I found an old answer by u/khosikulu

They're not directly addressing your specific question, but from their answer it seems that Hodgson knew that the stool was considered sacred and was demanding it to show his superiority as colonial governor and representative of Queen Victoria, but didn't understand the magnitude of the offense he was causing.

(Hope that was an accurate summary).

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/20anww/comment/cg1ggc3