MADAGASCAR.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 5, Issue 1439, 25 July 1883, Page 2

MADAGASCAR.

The value of Madagascar may bo judged from the facts that it is nearly 4.000 miles Jong and about 350 broad at its widest; part, and tfjat : almost the whole qf its immense surface is ver-y fertile, Its principal exports jp cattle and rice, It abounds in mineral? but mining is prohibited. The whole of the interior of the island is encircled at a short distance from tho coast with a belt of forest containing a great quantity of valuable timber. The country within this belt includes about three-fourths of the. island, and is either treeless or sparsely wooded. It two very distinct sections —a lofty granite table-land in the north and east, and lower plains ojfc ' lying aqueous rooks in the south .-Mi.;; west. Some of the productions of its fauna and flora are very curious. Portions of the eggshells of the JSpyorins, a recently extinct bird, allied to the ostrich, are occasionally found, and show it to have laid the largest of all known eggs. It is believed to be the original of Marco PoloVraM, and of •.■., the" roc" of the story of Siribad the' sailor. Just as remarkable in their way are the Traveller's Tree, from which a supply of drinkable water can always bi obtained, and the famous orchid Angw&m the H* inch spur of whose blossoms is robbed of its honey by a moth with a pro-.; boscis of equal length. The Hovas, who actually exercise a sway more or less complete over a majority of the other races, and lay, claim to the whole island by virtue of \ ". the wish to possess it, occupy a portion 1 ;' of the lofty granitic plateau near its centre. They are a warlike people, with an organised army, in Tihich every male is. required .to serve for live years. In order to bring them to terms it may be necessary for the French to make .an expedition to the: interior—an enterprise which, on io«£ H count of the climate, the forests, and the absence of roads, will be surrounded with difficulties. Theyhaye a proverbial saying that they are defended by two able generals, Forest and Fever. The Malagasy; *or flova i ,h«igpa ; ge,A.i. which, as far as is'knowß, l is' 'the one spoken in : Madagascar, is, smgulwi'

to say, bo closely related to those of ■ 'the' Malays wkl Polynesians asto leave •no doubt; in'-the minds of competent •' linguists that it springs from .them or they from it, How the migration of population, which is implied in tins transference of language, was offeetfd over the three thousand miles of trackless ocean which intervene between the nearest points of the two areas, and in which direction, it took, are as yet unsolved problems. The fact that thero aro great, differences in colour and features in Madagascar stems to support tho theory of an admixture of Polynesian immigrants with an aboriginal black race. The Government is a combination of - oligarchy and monarchy.- The present monarch i 3» queen, but the real power is in the hands of her Primo Minister, who, we are told by iir Parker, has be* -(X officio husband, whatever that \jSm mean, to the last two queens. The work in the,kingdom was the'handsef eight separata .boards, among which that of industrial -arts and manufactures and that of education deserve special mention. Slavpry prevails, polygamy, is forbidden. .All land in tho Hova territory pvoi er belongs to tho . sovereign, and the tenants pay rent in kind, All Hova children are required by law to attend school from eight to 16. •. The French have long had an eye on ,-Madaguscar.. A M.JJarbierdu Bocage has published a book,"the title of which when transalatcd r reads" Madagascar, .. a French possession sinco 1632," As a matter of fact, they have at various times held possession for periods of various lengths of military posts on different parts of the coast, but their hold of these has never been permanent. They possess at present two islands off the const. Through the efforts of French missionaries during the last 30 or .40 years the Catholic religion has been adopted by large numbers of the natives, and M. Grandider, the traveller, who has most thoroughly explored the island, belongs. to the same nation. .The circulating medium of the country consists mainly of fivefranc pieces,, either whole or divided by means of a hammer and chisel into halves, quarters, and smaller parts, which constitute a fractional currency in the literal senso of the term, Wills' "n&uojt on corns,"—Ask for . WchV" Bough ou Corns." 7i. Quick relief, complete, permanent cure, Corns, \rarts, bunions, Moses, Moss, & Co., Sydney, Genjral Agents. Gouged uvebs, Bilious, conditions, .constipation, piles, dsypepsia, headacne, cured by •' Well's May Apple rills." fid' and la boxes at druggists, Mosc-b, Moss, & Co,, Bydmy, General Agentß for Australasia, Mother Swan's worm byrdp.—lnfallible, tasteless harmless, eathario; for fevetislmess, rcßtleasnesp, worms, constipation. Is at druggists. Moseß, Moss, & Co, Sydney, General Agents. Oueof our numerous readers, being of an inquiring turn «f mind, says that he has tried every drapery and clothing establishment in the Wairarapa for the purpose of finding out who keeps the best stuff and Bella iho cheapest, He mya he has had considerable experience in the draperytrade, therefore considers himself a competent judge. He gives his opinion in favor of L. J, Hooper & Co , of the ~Bon Morche, Warehouse, who, he stales, ' has a larger and .better stuck to chooao from than any country store in Now Zealand, and fit for any town in the colony.—Advi,