/2.. /. /<^
^ PRINCETON, N. J. *^{J
Purchased by the Hamill Missionary Fund.
BV 3625 .M2 C68 1895
Cousins, W. E. 1840-1939.
Madagascar of to-day
RANAVALOMANJAkA III,, QUEEN OF MADAGASCAR.
(^Frp»! a Photograph by Captain E. {V. Dawson.')
MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
WITH CHAPTERS ON ITS PAST HISTORY
AND PRESENT PROSPECTS.
DEC 1 1916
BY THE
REV. W. E. COUSINS,
Missionary of the London Missionary Society since 1862.
\
WITH A MAP.
FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY,
NEW YORK CHICAGO
112, Fifth Avenue. 148 & 150, Madison St.
The Religious Tract Society, Londo?i.
1895.
LONDON :
PRINTEn BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,
STAMKORD STKEKT AND CHARING CROSS.
INTRODUCTION.
From the time when Marco Polo, the great Venetian
traveller, wrote his half-mythical account of Mada-
gascar to this year of grace 1895, in which we scan
our daily paper to see how France is faring in her
endeavour to persuade the Hova Government to
accept a French protectorate, is a far cry. Six
centuries lie between these two points.
The Madagascar of Marco Polo was a terra
incognita, known only by vague rumour. The
Madagascar of to-day is an island well known to
many Europeans, and has been carefully studied
and explored, especially by Frenchmen. Witness,
for example, the magnificent work of M. Grandi-
dier, which is likely to fill a score or so of folio
volumes, and is a marvel of full and exact know-
ledge of almost everything relating to the island.
Madagascar seems likely to hold a large place in
the thoughts of the British public during the coming
years ; and the aim of this modest volume is to set
forth in brief the main facts as to the country and
its people and history, and so enable the reader to
form a sound opinion as to the present situation,
and to read with intelligence the news that will
probably be reaching us from month to month.
INTRODUCTION.
When on my return to England a few months
ago I was asked to write a book on Madagascar,
my answer was that there seemed to be too many
already. I am assured, however, by those who
know, that a small book, giving in concise form
such information as is needed by ordinary intelli-
gent readers to enable them better to understand
how the present crisis has arisen, and what is the
actual condition of the country, will be welcomed
by many. I have therefore done my best to supply
this desideratum. The book has been written cur-
rcjiie calavio, but the information it contains will,
I believe, be found reliable. It is but an outline,
and those who desire fuller information may find it
in abundance in the works of Ellis, Sibree, Oliver,
Grandidier, or in the seventeen published numbers
of the Antananarivo Annual.
At the risk of being considered egotistic, I have
occasionally preferred to use the first personal
pronoun, as I think, when narrating events that
have fallen under my personal observation, my
doing so adds life and interest to the story.
W. E. Cousins.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
CHAPTER I.
The Land ii
CHAPTER II.
Antananarivo, the Capital .... 22
CHAPTER III.
The People 36
CHAPTER IV.
The Government 48
CHAPTER V.
The Growth of the Hova Power, with some
Account of recent Sovereigns . . .61
CHAPTER VI.
The Ancient Religion of the Hova. . . 75
CHAPTER VII.
The Introduction of Christianity . . .81
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VIII.
PAGE
The Quarter of a Century when 'the Land
WAS Dark' 91
CHAPTER IX.
The Renewal of Missionary Work . . .100
CHAPTER X.
Bible Translation . . . . 115
CHAPTER XI.
The Present State of Christianity in the
Island 125
CHAPTER XII.
The Political Situation 146
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Ranavalomanjaka III., Queen of Madagascar Frontispiece
Map of Madagascar .
View of the Mangoro .
Antananarivo from the North
Rainilaiarivbny, Prime Minister of Mada
gascar
Radama I. .
David Jones
David Griffiths .
Rainandriamampandry
Malagasy Church— Old Style
Ambatonakanga Memorial Church
The London Missionary Society's College
The New Hospital at Isoavinandriana .
The Committee of an Antananarivo Y. P. S. C. E
, Governor of Tamatav
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17
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23
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51
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82
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105
11
113
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129
11
133
11
137
11
141
JMADAGASCAR
C. Amber
Vohinur Pt.
C. St Mar/
MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
CHAPTER I.
THE LAND.
The origin of the name Madagascar is still a
puzzle. It does not seem to be a native name,
and cannot, like the ordinary place names of the
country, be explained from the language as we
know it to-day. By the natives their island was
called Ir^ao rehctra izao (The Universe), or Ny
anivoii ny riaka (What is in the midst of the
floods). IMadagascar seems to have been a name
imposed from without, and not improbably arose
from Marco Polo's confounding it with Magadoxo,
on the adjoining coast of Africa, as his use of the
word in the thirteenth century is the earliest known ;
though his description of the island as containing
camels and giraffes, panthers and lions, shows that
he knew little about it. The spelling of the name
in the early authorities is very uncertain, and the
following arc only some of the variants : Madagas-
car, Madeigascat, Madagastar, Magastar.
Canon Isaac Taylor suggests an explanation of
the name that indicates a mixed origin, gosse being
an old Swahili word for man, and malay meaning
MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
mountains ; the ar he takes to be a Malay suffix,
hke the final syllable in Zanzibar, Nicobar. The
meaning would therefore be, ' The country of the
hill men ' ; or, if the d should be insisted on, ' The
country of the Madai,' Madai being regarded as
an African tribe.
The earliest geographical document in which the
island of Madagascar is found indicated is said by
M. Grandidier to be the globe of Martin Behain
(1492).
A very complete atlas of old maps has been
published by M. Grandidier ; and it is extremely
interesting to notice how the ideas of geographers
became gradually more and more correct, until we
reach the exact workmanship of Captain W. F. W.
Owen in 1825. The outlines of the island were
correctly laid down in his chart, but many hands
have been at work since, filling up the outlines and
showing the physical features and political divisions
of the interior.
The island, now so well known to us, lies near
the eastern coast of Africa, separated from it by
the Mozambique Channel, and distant about 240
miles from the nearest point of the mainland.
It extends from 12" 2' to 25^ 18' south latitude,
and measures nearly 1000 miles in length ; and the
breadth from east to west is in some parts as
much as 350 miles, though the average breadth is
about 250 miles. It is estimated to contain about
230,000 square miles,
Madagascar is often conveniently spoken of as
the Great African Island, very much, one would
think, on the luacs a non hice7ido principle. It is,
THE LAND. 13
geographically speaking, an African island, as it lies
near to the great continent, and may, indeed, in
very remote ages have been part of it. But its
people are not on the whole an African people ;
and much in its flora and fauna indicates a very
long separation from the neighbouring continent.
Particularly noticeable is the fact that Madagascar
has no lions, elephants, deer, or antelopes, which
are abundant in Africa.
Other names have been given to the island by
writers and travellers, such as ' The Great Britain
of Africa,' which now seems unlikely to become a
fact. French writers, with apparently more of the
prophetic spirit, rejoice in naming it ' Oriental
France,' and recently a French statesman has
spoken of it as ' Southern Australia.' How far the
prophetic dreams embodied in these names will be
realised history will declare.
The physical features of Madagascar may be
best understood if we bear in mind that in the
interior is an elevated granitic region (using granitic
in a popular sense) three thousand to five thousand
feet above the level of the sea, and stretching from
1 3° to 24° south latitude — that is, a distance of more
than 700 miles, with an average breadth of about
150. This central region is estimated to contain
100,000 square miles, and this is, on the whole,
bare and uninteresting ; but some of the lower parts
of the country are beautiful and very productive.
Perhaps the best way to give a general idea of
the various sections of the country will be to describe
them as they appear to a traveller from the coast
to the capital, as in taking this journey the main
14 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
characteristics of the country pass one by one under
his observation.
We start, then, from Tamatave, now an important
seaport with a large population composed mainly
of Mauritians and Bourbonnais, Indians, Chinamen,
with a small sprinkling of French, English, Ameri-
can, and German residents. The Malagasy now,
for the most part, live on the outskirts of the town.
The journey from Tamatave to Andovoranto (a
distance of about sixty miles) lies along the coast,
sometimes on the beach itself, but always within a
short distance of the ceaseless roar of the Indian
Ocean. Much of the country has a beautiful park-
like appearance. The turf is soft and velvety, and
groups of tropical trees, such as the sago palm, the
screw pine {pandamis), and the strychnos, are very
abundant. What would not an American million-
aire give, could he transfer some of this lovely park
to his own estate .-' The admirer of orchids would
be delighted to see the rich luxuriance of the
angrcvcunt snperlniju, with its wealth of white shell-
like blossoms. These grow, for the most part, upon
old and decaying trees, and sometimes twelve or
fifteen distinct plants, each full of waxen flowers,
may be .seen growing on a single trunk. Ferns and
climbing plants ornament the larger trees in rich
abundance.
Almost continuous lagoons lie to the tra\'cller's
right hand on this part of the journey, giving
variety and beauty to the landscape. These la-
goons stretch for a distance of 300 miles along
the eastern coast ; and Radama I. began to con-
struct connecting canals, so as to form a continuous
THE LAND. 15
water-way. No further work in this direction has
been undertaken since his death ; but doubtless at
some future time a more enterprising and energetic
government than the present will utilise this great
natural provision, and thus promote the interests
of commerce and civilisation. Much of the cloth
carried by bearers to the capital is even now carried
as far as possible by canoes along these lagoons.
On reaching Andovoranto, the route to Antan-
anarivo turns suddenly inland ; and the first stage
of the journey is a canoe ride of twelve or fifteen
miles up the broad river Iharoka to the town of
Maromby. The banks of the river are dotted with
the small villages of the Betsimisaraka tribe, and
the patches of ground that are cultivated show that
the soil is rich, and that under proper cultivation
it might produce tenfold what is now obtained.
On leaving Maromby, the traveller still proceeds
westwards through a country that appears one
mass of hills. These become higher as he advances
inland. Some parts of the country are very
beautiful. About Ranomafana, for instance, one
is reminded of our own hilly Devonshire ; but the
vegetation is different, and in this part of the
country almost the only trees to be seen are
the raofia palm (from which the raffia fibre is
obtained), the traveller's tree, with its fan-like
spreading leaves, and the bamboo, which with its
bright green feathery leaves and its wondrously
graceful curves gives an indescribable charm to
the landscape.
Still reaching higher ground as he proceeds west-
wards, the traveller com.es in two or three days to
1 6 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
the eastern border of the great forest, which forms
a continuous belt round most of the island midway
between the seaboard and the central plateau.
Here the real difficulties of the journey begin, and
the steep and rough tracks that have to be climbed or
descended are such as may well fill the least nervous
with some amount of apprehension. But the ex-
perienced and sure-footed bearers cheerily pursue
their way, now wading knee-deep through a marshy
valley, now following the bed of some mountain
stream, and anon facing bravely one of those steep
ascents, or cautiously descending into the next
valley, the descent being often a more serious
undertaking than the climb upwards. Trees have
been felled, and a way has been cleared through
this forest ; but often trees fall across the track and
obstruct the way, and yet no one thinks it his duty
to remove them. After about a day and a half of
this kind of travelling the western edge of the
great forest is reached, and the traveller finds him-
self in the large garrison town of Moramanga, where
a Hova governor resides. Before him lies the
plain of Anka)', twelve or fifteen miles broad,
through which the river Mangoro finds its way to
the sea south of Mahan6ro. Before him in the
distance is the steep hill called Ifody, and further
west is the lofty Angavo. At this latter point the
ascent is very steep, and an advancing arm}- might
meet with serious check.
West of Angavo the road winds among the hills,
and two or three times descends into deep and
richly-wooded valleys. But after a few miles of
this kind of travelling Ankc-ramadinika is reached,
H
m
i>w?
..^m'M^'m./^
THE LAND. 19
and before the expectant traveller now lie spread
open the bare and almost treeless hills and moors
of Imerina.
Imerina, strictly so called, extends for about
sixty or eighty miles east and west, and for about
eighty or a hundred miles north and south ; but
its limits are not very strictly defined. It is the
home of the Hova tribe, and barren and bleak
as it is, possesses a beauty of its own. The land-
scape consists of one vast confusion of bare hills ;
while huge bosses of granite or gneiss jut out of
them in all directions. Their sides also are deeply
scarred and cut into gullies and ravines by the
tropical rains, exposing the deep-red soil that pre-
vails throughout the country. The grass is green
for a few weeks only during the spring, but for
most of the year it is scanty and brown.
The first view of this part of the country, especially
to one who has just come from the well-wooded
regions to the eastward, is generally disappointing.
On closer acquaintance, however, the country is
found to have some redeeming qualities. Some of
the hill-tops are crowned with groups of ancient
trees, chiefly of the ficus order ; little villages com-
posed of houses built of the deep red soil, and
looking in the distance like red brick, are perched
here and there in all directions ; and all the avail-
able valleys are carefully cultivated for rice.
Our first feeling as we gaze on this province is :
' Can this barren-looking country produce food
enough to feed its million of inhabitants .' ' But
as we proceed westward it becomes a little more
open, until we observe that near Antananarivo, and
C 2
MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
especially to the west of it, there arc extensive rice
grounds. The great valley of Betsimitatatra, for
instance, once a broad lake, stretches for many
miles, and winds in and out among the hills. The
sight of this far-spreading valley when the rice crop
is well advanced is one not easily forgotten, and it
does much to reassure the sceptical as to the food-
producing power of Imerina. His faith will be
further confirmed by a visit to the great weekly
market described in Chapter II., and he will leave
the busy scene with a firm belief in the capacity
of the country to supply in rich profusion all the
ordinary wants of the people. Bad seasons are
rare in the country, and scarcity and famine are
hardly known.
The following beautiful little piece of word-
painting tells us how the country near Antananarivo
appeared to a man of such world-wide experience
as the late and much-lamented Cameron, the war-
correspondent of the Standard newspaper : —
' Antananarivo itself was in sight ; and we could
plainly see the glass windows of the palace glistening
in the morning sun on the top of the long hill on
which the city was built. It was Sunday, and the
people were clustering along the footpaths on their
way to church, or sitting in the grass outside
waiting for the service to begin, as they do in
villages at home. The women, who appeared to
be in the majority, wore white cotton gowns, often
neatly embroidered, and white, or black and white,
striped lambas thrown gracefully over their shoulders.
The men were clad also in cotton — white cotton
pantaloons, cotton lambas, and straw hats with
THE LAND.
large black silk band. In the morning sun the play
of colours over the landscape was lovely. The
dark green hills, studded with the brilliant red
brick houses of the inhabitants, whose white
garments dotted the lanes and footpaths, contrasted
with the brighter emerald of the rice fields in the
hollows. The soil everywhere is deep red, almost
magenta, in colour, and where the roads or path-
ways cross the hills, they shine out as if so many
paint-brushes had streaked the country in broad
red stripes. Above all, the spires of the strange
city, set on the top of its mountain, with a deep
blue sky for a background, added to the beauty of
the scene. It was difificult to imagine that this
peaceful country, with its pretty cottages, its in-
numerable chapels whose bells were then calling
its people to worship, and its troops of white-robed
men and women answering the summons, was the
barbarous Madagascar of twenty years ago.'
MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAV.
CHAPTER II.
ANTANANARIVO, THE CAPITAL.
Not many years ago comparatively few English
people knew anything about Antananarivo. At
the outbreak of the late war, writers for the press
seemed to think it was on the coast of Madagascar,
while others spoke of it as on a river easily accessible
from the port of Tamatave. Mistakes such as
these are now fast disappearing, and most readers
of this book would, if a map of Madagascar were
placed before them, look at once in the right
direction for the now somewhat familiar name of
the capital. To reach it from Tamatave, the chief
port on the east coast, a palanquin journey of
more than 200 miles through deep forest and over
difficult mountain roads must be undertaken. The
city is situated in the central plateau, in the high-
lands of Madagascar, in fact, and is nearly 50CO feet
above the level of the sea. It is not exactly in the
centre of the island, but is nearer the east than the
west coast, though a glance at a good map will
reveal the fact that it is to the west of the water-
shed, the backbone of the central plateau being at
a comparatively short distance from the east coast.
The claims of Antananarivo to be the capital of
Madagascar are not of very ancient date. For a long
ANTANANARIVO, THE CAPITAL. 25
time indeed it has been the chief town of Imerina ;
but it is not the original capital of even this
province. That honour belongs to Ambohimanga,
a town picturesquely situated on a well-wooded hill
ten or twelve miles north of Antananarivo. In
public proclamations the names of Ambohimanga
and Antananarivo are often linked together ; and
it is customar}^ for the sovereign to recognise the
claim of the ancient capital by paying it a visit of
state once a year, shortly after the new year's
festival.
The political influence of Antananarivo is power-
fully felt throughout the whole island. In one
sense it has a greater relative importance than the
capitals of more civilised countries, as it stands
almost entirely without rivals. The conditions of
society and the present state of civilisation reached
by the Malagasy have not led them to congregate
in large masses ; hence, though village communities
abound, there is a singular absence of large towns.
Some of the ports, notably Tamatave, are now fast
growing in importance, but in the interior of
Madagascar there is no other town but that of
Fianarantsoa, the capital of the Betsileo province,
that possesses any particular claim to importance,
and even this town is very small compared with
Antananarivo.
The natives speak with pride of their capital as
the very heart of the country. Not only is it the
residence of the queen and the centre of the govern-
ment, but from it go forth the governors who, in
the name of the queen, rule the dependent provinces.
Constant communication, maintained in the old-
26 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
world fashion by government couriers, is kept
up between the central government and all its
dependencies ; and a despatch from Antananarivo
is a decision from which there is no appeal. In-
directly, too, is the influence— intellectual, moral,
and social — of the capital felt e\'en in the remotest
districts. The traveller in almost any part of
Madagascar will find go\'ernment officials and
traders from Antananarivo or its neighbourhood,
and he will soon see what a strong attachment to
the native province still exists, and how Antana-
narivo fashions and customs are followed in these
far-off regions.
The name of the capital is derived from two
common words —tatiana, a town, and anvo, a
thousand ; and its most probable meaning is, ' The
Town of a Thousand.' It might mean ' A Thousand
Towns,' but the former meaning is the more likely.
The plan of telling off a certain number of settlers
to live in some newly-founded town seems to have
prevailed widely in Madagascar, and traces of this
custom may often be met with. These settlers
were called voanjo (literally, earth-nuts).
The general appearance of the city as viewed
from a distance greatly impresses the traveller. It
is built on the ridge and down the sides of a hill
nearly two miles in length, and may be seen in
some directions from places twenty or thirty miles
away. It is, in truth, ' a city set on a hill that can-
not be hid.' The crest of the hill is crowned by a
group of palaces, and by the house of the Prime
Minister, the large glass dome of which glistens in
the distance like burnished silver. The sides of
ANTANANARIVO, THE CAPITAL. 27
the hill are terraced, so that there may be as many
as five or six houses one above another ; and you
may look, not only over a fence into j-our neigh-
bour's garden, but directly upon the roof of his
house on the terrace below you. These terraces
are, however, a constant source of trouble and
danger. They are built with rough stone, often
without much solidity, and, during the heavy rains
which fall from November to March, landslips and
the falling of retaining walls are of frequent occur-
rence. After an unusually rainy night, one is sure
to hear of some neighbour or friend whose wall has
fallen. It will often cost almost as much to build
up these retaining walls as to erect the houses for
the safety of which they are required. But expense
and inconvenience are not the only drawbacks of
this system of terracing ; serious accidents often
occur, and not unfrequently involve loss of life. A
little time since a man was buried alive in such a
landslip, and no one knew of his death till the body
was foimd by some workmen who were digging
away the fallen earth.
The picturesque is not all we should seek in
choosing the site of a large city ; and though the
first sight of Antananarivo, especially to a traveller
just getting to the end of a wearisome journey of
eight or ten days, and remembering the wretched
huts in which he has been compelled to rest on the
way, is most welcome, and has often called forth
expressions of warm admiration, closer acquaintance
with the place somewhat damps the ardour of this
admiration, and dispels some of the enchantment
lent by distance to the view.
