MADAGASCAE.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 38, 3 February 1864, Page 3

MADAGASCAE.

Prom the letter of the "Own Correspondent" of the Commercial Gazette (Mauritius), we quote as follows: — Tamatave, November, 1863. 4th. — The Idols have been admitted into the palace, and the Queen is often attended by them in her excursions. The Prime Minister is represented a's having drained the village of young men for the army, in anticipation of an attack from the French in the spring. The French vessel of war, Surcouf, while lying oft' the coast to the north, . was warned away by the Hovas. : The American flag has again been : hoisted in Tamatave by the trader who ■ formerly hoisted it. : The recently arrived envoys from ■ the capital have published several new laws respecting debt and adultery, and also that no fat bullocks are to be shipped to Mauritius or Bourbon ' under pain of confiscation of the ' bullocks. ; 6tb.—- This evening 1 was awakened \ by the cry of " fire," and found that 1 the next "house was in flames, and on j account of the inflammable nature of the materials of which the houses are , composed, my own was immediately j in a similar state. I rushed out into J street with my hard cash, papers 'and , clothing, &3id the femftindev of my ) property, -worth several thousand ■ dollars, was soon a heap of burning ruins, The fltfe burned fiercely; away ■■} to the eastward} and' was not arrested J before dawn, after about one-fourth of "J Tamatave had been , destroyed, i The Band was in' attendance from the i Battery, and played to the tune of burning . houses,' while the ' noise ' was \ deafening, and no exertions were mad© 1 by the .natives, except -in .plundering.#he viwmM of the pvinoipal foreign, i houses destroyed m thoso 'of dhai^ 3Joiis, juu,, Pai^otts, Dueltiiiii! and, I)Vi^ 1

. many of whom are inclined to view the lire through a i^olitieal medium and say that in conjunction' with -the • recently published laws respecting bullocks, it is merely the beginning of a , series of persecutions of foreigners others complain that no assistance was rendered by Hovas. Though disgusted at the loss of my property, I am unable to judge whether the nre was accidental or not. This morning the G-overnor and his officers made a sort of procession of condolence through the burned portion of the town and visited H.B.M.'s Consul. Bth. — The Hovas version of the affair, and which I think is extremely probable, is that evil disposed persons wished for an opportunity of plundering my well assorted stores, and consequently set fire to the next house, hoping to take advantage of the confusion ; the fire, rapidly spreading, was then assisted by other incendiaries keen for plunder, until it reached the extent that it did. During the night of the fire many of the foreigners were in a most excited state,- -and -severalMalagashs accused of plundering were stabbed and run through with swords ; the plundering- propensities and ; bad .feelings of the Malagashs have been fully aroused, - : and several attempts to set fire to the , houses of foreigners have since occurred of so determined a nature that this afternoon H! B.M.s; Consul had an interview with the" G-overnor upon the subject. A very large amount of property has been destroyed and stolen, and further bad feeling excited between the Hovas and the foreign population, and until the French question is finally settled, it is. . evident, that every such occurrence will only tend to increase the jealousy and distrust between natives and foreigners which already exists. 9th. At the suggestion of H.B.Ms Consul the Gfovernor last night established patrols, and the result was, that this morning they produced four miserable looking persons whom they accused of incendiarism, though the principal proof seems to be that they carried matches on their persons. Several fresh attempts at setting fire to the houses of foreigners . are reported. I have received from the capital a letter from one of my correspondents, dated 22nd October, of which the following is a translation and extract : — " The coronation "was . but a small affair; it took place at Andohalo, on. Sunday, the 30th August, at about 10 a.m. There was a platform or stage raisedabout eight feethigh, andtwentyfive feet square, with a carpet thrown over it and a single chair for the Queen. No one was allowed to ascend this platform except forty or fifty nobles and the Queen's near relations of the highest rank, the next grade of nobility were seated below the platform to the westward, the rest of the spectators had to shift for themselves as best they could. Twenty or thirty salutes were fired as the Queen left the palace, and the same number upon her return ; there was no feast given as usual, and everything went off very tamely. A great many of the population left before it was half through, although there were double' guards stationed at every entrance to the capital, but still the crowd, by dint of pushing and pressing, made their way out. After giving the ' Hasina,' the assembly broke up about 3 p.m., and the people'returned to their homes." The " army, " as they call it here, which went some time ago to fight at the westward, has returned ; onehalf made its appearance about the Ist September with about fifteen hundred bullocks and a large number of prisoners, both male, female, and infants. I have heard upon good authority that the Queen paid to the captor two thousand dollars to release the female prisoners, who have since returned to their homes. The soldiers are very chary of going near the Sacalaves or the Betsilao ; they only go where there is no danger. The other half of the said army arrived yesterday with a small brass cannon, drawn by six or eight lean Hova soldiers who looked as though they were famished. As to the French dispute there is no end to the inquiries made here, but they say, " if the French will fight, why, let them come on." They say that it is impossible for the French to get to the capital, and they really think so. The English say that the French can only demand damages, and, I assure you that the Hovas will never pay any damages unless they are forced; but it is believed here that. the French will fight for it. As to . the, Prime Minister, he rules supreme here ; the amount of it is that the Hovas wish the Europeans to stay at home. Everything is dull — no trade, no money. 10th, — Another attempt at incendiarism was made last night, and fresh remonstrances have been addressed to the Gfovernor by H. M. Consul, and about 11 p.m. guards of soldiers were furnished to guard the Consulate and to protect the property of foreigners from fire. 12th.— Another attempt at setting fire reported this morning, though I think it probable that most of these " attempts " exist more in the imagination of some of the foreign population than in reality, The following are tolerably correct translations of some of " the laws of Madagascar, published upon the 2nd of November, 1868 i"~ False weights and measures punish-, able severely. A. man who wounds another with a weapon Will "be Sold into slavery, and hie property cionfiscated, rei^dus committing assitiilt fo# the cecovery of dobts are, fined 10 dollars! The Su&stoi* is not responsible tor the.dobtu of his slaves, . Ht No credit must bo givou to the slaves &' « Siraandoas " (Quito's carriers,)' t

