The District Commissioner convinces the Igbo leaders to meet with him by sending his "sweet-tongued messenger" to ask them to come meet with him a few days after Mr. Brown's church is burned down. The commissioner helps to persuade the Igbo leaders to meet with him by waiting several days and not reacting immediately to what the Igbo leaders have done. This way, they are calmer when they meet with him, and they do not expect him to seek retribution. Also, while they show up with their machetes, he politely invites them to speak as friends. He tells them, referring to the destruction of the church, "Let us talk about it like friends and find a way of ensuring that it does not happen again." He greets them alone and then tells them that he is going to invite in his friends to listen to their grievances. It is only then, after the Igbo leaders have put down their machetes, that British men come in to arrest them.
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