THE FRENCH IN MADAGASCAR.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1159, 11 October 1883, Page 1

THE FRENCH IN MADAGASCAR.

Port Louis, (Mauritius), Sept. 1. The special correspondent of t\w Melbourne Argus gives the following account of the doings of the French in Madagascar, inc'uding their treatment of the Rev D Shaw, which will doubtless prove of interest to our readers :-- When I arrived here, about a fortnight ago, I at once set to work to ascertain all I could concerning recent events in Madagascar, but found it very difficult to obtain anything like reliable information. What A told me as the unadulterated truth was" utterly scouted by B, what C had heard on 'the best authority'was laughed at as ludicrous fiction by D. A and C being Englishmen, and B and D being Frenchmen, may, in great measure, account for this , for it cannot be denied that opinions in Mauritius are tinged, if not fainted, by nationality ; and opinions ■is we all know, frequently interfere with the 'repetition of facts. Speaking of Madagascar .affairs, a Frenchman will tell you that Admiral Pierre has been grossly maligned ; that it was both absurd and childish to attribute the death of Consul Pakenham to an aggravation of his disease caused hy the bombardment and the arrest of his subordinates ; tliat.the Rev Mr Shaw was not on'y justly imprisoned, but kindly treated, and that international rights have been in no way infringed ; while an Englishman will as definitely declare the French admiral wrong from beginning to end ; will speak of Pnkenham's death as hastened by the above causes ; and will denounce Mr Shaw's detention as uncalled for, and accompanied by undue severities. In like manner the Press of Mauritius is divided into two parties, and the Mauritian press is represented by no less than six daily papers There are the Mercantile Record and Commercial Gazette, the Merchants' and Planters' Gazette, the Sentinelle de Maurice, the Cerne'en, and l'Argus, the three former being published in both English and French—the three latter in French only. Not bad far a city of 70,000 inhabitants. Jt may readily be imagined that unanimity is hardily a feature of these journals collectively, but that individually they are given to look at things each from its own special standpoint. The English view of the Madagascar question is that the French are not qualified to become good colonists, and that in endeavouring to force the Hovas into submission they are attempting too much. To blockade a small port or two, and shoot a score or so of natives, is one thing : to march upon and capture the capital, nearly 200 miles distant, by the rough tracks used, from the coast, and approachable ■ only through dense forests and rugged pafses, is another. And even supposing the capital to- be reached despite all obstacles, there is a large force of well-armed men at headquarters, ready to give the invader a warm reception. ' Surely,' say the English residents here and at Tamatave, ' it will be better for the French to reconsider the terms upon which they are "willing to enter into a treaty of peace Let them be contented with leasing the lands for loug terms with the option of renewal, instead of endeavouring to become the outright proprietors.' 'But,' say the French,' you forget that the Hoovas have broken all the treaties which they have hitherto entered into whenever they considered the chances favorable, and that there is but one argument to which they are amenable, the argument of force. And this force must be employed beyond the mere littoral. Tamatave and Majunga have been bombarded, but Tamatave and Majunga are merely a couple of fever hotbeds to decimate our troops. Why not, then, march on to the capital, and so reduce the proud Hoovas to submission '?' A very pretty programme on paper, but one that will take a powerful 'star company' to carry out in its integrity. 'France,' says one local journal, ' will never consider herself established in Madagascar until the French cannons are pointed at the palace of the Queen. The fear of cannons is to sovereigns the beginning of wisdom.' But the fear of wholesale slaughter, of massacres by overwhelming hordes of desperate natives, should be the beginning of wisdom to republics ; and as certainly as France attempts to penetrate the interior of this roadless, all but unexplored, island, as surely will her troops be more than decimated on her way to the ' city of a thousand towns.' It is all very well for vainglorious journalists to, sit at ease in their editorial chair and dictate the policy of a nation. The carrying out of the ideas thus promulgated costs.more blood than ink. Nevertheless, cry the French press, 'France has not .only therfght, but the duty to reconquer Madagascar. It is time to finish all this ' --how easy to say, how difficult to do ' to show these savages, in spilo of tlie English and Americans, that wo can punish those who insult in. Not to ,ijd.yance now would be an unpardonable 'itvvbr. We must march on to Antananarivo, or otherwise bu obliged before long to quit shamefully the points now occupied by our troops, and in that case we 'shall he scorned and despised thron«hout the world, and this rich country closed for eywr against our enterprise.' In' the neighboring island of Bourbon, —or Reunion" as it is now more frequently called—the French journals are even more belligerent in their tone, and their bitterness against the English is something refreshingly tonic. It seems that a call to arms has been made in that lively little place, and is being largely respond© I to. The Moniteur de la Rdunion of a few days ago aays : " Our worthy Governor's proclamation has been heard from one end of the colony, to the other. Every where our valiant and genefous youths are rising. They do but await the call to arms. Already six hundred young men full of ardour and patriotism burn to uphold the honor of ihe French in this country, until now closed againat the blessings of civilisation. If a thousand or even two thousand were