are themselves fined in the amount-of, the sum falsely reclaimed... -. Persons giving credit to minors are fined 20 dollars. As regards the non-payment of a debt, the sum owed doubles every year;. and if not finally paid,, the debtor is put in irons. " * Persons allowing- bullocks to trespass on the properties of others will be fined one dollar per head for each bullock, and be severely punished if the nuisance continues. * Fat bullocks and cows, if offered t" for exportation, will be confiscated! ' " * Persons running into debt withput '? t the intention of paying will be put in irons. Customs dues of 33* per cent.' to be levied upon all spirituous liquors not intended for private consumption. All provisions required by the English and French missionaries to be admitted free of duty, provided always ( that said provisions are not imported \. tor sale. He Avho takes another man's, wife- « will be fined 50 dollars, unless the .husband abandons the wife, when the fine is reduced to 30 dollars. , Persons taking false oaths with a view to!. tie obtaining of money said to be owed, will be fined' in half the ..chained, put in irons, and '■' According to the theory of Malagash law, foreigners are supposed to be amenable to the above laws. The law respecting fat bullocks is said to have originated during the reign of Queen. Banavalo,' when the population of the capital, which depends greatly upon beef, represented to her Majesty that " on account of the foreigners picking out all the best beef, they were reduced to great inconvenience, when the ' above proclamation was issued, and is now again published, though it is supposed here that it will only apply fo the capital, and that fat,beef on the coast can be exported as usual. Much will depend upon the local authorities. On the general aspect of matters, at the seat of Grovernment, the writer observes: — I have received from anothor of my correspondents at the capital, a letter dated 3rd November, of which the following passages are extracts and translations ; and, as regards , the manner in which the name of one of the missionaries is mentioned, I can only say that I copy word for word the remarks of my correspondent, who . is not a Frenchman or in any way connected with French interests : —" Mr. .Ellis is again getting deej) into politics. He is doing all he can to make a favorable impression upon the Prime Minister, and also to cause a further breach between the French and Malagash ; he has succeeded so far as to induce the latter to send two high officers, accompanied by a missionary, to Mauritius. The missionary is sent by Mr. Ellis on a political errand. The whole affair is of Mr. Ellis' ftatchingy'. who has persuaded the Prime Minister - into it, Her Majesty and the majority of the nobles,; have nothing •to do-T^ith it. The .officers leave here on Thursday!: next for Mauritius ; one of,them is the;l;' old Gfovernor of Tamatave, Eainifiringia (well known to .Colonel .Middleton, being G-overnor of Tamatave at the time of the Middleton-Embassy), and the other is an aide to the Prime Minister. The greater part of the officers here and the population are very dissatisfied with the proceedings of the present Grovernment, as they live in constant fear of another revolution, and it. is said that the -Prune?. Minister is often intoxicated." " lii conclusion, the writer states that should his letter be intercepted; ■= he would "most certainly be assassinated." Remonstrances have been'-.-made.* by^t the Hovas respecting the firing of gun| ■by foreigners, stating that they^appre- , henden that persons' passing in tfie! streets might be accidentally 5 shot? 1 Per sons whose houses were: destroyedj hj fire are beginning to rebuild, but it will take a long time to restore the same confidence that prevailed beforethe fire. As regards political affairs, there seems to be at present--at work itr Madagascar four principal Hneslof policy, which run in anything but a parallel direction, viz.—the conservative Malagash policy, the French policy, the English policy, and the missionary policy. , The latter is - said" to be approved, of by the Maimtrui. Gfov,eminent, members of which arein.3 constant communication with' the ' missionaries and the Malagash GroVern!ment, though the; said policy -r is r in. direct opposition to the Imperial policy,! as laid down; by the. Office, and acted upon by H. B. M.'s consul, and presents to the view of thewonders ing Hovas the spectacle of an wvp'eriws ill iittperio,, ,: A ;■-. :■ -. -. v : i:u :;-.---.-\^}:"" I ( 1