28 AfADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
As the weary traveller climbs the steep eastern
road, he begins to see that there is a general air of
disorder and untidiness about the place. There arc
indeed roughly-made roads, but they are sadly
neglected, and often great chasms eight or ten feet
deep are left unfilled for months. Then the houses
are perched about in the most irregular fashion.
Each house, too, is surrounded by a mud wall ; and
these walls, though they will stand for years, soon
show a tendency to crumble and break down. In
addition to this, natives have not our ideas about
neatness and the importance of keeping a house in
good repair. On all hands may be seen houses
either never completed or allowed to fall into a
wretched state of dilapidation. Around are many
buildings which seem to say of their owners : ' This
man began to build, but was not able to finish.'
Notwithstanding these drawbacks, however, there
are not a few houses that have a comfortable, well-
cared-for appearance, and some that look quite gay
in the midst of the trees planted around them.
Wonderful changes have taken place in the build-
ings of the capital within the memory of present
residents. An old law formerly prohibited the use
of brick or stone within the ancient boundaries of
the city. When the queen became a Christian in
1868, this law was abolished, and the consequence
is that the city has been almost rebuilt. The
Roman Emperor Augustus could boast that he
found Rome built of brick, and left it a city of
marble. Many of those now living in Antananarivo
can say they remember it a town of wood and
rushes, and that they have seen it changed into a
ANTANANARIVO, THE CAPITAL. 29
town of brick and stone, while tiled roofs are
gradually taking the place of the old thatched roofs
of former times.
This change has had one excellent result : it has
lessened the risk of fire. Twenty years ago de-
structive fires, demolishing in an hour or two
twenty, fifty, or even a hundred buildings, were
terribly frequent. Now, happily, fires are rare, and
when they do occur, the danger of spreading is
comparatively small.
Before taking a general survey of the main
features of the place, let us cast a glance at the
character of the surrounding scenery. To the east
the country is extremely broken, only a narrow
rice valley dividing the city from the neighbouring
hills. These are, except for a few weeks in the
depth of the rainy season, bare and brown, and they
are deeply scarred by the torrents. Much of the
soil is deep red, with masses of granite jutting out
in all directions, and in certain conditions of the
atmosphere the colouring is very rich ; but, on the
whole, the outlook towards the east is not very
attractive. On the other sides the country is more
open. To the north is the comparatively level and
well-populated district of" Avaradrano, the ancient
capital, Ambohimanga, and the hills near it being
among the most noticeable features. To the west
and south are very extensive rice plains, looking
brown and dreary in the cold season, but during
the rains possessing wondrous beauty from the
delicate green of the growing rice. Skirting this
plain in all directions, or rising like islets from the
sea of green, are picturesquely-situated towns and
MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
villages in great numbers. Far away to the south-
west is the group of the Ankaratra Mountains,
rising to the height of nearly nine thousand feet.
This is the highest land in Madagascar, and here
occasionally the cold is severe enough to produce
ice.
But let us take a nearer view of the capital itself.
On the whole the impression left on the mind will
not be an altogether pleasant one. We must
be carried in a simple palanquin, borne by four
indroniUa, or hedivers, for no vehicle can be obtained.
A few horses are used by the richer classes ; but
the steep and ill-kept roads, often terribly cut up by
the torrents of rain, make riding difficult, and the
ordinary mode of locomotion is the palanquin.
As we pass along, we find the roads thronged
with dark-skinned foot passengers, most of whom
have bare feet and legs, and not a few bare
shoulders. Here we may see a party of bearers,
sturdy, muscular fellows, laden with hides, which
they will carry, slung on bamboos, two hundred
miles to Tamatave ; or we may meet others who
have just arrived, bearing bales of American calico,
or English prints, or tins of paraffin, or loads of
flour or sugar, or cases of general merchandise.
We shall also be sure to meet women carrying
heavy pitchers of water on their heads, or perhaps
loads of bricks. In all probability we shall also be
shocked by the sight of a gang of men having on
their neck and ankles heavy iron rings, connected
by long chains. These are the gadra-lava, or
convicts, who are chiefly employed in mending
roads. By the wayside we shall see here and there
ANTANANARIVO, THE CAPITAL. 31
roughly-constructed stalls, or raofia cloth umbrellas,
sitting under which we may observe petty traders
offering for sale rice, fruit, meat, eggs of doubtful
age, ginger, native sugar, candles, and other small
wares. Hanging round these stalls there is sure to
be a crowd of half-naked gutter children, and two
or three mangy ill-tempered curs, all alike eagerly
looking out for any scraps they may be able to
pilfer. As we still pursue our journey we may
meet a foreigner or two carried in their palanquins,
and holding up white umbrellas as a protection
against the much-dreaded sunstroke. Or we may
hear the thud of many feet, and looking up may
see a palanquin coming at full trot, and having a
large number of extra bearers and other attendants
running at full speed before and after it. In this
will be seated some native of rank, probably quite
light in colour, and dressed in European costume,
the number of his attendants and other followers
being a measure of his rank.
As we look around us and examine more minutely
the character of this great Hova city, we find how
much it lacks that we have been wont to consider
essential. We are in a city without streets, at least,
in our sense of the term, without shop windows,
without railway stations, tram-cars, or cab stands,
wath no water supply other than that provided by
the springs that abound at the base of the hill, and
with no sanitary arrangements. The absence of
these, however, is less pregnant with evil conse-
quences than it would have been had the town been
built on a more level spot. The rainfall is heavy,
and during; a storm the main roads become water-
MADAGASCAR Of TO-DAV.
courses, down which wild torrents rush, carrying
with them immense quantities of solid matter.
These violent storms are Nature's scavengers, and
they help to keep the crowded city in a fairly
healthy condition. But typhoid fever exists, and
may be expected to increase.
The population of Antananarivo cannot be stated
with any accuracy, but the most probable estimate
is from eighty to a hundred thousand. A very
perceptible increase has taken place within the last
twenty years, and the town is still growing.
Several districts that were formerly regarded as
quite separate are now part of Antananarivo itself
Among the inhabitants there is alwa\s a large
floating element, composed of those who come to
the capital on government business, or to take part
in some law suit. Litigation is very common, and
in Antananarivo alone are the higher courts, so that
every suit of importance is tried there.
Among the important institutionsof Antananarivo
we must name the Zoma market, situated at the
north-west of the town. As its name Zoma (or
Friday) shows, it is properly a weekly market, and
though now many traders frequent it daily, only on
Friday can the market be seen in all its glory. On
Friday mornings countr>' people carrying produce
of all descriptions may be seen hurrying from every
quarter to Zoma. By ten or eleven o'clock the
large open space is crowded, and the people even
overflow into the adjoining plain of Analakely, and
from the top of Faravohitra hill the busy hum of
their voices can be plainly heard. Stalls are erected
in certain parts of the market, but much of the trade
ANTANANARIVO, THE CAPITAL. 33
is carried on in the open air. Different trades
appropriate different sections of the ground. In
one spot we may find timber, and a little above
nothing but calicoes and prints. In another part
of the market ironwork is offered for sale, and near
by is the place where mats of all kinds may be
obtained. Yonder is the fruit market, and in
another section water-jars and cooking-pots may
be bought. One corner of the market has always
aroused indignant feelings in the breasts of foreign
\nsitors. It is the slave market. The Government
cannot perhaps in the present state of public opinion
abolish slavery, although it has done much to
mitigate the evils of the system. The public sale
of slaves, however, still exists, but we may hope
that soon this relic of a non-Christian past will cease
to be.
No description of Antananarivo would be com-
plete if it did not contain some account of the
way in which Sunday is observed. Here we see an
easily appreciated sign of the change the Christian
religion is producing among the Malagasy people.
Since the beginning of the reign of Ranavalona II.
no markets have been held on this day. A pleasant
quiet reigns throughout the town, only broken by
the sound of the church-going bell, and by the
throngs of well-dressed people going to and from
religious services. So fixed is the habit of wearing
on Sunday the cleanest and most becoming dress,
that Saturday goes by the name of ' lamba-
washing day,' and thus forms an appropriate pre-
paration for_^ Sunday. The dresses of the women
are for the most part white or light-coloured, and
D
MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
many of them are handsomely embroidered, and
as few of the ladies wear hats or bonnets, their
elaborately plaited black hair shows to advantage.
Boots and shoes were till recently rarely used,
and to a foreigner the sight of bare feet appearing
under richly embroidered dresses looked somewhat
grotesque.
Antananarivo has recently become so far civilised
as to be connected with the port of Tamatave by a
telegraph, constructed by a French company. It
is now possible for telegrams from London to reach
Antananarivo via Mauritius in two days. An
English newspaper (the Madagascar News) is
published weekly. The editor, Mr. Harvey, though
advocating the opening up of the country to com-
mercial enterprise, strongly upholds the cause of
national independence. A French paper, called the
Pr ogres de Ulinerina, advocates what are supposed
to be French interests. Two papers in the nati\c
language are also published weekly.
To the foreign residents Antananarivo possesses
little that can take the place of our public enter-
tainments and amusements. As a newly-arrived
r^rench gentleman observed, ' There arc no dis-
tractions in Antananarivo.' The natives find
amusements in such events as the New Year's
festival, the annual visit of the queen to Ambohi-
manga, parade days, great political meetings (or
kabdjy), the setting out of some great man for the
coast, or the despatch or arrival of troops. On all
such occasions there is an abundant use of gun-
powder, and the streets are enlivened by military
bands. These attractions draw all classes from
ANTANANARIVO, THE CAPITAL. 35
their homes, and the roads will be lined for hours
with spectators. For the more intellectual, concerts,
lectures, and meetings of various descriptions are
provided. Then, at certain seasons, school festivals
and similar entertainments provide an outlet for
the superfluous energy of the younger portion of
the population, and by their processions, with the
accompaniments of bright dresses, banners, bands
of music, import some gaiety into the ordinary
dulness of the place.
Perhaps to the list of ' distractions ' should be
added the weekly opportunity of seeing and being
seen, of hearing and imparting news, afforded by
the great Zoma market already described ; as to
the ordinary native, marketing, with all its excite-
ment, its chaffering and its gossip, may safely be
numbered among the delights of life.
Antananarivo has been justly deemed by many
to be a place of quiet sleepy ways, and when com-
pared with a busy European city this is true enough.
But when contrasted with what it used to be, or
with any ordinary Malagasy town, it is full of life.
There has been a wakening up of new energy, and
all around there arc visible signs of the changes
going on. Religion, education, and commerce have
each and all made great strides ; and what has
already taken place is, we trust, but the promise of
greater things to come. From this ' city set on a
hill ' light is already streaming to all parts of the
island.
D 2
36 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
CHAPTER III.
THE rEOPLE.
The people of Madagascar, usually spoken of as
the Malagasy, arc doubtless of mixed origin.
That a large African element exists among them
cannot be doubted, but speaking generally they
are not Africans, but belong to the same family as
the Malays and Malayo-Polynesians.
Substantially the same language exists throughout
the entire island ; and there is not more difference
between the dialects than such as exists in our
country between the talk of a countryman from
Lancashire and another from Somersetshire.
The Re\'. L. Dahle, formerly a missionary in
the island and now secretary of the Norwegian
Missionary Society, thinks that an ancient stratum
of African words may be traced that proves an
(jriginal African settlement in Madagascar, in tlic
same way as the Celtic words in JMiglish, even
without influencing the grammar, prove that the
Celts lived in England before the Anglo-Saxons.
But there is now no doubt among those who have
studied the question that the Malagasy as spoken
to-day is a member of that great group of Oceanic
languages that are spoken from Madagascar in the
west to Easter Island in the east.
THE PEOPLE. 37
How the Malayan came to be the predominant
language has exercised the thoughts of many.
Africa is not more than 300 miles from the west
coast of Madagascar, whereas the nearest point of
the Malayan peninsula is about 3000 miles away.
How came the prevailing element in the popu-
lation of Madagascar to have been brought from
this vast distance ? In answering this question we
may say, first of all, that there may have been in
remote ages land connections which have since
disappeared ; indeed, many contend that such must
have been the case, and that the intervening space
was not in those ages, as it now is, a vast expanse
of ocean. But even granting the existence of the
Indian Ocean in its present form, it may still have
been possible for stray canoes to have been carried
to Madagascar. The Malays seem to have been
a sea-going people, and perhaps some over-
venturesome mariners may have set out to the
westward, and then have been overtaken by a
hurricane and carried by the strong trade wind
straight to the east coast of Madagascar. An
instructive illustration of the set of wind and
current in these parts occurred in the year 1883.
Soon after the great volcanic eruption at Krakatoa,
on the west coast of Java, in May of that year,
vast quantities of pumice were deposited all along
the east coast of Madagascar, clearly showing that
there is a strong set of wind and current in this
direction. So in pre-historic times it is possible
that stray canoes may have been carried by the
same forces to the same destination.
However the fact is to be accounted for, there
38 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
it is — patent to all investigators, and cither by
force of numbers or by superior intelligence and
vigour the Malayan element became the prevailing
one so far at least as to cause its language to
be used in all parts of the island.
The late Dr. Hildebrant, who after long
exploration in Africa went over to Madagascar
in 1 88 1, suggested as an explanation of the
existence of a stronger African element among
the people than is indicated in the language, that
probably canoes of warriors from the African
coast would often cross to Madagascar, and that
these would intermarry with native women and, of
course, the children would speak the language of
their mothers, and thus the African elements would
be largely increased while the language remained
substantially unchanged.
Although we are in the habit of speaking of the
Malagasy as one people, this seems not to have
been a familiar idea to themselves. The free use
of the word Malagasy as a generic term for the
people is, I think, quite modern ; and even yet to
some of the natives it is not quite clear what is
its exact comprehensiveness. Among themselves
the separating tribal names were the common
designations in use. Only in recent years has
there been anything approaching a unification of
the entire island under a central government. The
old order, or rather disorder, was that of constant
intertribal strife and war, now one tribe and now
another proving the stronger.
The chief tribes in the island are the Hova, the
Betsileo, the Bara, the Tankay, the Sihanaka,
THE PEOPLE, 39
the Betsimisaraka, the Taimoro, the Taisaka, the
Taifasy, the Tanosy, the Sakalava, the Tankarana.
To these might be added many other tribal names
of less importance, if we intended to make our list
complete.
The Hova are the inhabitants of the central
province of Imerina ; and south of them, still in
the central highlands, are the Betsilco, south and
west of whom are the Bara. To the east of
Imerina is the plain of Ankay, already spoken
of in Chapter I., and here lives the Tankay tribe.
North of these, near Lake Alaotra, are the
Sihanaka. Along the eastern coast and for
some distance inland dwell the Betsimisaraka.
South of these are the Taimoro, the Taifasy, the
Taisaka, the Tanosy, &c. The great tribe of
Sakalava occupy most of the west coast and part
of the north end of the island, in which latter
part are also found the Tankarana.
The Hova are the ruling tribe, and they
are essentially a Malayan people with a smaller
admixture of foreign blood than any other tribe.
They are lighter in colour and quicker in intellect
than the other tribes. They have many estimable
qualities, and one may form pleasant friendships
and enjoy social intercourse with them.
They are keen traders and will go long distances
in pursuit of profitable transactions. They have
also in some rough fashion managed to make their
power as rulers felt throughout nearly the whole
of Madagascar. Their rule is oppressive, and they
are both hated and feared by the subject races ;
but they are a progressive people, ready to
40 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
assimilate much of our civilisation, and, since their
acceptance of Christianity, they have come under
influences that are fitting them to take the lead in
all that tends to promote the development and
well-being of their large island.
The Betsileo live in the central highlands to the
south of the Hova. They are a less advanced
people, somewhat timid and easily fleeced and
oppressed by their more keen-witted conquerors.
The Bara occupy the land to the south and
south-west of the Betsileo. They are a rough,
warlike tribe, very superstitious, and much opposed
to all foreign intrusion, whether of the Hova or of
Europeans. The Hova power is gradually ex-
tending, and mission work is making some slight
progress in their country.
The Tankay occupy the long stretch of open
country through which the Mangoro flows. They
are a quiet pastoral people, and in the dry season
many of them earn money as carriers of hides and
calico between Ankay and the capital. Mission
work has been carried on among them for many
years, especially by the Rev. P. G. Pcake, of
Isoavina.
To the north of the Ankay plain is the Antsi-
hanaka country. The people of the district are
rich in cattle ; but they are very degraded and
superstitious, and utterly enslaved by their love
of the native rum, which they make from sugar-
cane. Still a very great work, especially in the
education of the children, has been carried on here
for many years past.
The Taimoro arc one of the most remarkable
THE PEOPLE. 41
people in Madagascar. They occupy the coast-
lands near Mananjara, and are descendants of Arab
settlers. They still retain their knowledge of the
Arabic letters, and possess sacred books (chiefly
containing charms and prayers) in that writing.
Many of their religious ideas have been derived
from their Arabian ancestors. At present they
would not be known from the ordinary Malagasy,
and they do not remember the Arabic language.
The women among the tribe were always noted for
their chastity, and proved the one exception to the
prevailing rule. Amongst other tribes a much
lower standard exists. The Taisaka, the Taifasy,
and the Tanosy are also tribes on or near the
south-east coast.
The Sakalava are a wide-spread tribe ; and had
they been able to combine, they might have held
the reins of government in their own hands. Be-
fore the time of Radama I. the Hova paid them
tribute. They are a restless and warlike people,
and are almost always quarrelling among them-
selves. They are great slave-dealers, and have
supplied the Arab traders with slaves stolen from
the interior in exchange for guns and powder.
Their gun is their inseparable companion, and it is
said that they will not lay it down even to wash
their face, but will wash one side of the face first,
letting their gun rest meanwhile on the other
shoulder. The Sakalava have been a constant
terror to the borderlands of the central plateau, as
from among them have come the bands of robbers
which have year by year harassed these districts.
The Tankarana live at the northern end of the
43 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
island, in the neighbourhood of the French naval
station at Diego Suarez.
It has been estimated that the whole of these
tribes do not exceed four millions in number, of
which probably about one million may be Hova.
There are, however, no accurate data on which to
base our calculation.
The dress of the people may next engage our
attention. In ancient times this was of the simplest,
the men wearing a saldka, or loin cloth, and some-
times a sort of shirt called akaiijo ; and the women
a kitamby, which was a kind of loose petticoat,
and a short close-fitting jacket, also called akanjo.
Both men and women wear as a loose outer dress
the lamb a.
The salaka would usually be of some plain
material ; but richer men delighted to ornament
this portion of their dress with fringes and beads.
The lamba may be of any plain and cheap material,
as hemp cloth, grass cloth, or calico ; but for special
occasions beautifully woven silk lamba of the
richest colours are employed. The lamba is an
article of dress that in the opinion of the ordinary
Malagasy is quite indispensable ; indeed, to go out
of doors without it would be much as if a man
went out in his shirt-sleeves, or a woman without
her dress.
A change is coming over the people of Antana-
narivo and its vicinity, and many now use European
clothing wholly or in part. Most of the women,
however, although adopting a kind of loose dress,
and wearing suitable underclothing, and stockings
and boots, prefer to retain the lamba as their outer
THE PEOPLE. 43
garment. As a rule they still go bareheaded,
except on long journeys, when they use straw hats
as a protection against the sun. Both men and
women use umbrellas very freely as sunshades.
The love of European clothing is, of course, a
stimulus to trade, and many shops have been
opened in Antananarivo where the wants of the
people can be supplied.
The staple food of the natives is rice, and no
meal would be considered satisfactory from which
rice was absent. The common saying of the people
is : ' There is nothing that will satisfy but rice.'
The usual phrase for preparing a meal is ' to cook
rice ; ' and ' to eat rice ' means simply to take a
meal. The rice is boiled in an earthen pot.
English readers must dismiss from their minds all
thoughts of milk and eggs, sugar and spice, with
which they are accustomed to make their rice
palatable. That kind of thing would not suit the
Malagasy. What they like is plain well-boiled
rice, soft and warm, and they find this like Epps's
cocoa, ' grateful and comforting.' It causes a
pleasant sensation of fulness and satiety, which
they indicate with infinite satisfaction, when they
say they are voky. To be voky (or well satisfied)
is to most the acme of delight.