wanted they would he forthcoming. This land of Reunion remains faithful to the past. It has been said with justice that it is the most truly French of ai! the colonies. Shall not such an ardent (chahurevx) movement bear its fruits ? Is it possible that France, whose honour and influence are at this moment our sole objects, will not be profoundly touched by this brilliant proof of our unalterable attachment 1 Will she not respond to H? We rejoice in the belief that if the Government has not already taken the initiative by calling for reinforcements sufficient to quickly bring to an end the expedition so valiantly" commenced by Admiral Pierre, our deputies will take the matter in hand and bring it before the French Chamber. Away with that policy of ' enticement,' which not only gives a wrong impression to the civilised people with whom we are at arm's length, but lowers : us in the eyes of Europe, watching en every move. Enough or! condi-scension and weakness towards perfidious England I Let her ho n-1 (crier), but show her that there is room in the world for two, and create in our turn •% colonial empire worthy to rival that which she herself possesses, nnd which consiitutes her pride. France is rich; her navy is second to nontin power. Let k>r require our aid, nnd we, the little colonists of Re'union, will have the honor to help iu making her commerce and her beneficent civilisation predominant in the vast and rich country of Madagascar, that we shall not hesitate to fertilise (feconder) with our sweat (sueurs) and our blood. Not only in name but in reality should Madagascar*-'be henceforth La France Orhntalc." ''■ Tall talk this, with a vengeance,' and I venture to think exquisitely ludicrous. I look forward with eagerness towards iny future visit to this right little, tight little French iiland. Admiral Pierre has left, as you probably already know, for France. Various rumors are afl-iat as to the real reason of his leaving. The French attribute •it solely to sickness, and give two or three versions of the nature of the malady from which the gallant admiral was suffering. The English, on the other hand.say that he was re-called. Be the truth as it may.he will be needed at Home, if only to stand his ground against the assertion of the Rev Mr Shaw. This gentleman has just left for England to place his cas? before the Government. Hearing various accounts as to the facts of his imprisonment, I deemed it best to interview him on the eve of his departure, and took down his statement from his own lips. It is as follows: MR SHAW'S STATEMENT. ' My house,' says Mr Shaw, ' is situated about a mile from the landing place, and formed one angle of a triangle, of which the fort and the native town represented the other two angles ; the native town being a mile or so further inland. The bombardment of Tamatave commenced, as will be remembered, on Sunday, the 10th of June, up to which time there htd not. beeu the slightest spoliation on the part of the natives ; a"d indeed, up to the morning of the-llth there was nothing to complain of in this particular. That morning the French la< ded. Then, and not till then, depredations commenced. The French placed pickets across the peninsula near the fori, but omitted to protect my house, which was, in consequence, robbed on three nncessive nighte. I went with my landlord to the commandant of the fort, and we naked him to place pickets near, or actually at my house, which stood on a commanding elevation, and would Imve formed an admirable post of observation. We even offered the use of one or two rooms in the house itself as quarters for the soldiers. We explained that the whole of my effects were in danger of being carried off by the natives, and we ourselves kept watch until the Thursday night, when, without warning of any kind, the commandant removed the pickets from everywhere except the immediate vicinity of the fort, and said that he held Captain Johnstone (of the Dryad) responsible for the safety of the town. We did our best to assist the consular guard, taking turn and turn about on the watch, and keeping a good look-out, hut the action taken by the commandant in thus removing tlie military protection certainly savored of a deliberate desire on his part to leave us at the mercy of the pillaging Hovas.

(To le continued.)