4 of them once or twice but I did it on the strength of a statement made by one of their number , viz that he would not stand a Kafir striking him but f I did it he would consider it his duty to submit to it.

Re: “fighting it out” with the Kafirs – I said if you want me to interfere, don’t fight but come and report any assault to me and I will deal with it, but if you fight first and then come and complain to me I will take no notice of it but you can fight it out amongst yourselves.

I never stopped 1/6 per day from Roam Nair only 1/- per day.

Kuppan’s statement that I kick him when he asks for his money is a lie. I did one day refuse to give 2 or 3 of them leave of absence to go to Verulam as it was just after they had assaulted the Kafir and I did not feel in the humour to grant any of them leave.”

Todd’s woes with his labourers continued and, on 23 October 1899, a matter of days after the outbreak of the Anglo Boer War, he addressed a letter to Mr J.A. Polkinghorne, the Protector of Indian Immigrants as follows,

“Dear Sir

I beg to make to call your attention to the matter I spoke of when in your office a week or so since, viz the Coolie Kandhai no. 26680; he began his indentures during the last week of March last and from the first he complained of his eyesight being very bad at night: he worked all right for the first three months but in July was off work 5 days but on other days complaining of not feeling well.

In August he was first off work for 2 days and a few days later was taken sick and asked to be taken to hospital so on the 18th of August he was sent there, and he has not been out since. The last time I saw him he was blind in one eye and I have since learned that he is losing the sight of the other eye.

Of course you are well aware that he will be of no use to me blind, so I write to ask if the Board will take him off my hands, and release me from payment of the instalments still due to for him.

I shall be glad if you will take the matter into consideration, and let me know your decision as soon as you can.

I am etc. etc.”

Readers of the above would no doubt be shocked by the harsh nature of the man and his callous disregard for the welfare on another but it must be remembered that this scenario played out in the colonial era where menial labour was to a degree, expendable, a far cry from the situation today.

Polkinghorne then asked the Medical Officer for a report on Kandhais’s condition. The M.O. reported back that “there is an enlargement of both testicles and diarrhoea plus loss of sight in both eyes but ‘I am unable to determine the causes’”

The Board meeting on November 10th resolved that, “The man not being sick on allotment no relief can be granted (to Todd); but the Board are prepared to have them man returned to India by first opportunity on condition that the instalments are guaranteed.”

On 17 November Todd wrote back to Polkinghorne,

“I received your letter conveying the decision of the Board in reference to my Indian Kandhai and am sorry they cannot relieve me of the responsibility.

As there seems to be no other way of meeting the matter, I am willing to pay the 4 remaining instalments as they become due, if the Board will take him over and return him to India.”

Not many days later, on 24 November, he wrote again, “I received yesterday your letter enclosing letter of guarantee, but I had a few hours previously received notice from the Verulam Hospital of the death of my Indian Kandhai so of course it is needless for me to fill in the form, but I should like to know whether in this case I am relieved of further payments. I have never had occasion to enquire into the matter so am ignorant as to the law.”

No more was said on the subject and it passed into memory. As has been mentioned the Boer War was already underway and it was now the turn of Todd to be affected by it. Quite when he enlisted for service is unknown but, at the age of 44 he found himself a Conductor with the Natal Transport unit. This outfit was very similar to the Natal Volunteer Transport Service but was formed to ameliorate the deficiencies in Buller’s transport system. It was made up of civilian contractor’s (like Todd) and a total of 62 medals were issued to them. That he saw serviced in the Transvaal and, in June 1900, Laing’s Nek, is borne out by the award of these tow clasp to his Queens Medal issued to him at Newcastle on 5 February 1902.

The war over on 31 May 1902 Todd returned to his farming pursuits and “his” Indians. On 13 July 1903 he wrote to The Protector of Immigrants again as follows,

“Dear Sir

This man Muniappa, no. 56743, who served his time with me and who has now decided to return to India, tells me that he has had to pay £14 for his passage; although he has always understood (so have I) that anyone returning to India within 10 years of the time of engaging here, goes free. Can you explain to him or me how it is that he has to pay for his and his wife’s passage when they have not been in the Colony 9 years yet.”

The reply came stating that, “This man and his wife will be entitled to a free passage only after the 20th December 1904 i.e. after they have been 10 years in the Colony.”