Rice bears a name among the people similar to
that we usually give to bread. It is tohan ny aina,
the support or staff of life.
But rice, pleasant and satisfying though it be,
needs some relish, and the relish, whatever it may
be, is called laoka. This word originally meant fish ;
and in some form or other it is found in many of
44 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
the members of the wide- spread family of the
Malayo-Polynesian languages. It has now, how-
ever, quite lost this meaning in Central Madagascar,
though on the coast fish are called laokan-drano ;
but its survival in this more general sense is
interesting, and seems to indicate the fact that the
ancestors of the Malagasy came from an island or
from the sea-coast.
Laoka may be vegetables or meat, honey, eggs,
or milk ; stews and curries are also much used,
and ro, or gravy, is a necessary accompaniment of
any well-prepared dish.
The houses of the people differ in different parts
of the country. In some parts the bamboo is
largely used, in others the raofia palm, or the
traveller's tree. In Imcrina the red soil of the
country well worked into a stiff mud makes durable
walls of houses, and till recently was the material
most commonly used. The roof may be thatched
with leaves or rushes, or dry grass. Rush roofs are
the commonest in Imerina, a rush called Jicraiia,
which grows very freely there, forming an excellent
and durable thatch.
In recent years a great change has taken place
in and around Antananarivo in the style of house
building. The use of sun-dried bricks was intro-
duced by the late Mr. J. Cameron, and has been
much appreciated by the people. Burnt bricks are
also now much used by richer people. Tiles are
also rapidly taking the place of thatch, and it seems
likely that thatched roofs will soon disappear from
the capital.
A modern Antananarivo house is a fairly commo-
THE PEOPLE. 45
dious dwelling. It will have good wooden floors,
doors of dark wood, and good glass windows. The
walls will be well plastered, and either papered or
coloured, often in a pale blue tint, with an orna-
mental border. Ceilings will be plastered and
whitewashed. Furniture of fairly good make is
also obtainable.
All native houses till recently were built on one
plan. The door was at the south-west corner, and
the window at the south-east. The north-east
corner was the place of honour, and here stood the
wooden bedstead for the heads of the family ; this
part of the house also bore the name of ' the prayer
corner,' as any one offering prayer would turn in
this direction. The south-east corner was occupied
by the fowls, or by the calf, or the sheep, or the pigs.
Attention to the points of the compass is very
marked among the people of Madagascar. They
seem never to lose their sense of direction ; indeed
they may be described with but little exaggeration
as ' living compasses.' They apply this sense to
the commonest acts of life. You may be asked to
pass the book lying to the north of you, or to move
your chair a little to the south, A missionary was
once told there was a crumb on his northern
nioustaclic.
The occupations of the people are becoming
more and more differentiated as they advance in
civilisation, and we now have smiths, carpenters,
goldsmiths, tailors, printers, bookbinders, &c. The
separating process is not, however, so fully carried
out as among ourselves, as may be illustrated by
the fact that I have been accustomed to send to
46 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
the printing-office when I required the services of
a hair-dresser.
The Hova have a great love of trade, and some
of them amass what among themselves are regarded
as large fortunes, especially those who are able to
buy largely of the imported American unbleached
calicoes, so much in use among the people through-
out the country. They are very keen and hard
in driving a bargain. Indeed no one likes to
conclude a sale without a large amount of pre-
liminary chaffering called middy vdrotra (literally,
to fight out a bargain).
A great drawback to the development of com-
merce is the absence of roads and railways. No
wheeled vehicle exists, except a few carts belonging
to Frenchmen in or near Tamatave and Mahanoro.
A very rough kind of sledge with small wheels is
also used in Imerina for dragging the large slabs
of stone used in constructing tombs. With excep-
tions like these we may say that the Malagasy
seem absolutely ignorant of the value of wheels
as labour-saving machines. They do not even use
horses or mules or oxen to carry goods. Their
only beasts of burden are human beings ; and
men's shoulders have to bear the weight of the
thousands of tons of goods that pass between the
coast and the interior. Gangs of these porters are
met with all along the road, and it is marvellous to
see the weights some of them will carry. Men
may be seen struggling under loads of cloth, or
hides, or salt, weighing 150 or 200 lbs. The
carrying of such weigl;its continually often causes
unsightly swellings on the shoulders and neck of
THE PEOPLE. 47
the porters, which would at once indicate their
occupation. The wages for carrying an ordinary
load of merchandise between Tamatave and Anta-
nanarivo is about twelve or fourteen shillings.
The money used by the Malagasy is the dollar.
No other coin is used, except in and near Tamatave,
where French money of all kinds circulates freely.
Dollars of many kinds are used, and formerly
Mexican, Bolivian, Peruvian, and Spanish dollars
were readily taken ; but now the dollars of the
Latin Union are the only acceptable coins.
For small change these dollars are cut up, and
the cut fragments are weighed in small native-made
scales. Strange to say, some one must lose four-
pence whenever a dollar is cut up. The standard
followed in olden times was the Spanish dollar
which then weighed more than the French five-
franc piece and coins of equal value. The old
standard for cut money has remained unchanged,
so that while an uncut five-franc piece is worth four
shillings, as soon as it passes under the chisel and
is cut to fragments its value is only three shillings
and eightpence.
48 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
CHAPTER IV.
TlIK GOVERNMENT.
As far back as tradition will carry us there existed
in Madagascar a kind of feudalism. Villages were
usually built on the hill tops, and each hill top had
its own chieftain, and these petty feudal chiefs were
constantly waging war with one another. The
people living on these feudal estates paid taxes
and rendered certain services to their feudal lords.
Each chief enjoyed a semi-independence, for no
strong overlord existed. Attempts were made
from time to time to unite these petty chieftaincies
into one kingdom, but no one tribe succeeded in
making itself supreme till the days of Radama I.
Andrianampoinimcrina succeeded in bringing the
whole of Imerina under his government ; and to his
son Radama he left the task of subduing the rest
of the island. By allying himself closely with
England Radama obtained arms and military
instructors, and carried war into distant provinces.
He ultimately succeeded in conquering man)- o{
the tribes, and his reign marks the beginning of
a new era in Madagascar. Indeed, only from his
days could Madagascar in any sense be regarded
as a political unit.
THE GOVERNMENT. 49
In one direction, however, the result of Radama's
poHcy must be regarded as retrogressive. Before
his reign no chief or king was powerful enough
to impose his rule upon the people without their
consent, and a large amount of liberty existed.
The principal men of each district had to be con-
stantly consulted, and kabary (or public assemblies
like the Greek ecclesics or the Swiss communal
assemblies) were called for the discussion of all
important affairs, and public opinion had a fair
opportunity of making itself effective. *A single
tree does not make a forest, but the thoughts of the
many constitute a government,' is handed down
by tradition as one of the farewell sayings of
Andrianampoinimerina, and is often quoted by the
people. This, doubtless, represents the democratic
spirit that existed in olden times ; but since
Radama I. formed a large army, and a military
caste was created, there has always been a strong
tendency to repress and minimise the influence of
civilians in public affairs, and men holding military-
rank have wielded the chief authority.
Military rank is strangely reckoned by numbers,
the highest officers being called men of sixteen
honours ; the man of twelve honours would be
equal in rank to a field marshal, the man of
nine honours to a colonel, and the man of three
honours to a sergeant, and so on through the
whole series. When any important government
business has to be made known, the men from ten
honours and upwards are summoned to the palace.
Above all these officers stands the prime minister,
His Excellency, Rainilaiarivony. His father, Raini-
E
so MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
haro, gained great power during the long reign of
Ranavalona I., and on his death his two sons, Rai-
nivoninahitriniony and Rainilaiarivony, succeeded
him. During the reign of Radama II. and the
early part of that of Rasoherina, Rainivoninahitri-
ni6ny was prime minister and Rainilaiarivony was
commander-in-chief For some political offence
Rainivoninahitriniony w^as banished, and for years
he was kept in confinement, and for part of the
time he wore heavy iron chains. His brother, at
the time of his disgrace, united the two offices and
titles in his own person, and has been known ever
since as prime minister and commander-in-chief
Most Malagasy now try to pronounce these English
titles ; but when they speak of Rainilaiarivony in
their own language they are fond of calling him Ay
JMpaiiapaka, i.e. the ruler, or Ray anian-dreji'ui ny
ambanildnitra, i.e. father and mother of those under
heaven (a common name for the whole people).
The supreme head of the state is the Hlpaiijaka,
or sovereign, and every proclamation is issued in
her name, and is generally countersigned and con-
firmed as a genuine royal message by the prime
minister. For three reigns, i.e., from the accession
of Rasoherina in 1863, the Hlpaiijdka, has been a
woman, and has been the wife of the prime
minister. A general impression exists in England
that this is an old Malagasy custom ; but such is
not the case. The arrangement is quite a recent
one. The present prime minister (not being of
royal blood) is content to be vipandpaka, or ruler ;
and while all public honour is shown to the queen
and her authority is fully acknowledged, those
RAINILAIARIVONY, PRIME MINISTER OF MADAGASCAR.
{From a Photograph by Captain E, W. Dawson.)
E 2
THE GOVERNMENT. 53
behind the scenes would wish us to believe that the
queen is supreme only in name.
As a matter of fact the word of the prime minister,
and even his supposed wishes and preferences, are
the most potent forces in Madagascar. No one
seems able to exercise any independent influence,
and time after time men who have shown any
special ability or gained popularity have been
removed — swept as it were out of the path of the
one man who has assumed, and by his ability
and astuteness maintained, for thirty years the
highest position in the country. Quite recently
Ravoninahitriniarivo, formerly one of the ambas-
sadors to this country and to France, died in
prison at Ambositra, and only in August 1893,
Rajoelina, a son of the prime minister, and his
son-in-law. Dr. Rajonah, were without any show
of public trial sentenced to death on a charge of
conspiracy. The death sentence was changed to
one of banishment and imprisonment, and these two
men, never publicly proved to be guilty, with their
wives (one of whom is a daughter of the prime
minister) are also in a miserable dungeon near the
same town of Ambositra. These facts show how
absolute is the power of His Excellency the prime
minister. Thousands of people sympathised with
these condemned men, and still refuse to believe them
guilty of the charge laid against them, but no one
dared utter a single word of protest. And this is a
typical instance of the attitude of the people gene-
rally. It is reported that an outspoken young man
ventured in some council meeting to make a sugges-
tion which his companions supposed to be distasteful
54 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
to the prime minister, and at once a cloth was thrown
over his head, and those present were ready to
hurry him off to prison. There is no doubt a large
amount of latent rebellion against this one man
government ; but those who are most ready to
grumble in private will in public be perhaps the
most servile of any. In many ways the present
prime minister has shown himself an able ruler, and
compared with those who went before him he is
deserving of great praise. He has made many
attempts to prevent the corruption of justice, has
strenuously endeavoured to improve the admini-
stration, and for many years has managed to hold
in check the ambitious projects of French states-
men. He has also many times shown his interest
in the cause of education. But he has not done
anything to prepare the people for a larger amount
of freedom, or to train his subordinates to take
their share of responsibility ; and one looks around
with serious misgiving as to who may be found
able to take up the reins of government when he
is called to give them up.
Of late years there has been a cabinet composed
of eighteen or twenty officers, and the government
has been subdivided into eight departments, viz.,
the army, home affairs, foreign affairs, administra-
tion of justice, laws, commerce, finances, and
education. At the head of each department is an
officer of high rank with several subordinates. The
lists of these heads of departments as they are
published year by year, might suggest to one not
knowing the actual condition of things in Mada-
gascar, an amount of civilisation and of careful
THE GOVERNMENT. 55
attention to the details of government which as a
matter of fact do not exist. The heads of depart-
ments have very little power, and any one showing
a disposition to initiate reforms, or to act with energy
in his own department, would soon find himself
thwarted and perhaps disgraced. Everything of
importance, and indeed many things we should
regard as of little importance, are referred to the
prime minister. Such over-centralisation is a clog
upon the wheels of the political machine, and
no business in Madagascar is despatched with
promptness. The ' law's delays ' have been pro-
verbial all the world over, but in Madagascar they
are experienced to a most trying and exasperating
degree.
There is little in Madagascar answering to our
municipal government. The nearest approach to
it is the power exercised at times by the fokoii
olona, or the people dwelling in any one district.
A i&w years since great energy was shown in this
direction, and there seemed a prospect of solid
reforms ; but like everything else in Madagascar,
the sudden spurt of energy soon subsided into
the easy-going laisser aller system that seems so
congenial to the Eastern mind. Local magistrates
known as * governors ' are now placed in most of
the provincial towns, and they have power to settle
all minor cases, whether criminal or civil.
For the administration of the queen's govern-
ment among the conquered tribes officers of rank
are appointed as komandy ox governors. The diary
of 1894 gives a list of nearly eighty of these
governors, who are placed in almost every part of
56 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
the island. This alone shows how firm a hold the
Hova have taken of the countr}\ Would that we
could believe the rule of these provincial governors
was just and beneficial. No doubt there are good
governors, and such could easily be named, but too
often the one idea of a man who obtains a provincial
governorship is : ' How much can I wring out of
my province .'' I must transmit certain sums to
the central government, and I must be sure to send
handsome presents to those who arc near the
throne, or I shall never be safe. All this will
require money. Above all, I must not forget to
accumulate a fair sum which I may be able to
carry to Antananarivo, or my native town in
Imerina.' Thus will the provincial governor reason ;
and his actions will correspond with his reasoning.
It is notorious that those who are poor when they
leave the capital on receiving these appointments
frequently return in a few years rich men.
Far from the check of the central government
many of these ' little kings ' dare to commit acts
of tyranny and oppression that would not be
possible nearer the capital. I have scarcely ever
known a foreigner who had lived long on the coast,
or in any of the distant provinces, who did not
grow indignant when he began to talk of the doings
of the Hova governors he had known. Happy
exceptions there undoubtedly are, yet they are but
a small percentage of the entire number. This, of
course, is not a new thing in the world. The
Roman provincial governors, and, indeed, most
officials in the good old times, showed the same
spirit ; and we must be patient and hopeful, waiting
THE GOVERA'MENT. 57
for the better days to dawn for the much oppressed
inhabitants of Madagascar.
No account of the government of Madagascar
would be complete that did not include some
description of the system of ' fanompoana^ or forced
service, which answers very nearly to our old feudal
service, and to the system known in Egypt as
corvee. The tax-gatherer is not the ubiquitous
person in Madagascar he is supposed to be among
ourselves. There are a few taxes "paid by the
people, such, for example, as the isavi-pangady, a
small tax in kind on the rice crop, and occasionally
a small poll-tax ; hasina, or money paid to the
sovereigns as a token of allegiance, is also paid on
many occasions. Taxes of this kind are not burden-
some. The one burden that galls and irritates the
people is the liability to being called upon at
any moment to render unrequited service to the
government. Every man has something that may
be regarded as his fanonipoana. The people of
one district may be required to make mats for the
government ; in another district pots may be the
article required. From one district certain men
are required to bring cray-fish to the capital.
Charcoal must be provided by another district, and
iron by another, and so on through all the possible
series. The jeweller must make such articles as
the queen may require ; the tailor must ply his
needle, and the writer his pen, as the need of the
government may be. This system has in it some
show of rough-and-ready justice, and is based on
the idea that each must contribute to the require-
ment of the state according to his several ability ;
58 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
but in its actual working it has a most injurious
influence on the well-being of the country. Each
man tries to avoid the demands made upon him,
and the art of ' how not to do it ' is cultivated to a
very high degree of perfection.
Sinecures are eagerly sought after, and numbers
attach themselves as dckci (aides-de-camp) to some
great man, so as to avoid the usual claim of feudal
service. Many of the head men again make this
fanoinpoana s}'stem a means of enriching them-
selves, and require of their subordinates services
for themselves as well as for the government.
Many ways present themselves to the fertile
brains of these head men. Here is an instance. The
ambonin-jato (centurion or head man) of a certain
district (which for his sake shall be nameless) gives
out a notice in the churchyard on Sunday morning,
or at the week-day market, that a hundred men
will be required next morning to carry charcoal for
the government. As a matter of fact he requires
only twenty or thirty men ; but he knows that
many will come to him privately to beg off, and as
none will come empty-handed, his profit on the
transaction will be considerable.
Another illustration was given me by a British
consul. It was customary to send up mails from
the coast by government runners ; but our English
ideas being adverse to demanding unrequited
service, the consul had always sent the usual wages
to the governor ; but this British generosity was
quite misplaced in the governor's eyes, and as the
consul said : ' He pocketed the dollars and fanoni-
pbaned ihQ mail.'
THE GOVERNMENT. 59
A governor in another part of the island some
few years ago is said to have made a great haul
out of a required levy of soldiers for Solary, near
St. Augustine's Bay. He called the whole body of
soldiers under his command (some thousands in all)
into the enclosure known as the rova. They came
little expecting what was in store for them, and
were startled to hear the unwelcome news, that
they were to be sent to the much-dreaded Solary.
Only a small number v.'ere really required ; but it
is said no one left that enclosure without paying
for his personal exemption. A foreign trader
present in the town at the time made careful
inquiries and calculations, which led him to believe
that thousands of dollars had been pocketed by
the unscrupulous and money-loving governor.
Illustrations like these might be multiplied a
thousandfold, and it is the frequency with which
such things occur that makes the well-wishers of
Madagascar feel that this unjust system — unjust
because of its unequal incidence, and because of
the chicanery and oppression it causes — must be
swept away before Madagascar can make any true
progress. Slavery still exists in Madagascar, and
it has its evils, and in some cases these are not
light ones ; but the total amount of injustice and
oppression that springs from the old feudal system
is believed to be greater than that arising from
slavery. A freeman comparing his lot with that of
a slave, will say : ' Are we not all slaves of the
sovereign .^ ' And, on the contrary, I have heard
slaves refuse to be set free, because they considered
themselves better off as they were. A slave only
6o MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
serves his master, and the state can claim nothing
from him. He is only a chattel, and his services
belong exclusively to his master ; but the poor free
man is at the mercy of any government official,
and never knows what claims will be made upon
his service.
Recently a new departure has been made by the
government of Madagascar, and the spirit of the
people has been chafed by a sudden and unexpected
demand for money. The government, owing to
the failure of some promised payment by a co/i-
ccssionaire, was compelled to raise a large sum of
money at very short notice, to meet the claims of
the French bank for the half-yearly interest on the
loan of 1886. To raise this sum the government
ingeniously resorted to the plan of exacting a
forced loan or ' benevolence ' from all well-to-do
people. Sums varying from a few dollars to a
thousand dollars were demanded. Receipts were
given for these loans ; but no interest is to be paid,
and nothing was said about repayment. History
repeats itself ; and an empty treasure chest must
be replenished in some fashion. Probably the
Malagasy rulers in resorting to this * benevolence,'
were not aware that they were imitating the example
of our own Stuart sovereigns and other rulers in
bygone times, but were only displaying their own
ingenuity. My own impression is that it would
not be safe for them to repeat the experiment too
often.
( 6i )
CHAPTER V.
THE GROWTH OF THE HOVA POWER, WITH SOME
ACCOUNT OF RECENT SOVEREIGNS.
No written history or historical monuments and
inscriptions existed among the people of Madagascar
when they first became known to Europeans in the
sixteenth century, and we are thus entirely depen-
dent on tradition and inference for all our knowledge
of their early history. In this chapter I shall give
a sketch of one section only of that history, viz. the
growth and development of the Hova power.
The Hova believe themselves to have been the
conquerors of the Vazimba, whom they represent
as having been the original inhabitants of Imerina ;
and the ancient graves of the Vazimba were till quite
recently regarded as sacred places at which it was
common to offer sacrifices. The spirits of the
Vazimba were supposed to haunt these places and
to have power to inflict bodily ill upon any who
offended them.
The names of some of these Vazimba are
preserved in old traditional accounts ; and after
them follow the names of many kings of whom
but little is known, until we come to the first
sovereign who seems to have any distinct per-
sonality, viz. Andrianampoinimerina, the father of
MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAV.
King Radama I. He must have begun his reign
a httlc more than a century ago, as he died in
1810, after a reign of twenty or thirty years.
Of all the more important events in the history
of Central Madagascar during the past century,
i.e., from the reign of Andrianampoinimcrina, \vc
have fairly full and reliable information ; and as
the unification of Imcrina, and the extension of
the Hova dominion into other parts of the island,
as well as the closer relations into which the Hova
have entered with foreign powers, all fall within
this period, we shall confine ourselves to this
portion of the history. For fuller details of the
traditional history, Ellis's History of Iladagascar
may be consulted.
The following is a list of the Jlfpaiijdka or
sovereigns of the Hova during the above-named
period : —
1. Andrianampoinimcrina (1785 (?)"i8io).
2. Radama I. (1810-1828).
3. Ranavalona I. (1828-1861).
4. Radama H. (1861-1863).
5. Rasoherina (1863-1868).
6. Ranavalona II. (i 868-1 883).
7. Ranavalona HI., whose reign began on
July 13, 1883.
Of these seven sovereigns and of the most
important events that make their reigns memor-
able, a short account will here be given.
(1.) Andrianampoinimerina. — Of this remark-
able man many stories are told by the natives.
His love of justice and his great wisdom are still a
theme on which native orators love to dwell, and
GROWTH OF THE HOVA POWER. 6^
his example serves them as a goad with which to
urge on their audience in right doing. Andria-
nampoinimerina seems to have possessed great
power of dealing with men ; and he succeeded by
arms and diplomacy in bringing the whole of
Imerina under his sway. But he accomplished
more than this. His soul was stirred by the
vision of a united Madagascar ; and this ambitious
idea, and the urgency with which it was impressed
on the mind of the young Radama, may be regarded
as the motive power that set in motion the military
undertakings of his descendants. ' The sea is the
border of my rice ground,' he was wont to say ;
and as death began to cast its shadow over him, he
solemnly charged his son to carry out the policy
indicated by this saying, and to make himself the
ruler of a united Madagascar. With succeeding
sovereigns this purpose seems to have deepened ;
and the Hova rule has been gradually extended until
now almost the whole of Madagascar is actually ruled
in the name of her majesty Queen Ranavalona III.
The ambitious forecast of Andrianampoinimerina
has proved to have been not an idle fancy, but the
seed of a policy of extension that has powerfully
affected the later history of the island.
Among the fragments of history transmitted by
tradition, not one is more valued by the natives
than the Farewell Address of this monarch to his
young son Radama, and to his old friends and
counsellors to whose care and support he com-
mitted him. They often quote it with delight and
admiration. It begins with words that indicate a
man of a deeply religious mind : — * This is what I
64 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
say to you all, my relations and friends, for now
symptoms of disease have come, for God is taking
me away, and that is why I call you together.
For now that the command of the Creator has
come, and my days are finished, and I am going
home to Heaven, behold Ilahidama, for he is
young ; and there too are yourselves ; for it is
only my flesh that will lie buried, but my mind and
my spirit will remain with you and with Idama.
(2.) Radama I. — Radama I. was son of the
preceding. He was not originally intended to be
his father's successor ; but his elder brother having
been detected in a conspiracy against his father's
life, Radama became heir to the throne. Inspired
by an ambition that had been kindled and fanned
by the dying charge of his father, he set himself to
consolidate and extend his power. He has been
called ' the enlightened African ' ; and judging his
13olicy as a whole he may be acknowledged to
deserve the name. As a young man he was
remarkable among his contemporaries for his
temperance and freedom from the common vices ;
but in later life he exercised little self-restraint,
and his end was hastened by his self-indulgences
and excesses. Radama is described as a man of
great politeness and winning manners. Captain
Le Sage, the first British envoy sent to Antanan-
arivo, was received by him with great courtesy,
and was nursed by him during a severe illness with
unwearied kindness and care. The one thing that
distinguishes Radama above all his predecessors
is that he saw clearly what great advantage he
would gain by cultivating friendly relations with the
#
RADAMA T.
F
GROWTH OF THE HOVA POWER. 67
British government. He was persuaded by the
agents of Sir Robert Farquhar, Governor of
Mauritius, to sign a treaty aboHshing the export
of slaves, which up to that time had been carried
on vigorously, and was the cause of much misery.
As compensation for his losses from the suppression
of this profitable traffic he received from the British
government an annual grant of money, arms, and
military accoutrements, as well as the services of an
English sergeant named Brady to drill his soldiers.
The name of Brady is still remembered among the
people.
The same may be said of the name of Hastie.
It was Mr. Hastie who, as agent of Sir Robert
Farquhar, successfully negotiated the treaty for the
suppression of the slave trade. He continued to
reside in Antananarivo, as British agent, till the
time of his death in 1826, and was Radama's
trusted friend and adviser. He is still spoken of
by the natives as Andrianasy.
Through the help given him by the British
government Radama succeeded in doing much
towards the fulfilment of his father's ambitious
projects. He often led his own military expedi-
tions ; and he added large tracts of country to his
dominions.
(3.) Ranavalona I. — This queen was one of
Radama's wives. She waded to the throne through
streams of blood. Like another Athaliah she rose
and destroyed all the seed royal. The story of
treachery and bloodshed by which her reign was
commenced is one of the darkest in the annals of
Madagascar.
F 2
68 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
Ranavalona was a woman of much sagacity, of
great ambition, and of iron will. After a time she
reversed Radama's poHcy of cultivating friendly
relations with the English. She dismissed the
British agent, and refused to receive the stipulated
subsidy. She did not, however, allow any revival
of the exportation of slaves.
The policy of conquest inaugurated by Radama
was carried on with great vigour and with cold-
blooded cruelty that has cast a slur upon the
history of the Hova power.
Here is one specimen taken from a speech of the
Rev. J. J. Freeman in 1837 : ' Ten thousand men
not long since were murdered in an afternoon,
although they had submitted to the queen, and
had taken the oath of allegiance. Their wives and
children were dragged into hopeless slavery ; but
many of them perished on the road, as they were
being conducted to the market to be disposed of
as cattle. Fifty venerable chieftains, fathers and
husbands, were crucified outside one village, and
left to perish. Their wives refused to submit to
slavery, and were speared on the spot.' Ex uno
disce omnes. It is well to remember facts like this
in estimating the position of the Hova, and their
claim to govern the whole of Madagascar. While
we freely grant that many benefits have flowed
from their rule, we must not forget that they owe
their position to conquests such as these ; and
they can only vindicate their right to a continua-
tion of their rule by a policy of enlightenment and
beneficence.
The reign of the strong-willed queen Ranavalona
GROWTH OF THE HOVA POWER. C9
has become famous throughout Christendom on
account of her cruel persecution of the Christians ;
but of this more will be said in Chapter IX.
(4.) Radama 11. — Rakoton-d-Radama (the
youth, or young son, of Radama) was the son of
Queen Ranavalona, born some months after the
death of Radama. The one redeeming feature in
the character of queen Ranavalona I. was the love
she showed for her son. Anything Rakoto did was
allowable ; and strange to tell, he, the beloved son
of a cruel and persecuting mother, was often able
to shield and deliver the objects of her wrath. At
the time of Ranavalona's illness there existed a
rival claimant to the throne in the person of
Radama's cousin, Ramboasalama. Through the
all-powerful aid of the present prime minister and
his late brother the succession was secured to
Radama ; and a few months later Ramboasalama
died in banishment on his ancestral estate at
Ambohimirimo. Whether he was poisoned or
starved, or died of chagrin and disappointment, is
not known ; but from our knowledge of Radama's
character and his horror of bloodshed, we may
safely acquit him of all blame in the matter of his
cousin's death.
Radama II. had but a brief reign, and owing to
his tragic end he is usually omitted from the list of
sovereigns. Those whose all-powerful support
made him king became after the lapse of a few
months his destroyers.
One of the first acts of this young king on his
accession to the throne was to stretch out a hand
of friendship to the governments of England and
70 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
France, and to proclaim religious freedom through-
out his dominions. An embassy, led by Colonel
Middleton, was at once despatched from Mauritius
to congratulate him on his accession to the throne.
A year later special embassies from both the
luiglish and French governments were present at
his coronation. The enthusiasm that greeted
this event seemed to augur well for the brightness
and prosperity of his reign ; but very soon ominous
clouds began to gather, and the reign that had been
heralded by such an outburst of gladness ended in
a great tragedy, Radama was strangled at the
command of his o\\n officers on May 12, 1863.
The causes of his death were his utter miscon-
ception of the functions of a ruler, and his want of
judgment in putting aside the old and experienced
officers who had made him king, and surrounding
himself with a band of young counsellors called
Meuamaso. These men shared the fate of their
master, and with few exceptions were speared to
death.
(5.) Rasoherina. — Radama II. was at once suc-
ceeded by his widow Rabodo, who on becoming
queen took the name of Rasoherina. On accepting
the crown she was required by the officers of state
to sign a paper containing seven stipulations.
These included abstinence from strong drink ; the
institution of something that seemed much like
trial by jury ; the abolition of the poison ordeal
{tanghid) ; the continuation of religious liberty
granted by Radama, and a solemn declaration that
the army, being the ' horn of the kingdom,' should
never be broken up.
GROWTH OF THE HOVA POWER. 71
Rasoherina never became a Christian, but spite
of sundry attempts to reverse the policy of tolera-
tion, she firmly maintained it to the end.
During her reign treaties of friendship were
successively entered into with England (signed
June 27, 1865) and America (signed February 14,
1867). A treaty with France was also under con-
sideration during her reign, but it was not actually
signed till some months after the accession of her
successor, August 8, 1868. These treaties did
much to quiet the country and to allay the constant
fears of any breach between the Hova government
and any European power. Some time before the
French treaty had been signed there had been
great tension, and war seemed at one time immi-
nent ; but finally the government of Madagascar
paid an indemnity of 240,000 dollars for their
refusal to confirm the Lambert treaty granted by
Radama.
Just before the death of Rasoherina Antananarivo
was thrown into great confusion by the discovery
of a plot to take the reins of government out of the
hands of Rainilaiarivony, the prime minister, and
to place on the throne as successor to Rasoherina
a young prince named Rasata. The plot failed,
and the conspirators were banished. The queen
died on Wednesday, April i, 1868.
(6.) Ranavalona II. — Early on the morning of
Thursday, April 2, Ramoma, a first cousin of
Rasoherina, was proclaimed queen; under the title
of Ranavalona II.
On her accession it soon became apparent that
the attitude of the government towards Chris=
73 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAV.
tianity was undergoing a change ; and in less than
a year (on Februaiy 21, 1869) both the queen and
the prime minister were pubHcly baptized. In
September of the same )-car the national idols were
burned by the queen's command.
By her character and her actions during the
fifteen years of her reign Ranavalona II. justly
deserved the love and esteem in which she was
held ; and her death in 1883, just after the out-
break of the war with France, caused such an
outburst of genuine sorrow as had never been
known in Madagascar before. On the day of her
funeral, when after a religious service in the Chapel
Ro}-al in Antananarivo, the body was taken to
Ambohimanga, the ancient capital, twelve miles
away, the road for the whole of that distance was
lined with mourners, and funeral dirges were chanted
as the cortege passed along.
The reign of Ranavalona II. was marked by
events that will always be regarded as great land-
marks in the history of Madagascar ; and it is
pleasant to think that in her person the name
Ranavalona was redeemed from its evil associa-
tions. Ranavalona II. was as earnest in seeking
to advance the kingdom of Christ among her
people as Ranavalona I. had been jealous of the
influence of that kingdom, and strenuous in her
endeavours to destroy it.
(7.) Ranavalona III. — The present occupant of
the throne is the young queen Ranavalona III.,
a niece of the last sovereign. She was crowned on
Nov. 22, 1883, the twenty-second anniversary of
her birthday. Like her two predecessors she is the
GROWTH OF THE HOVA TOIVER. 73
wife of the prime minister. She came to the throne
in troublous times, as the war with France had
broken out two months before her accession, on
July 13, 1883. She has gained in the esteem of
her people and of the foreign residents, as the years
have passed, and there is every reason to believe
her to be a true Christian, deeply interested in all
that tends to elevate her people. Often she has
been present at public meetings of special interest,
as, for example, the opening of the new hospital
at Isoavinandriana, and the opening of the new
girls' school at Ambodin' Andohalo. Her conduct
on this occasion was deeply interesting. She had
herself been a pupil in the school, when it was
carried on in the old building, and she still takes a
deep interest in all that affects the prosperity of the
school. She had sat patiently through the long-
opening meeting; and at its close she asked the
prime minister to deliver a brief message of con-
gratulation and thanks. When this had been
delivered, the meeting was about to be dismissed,
when it was observed that her majesty was whisper-
ing to the prime minister, and was evidently desirous
that something more should be said. Finally she
arose, and herself spoke a few kind womanly words
of encouragement both to teachers and scholars, and
especially urged the latter, above all things, to
become true servants of the Lord Jesus Christ.
All classes unite in showing respect to the
present queen. She fills her exalted position with
becoming dignity. She is credited with being in-
tensely Malagasy in sympathy ; and, unless she is
much misrepresented, to none of her subjects is the
74 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAV.
threatened enforcement of a French protectorate
more distasteful than to her. What may be her
ultimate attitude in regard to this weighty matter
remains to be seen.
( 75 )
CHAPTER VI.
THE ANCIENT RELIGION OF THE IIOVA.
The religion of the Hova did not, to a casual
observer, present much that seemed likely to
predispose them to Christianity. The worship of
idols was almost universal. The spirits of ancestors,
the sun, moon, and stars, certain sacred mountains
and cities, were all appealed to in prayer. Sacri-
fices of various kinds were offered, sometimes to
God, but perhaps oftener to the Vazimba, the spirits
of the supposed aborigines, which have already
been spoken of.
The fear of witchcraft had immense power, and
thousands were destroyed by the tangena, or
poison ordeal, by which its presence was believed
to be detected.
The sikidy, a kind of divination, and an astro-
logical system called mandndro, were largely
practised ; and a belief in the potency of lucky
or unlucky days exercised great influence over the
people generally.
Destiny was supposed to be powerful, but certain
fady (or prohibitions) and sacrifices might, it was
believed, turn aside the threatening evil.
Superstition and idolatry prevailed among the
people ; and yet there was much that helped to
76 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAV.
gain an entrance for the Christian rch'gion. There
was, for instance, no ancient reh'gious Hterature
appcahng to the veneration and conservatism of
the people. Again, there was nothing exactly
answering to the priestly caste that exists in so
many lands, and forms a mighty barrier against
the entrance of any new religion. Finally, the
religion of the Malagasy possessed little cohesion
and self-consistency. Apparently derived from
various sources and composed of heterogeneous
elements, it was never able to present a firm front
to the aggressive spirit of Christianity. Hence it
had not the power of resistance possessed by many of
the more ancient and elaborate religions of the East.
But better than all this, there existed side by
side with all the idolatry and superstition, a
tradition that a purer religion had once existed,
and that the ancient faith of the people had been a
simple theism.
The name of God was in constant use. Indeed
two names for God were employed by the people
— the one Andriaiiianitra — the other Aiidriana-
1/a/urry. Andriaiiianitra means the Fragrant One,
or, in the opinion of some, the Ever Fresh, the
Incorruptible. The second name {AndriananaJiary)
means the Creator. The former name {Andria-
iiianitra) had been to some extent generalised and
degraded, like the Hebrew name Elohiin, and at
times meant little more than mysterious or divine.
Parents are called Andriainanitra. So too was
silk, probably from the use of silk cloths to wrap
the dead in. Rice, as ' the staff of life,' also bore
the same name. Velvet, strangely enough was
ANCIENT RELIGION OF THE HOVA. 77
called Zanak' Andriamd,nitra, or Son of God.
But notwithstanding all this generalising of the
meaning of Andrianianitra, its prevailing meaning
was still the one personal God, and often to prevent
misunderstanding, the word was combined with the
second name ' the Creator,' so as to show beyond
doubt that the Supreme Being was spoken of In
the same way the people often join to the name of
God, the strange epithet 'who didst create us with
hands and feet ' — the hands and feet being taken
as specimens of all the physical powers.
This clear recognition of the supreme God, as
distinct from, and exalted far above, all idols and
spirits, was in itself a great gain, and formed a solid
foundation on which to build.
But there was still more ; the Malagasy are
exceedingly fond of proverbs, and much of the
gathered observation and experience of past ages
is preserved in these popular sayings. Many of
these proverbs are believed by the people to have
come down from very ancient times, and are usually
spoken of as ' OJiabblaii ny Ntaolo' or Proverbs of
the Ancients.
I well remember the delight with ^^'hich, when I
began to collect these old sayings, I found how
many of them contained a recognition of God, and
some knowledge of His attributes and character ;
and I think the reader will be pleased to have a
few examples and illustrations of this primitive
tradition. The dwelling-place of God was believed
to be in heaven, hence a strangely worded proverb
says : ' Like a little chicken drinking water ; it
looks up to God.' God was confessed to be greater
78 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
than the imagination of man can conceive ; thus
another proverb says : ' Do not say God is fully
comprehended by me.' God's omniscience was
recognised in the words, ' God looks from on high
and sees what is hidden ; ' and again in the follow-
ing: 'There is nothing unknown to God, but He
intentionally bows down His head (that is, so as not
to see) ; ' a very remarkable parallel to St. Paul's
words : ' that the times of ignorance, therefore,
God overlooked.' Again, God's omnipresence was
implied in an extremely common saying : ' Think
not of the silent valley' (that is, as affording an
opportunity for committing a crime) ; * for God is
over our head.' God was also acknowledged as
the author of life, as the ordinary phrase used in
saluting the parents of a newly-born child, was :
' Salutation ! God has given you an heir.' Another
proverb speaks thus of God's power to control the
restless will of man : ' The waywardness of man is
controlled by God ; for it is He who alone com-
mands.' God was the rewarder both of good and
evil ; and so they have the saying : ' God, for
whom the hasty wait not, shall be waited for by
me.' ' Let not the simple one be defrauded ; God
is to be feared ; ' ' God loves not evil ; ' 'It is
better to be held guilty by man than to be con-
demned by God.' These are simply examples,
and their number might be easily augmented, but
they are enough to show that God did not leave
Himself without witness.
Having such ideas as to the Divine Being, what
could the people be said to know as to their own
moral and spiritual nature }
ANCIENT RELIGION OF THE HOVA. 79
Though their ideas of the spirit are vague, there
is a clear recognition of it as distinct from the body.
The spirit is called fanahy, a noun derived from a
root aky, which means care, or solicitude ; or more
probably from nahy, which signifies will or intention.
That the spirit survived the body is clearly implied
in all the beliefs of the people concerning ghosts,
and in their prayers to their ancestors. The speech of
Andrianampoinimerina, from which I have quoted,
contains the following words : ' It is my body that
will lie buried ; but my spirit will be with you to
whisper to you words of counsel.'
As to the conscience, I am sorry I cannot say
much. The ideas of right and wrong are usually
expressed by mety and tsy viety, which do not mean
much more than proper and improper. For the
conscience no name exists ; the nearest approach
being fieritreretana, which means meditation, or
the faculty of meditating. The hope is that this
word, like so many others, having received a
Christian baptism, will now gradually gain a deeper
meaning. But the fact remains that no distinct
name for conscience was ever needed in pre-
Christian times ; and this is, I fear, a sign of an
undoubted lack in the nature of the people. I do
not, however, wish to imply that they are altogether
without a sense of right and wrong ; but merely
that their ideas are vague and shadowy. This is,
perhaps, the very thing that we should look for
in such a people. It has been the special fruit
of Christian teaching that it has awakened the
conscience.
Enough has been said to show that a missionary
So MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
to Madagascar can use as the groundwork of his
teaching much that already existed in the old
rch'gious behefs of the i:)cople. He can, and does
constantly chiim to be, not ' a setter forth of strange
gods,' but a herald of that one God, who made us
all, and to whom the ancestors of the people had
been accustomed to pray from time immemorial.