On 11 February 1904 Todd put ink tom paper again, on this occasion to tell the Protector that,

“I regret to have to report the death of my indentured Indian Battina Appadu no. 82179 who died in the Verulam Hospital on the night of the 4th instant. He had been suffering from Venereal Disease and I sent him there for treatment.

There are 13 days wages due to him and I shall have to pay Hospital fees 16/- and a bottles of medicine 4/6 and as I understand patients pay their own fees for Venereal Disease, I presume the wages for these thirteen days will be allowed to go against this.

How do I stand with reference to the Annual instalments am I freed from those still due or do you expect me still to pay them?

There a few clothes and a little jewellery belonging to the deceased, but I believe he has a brother near Umzinto. What is to be done with these things? Please advise.”

1903 was the year that Todd’s mother Betsy passed away. This was at Verulam on 29 September and Todd was soon taking up the cudgels to expedite his mother’s estate. On Jun 9th 1905 he wrote to The Master of the Supreme Court as follows,

“Dear Sir

I feel it is my duty to reply to your letter received by my Father the other day with reference to my late Mother’s estate.

I may say in the first place that my Father is an old man of 83 years of age and in his old age he has become a little peculiar in some of his ways; and he seems to think it an impertinence on your part to trouble him in this matter. I should be glad therefore if you would let me know what information you require and I will give it to the best of my ability. My Father does not show me these letters so I do not know their contents except what little he may tell me.

Trusting I may be able to serve you in this matter.”

Todd no doubt felt competent to assist in this matter as he was now, in addition to being a Farmer, also the Superintendent of Police for the Verulam Local Board. What his duties entailed is left to the imagination but they can’t have been too onerous given the small size of the community Verulam served.

After a lull in hostilities with the Protector of Immigrants the dawn of 1909 brought about a fresh spate of correspondence. On 5 May Todd, as the Superintendent of Police, wrote in respect of Rajala Kistnasamy, no. 99058,

“Herewith the man’s record – absconded 8 days, returned to work, in gaol for theft for 6 weeks, absconded again and has not since returned.” Although we have not sight of the reply it was obviously not to Todd’s liking as he wrote again on 7 May,

“I cannot understand your line of argument at all, or I have not made the matter sufficiently clear. I will try to out it plainer”
On 13 May he wrote to the Governor, Maritzburg Gaol:-

“Sir

I understand from the C.I. Department that you have an indentured Indian named Rajala Kistnasamy (who absconded from the Verulam Local Board nearly a year ago) in your gaol undergoing a term for contravention of the Indian Immigration Law and that his term of imprisonment will terminate on the 13th instant.

I am instructed by my Board to ask you to forward this man under escort to the Protector of Immigrants, Durban, as it is thought advisable that he should see the man before he is sent on here.”

On the same day he wrote to the Protector of Immigrants as follows,

“Dear Sir

I have written today on behalf of the Verulam Local Board to the Governor of Maritzburg Gaol to forward the Indian Rajala Kistnasamy (about whom a lot of correspondence has passed) to your office in Durban in the hopes that a good talking to from you may lead him to amend his ways.

Will you be good enough to do this; I am sure he has no cause for complaint at the treatment he has received in the past as any one of our Indians would very willingly tell you if asked.

I am Sir etc. etc.”

This was rich coming from Todd who had an unenviable track record of his own with regards to the treatment of Indians.

After this Todd appears to have confined his exertions to farming and it was on 7 July 1924 that he breathed his last at his farm in Verulam. He was 67 years 10 months old at the time of his death and was survived by his wife and children, Edith Nora Paul; Lucy Maud Graham; William Percival Henry Todd; John Cuthbert Todd and Ena Templeton Gillespie

Hi Rory

I always marvel at the amount of "Background music" that you manage to find behind the recipients of the medals in your collection!!

Henk

Thanks Henk

As long as it's a symphony you are hearing

Regards

Rory

John Thomas Todd is my great great grandfather!!!!

This is an amazing turn of events and I'm sure Dizzie won't mind my sharing the fact that we have been in contact "off line" and she is assisting me with whatever additional information she can.

Truly an example of what posting on this Forum can accomplish.

Regards

Rory