In another chapter we shall show how this
knowledge of God, so marvellously kept alive
through all the ages of idolatry and superstition,
has now been lit up with new meaning, and has
begun to exercise a more potent influence than it
ever did in the past.
( 8r )
CHAPTER VII.
THE INTRODUCTIOxN OF CHRISTIANITY.
Within a short time of the discovery of Mada-
gascar in 1 506 the Portuguese made an attempt to
convert the natives to the Roman Cathoh'c faith.
Their endeavours, however, were but of brief
duration, and produced no permanent result.
In the following century French Roman Catholic
missionaries laboured for nearly twenty years in
and near P"ort Dauphine. The names of the first
two missionaries were Nacquart and Gondree, and
they reached Fort Dauphine in 1648, during the
governorship of Flacourt. A catechism prepared
by these early French missionaries was published
by Flacourt in 1657. The fruits of this French
mission were but small, and owing to the arrogance
and violence of the over-zealous missionary, Father
Stephen, he was massacred by the natives, and the
work of evangelising the people was abandoned.
Protestant missions in Madagascar date from
1 8 18. For some years before this, however, Mada-
gascar had been engaging the thoughts of the
directors of the London Missionary Society. One
of its first missionaries to South Africa, the cele-
brated Dr. Vanderkemp, took the deepest interest
G
MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
in the island. Immediately after his arrival he
began to collect information, and to urge the
sending out of missionaries. In 1808 he writes
about ' the long-neglected island of Madagascar ' ;
two years later he again urges the sending of
missionaries to ' our newly-acquired conquest,' all
^^^
DAVID JONES.
the French establishments on the coast of Mada-
gascar having fallen to us in 18 10 upon our taking
the island of Mauritius, of which they were con-
sidered dependencies.
Dr. Vandcrkemp had himself planned to lead
the new mission, and preparations were far ad-
THE INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY. 83
vanced, when his death in 181 1 caused a temporary-
abandonment of the idea.
The men to whom the honour of being the
pioneers of Protestant missions in Madagascar
belongs were two Welshmen, named David Jones
and Thomas Bevan. They were fellow-students in
DAVID GRIFFITHS.
a theological school or seminary in Cardiganshire.
This was the ' Ysgol Neuaddlwyd,' or school of
Neuaddlwyd, not far from the town of Aberayron,
founded by the Independent ministers of Cardigan-
shire in 18 10.
The principal of this ' school ' was Dr. Phillips,
G 2
84 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
a preacher of great power, an earnest Christian
worker, and a man deeply interested in missions.
Strange to say, the first volunteers for mission work
in Madagascar were led to offer themselves to the
Society through a dream of their tutor. Dr. Phillips
had been reading much about Madagascar, and his
mind was so deeply stirred, as he thought of the
wretchedness of the people and their need of the
Gospel, that he could not rest. The next morning
he related his dream to the assembled students,
and asked : ' Now, who will go as a missionary to
Madagascar ? ' .From the far end of the school,
without any hesitation, came from the lips of Da\'id
Jones the reply : ' I will go ' ; and immediately this
was followed by a similar offer from his fellow-
student Thomas Bevan. Thus these two Welsh
students became the first Protestant missionaries to
the Great African Island. Wales may well praise
God for the links that bind her to the cause of
Jesus Christ in Madagascar, since she had much to
do with the laying of the foundation of the great
work that has been carried on there. David Jones
and Thomas Bevan were not her only contribution ;
but later on David Griffiths (1821) and David Johns
(1826), both, like the pioneer missionaries, students
of Dr. Phillips at Neuaddlwyd, were earnest and
successful missionaries in the same land.
The first mission party was overtaken by a terrible
disaster. After a preliminary visit by the mis-
sionaries alone, during which they had become fully
convinced of the capacity of the people to receive
education, they resolved to settle in Madagascar at
once with their wives and their two young children.
THE INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY. 85
Mr. and Mrs. Jones and their child arrived in
Tamatave on October 13. When Mr. and Mrs.
l^evan and their child reached the harbour early in
January the sad news met them that Mrs. Jones
and her infant were both dead, and that Mr. Jones
himself was believed to be dying. This news had
such a depressing effect on Mr. Bevan that he
expressed his firm, conviction that he too would
certainly die, a prophecy too soon to be fulfilled.
Within a few days his child sickened and died ;
then he himself was taken ill, and died on
January 31, and three days later Mrs. Bevan also
died. Mr. Jones was thus the only survivor out
of that party of six. They had not sufficiently
thought of the danger of taking up their residence
at the beginning of the rainy season, and were,
no doubt, poorly housed, and thus they fell easy
victims to the deadly climate of the coast.
Mr. Jones, though greatly weakened by fever,
refused to abandon the hope of evangelising Mada-
gascar. He returned for a time to Mauritius to
recruit his strength ; and in 1820 he once more
started for Madagascar — this time in company with
Mr. Hastie, the British Resident, and not to settle
on the coast, but in the capital of King Radama.
In this purpose he was encouraged by Sir Robert
Farquhar, the governor of Mauritius, and one of the
best friends Madagascar ever had.
Radama received Mr. Jones kindly, and gave
him permission to settle in Antananarivo ; and a
firm friendship sprang up between him and the
king, which lasted till the death of the latter eight
years afterwards.
S6 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
It is characteristic of the shrewdness of King
Radama, that in giving permission for missionaries
to reside in his country he expressly stipulated that
some of them should be skilled artisans, so that
his people might be instructed in weaving, smith's
work, carpentering, &c. To this request the Society
wisely acceded, and a number of Christian artisans
were sent out.
The names of some of these are still remembered
in Madagascar — e.g., Mr. Canham, the tanner, Mr.
Chick, the smith, Mr. Rowlands, the weaver, and,
above all, Mr. Cameron, whose mechanical skill and
great practical ability won for him the regard
and confidence of the people, and whose love for
the Malagasy led him to return to the country after
the persecution, and to remain there till his death
in 1875.
The influence of these artisans was of immense
value ; and to their teaching is to be attributed
much of the skill of the Malagasy workmen of to-
day. There is no doubt that the manifest utility
of their work did much to win for the mission a
measure of tolerance from the still heathen rulers
of the country.
One instance of this is given by Mr. Cameron
in his Recollections. Soon after the dismissal of
Mr. Lyall, the British agent, Queen Ranavalona
was beginning to feel uneasy about the growing
influence of foreign ideas, and wished to get rid of
the missionaries. She sent some officers to carry
her message, and the missionaries were gathered
together to meet the queen's messengers, and were
told that they had been a long time in the country
THE INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY. 87
and had taught much, and that it was now time for
them to think of returning to their own land. The
missionaries, alarmed at this message, answered
that they had only begun to teach some of the
elements of knowledge, and that very much re-
mained to be imparted. They mentioned sundry
branches of education, among which were the Greek
and Hebrew languages, which had already been
partially taught to some. The messengers returned
to the queen, and soon came back with this answer :
' The queen does not care much for Greek and
Hebrew. Can you teach something more useful }
Can you, for instance, teach how to make soap } "
This was an awkward question to address to theo-
logians ; but after a moment's pause Mr. Griffiths
turned to Mr. Cameron and asked him whether
he could answer it. ' Give me a week,' said Mr.
Cameron, and the week was given. At its close
the queen's messengers again met the missionaries,
and Mr. Cameron was able to present to them ' a
bar of tolerably good and white soap, made entirely
from materials found in the country.' This was an
eminently satisfactory answer, and the manufacture
of soap was forthwith introduced and is still con-
tinued to the present day, though no one would
now venture to call the soap 'white.'
As a result of the making of this bar of soap
the mission gained a respite of about five years,
during which the queen still tolerated the presence
and teaching of the missionaries for the sake of
the material advantages derived from the work
of the artisans ; and it was during these years
that the first churches were formed, and the
MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
Christian religion began to take deep root among
the people.
The education of the young naturally formed an
important element in the work of the mission from
its commencement, and under the patronage' of
King Radama I. the work flourished greatly.
Radama never became a Christian. ' My Bible,'
he would say, ' is within my own bosom.' But he
was a shrewd and clever man, and his ideas had
been much broadened through intercourse with
foreigners, and especially through his constant
intercourse with Mr. Hastie, the British agent, and
he clearly saw that the education of the children
would be an immense gain to his country. Thus
he did all in his power to further this branch of
missionary work, and both he and Mr. Hastie
showed great interest in the prosperity of the
schools.
In the year 1826 about thirty schools had been
founded, and there were nearly 2,000 scholars ; in
1828 the schools were forty-seven, but the number
of scholars had fallen to 1,400. At one time the
missionaries reported 4,000 as the number of
scholars enrolled, though there were never so many
as this actually learning. During the fifteen years
the mission was allowed to exist (1820-1835) it
was estimated that from 10,000 to 15,000 children
passed through the schools, so that when the
missionaries were compelled to leave the island,
there were thousands who had learned to read, and
who had by the education they had received been
raised far above the mass of their heathen fellow
countrymen.
THE INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY. 89
The direct spiritual results of the missionaries'
work were of slow growth, and it was not till eleven
years after Mr. Jones' arrival in the capital that
the first baptisms took place. This was on Sunday,
May 29, 1 83 1, in Mr. Griffiths' chapel at Ambodin'
Andohalo, when twenty of the first converts were
baptized in the presence of a large congregation.
On the next Sunday, June 5, eight more were
baptized by Mr. David Johns in the newly-erected
chapel at Ambatonakanga.
From this time the growth was comparatively
rapid and encouraging, and by the time of the
outbreak of persecution two hundred had been
received into the membership of the two churches
that were formed.
Summing up the results of the fifteen years' work,
Messrs. Freeman and Johns say : —
' During the fifteen years already mentioned the
whole of the Scriptures of the Old and New Testa-
ments were translated, corrected, and printed in the
native language at the capital, aided by very liberal
grants from the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Not fewer than 25,000 tracts, aided by the prompt
and generous encouragement afibrded by the Reli-
gious Tract Society, were printed ; Russel's Cate-
chism was translated, and an edition of 1,000 copies
generously given by Mr. Cameron, a member of the
mission. Nearly all these publications were put
into circulation. The number of schools increased
till they amounted to nearly 100, containing nomi-
nally about 4,000 scholars, to whom were imparted
the elements of instruction and of religious truth.
Probably 10,000 or 15,000 altogether passed through
90 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
the mission schools during the period under review.
Elementary books were provided for the use of
these, and probably as many more were distributed
among those who voluntarily acquired the art of
reading without attendance on the mission schools.
' Two printing-presses were established at the
capital by the London Missionary Society. A
dictionary of the language was prepared and printed
in two volumes, the first embracing the English and
Malagasy, and the other the Malagasy and English.
Two large congregations were formed at the capital.
Nearly 200 persons, on a profession of their faith,
applied for admission to church fellowship, and
numerous week-day evening services were estab-
lished at the dwelling-houses of the natives. Adult
Bible classes were started for the perusal and exami-
nation of portions of the sacred Scriptures, Various
preaching stations were visited every Sabbath in
several towns and villages, at which schools existed,
more or less distant from the capital. Many of the
principal scholars had their attention for a long
time directed to the English language and became
familiar with the English Scriptures. Innumerable
opportunities were embraced of conversing with the
natives. With many of them habits of intimacy
and friendship were formed, and as the result of
these and many other subsidiary means, the minds
of multitudes, it may be affirmed, became in some
degree enlightened in the truths of Christianity,
and so far affected by what they knew as to
renounce many of the superstitious customs of the
country.'
( 91 )
CHAPTER VIII.
THE QUARTER OF A CENTURY WIIEX 'THE LAND
WAS DARK.'
The story of the persecution and sufferings of the
Malagasy Christians has often been told, notably
in the Nai-rative of Treeman and Johns, and later
by the Rev. W. Ellis in his Martyr CInirch. An
excellent epitome may be found in the recently
published Story of tJie L. J\f. S., by the Rev. C.
Silvester Home, M.A. In this chapter the briefest
sketch possible must suffice.
I have taken as a chapter heading the translation
of a phrase commonly used by the Malagasy
Christians when they speak of the persecution. It
was 7iy taiiy viaizina, the time when the land was
dark. The phrase is often on their lips, and the
story of the sufferings and fidelity of the martyrs is
one they will never allow to be forgotten.
For us too the story has an undying interest,
and as one of the most thrilling episodes in the
history of the London Missionary Society the
main facts shotild be kept well to the front for
the instruction and encouragement of the present
generation.
The causes that led to the persecution are not
far to seek. They were, on the one hand, an
92 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
intensely conservative clinging to ancestral customs
and to the idols in which their fathers trusted, and
on the other hand a suspicious and jealous fear
of foreign influence. The zealous work of the
missionaries was believed by many of the queen's
advisers to be only a cloak to conceal political
designs. A new power had arisen in the land.
The teaching of the foreigners was proving so
attractive that their chapels were crowded, and the
influence of the new religion was making itself felt in
many families. Whither would all this lead ? Was
it not possible that these foreigners were simply
seeking to gain the afifections of the people that they
might pave the way for the ultimate annexation of
the island by the English government 'i There was
nothing unreasonable in such suspicions. Our ships
were often seen in the ports of Madagascar, and at
one time we had some claim to districts on the coast.
We were known to be a people prone to extend
our power into foreign lands ; and why should we
be credited with pure philanthropy in these efforts
to win the goodwill of the Malagasy } An amusing
story is told in illustration of this suspicion and
jealousy. The word ' society ' had been introduced
by the missionaries as the name of some combination
for mutual help in times of sickness and trouble.
Now ' society ' to a native ignorant of English
would suggest a phrase of their own which sounds
very much like it, viz., sosay at}, ' push (the canoe)
over this way.' This to the ingenious and suspicious
mind of the hearers suggested the idea of pushing
over the government of Madagascar to those across
the ocean, who were supposed to be greedily seeking
WHEN ' THE LAND WAS DARK: 93
to seize it. All this sounds absurd, but nothing
seems too ridiculous to obtain credence among an
excited and suspicious people.
The outbreak of violent opposition to missionary
teaching and influence was delayed for several
years, because the queen and her ministers valued
so highly the work of the missionary artisans.
The missionaries knew they could not depend upon
any long continuance of the freedom they had
hitherto enjoyed. But before the actual outbreak
of persecution they were greatly cheered by signs
of a deep spiritual work, A spirit of prayer began
to manifest itself, and week evening meetings
conducted by the natives themselves were held in
private houses. A letter reporting these encouraging
signs was written in November 1834 ; but before
the few remaining weeks of the year had passed
away, the storm burst. The first sign of a change
was a proclamation forbidding any person to
learn to read and write except in the schools
established by government. Much uneasiness was
felt by the missionaries, and many things seemed
to show that active opposition would not be long
delayed.
Towards the close of January 1835 one of the
queen's officers presented a formal complaint
against the Christians, comprising the following six
points : —
(i.) They despise the idols of the land.
(2.) They are always praying ; they hold meetings
in their own houses for prayer, without authority
from the queen ; and even before and after meals
they pray.
94 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
(3.) They will not swear by the opposite sex
(according to the usual custom of the country), but,
if required to swear, merely affirm that what they
say is true.
(4.) Their women arc chaste, and therefore
different customs from those established in the
country are introduced.
(5.) They are all of one mind respecting their
religion.
(6.) They observe the Sabbath as a sacred day.
Happy the people against whom no worse charge
could be laid !
Soon after this the queen, on passing a native
chapel during service time and hearing the singing,
was heard to say : ' They will not stop till some of
them lose their heads.'
Excitement increased, and opposition to the new
teaching grew bolder. One chief of rank is reported
to have sought an audience with the queen and to
have spoken to her thus : ' I am come to ask your
majesty for a spear, a bright, sharp spear — grant
my request' He would rather kill himself, he
said, than live on to see the idols of his fathers
dishonoured.
On Thursday, February 26, 1835, a formal letter
was sent to the missionaries telling them that they
could no longer be allowed to instruct the natives in
the Christian religion. At four o'clock that afternoon
the usual public service was held in the chapel at
Ambatonakanga, and one of the natives was
requested to deliver an address. The chapel was
quite full, and the address was excellent, founded
on the veiy appropriate text, ' Save, Lord, we
WHEN ' THE LAND WAS DARK: 95
perish.' It was the last public address ever delivered
there.
Three days later, viz. on Sunday, March 1st, the
edict publicly prohibiting the Christian religion was
delivered in the presence of thousands of the people
who had been summoned to hear it. The place of
meeting was the plain of Imahamasina, the Champs
de Mars of Antananarivo, an open space lying to
the west of the long hill on which the city is built,
and large enough to contain one or two hundred
thousand people. In the middle of the plain crops
up a large mass of granite rock, on which only royal
personages are allowed to stand. Hence, probably,
the name Imahamasina, which means ' having
power to make sacred.' Here, from time to time,
large public assemblies have been held, but
never one of higher significance or of more far-
reaching issues than that of Sunday, March 1st,
Of this great kabary notices had been sent far
and wide. All possible measures had been taken
to inspire the people with awe, and to make them
feel that a proclamation of unusual importance was
about to be published. The subjects of Ranavalona
had often been awe-stricken by the cruelty and
determination of their sovereign. We have seen
the kind of measures by which her throne was
obtained. But now she seemed anxious to make
her people feel that her anger was burning with
an unwonted fury. Hence the steps taken to
secure the attendance of all classes of the community,
not even invalids being excused.
' Morning had scarcely dawned,' we are told,
96 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
' when the report of the cannon, intended to strike
awe and terror into the hearts of the people, ushered
in the day on which the will and the power of the
sovereign of Madagascar to punish the defenceless
followers of Christ was to be declared. Fifteen
thousands troops were drawn up, part of them on
the plain of Imahamasina, and the rest in two lines,
a mile in length, along the road leading to the
place. The booming of artillery, from the high
ground overlooking the plain, and the reports of
the musketry of the troops, which was continued
during the preparatory arrangement for the kahary,
produced among the assembled multitudes the most
intense and anxious feelings.
'At length the chief judge, attended by his com-
panions in office, advanced and delivered the
message of the sovereign, which was enforced by
Rainiharo, the chief officer of the government.
After expressing the queen's confidence in the
idols, and her determination to treat as criminals
all who refused to do them homage, the message
proceeded : " As to baptism, societies, places of
worship, and the observance of the Sabbath, how
many rulers are there in the land t Is it not I
alone that rule .-' These things are not to be done.
They are unlawful in my country," says Queen
Ranavalona, "for they are not the customs of our
ancestors," '
As a result of this kabary four hundred officers
were reduced in rank, and fines were paid for two
thousand others, and thus was ushered in a
persecution that lasted a quarter of a century.
The missionaries were compelled to leave the
WHEN ' THE LAND WAS DARK: 97
island. But they had done a work the results of
which were not to be destroyed even by Queen
Ranavalona. They had imparted much general
knowledge, and had trained up many skilled work-
men, they had taught some 10,000 or 15,000 children
in their schools, and it was estimated that altogether
30,000 people had learned to read ; they had reduced
the language of the Hova to a written form ; they
had translated the Bible, and prepared elementary
school books ; they had gathered in the first fruits
of their labours, and had been able to found several
small Christian churches. The work had just
begun to give them abundant reason for hopeful-
ness, when all their bright anticipations were
clouded over, and the continuance of their work
was made impossible. The last party of mission-
aries, consisting of the Rev. D. Johns and Mr.
Edward Baker, sorrowfully bade farewell to Anta-
nanarivo in July, 1836.
And now, to use again the familiar native phrase,
the ' land was dark ' for twenty-five years, and the
Christians were called to suffer the severest perse-
cution. Queen Ranavalona (the Queen Mary of
Madagascar), with all the force of her strong will
set herself to destroy the new religion. ' It was
cloth,' she said, ' of a pattern she did not like, and
she was determined none of her people should use
it.' The victims of her fury form a ' noble army of
martyrs ' of whom Madagascar is justly proud.
The proto-martyr of the island was Rasalama,
a young woman, who was put to death at Ambohi-
potsy on August 14, 1837. She quietly knelt down
to commend her soul to God, and while she was
H
gS .)rADAGASCAR OF TO-DAV.
still praying her life was taken by the spear of the
executioner.
The measures taken to destroy Christianity were
not at all times equally severe. The years that
stand out with special prominence in the annals of
the persecution are 1835-37, 1840, 1849, and 1857.
Of what took place in 1840 we have recently had,
in a letter written at the time by the Rev. D.
Griffiths, who was then residing in Antananarivo,
and published in Neivs from Afar (Feb. 1895), a
graphic story told by an eye-witness. The nine
condemned Christians were taken past Mr. Griffiths'
house. ' Ramanisa,' he says, ' looked at me and
smiled ; others also looked at me and " their faces
shone like those of angels," m the posture of prayer
and wrestling with God. They were too weak to
walk, having been without rice or water for a long
time.
' The people on the wall and in the yard before
our house were cleared off by the swords and spears
of those conducting them to execution, that we
might have a clear, full, and last sight of them.
They were presented opposite the balcony on the
road and at the entrance of the yard for about ten
minutes, carried on poles by the executioners, with
merely a hand-breadth oi jabo cloth to cover them.
They were then led away to execution ....
' The cannon fired to announce their death was
shattered to pieces and the gunner's clothes burnt,
which was considered fearfully ominous, many
whispering, " TJnis will the kingdom of Ranavdtlo-
vianjaka be shattered to pieces!' '
In 1849 what maybe called the great persecution
WHEN ' THE LAND WAS DARK: gg
took place. Not less than 1900 persons suffered
punishment of various kinds — fines, imprisonments,
chains, or forced labour in the quarries. Of this
number eighteen suffered death — four of noble
birth by being burnt at Faravohitra, and fourteen
by being thrown over the great precipice of Am-
pamarinana {lit. the place of hurling).
It is not easy to estimate exactly the number of
those who suffered the punishment of death in these
successive outbursts of persecution. The most
probable estimate is that the victims were between
sixty and eighty. But these formed only a small
portion of the total number of sufferers. Probably
hundreds of others died from the burden of their
heavy iron chains, or from fevers, or severe forced
labour, or from privations endured during the time
they were compelled to hide in caves or in the
depths of the forest.
Notwithstanding the severity of the persecution,
however, much quiet Christian work was carried on
in the lulls between the storms. Meetings were
held in secret, sometimes far away in the forest,
sometimes on hill-tops, sometimes in lone country
houses, sometimes in caves, or even in unfinished
tombs. Thus was the story of the Covenanters
repeated and the impossibility of destroying Chris-
tian faith by persecution again shown. Through
the long years of persecution the Christians were
constantly receiving accessions to their ranks, and
the more they were persecuted, ' the more they
multiplied and grew.'
H 2
loo MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
CHAPTER IX.
THE RENEWAL OF MISSIONARY WORK.
The dreary years of waiting and of hope deferred
at length came to an end. Queen Ranavalona had
a long reign of thirty-three years, but in 1861 it
became evident to all that she would not reign
much longer. From native accounts we learn the
details of her last days. * The aged queen had for
some time been suffering in health. Diviners had
been urgently consulted, and charms and potent
herbs had been employed, but with no avail, and
late in the summer of 1861 it became generally
known that the fatal moment could not long be
delayed.' Mysterious fires were said to be seen on
the tops of the mountains surrounding the capital,
and a sound like music was heard rising from Isotry
to Andohalo. The queen eagerly questioned those
around her as to the meaning of these portents.
One replied : ' It is not the fire of men, but the fire
of God.' Others more boldly spoke of these signs
as foreshadowing death. But while the dying
queen was anxiously praying to the idol in whom
she put her trust, there were those who whispered
to the prince that the fire was ' the sign of Jubilee
to bring together the dispersed and to redeem the
lost.' And so the event proved. The aged queen
THE RENEWAL OF MISSIONARY IVOR A. loi
passed away during the night of Friday, August 1 5,
and early on the morning of August 16 the news
spread rapidly through the capital, and her son was
proclaimed as Radama II. One of the first acts of
the new sovereign was to proclaim religious liberty.
The chains were struck off from the persecuted
Christians, and the banished were recalled. Many
came back who had long been in banishment or
in hiding, and their return seemed to friends, who
had supposed them long dead, like a veritable
resurrection. The joy of the Christians was intense.
The long season of repression had at last come to
an end, and now it was no longer a crime to meet
for Christian worship or to possess Christian books.
On that first Friday evening some of the older
Christians met in a house at Analakely and spent
the night in prayer and praise and in reading
through the whole of Jeremiah, a book which
seems to have possessed special attractions for the
persecuted church. Sunday services were begun
in eleven private houses ; but soon these small
congregations were consolidated, and three large
congregations formed at Ambatonakanga, Ampa-
ribe, and Analakely.
Radama II. eagerly welcomed intercourse with
foreigners, and gave the Christians permission to
write at once urging that missionaries should be
sent out. He himself also wrote to the London
Missionary Society making the same request. The
Rev. John Lebrun, son of the venerable missionary
who was at that time still living in Mauritius, paid
a short visit to the capital to encourage the Chris-
tians and to assure them that they would speedily
I02 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
receive the much desired help. Mr. Ellis left
England on Nov. 20, and remaining in Mauritius
during the rainy season, arrived at Antananarivo in
June, 1862. The directors with great promptness
arranged to send out a band of missionaries in
the spring. These were duly appointed, and on
April 15 they sailed from London in the Marshal
Pelissier, a vessel belonging to a line of merchant
ships known from the colour of their paint as the
' pea-soupers.' The party consisted of the Rev.
Robert Toy and Mrs. Toy, the Revs. John Duffus
and William E. Cousins, Dr. Andrew Davidson
and Mrs. Davidson, Mr. John Parrett (missionary
printer) and Mr. Charles H. Stagg (school-master).
The vessel also carried 10,600 copies of the New
Testament and portions of the Old Testament, the
generous grant of the Bible Society ; 3000 reams of
printing paper, the gift of the Religious Tract
Society, 20,600 volumes of tracts and Christian
books (such as Come to Jesus, The Anxious Inquirer^
The Pilgriiifs Progress, lesson books, arithmetics,
&c.), a store of medicines and of school materials,
and a small printing-press. These missionaries
arrived in Tamatave on August 9, and reached
Antananarivo in two parties on August 28 and
September 2, about twenty weeks after sailing
from London.
We (for I find it more convenient to use the first
person), received a most hearty and loving welcome
from the native Christians. On the first Sunday
after our arrival (September 7), it was thought well
to celebrate the renewal of missionary work by
holding a united Communion Service. This was
THE RENEWAL OF MISSIONARY WORK. 103
held at Amparibe. The church members from the
three congregations nearly filled the rough un-
sightly building, which then stood where the present
school-house has since been built. The building
was composed chiefly of a roughly made rush roof
resting upon the mud walls surrounding the plot of
ground on which the original place of meeting
(Rainikoto's house) stood. But notwithstanding
the meanness and unsightliness of the building,
and the strangeness, and even grotesqueness, as it
might appear to some, of the dress and general
appearance of many of those gathered together
there, to those of us who had travelled ' so many
hundred miles over sea and land in the hope that
we might help forward God's work in the island,
the service was one of profound interest, and awoke
in our hearts fresh thankfulness and hope. Had
the same people attempted to meet for worship a
little more than twelve months earlier, many would
have lost their lives ; now in open daylight they
were assembled in this happy service, none daring
to make them afraid. There were present between
700 or Soo communicants. When the' first mission
was broken up in 1835, the number of communicants
was estimated at about 200. For twenty-five years
had Queen Ranavalona been persecuting the
Christians ; many had died as witnesses for Christ,
and many more had suffered in other ways for His
sake ; but now, a year after the queen's death, there
were nearly four times as many professed followers
of Christ in the capital alone as there had been in
all the churches when the first missionaries were
compelled to leave the island,
104 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAV.
The probable number of Christians in Madagascar
on our arrival in 1862 was between 5000 and 7000 ;
and there were, in addition to the three city con-
gregations, about twenty or twenty-five small
gatherings in different towns and villages around.
The eagerness of the people to learn at this
time was intense, and we were beset from morning
to night by crowds of visitors. We had tried
hard to learn Malagasy on board ship, but found
the guidance of Griffiths' Grammar somewhat the
reverse of helpful ; but from the day of our landing
in Tamatave we spent our time in almost uninter-
rupted intercourse with the natives. In this way
we speedily enriched our vocabulary, and with the
help of some of our friends who could speak
English (notably the present Governor of Tamatave,
Rainandriamampandry, and his brother, Rabearana),
we soon began to see light where all had been
darkness. With the characteristic eagerness and
rashness of young men we wished at once to make
use of what we had acquired, and after a few weeks
we began to deliver short addresses. My own first
attempt was made at Analakely on October 5,
1862, the fifth Sunday after my arrival in Antana-
narivo. The eagerness of the people to attend
religious services in those early days was wonder-
ful. It seemed as if they could not spend too
many hours in the house of God. After so many
years of persecution, during which all meetings
had to be held with the greatest secrecy, the
enjoyment of sitting in broad daylight, listening
to God's Word, joining in prayer, and, abo\'e all.
singing their h)MTins without the dread of some
RAINANDRIAMAMPANDRV, GOVERNOR OF TAMATAVE.
77^.5: RENEWAL OF MISSIONARY WORK. 107
enemy overhearing and denouncing them, seemed
to afford the most intense delight. Often they
would be at church by six or seven o'clock and
would remain till eleven, and then, after about two
hours, would return and stay till sunset. I have
heard as many as five or six distinct addresses given
during one morning service.
Schools were in those days non-existent, with
the exception of what was called the King's
School in the stone palace at Ambohipotsy, where
a few lads belonging to the upper classes received
some slight teaching. Books, of course, were very
scarce. Happy was he who possessed a few leaves
of a Testament, or part of a Psalter, or a Hymn
Book or Catechism, soiled and ragged though it
might be. Very few complete Bibles remained, not
more than a dozen or so ; and these, thumb-worn
and patched as they were, were regarded as priceless
treasures.
Great disappointment was expressed on our
arrival that the expected Scriptures and other
books had not come up with us. But it had been
impossible, so near the coronation, to obtain the
necessary porters. In November, however, the long
expected books arrived ; and during three days
(Nov. 11-13) those of us who were living at
Ambodin' Andohalo (where the old Girls' Central
School now stands), were busy from morning till
evening supplying the wants of the many applicants.
During these three days we disposed of 922 Testa-
ments and 5 1 5 portions (most of which were paid
for), and several thousands of other books and
tracts. The eagerness of the people and their
lo8 MADAGASCAR OF 7'0-DAY.
radiant faces, as they became possessors of the
precious volume they had so earnestly longed for,
was a rich reward for all our trouble during these
three busy days.
Soon after our arrival, Dr. Davidson began his
medical work, and Mr. Parrett set up his press at
Imarivolanitra. In these early days of course only
reprints could be published, and the work of the
first missionaries bore useful fruit. I do not think
that any of their literary work perished during the
persecution. The small catechisms that are now so
widely used perhaps came nearer destruction than
any other book. I do not remember having seen
more than the two or three soiled and much worn
copies obtained by us soon after our arrival. But
these sufficed to provide copy for new editions, and
from I ^6^) onwards, year after year these two useful
summaries of Bible teaching have been circulated
by thousands.
The brightness and hopefulness of our arrival was
eight months after clouded over by the assassination
of the king by whom we had been welcomed. But
his successor Queen Rasoherina confirmed the
charter of religious freedom, and our work was not
hindered.
The five years of Rasohcrina's reign (1863-
1868) had an important bearing on the history of
Christianity, and formed a season of quiet and
patient ploughing and sowing that prepared the way
for the great harvest of outward progress that took
place on the accession of her successor.
Before Rasoherina was proclaimed queen by the
officers, she was required to sign a paper containing
THE RENEWAL Oh MISSIONARY WORK. 109
seven articles, one of which stated in the strongest
possible terms that Christianity should never more
be forbidden or hindered by the Government of
Madagascar. Though the new queen was personally
unfavourable to the Christian religion, she never,
during the five years of her reign, deviated from
this agreement, the acceptance of which was made
a condition of her assuming the crown. Though no
favour was shown to the Christians, and though
they were often subjected to petty annoyances by
those in power, and alarmed by rumours of a
renewed outbreak of persecution, the work of our
mission was allowed to go on without check or
hindrance. The staff of missionaries was increased,
and during this reign there were ten or eleven
agents of the London Missionary Society engaged
in the various branches of mission work. Preaching
in town and country, guiding and aiding in the
development of church life, instructing the many
applicants for baptism and church membership,
superintending and helping schools both on Sundays
and week days, and above all, conducting Bible
classes, which in those days formed a most
important and fruitful branch of our work — these
were the chief agencies employed by us to help
and encourage the churches and to extend our
work.
The missionaries were accustomed to hold their
Bible classes on different days of the week, and
many of the most earnest young men were in the
habit of attending almost all of them. I remember
a preacher in one of our united monthly prayer-
meetings, when expatiating on the religious privileges
no MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAV.
of the people of Antananarivo, enumerating these
classes, and telling the people they could go on
Monday to such and such a class, on Tuesday to
another, and so on through the days of the week,
until he came to Saturday. For this day he could
think of no particular religious teaching, but fell
back on the general duty of cleanliness as a suitable
preparation for Sunday, and called it, as it truly is
in and around Antananarivo, ' Washing Day.'
Other branches of mission work were being
gradually developed during this reign. Mr. Parrett
was training his native printers, and preparing for
the great demands which, all unknown to them,
were soon to be made upon them. Dr. Davidson
had built the first hospital at Analakely, and was
winning the people by his kindness and skill, and
at the same time sapping the foundations of many
of their old beliefs. Mr. Sibree had been engaged
in erecting to the memory of the martyrs the
Memorial Churches, which, in response to a happy
inspiration of Mr. Ellis, the churches of England
so generously gave to the churches of Madagascar.
We knew that the religion of the Lord Jesus
Christ was \yinning its way, and that in the end it
would be victorious. We did not, however, foresee
how soon the downfall of the old idolatry would
come. Seven years after the reopening of the
mission the successor of Queen Rasoherina, who
bore the name of Ranavalona II., became a
Christian, and soon after she burnt the national
idols. The people at once followed the example
of their sovereign, and for some weeks the whole of
I marina was given up to the novel task of idol
THE RENEWAL OF MISSIONARY WORK. 113
burning. I have no space here to narrate in detail
the course of subsequent events ; but from a mis-
sionary standpoint the most important result of the
profession of Christianity by the Queen and Prime
Minister was that immense numbers of people came
suddenly under Christian teaching. One single
fact will be enough to make this point clear. In
1867 there were only ninety-two congregations (with
13,682 adherents) under the care of the London
Missionary Society ; three years later the number
of congregations was 62 1 (with 231,759 adherents).
This sudden accession of thousands of semi-heathen
people, who, as the natives say, came rushing into
the churches like a flock of sheep, has done much
to lower the tone of Christian life ; and no one can
rightly understand the nature of the work now
going on in Madagascar, or the many weaknesses
of the native churches, or the difficulties that beset
the missionaries, unless this fact be borne in mind.
Still, in looking upon the burning of the national
idols, removed from us as it is by more than a
quarter of a century, we see that it forms a great
landmark in the history of Madagascar. It was a
definite break with the past, a renunciation of the
old worship, and a true step forward. And since
that event much has been done, and much is still
being done, to leaven with Christian truth these
masses of half-instructed adherents. The story
of the London Missionary Society, and of other
societies at work in Madagascar, from 1869 onwards
is simply the story of how they have been trying to
instruct, help, and guide these tens of thousands of
men and women who have embraced the reh>ion
I
114 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
of their sovereign, have built houses of prayer in
their villages, and have placed thousands of children
under instruction in the schools. There is in this
story little to appeal to the imagination. There arc
no thrilling stories of adventure and danger to tell.
The halo of romance that so often surrounds the
earlier stages of mission work has long vanished,
and at times the present work may seem dull and
prosaic. But to those who estimate aright the
value of abiding spiritual influences, this work of
helping to guide and educate a young Christian
community is one which must be full of interest,
and must be acknowledged to possess undeniable
claims to our sympathy and support.
( 115 )
CHAPTER X.
BIBLE TRANSLATION.
The Christianity of our converts in Madagascar
has been described by Romanists as consisting
mainly in * reading the Bible.' Happily there is
some truth in this remark. The Bible has taken a
deep hold on the minds of the people. Love of the
Bible was one of the most marked characteristics of
the persecuted Christians ; and I see no prospect
of the Bible losing its supreme place in the love and
esteem of the people.
It will not be unfitting in this brief account of
Madagascar, and how Christian work has been
carried on among its people, to give here a short
account of the care and labour undergone in order
to provide for them a well-considered and faithful
translation of the Scriptures. Missionaries may in
time be no longer needed, but the Bible they
brought to the knowledge of the people, and which
formed the basis of all their teaching, will remain
as a perennial source of instruction, and as a
universally acknowledged standard.
The story of the Malagasy Bible is full of living
interest, and it shows where among Protestant
missionaries of all societies the one centre of union
is to be found.
I 2
Ii6 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
In sketching this story we must first of all go
back in imagination to the middle of the seventeenth
century, a time of great activity on the part of
European nations, eager to found colonies in newly-
discovered lands. Among other enterprises the
French attempted to gain a footing at the south-
east corner of Madagascar. The principal point
occupied by them was Fort Dauphine, where, as we
have already seen in Chapter VII., French mis-
sionaries settled, and began to instruct the natives
in the Roman Catholic faith. This mission was
maintained in spite of many discouragements and
hardships for nearly twenty years. The mission-
aries, we are told, ' prepared catechisms, prayers,
confessions to the Virgin Mary, and to St. Michael,
and John the Baptist, with the command of the
church to abstain from flesh on Fridays and Satur-
days;' but we do not read that they translated
even one of the Gospels.
This French mission, from causes we cannot now
stop to consider, came to an end without leaving
any permanent trace upon the natives ; and the
Protestant missionaries who a century and a half
later carried the gospel to Madagascar, found it
virgin soil. They went to a people without a
written language, and without any knowledge of
the Christian faith. Both in their literary and in
their evangelistic labours they had not to revive a
work that was dying out, but to start de novo, and
seek in their own way to carry out the objects of
their mission. To all who study the question, it is
perfectly clear that the foundation of the work at
present being carried on in Madagascar is not to
BIBLE TRANSLATION. 117
be sought in the earlier attempts of the French
missionaries in the south-east corner of the island,
but in the work of the first missionaries of the
London Missionary Society in and around Antana-
narivo, the capital.
Who, then, were these men to whom the Mala-
gasy people owe their written language and their
first translation of the Scriptures ? They were,
as we have seen, two Welshmen, both Davids —
David Jones and David Griffiths. The first of
these reached Antananarivo in 1820, the second a
year later. The late Mr. Cameron describes Mr.
Griffiths as a strong, hardy-looking man of middle
height, accustomed to work and to overcome
difficulties, a man quick in movement and of un-
tiring energy. Mr. Jones, he also tells us, was tall
and slightly built, much weakened by early attacks
of the Tamatave fever, and easily tired. These
two men were the pioneers of Protestant missions
in Madagascar.
The main strength of these early missionaries
was devoted to educational work, in which they
were vigorously supported and encouraged by King
Radama I. and by Mr. Hastie, the British agent.
But notwithstanding the many claims made upon
them by this and other branches of work, they
began very early to make a translation of the
Scriptures. In this they were greatly assisted by
some of their more promising scholars to whom
they had taught the English language, and who in
Madagascar are still spoken of as ' The Twelve ; ' ^
twelve young men having been selected by the
' The last of these men, Rainisoa Ratsimandisa, died in 1888.
Ii8 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
missionaries for the more advanced positions. We
cannot now stop to trace the growth of the transla-
tion ; suffice it to say, that by March, 1830, ten years
after the arrival of Mr. Jones in Antananarivo, a
first edition of 3000 copies of the New Testament
was completed. Thus within ten years after their
arrival in Antananarivo, these pioneers of missionary
work had not only mastered the early difficulties of
learning the language and reducing it to writing,
but had also given to the people this translation as
the first fruits of their labours.
Even at this time much progress had been made
in the translation of the Old Testament. In the
completion and revision of this work valuable
assistance was rendered by colleagues who had
more recently joined the mission, viz. the Revs.
D. Johns and J. J. Freeman.
The story of the completion of the printing of
the Old Testament possesses peculiar interest.
Soon after the death of King Radama I., in 1828,
the missionaries saw clear indications of the un-
certainty of their position. Ominous clouds began
to gather, until at length, in 1835, the storm of
bitter persecution burst upon the infant church
as narrated in a previous chapter. The edict
of Queen Ranavalona I. against the Christian
religion was published on March i, 1835. At
this time from Ezekiel to Malachi and a portion
of Job remained unprinted. Thus, before the
whole of the book was in the hands of the people,
it was placed under a ban : an indubitable testi-
mony to the power it had begun to exercise in the
island. The wish of the missionaries to complete
BIBLE TRANSLATION. 119
their work was only intensified by this outbreak of
persecution. They toiled unremittingly, nothing
daunted by the difficulties that beset them. The
hostility of the government to Christianity was
bitter and determined. The missionaries were
almost deserted by their converts. They could
procure no workmen to assist them in the printing.
Mr. Baker, as the sheets of the translation were put
into his hands, composed the whole himself ; and
Mr. Kitching worked off the sheets at the press.
With trembling haste did the missionaries proceed
with their task ; and by the end of June they had
the joy of seeing the first bound copies of the
complete Bible.
Most of these Bibles were secretly distributed
among the converts ; and seventy remaining copies
were buried for greater safety in the earth ; precious
seed over which God watched, and which in due
time produced a glorious harvest. The translators
were driven away ; but the book they had translated
remained. Studied in secret and at the risk of life,
this first translation served during more than a
quarter of a century of persecution to keep alive
faith in the newly received religion. In the thrilling
story of the Martyr Church one fact stands out
with great clearness, viz. that as intense hatred of
the Bible was shown by the persecuting queen and
her counsellors, so was intense love of the Bible
one of the most marked characteristics of the perse-
cuted.
But this Bible has since been revised. Why,
some will ask, did a translation so honoured of
God need revision .' The simple answer to this
I20 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAV.
is that it was a first translation ; and those who
have studied the question of Bible translation are
fully aware that in almost no instance has a first
translation stood the test of time. Since 1830 great
strides have been made in Biblical scholarship ;
and at the same time we may, without wishing in
any way to slight the grand work of these first
missionaries, safely assert that the Malagasy
language is better understood now than it was in
their days.
When, after the reopening of the mission in 1862,
and especially after the great expansion of the work
consequent upon the burning of the idols in 1869,
missionaries began to look forward to the future,
they felt that it was incumbent upon them to make
some attempt to give to the Christians of Mada-
gascar a more accurate and idiomatic version of the
Scriptures. In 1872 a conference of missionaries,
representing the five Protestant societies at that
time working in Madagascar, was held in Antana-
narivo ; and proposals for a revision were submitted
to the British and Foreign Bible Society. This
society generously accepted the whole pecuniary
responsibility of the undertaking, and a Revision
Committee was formed and began its work in the
following year.
The present writer was, in accordance with the
wish of his co-workers, appointed principal reviser
and chairman of the Revision Committee. It was
his duty to prepare a preliminary version as a
basis for the committee's work, and also to act as
editor and give practical eff"ect to all the committee's
decisions.
BIBLE TRANSLATION.
The committee consisted of eight foreigners
(English, American, and Norwegian) and three
natives. The first meeting was held on Dec. i,
1873, and the work was completed on April 30,
1887. Many changes took place in the personnel
of the committee during the progress of the revi-
sion, and only two Europeans and one native
remained members from its foundation till its dis-
solution. Deducting interruptions, the time actu-
ally spent on the revision was about eleven years,
of which nine and a half were spent on the first
revision, and one and a half on the second and
final revision.
During the greater part of the time, the com-
mittee met every Wednesday, and held morning
and evening sittings of three hours each. Progress
was at first but slow, sometimes not more than
twelve verses being revised in a day ; but the speed
gradually improved, and the work averaged from
sixty to eighty verses per day. The revision took
a longer time than had been anticipated, and made
large demands upon the patience of those engaged
in it. But it had in it much that was pleasant and
attractive, and served as a bond of union among
missionaries of different communions. There were
on the revision committee Anglicans, Lutherans,
Presbyterians, Independents, and Friends ; and the
union of these in common work gave an easily
appreciated answer to the taunt of the Jesuits, who
delight to talk of ' the five different religions '
introduced into Madagascar by Protestants. The
natives see clearly that whatever divisions exist
among these missionaries, all are at one in their
122 AfADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
loyalty to God's Word, and in their desire that the
churches of Madagascar should possess as accurate
and carefully considered a translation of it as
modern scholarship renders possible.
From first to last native help was sought on all
points of idiom and phraseology. A good Malagasy
dictionary exists, one that has recently been greatly
enlarged and improved by the Rev. J. Richardson,
and a copy of this always lay on our table ; but, as
a matter of fact, it was but seldom opened, because
seated at the bottom of the table was a living
dictionary in the persons of our three native helpers.
We felt increasingly the value of their help, and
the second revision was in the main entrusted to
them, working under the superintendence of the
i:)rincipal reviser. The whole Bible was once more
read through with a view to the removal of any-
thing harsh in style, and to make it as simple and
harmonious as possible. If in future years it should
be found that a version acceptable to the people
generally has been produced, very much of the
credit will be due to the patience and zeal of these
native helpers.
Prayer and painstaking, we are told, will accom-
plish anything. In this revision work neither were
spared. The labour of twelve years were given
to it, and the best critical aids within the reach
of the revisers were constantly used. Much prayer
also was offered to Almighty God for the success
and usefulness of the work. Every meeting was
opened with prayer, and work thus begun and
continued in prayer was suitably closed with a
public thanksgiving service. This was held at
BIBLE TRANSLATION. 123
the suggestion of the native brethren. The place
of meeting was the stone memorial church at
Ambonin' Ampamarinana — the church built just
on the edge of the precipice over which the four-
teen Christians were hurled in the year 1849,
because of their love to God's Word and their
unwillingness to renounce the Saviour that Word
had made known to them.
To this meeting the Queen of Madagascar sent
His Excellency Rainilaiarivony, the Prime Minister,
with a message of thanks to all who had taken part
in the work. He told us in his speech of the deep
interest that had been taken in this revision by
the late queen, Ranavalona H., the first Christian
Sovereign of Madagascar, and how, taking that
special interest in maintaining the purity of the
language which is so often noticed in those of noble
birth, she had often spoken of the revision to the
natives engaged in it, and had occasionally herself
suggested to them certain suitable expressions.
He also told us that the present queen, Ranava-
lona HI., bid him say how thankful she was that a
work that would tend so greatly to benefit her
kingdom was at length completed.
What a lesson of patience and hope is this !
From this very spot had Christians at the command
of the first Queen Ranavalona been hurled over the
rocks because of their loyalty to God's Word ; and
thirty-eight years afterwards another Queen Rana-
valona took part, by her representative, in a service
of rejoicing and thanksgiving that her people
were soon to possess an improved translation of
the Bible for which their fathers suffered so
124 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
much. Truly God teaches us to wait patiently
for Him.
All friends of Madagascar will re-echo the wish
that this new translation may do much for the
building up of the Christian community in that
land. There are already more than 300,000 Pro-
testant Christians there ; and in some 2000 con-
gregations and in nearly as many schools will this
book be used. The past history of Madagascar
has done much to awaken the sympathy of British
Christians ; let all then breathe a prayer that the
future may be not unworthy of all that is noble and
inspiring in the past ; and that this new version of
the Bible may be a potent factor in bringing about
a result so devoutly to be desired.
CHAPTER XI.
THE PRESENT STATE OF CHRISTIANITY IN THE
ISLAND.
What then arc the results of three-quarters of a
century of Christian work in Madagascar ? Has it
become in any full sense of the term a Christian
land }
That we may give in brief an answer to this
question we will take in order the various mis-
sionary societies engaged in the work.
The London Missionary Society, as we have
seen, began its work at Tamatave in the year 1818,
and two years later the first missionary of the
society arrived in Antananarivo. It was the first
society in the field, and it had the honour of laying
the foundation of the extensive work now being
carried on, and as a consequence it holds a position
second to no other society at work in the island.
From the statistics for the year 1 894 we find that
it has 38 missionaries in Madagascar. These have
under their care 1,328 congregations (about 800 of
which are in Imerina) with an aggregate of 280,000
adherents, 63,000 of whom are church members.
It !has nearly 1000 day schools containing 74,000
children. There are 1061 native pastors, very fev/
of whom, however, are college-trained men, and
126 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
5879 preachers. The churches raise and use for
local purposes ;^6ooo or ;^70oo per annum.
The Church Missionary Society began a work
on the east coast in 1864 ; but on the appointment
of a bishop representing more particularly the High
Church party in 1874 it removed its missionaries,
and has not renewed its work.
The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel
sent missionaries to Tamatave in 1864, and in 1873
began to work in the capital. In 1874 it sent out
Bishop Kestell-Cornish, who still remains at the
head of the Anglican mission, and has a large
stone cathedral in the centre of the capital. The
European agents of the society now number eight
or ten, and the total number of congregations under
their care is 27, with a total of about 10,000
adherents, 6000 (.') of whom are communicants.
There are probably 2000 or 3000 scholars in the
schools under the care of this society.
The Norwegian Missionary Society sent out two
missionaries, Messrs. Engh and Nilsen, in the year
1866. Since that date its work has been greatly
extended and developed, until it has now a larger
number of missionaries than any other Protestant
society. The last report gives the number of
Norwegian missionaries as 44, with whom are
associated 60 native ordained ministers, having
charge of 50,000 or 60,000 adherents, 28,000 of
whom arc communicants. The number of children
in the Norwegian schools is about 30,000.
The Society of Friends sent out to Madagascar
in 1867 Mr. Joseph S. Sewell and Mr. and Mrs.
Street. In the early years the work of the Friends
PRESENT STATE OF CHRISTIANITY. 127
was mainly educational, but it has gradually-
become more general, and now embraces all the
ordinary departments of missionary work. Their
mission is carried on in thorough harmony and
friendly co-operation with the London Missionary
Society, and they have given to all interested in
Christian missions a splendid object lesson of
unselfish service. No attempt has been made to
detach congregations from the older society into
whose labours they entered. The large country
district under the care of the Friends is one
of the most carefully worked in the country, and
enjoys a fuller measure of English superintendence
than the London Missionary Society has found it
possible to give to its more widely extended opera-
tions. The educational work has been carefully
developed and is deserving of the highest praise,
while a well-managed printing office is always
increasing the number of useful works available
for general use. The Friends are also mainly
responsible for the medical work to be noticed
separately below. The present number of mis-
sionaries belonging to the Friends' Foreign Mission
Association working in Madagascar is about 15.
Under their care they have 149 congregations with
25,000 adherents and 2915 communicants. The
Friends admittedly exercise a powerful influence,
and do much to mould public opinion on all
questions affecting the moral and spiritual well-
being of the people.
Summarising the preceding paragraphs we may
say that there are about 107 foreign Protestant
missionaries in the island, having under their care
128 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
2004 congregations with a total of 375,000 adherents,
more than 96,000 of whom are church members ;
and that the Protestant schools contain 120,000
children.
To these wc must add the statistics of the
Roman Catholic mission. This comprises about
100,000 adherents, who are under the care of 113
foreign missionary agents. The children in the
Roman Catholic schools are said to number 15,000.
We thus reach a total of more than 400,000
Christians ; and if we reckon the population of the
island at 4,000,000 this will give one-tenth as the
proportion of the Christian to the heathen popu-
lation. It can never be too plainly or too frequently
impressed upon the attention of the friends of
missions that nine-tenths of the people of Mada-
gascar remain heathen, and that of the remaining
one-tenth who have accepted our religion many are
Christians only in name.
It is nevertheless abundantly manifest that the
Christian religion has taken a firm hold on the
people. Perhaps the most noticeable indication
of this is the number and prominence of the church
buildings, especially in and around the capital.
There are for instance the four stone Memorial
Churches, built at the cost of the friends of the
London Missionary Society to remind coming
generations of the fidelity of the martyrs. Then
some mention should be made of other church
buildings, such, for example, as the large stone
Cathedral of St. Lawrence, belonging to the
Anglican mission, and the very fine and well-
situated Roman Catholic cathedral in Ambodin'
AMFATONAKANGA MEMORIAL CHURCH.
PRESENT STATE OF CHRISTIANITY. 131
Andohalo. From any of the higher points in
Antananarivo may also be seen dozens of country
churches, many of them well planned and well
built structures. Even the poorer churches arc a
clear proof of the spread of the religion we have
carried to Madagascar ; and if we are at times
disposed to think them mean and unsuited to their
purpose, we must judge them not by our English
standards, but by comparing them with the poor
and comfortless dwellings in which most of the
natives live.
Some few of the educational establishments are
also ' outward and visible signs ' of the elevating
and enlightening work that is going on. The
ordinary day-schools are carried on in the churches,
but the higher education has required the erection
of special buildings, belonging both to the Protestant
and to the Roman Catholic Missions. Among these
the large College of the London Missionary Society,
standing on the top of the Faravohitra Hill, is
perhaps the building most likely to attract public
attention. Here a work of much importance is
being carried on. F'rom the commencement of
the college in 1869 to the present time some 300
or 400 young men have been educated in its
classes. The majority of these have been theo-
logical students ; but some have taken only the
general non-theological subjects. The influence
of the college has been widely felt, and men may
be found in all parts of the country who have
received their education within its walls, A largfe
number even of the theological students become
in time government officials. If one were to land
K 2
MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
to-day at one of the ports of Madagascar, he would
probably sec a gentleman with a cocked hat, and
gold epaulettes and much gold lace upon his coat,
with a band of music and a great number of
soldiers and attendants following him. This would
be the Governor, the representative of Queen
Ranavalona III. If this grand gentleman were
visited privately he would probably begin to talk
of the Rev. R. Toy or the Rev. G. Cousins, his
former tutors in the London Missionary Society
College.
The London Missionary Society College is not
the only institution of this kind, similar establish-
ments are carried on by the Society for the
Propagation of the Gospel mission at Ambato-
haranana, and by the Norwegian Missionary Society
at Fianarantsoa.
It must always be borne in mind that all
educational work in Madagascar depends upon
the aid and superintendence of the various mis-
sionary societies. There is a strong government
influence in favour of education, but that is all.
The only schools to which children can go are the
mission schools, for no others exist.
Printing presses are another indication of the
intellectual awakening that has taken place. In-
stead of the one small press taken out by us in
1862, there are now five well-equipped printing-
offices at work in Antananarivo. Malagasy
literature is still in its infancy, and a very few
yards out of the thirty miles said to be required
for the books in the British Museum would
accommodate all the books at present existing in
PRESENT STATE OF CHRISTIANITY. 135
the language. Still the foundations are being laid
and progress is being made both as to the number
and quality of the books published.
All medical work and the training of young men
as native doctors is another direct fruit of missionary
work. Dr. Davidson, as we have seen, was the
honoured pioneer in this department of work, and
his name is still remembered and loved by many
of his old friends. The hospital he built at
Analakely did excellent service ; but at length
it was found necessary to seek a more open and
healthy site, and the present building at Isoavin-
andriana, about a mile away from the capital, was
erected. Here a most valuable work is carried
on. Hospital and dispensary work, the training
of native nurses, and the education of medical
students, are alike cared for. An air of order and
quiet, of cheerfulness and brightness, reigns at
Isoavinandriana ; and all residents in and around
the capital highly appreciate the advantage of
having so well-managed a hospital within an easy
distance. The nurses trained by Miss Byam are
highly valued, and they deserve all the praise
bestowed upon them. The medical students at
the close of their course are subjected to exami-
nations arranged by a medical board comprising
all the Protestant doctors. Successful students
receive the diploma of M.M.M.A. (Member of the
Madagascar Medical Association).
The Norwegian Society has also a large hospital
in the capital under the care of Dr. Thesen ; and
the government also employs a doctor, who carries
on some dispensary work. The Roman Catholic
136 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
priests and the Sisters of Mercy have always been
active in attending to the sick ; and of late years
the French government, 'copying the methods of
the missionary societies, has established free dis-
pensaries as a means of winning the good will of
the natives.
Work among the lepers, a class which, alas ! is
to be found in all parts of Madagascar, has long
been carried on by the French missionaries. There
is also an important leper settlement at Antsirabe,
in the Betsileo country under the care of the
Norwegian Society ; and the Rev. P. G. Peake, of
the London Missionary Society, has begun a similar
work near his station at Isoavina.
As a result of all this work which missionaries of
different societies are doing, there is undoubtedly
a great intellectual, moral, and social movement
observable among the people, at least, in the main
centres such as Antananarivo and Fianarantsoa. The
inhabitants of these districts are, speaking generally,
Christian people. Any one visiting these places on
a Sunday would see what crowds attend to various
religious services ; and the quiet and order that
reign in them on the Sunday has often been
remarked by strangers.
Nor are church-going and Sunday observance the
only signs of change. Those who know well
the life of the people are able to testify as to
the gradual advance that is being made. A new
standard of morality has been introduced, and
absolutely new ideas as to marriage, home life, and
the care of children, are beginning to exert their
influence. Polygamy has nearly disappeared, and
o
<
>
o
PRESENT STATE OF CHRISTIANITY. 139
divorce can only be obtained after a proper trial
before the judges. Home life is becoming purified,
and a generation of young people is growing up
who have received from childhood a Christian
education, and have been shielded to some extent
from the prevailing corruption.
A purifying leaven is working and will work ;
but the old habits and customs of heathenism are
not easy to destroy, and we often have to grieve
over their recrudescence, and have to acknowledge
that superstition dies hard.
Much is done by preaching and by the press to
create a healthy public opinion on all moral ques-
tions. Much, too, is done by united meetings of
the churches to secure oneness of purpose and
harmony of sentiment on all questions affecting
their well-being.
As a healthy sign of growth may be named
the tendency of the younger Christians to form
societies, such, for instance, as a Bible society,
a tract society, a preachers' society, an orphanage
society. Much good work is carried on by these
societies, and an aggressive spirit is growing. The
native missionary society sends its agents to far-
ofif tribes, and is just now endeavouring to increase
its useful work. Young people's societies of Chris-
tian Endeavour are being formed in many places,
and the young Christians banded together in this
way do much to help one another, and to extend
the influence of the Gospel.
This chapter would not be complete without a
few words about the work of the Roman Catholic
missionaries. As a Protestant missionary I have,
I40 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
of course, no knowledge of the inner working of
their mission ; but no one can live long in
Madagascar without learning to admire the self-
denial and patience with which their work is
carried on. The educational work in Tamatave
and in Antananarivo is specially deserving of high
commendation.
Rather than attempt myself to summarise the
work of the Roman Catholic missionaries, I will
transcribe part of an account written a few years
since by an English visitor : —
'In 1861, when Catholic missionaries landed on
the shores of Tamatave, there was not a Catholic in
the island ; but little by little, by dint of unwearied
labours, sufferings and preachings, they won over,
not hundreds, but thousands of pagans to the
knowledge and love of our Lord and His truth,
so that their pagan converts number now over
1 30,000.
* They have built a magnificent cathedral which is
the glory and pride of Tananarivo, They have
also 300 churches and 414 Catholic stations scat-
tered over this island. Connected with these
churches they have innumerable schools, where
18,000 children are taught and trained by a large
and devoted staff of Christian brothers, of sisters
of St. Joseph of Cluny, and 641 native teachers.
'They have also created industrial schools, where
various trades are taught by two devoted brothers,
Benjamin and Arnaud ; and at Ambohipo they
have a flourishing college for young Malgaches,
They have also in the island four large dispensaries,
where thousands of prescriptions are distributed
PRESEIVT STATE OF CHRISTIANITY. 143
gratis to all who seek relief in their sufferings.
They have also established a leper hospital at
Ambahivoraka, where the temporal and spiritual
wants of 150 poor lepers are freely administered
to ; and they are about to open another such
establishment in Betsileo-land.
' The wretched prisons of the city are also looked
after by the zealous Father Baryt, who, like a
second St. Peter Claver, weekly dispenses gratis
rice, clothing, chains (?) too, and spiritual instruc-
tion and consolation to the half-starved, half-naked
prisoners, for the government does nothing more
for them than find them a miserable shelter ! A
most touching sight iti is to see him among these
130or skeleton-looking creatures administering to
their wants.
* Their literary labours are also worth mentioning.
In Tananarivo they have a large printing house
superintended by Father Malzac. Their catalogue
of books shows the numberless devotional, literary,
and scientific works that they have edited and
published in the Malgache language. Father
Malzac is now occupied in bringing out a dictionary
in Malgache.
'They have built also on the hill of Ambohidem-
pona, facing the capital, a magnificent observatory,
which is the most imposing structure that the eye
of the traveller sees as he approaches from Tama-
tave, the great Hova city
'All are familiar also with the famous map of
Madagascar, drawn up with so much care and skill
by Pere Roblet.
'The name of Father Combone, the naturalist,
144 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAV.
is not unknown to the European and American
literary world, to whose reviews he often contri-
butes scientific articles on matters relating to this
wonderful island. . . .
* Such are some of the heroic works of evangeli-
sation and civilisation which the present mis-
sionaries are carrying on in that far-off island
continent in the Indian seas.'
I have allowed the work of the Roman Catholic
missionaries to be described by the pen of a
friendly visitor. To much in the Roman Catholic
system we may be strenuously opposed ; to their
zeal and skill, their self-denial and their patience,
we render the homage of our ungrudging admira-
tion.
I would also add here that happily we have not
at present in Madagascar had to complain of any
deep bitterness between Roman Catholics and
Protestants. We have no Orange riots to trouble
us. Even Frenchmen allow that the London
Missionary Society has been true to its belief in
religious toleration.
Pere Caussequc, a well-known member of the
Jesuit mission, has said : ' There are English and
Norwegian missions at Antananarivo, and if their
relations are not intimate with the Catholic mis-
sions, they are civil. The English and Norwegians
do not attack the Catholics. The open and violent
enemies of the latter are French.'
The fullest religious liberty is enjoyed in
Madagascar to-day, and I do not think there is
any prospect of either French or English mis-
sionaries enjoying under a French protectorate a
PRESENT STATE OF CHRISTIANITY. 145
fuller measure of freedom of action than that
enjoyed by all classes under the present regime.
A letter published recently in the Times news-
paper, written by Father Vaughan, seems to show
that this is the judgment of the Roman Catholics
themselves, and that they do not anticipate with
much pleasure the prospect of coming under
French rule.
But it should also be borne in mind that French
influence in Tahiti and other South Sea Islands has
been adverse both to morality and to Evangelical
Christianity, and all friends of Christian Missions
in Madagascar cannot help looking with serious
misgivings to a future in which French influence
may become predominant.
146 MADAGASCAR OP TO-DAY.
CHAPTER XII.
THE rOLITICAL SITUATION.
OxCE more the name of Madagascar is to be seen
day by day in our newspapers, and we are beginning
to wonder what will be the next step of the French
Government, and what will be the attitude of the
Hova.
From questions addressed to me since my return
from Madagascar, I know that many are anxious
to understand the exact position of affairs at this
present time, and to know what have been the
causes that have led up to the present crisis. An
attempt will be made in the present chapter to meet
this wish.
The events of the next few months may be of
vast importance in the history of Madagascar, and
may have great influence for good or for evil on
the future development of Christianity among the
l^cople.
The explanation of the present lies in the past,
and we are able with more or less correctness to
explain how things have come to be as they are,
if we can trace out the preceding steps in their
development.
The story of France and Madagascar is now a
vcr)' old one. In the seventeenth century the
THE POLITICAL SITUATION: 147
French occupied Fort Dauphine, at the south-east
extremity of the island, and also formed establish-
ments at Foule Point and other places on the east
coast. The lives of many Frenchmen were sacri-
ficed in the attempt to maintain these positions,
and finally they were all but abandoned. In the
Napoleonic wars, when Great Britain seized Mau-
ritius and Bourbon, she also acquired whatever
possessions and rights France possessed in Madagas-
car. And although, when peace was re-established
after the battle of Waterloo, Bourbon was restored
to France, all French rights and possessions in
Madagascar were retained by Great Britain. Later
on, in the time of Radama I. (1810-1828), when a
treaty of friendship was entered into between him
and Governor Farquhar in 18 17, all these claims
were finally renounced, and Radama was acknow-
ledged King of Madagascar. The French, how-
ever, never altogether abandoned the idea that
Madagascar in some sense belonged to them. A
work was published in 1859 entitled Madagascar ;
a French Possession from the year 1642, showing
how there still lingered in the minds of many
the idea that, as a result of these early establish-
ments, France still possessed some claims on the
island.
Later on France acquired by treaty with local
chiefs the islands of St. Mary (1821), near the
eastern coast, and Nosibe (1841) on the north-west.
In 1845, owing to a decree of Queen Ranava-
lona I., requiring all foreign traders in Tamatave
either to submit absolutely to Malagasy law and
custom or at once to leave Madagascar, an attack
L 2
148 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
was made upon the Hova fort in Tamatave by
several French and Engh'sli vessels of war. It was
found impossible to take the fort without proper
breaching artilleiy, and the storming party retired,
leaving behind them the bodies of several who had
been killed during the attack. The heads of these
men were stuck on poles near the beach, where
they remained for some years. The Malagasy
always claim this as a victory ; but from an account
published by an eye-witness, it seems that, while
the French and English lost only twenty-one killed
and fifty-six wounded (including one English and
three French officers), the Hova loss was veiy great
— a runaway estimated it at 400. Still the fact
remains that the fort was not taken.
For many years the Malagasy have lived in con-
stant dread of a French invasion. Mr. Ellis, on his
visit to the island in 1856, found reports of such a
threatened invasion a source of alarm and unsettle-
ment. And from the accession of Radama II. there
have been constant difficulties between the French
and Malagasy governments. The repudiation of
the Lambert treaty was one cause of trouble, and
this cost the Malagasy ^^48,000 by way of in-
demnity. In the year 1868 a treaty of friend-
ship was entered into by the two governments,
and Queen Rasohcrina was recognised as Queen of
Madagascar. This seemed to be the final abandon-
ment of all French claims. It did not, however,
end the difficulties. Other causes of complaint
arose, and another indemnity was paid.
In 1883, because the Malagasy would not yield
to certain demands made by the French, war broke
THE POLITICAL SITUATION. 149
out. Without any warning the forts on the north-
west were bombarded, and Mojanga was occupied.
Soon after, Tamatave was taken, or rather, was
abandoned by the Hova and occupied by the
French. A fortified camp at Manjakandrianom-
bana, a few miles to the west of Tamatave, was
formed by the Hova troops ; and though Tamatave
was held by the French for three years, and the
camp at Manjakandrianombana was within reach
of their guns, and was constantly shelled by them,
and several attempts were made to attack it, notably
one which is known as the battle of Sahamafy, the
Hova still held their position till the end of the
war.
In 1886 a treaty of peace was concluded, which,
while reserving to the Hova the control of all
domestic affairs, gave to the French a privileged
position in regard to foreign affairs, and put all
Malagasy living abroad under the protection of the
French Government. A French residency was
established in Antananarivo, where a resident-
general resided, together with his staff and a guard
of honour consisting of about fifty French soldiers.
The large bay of Diego Suarez, on the north-east
of Madagascar (sometimes known as British Sound)
was also ceded to France.
This treaty was seen at the time to contain
ambiguous phrases capable of very different inter-
pretations, and as a matter of fact the French
authorities and the Hova prime minister have never
agreed as to its meaning, and much controversy and
diplomatic discussion has arisen during the last
eight years as to the exact extent of French rights
I50 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
in Madagascar. The word ' protectorate ' was care-
fully excluded from the treaty ; and it is well known
that the Hova would not have signed it at all, if
they had understood it to establish a French pro-
tectorate. There has been much friction and
prolonged discussion on this point. But though the
word was carefully excluded, the thing itself was in
some form at least included. The thin end of the
wedge was inserted, and the French trusted to the
development of events and to the efforts of their
successive residents-general to drive it home. So
high an authority as M. le Myre de Vilers, however,
clearly acknowledged in 1892 the limitations of the
present so called protectorate. ' There are,' he said,
'several kinds of protectorates. Now the Hova
never did accept or recognise the protectorate of
France, as it is understood here {i.e. in France).
When Admiral Miot and M. Patrimonio negotiated
the treatyof peace, the prime minister sent them back
the first draft which contained the word protectorate,
asking that this word be erased, and adding that if
it was maintained, the war would be resumed.'
Two points should be specially emphasised in
our statement as to the difficulties that have arisen
since 1886. The first is that together with the
treaty there was an annex or explanatory docu-
ment, signed by the French plenipotentiaries,
M. Patrimonio and Admiral Miot, and it is per-
fectly certain that it was only on the ground of
the explanations and limitations contained in this'
document that the treaty was agreed to by the
Malagasy premier. This annex was suppressed
when the treaty was brought before the French
THE POLITICAL SITUATION. 151
Chambers, and has always been treated by French
officials as so much waste paper. Much of the
present difficulty has arisen from the ignoring of
this document and the refusal to abide by its
limitations.
Another burning question during the past eight
years has been that of the exequaturs of the foreign
consuls. The French claim that the consuls placed
in Madagascar by the British, German, and
American governments should receive their exe-
quaturs through the French resident-general. To
this claim the prime minister has never consented.
In 1887 M. le Myre de Vilers hauled down his
flag and left the capital, because the Hova would
not consent to this claim. After a few days, how-
ever, he returned to the residency and yielded
the point in dispute. But succeeding residents-
general, returned to the old claim, and there has
now been for some years a complete deadlock, as
the prime minister has persistently refused to
acknowledge any communications from the repre-
sentatives of other powers which have reached him
through the French resident-general.
Those familiar with Madagascar affairs have seen
for some time that a crisis could not be long deferred.
France was bound to do either .more or less, or she
would become the laughing-stock of Europe. She
was claiming in the eyes of all the world to exercise
a protectorate over Madagascar, whilst all the time
her representatives were being baffled and thwarted
by the astuteness of the prime minister, and they
had hardly advanced their position a single step
since the conclusion of the treaty in 1886. One
153 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
after another the French residents-general have left
Madagascar in disgust. They have learned by
experience, what a well-known British official
prophesied they would in time find out, viz., the
immense power of passive resistance that exists in
the Malagasy nature. Whilst outwardly treating
the French officials with suavity and respect, the
l^rime minister has managed, whether wisely or
unwisely may be a matter of opinion, to outwit and
disappoint all those who have hitherto had to enter
into diplomatic relations with him. To watch the
diplomatic struggle has been like watching two
cautious and skilful players at chess. But the
game has now reached a critical position, and in a
few months we shall probably see who is in the end
to be victorious.
The present action of the French is from their
point of view inevitable. The amour propre of the
French nation would be sorely wounded, if the idea
of a protectorate had now to be finally renounced,
and all recent action on their part seems to point
to a determination to put forth a strenuous effort
to make the French claims a reality, and to attain
what has so long been the dream of the French
nation, viz., a substantial foothold in Madagascar,
and the power to control its government and the
development of its immense material resources.
To Englishmen this may be a disappointment.
There are friends of Madagascar who would heartily
rejoice in the establishment of a British protectorate.
It may be our national vanity that leads us to
believe that we could so govern Madagascar as to
benefit greatly the people themselves and to aid
THE POLITICAL SITUATION. 153
them in their upward progress ; but there are facts
as to British influence in other parts of the world
that seem to warrant such a belief
The time has passed, however, for such a possi-
bility. The Malagasy have missed their oppor-
tunity, and the hands of our own government are
tied by their past action. It is believed by many
that when Admiral Gore Jones was sent out as
special ambassador in 1881 he was instructed to
feel the pulse of the Malagasy government and to
find out whether any wish for a British protectorate
existed. Whether this is a correct surmise or not
is known only to those who are in the confidence
of the Foreign Office ; but it is an undoubted fact
that neither in 1881 nor at any other date has
there existed on the part of the ruling classes in
Madagascar any wish to obtain British guidance
and protection. There has always existed among
the people generally, but especially among the
higher classes, an intense desire to maintain their
national independence.
The opinion is not uncommon that without some
help from a nation of larger experience and wider
knowledge, the Hova government will not be
able to do for Madagascar all that is required for
its firm and just government and for the develop-
ment of its resources. A liberal and wise employ-
ment of European administrators and instructors
with adequate power to control their own special
departments might perhaps have met the require-
ments of the case and have averted the present
difficulty. But the national jealousy and distrust
of foreigners has made this impossible. Few
154 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
Europeans have been so employed, and those few
have been so fettered in their action that they have
never had a fair opportunity of doing their best to
make their control as effective and beneficial as it
might have been. It is not in the nature of the
Ilova so to trust a foreigner as to give him any
large amount of freedom and authority.
Advice on this and other matters has been
repeatedly given to the prime minister by travellers
and others. The late well-known Mr. Cameron,
special correspondent of the Standard, had a very
free and earnest talk with him, and others have
done the same. The advice has been, however, to
a very large extent unheeded.
The English government will not oppose the
French in their attempts to make good the position
they claim in Madagascar. Somewhat prematurely,
as it seemed to many, on August 5, 1890, Lord
Salisbury acknowledged the French protectorate
with all its consequences. The English have taken
but a languid interest in Madagascar affairs, or such
a cool giving away of a people who had always re-
garded us as their friends would have been impossi-
ble. It is true that a carefully-worded clause in the
agreement runs, " In Madagascar the missionaries
of both countries shall enjoy complete protection.
Religious toleration and liberty for all forms of
worship and religious teaching shall be guaranteed."
This seems sufficiently definite, but the experience
of Tahiti and Mare seems to indicate that after
events should be very carefully watched.
The die is now cast, and sighs and regrets are
useless. We shall watch with interest the mode in
THE POLITICAL SITUATION. 155
which the French will attempt to make good their
position. Undoubtedly they have a very difficult
work before them. They have to penetrate to
the centre of Madagascar. There are no roads
in our sense of the term. The country is very
mountainous, and there are dense forests. Above
all, malarial fever prevails throughout all the lower
part of the country. At present when the French
soldiers belonging to the resident-general's guard
of honour are sent out, they are carried in palan-
quins like other travellers. An army cannot be so
conveyed, but must push its way through marsh and
forest and up the steep mountain tracks. Probably
one-third of the soldiers would be hors de combat
before reaching Antananarivo. This will all have
to be allowed for in estimating the number of men
required. To this must be added the difficulty of
transport in a country where all things are carried
on men's shoulders. Then a long line of communi-
cation of 200 or 300 miles will have to be defended
from the harassing attacks of the Hova soldiers.
Of these there are many thousands who have been
well drilled and who are provided with European
arms, including machine guns. Gunpowder has
long been manufactured in the country, and recently
a cartridge factory under the superintendence of
two Englishmen has been started by the govern-
ment. There is little doubt that a stubborn re-
sistance will be offered to the French advance.
But no one, I suppose, doubts that if France is
really in earnest and is willing to sacrifice millions
of francs and thousands of men to gain what may
prove to be to her a source of weakness rather than
of strength, she may before many months are over
156 MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
succeed in placing the French tricolour on the top
of the great palace of Manjakamiadana.
The difficulties of the French will not be ended
by a victory in or near Antananarivo, and no
victory on the coast would settle the question.
After the power of the Hova is broken will come
the problem how, without incurring an immense
expenditure, France is to govern a country as large
as or larger than her own against the will of the
people. Had the goodwill of the Hova been
gained, and had there been a willingness to accept
a protectorate, the task would have been an easy
one ; but the protectorate is being forced upon an
unwilling people, and the war is likely to leave a
legacy of hate and distrust that will not make the
task of the French Government an easy one.
Granting the possibility, perhaps we should say,
the probability, that the French will succeed in
making the protectorate effective, how will this
affect Protestant missions and the cause of Pro-
testant Christianity generally ? Will the work of
British and Norwegian missionaries be seriously
hindered ^
To some this may seem but a secondary question,
and they would rather ask : How will the well-
being of the common people of Madagascar be
affected by the event ^ Will they, for instance,
enjoy less or more freedom and security than they
enjoy at the present ? Will they be less or more
subject to oppression and unjust exaction from
their superiors } With regard to both enquiries the
only possible answer at present seems to be, Time
will show.
We may be sure that one of the first results
THE POLITICAL SITUATION. iS7
of French predominance in Madagascar would be
the speedy opening up of the country by the con-
struction of roads and railways, and by the develop-
ment of its vast material resources. The cultivation
of sugar, tea, coffee, vanilla, and other products
would soon be carried on in a far more extensive
and enterprising manner than at present. Scientific
gold mining would also be developed rapidly.
Three or four years ago the consular estimate was
that over £ 1 10,000 worth of gold was obtained ' as
a result of twelve months' scratching at the surface
of the country's mineral deposits;' and I am
informed on good authority that this estimate
is far too low to represent the present state of
the trade.
Speaking generally, we are, I think, justified in
holding as possible that French administrators may
govern with a broader view of the needs of the
country, and with a deeper desire to rule justly and
for the good of the whole community than seems pos-
sible to the present Hova rulers. These larger and
juster ideas as to the functions of rulers are with
European nations the result of long experience in
the past ; and it is perhaps not to be wondered at
if the Prime Minister of Madagascar, and those
under his control, should too often show how they
lack this broad sense of justice and this steady and
determined purpose of seeking to make their rule a
blessing to the common people of the land. Govern-
ment too often in their eyes becomes, what, indeed,
it has not unfrequently been in lands boasting of a
higher degree of civilisation than Madagascar, the
means of enriching and exalting the few at the
15S MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY.
expense of the many. Still the record of France is
not one that leads any close observer to feel at all
sanguine as to the future. What she gives with
one hand may very easily be more than taken
away with the other. In the meantime it may
well be hoped that the agreement of 1890 may
furnish a sound working basis for any new system.
I think we have also some solid ground for hoping
that we should still, enjoy in Madagascar that
priceless blessing that has now been the possession
of the churches there for thirty years — I mean com-
plete religious liberty. Omitting other weighty
considerations, it appears reasonable to suppose
that French statesmen will see how impolitic it
would be to persecute 300,000 of the most intelli-
gent and progressive people in the island. They
will have difficulties in abundance before them in
the great task they have undertaken, and will not
care to add to those difficulties by a policy of
intolerance and persecution.
We must remember, too, that Protestant missions
in Madagascar are not exclusively in the hands
of English missionaries. The Norwegians have a
strong mission ; and it seems reasonable to believe
that if Madagascar should come more completely
under French control, the Protestant churches of
France would bestir themselves and come to the
aid of their co-religionists in that island.
In concluding this chapter, let me say that I have
the strongest conviction that the Protestant Chris-
tians in Madagascar will stand true and firm in their
hour of trial. They are not a fickle people. They
have been tested by the trials of the past, and I am
THE POLITICAL SITUATION. 159
sure they will not be lightly turned away from the
faith they have accepted.
As Christians we must pray for peace and do our
utmost to secure it. War is a terrible scourge.
But we cannot read the history of the past without
seeing how God has overruled this scourge of war to
bring men to a more humble spirit, to teach them
great lessons as to His government, and so to pre-
pare them for a higher and better national life.
THE EXD,
PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AXD SOXS, LIMITED,
STA5IF0KU STUEKT AND CHARING CK0S3.
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