The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-09-01 00:00:00

DEATH OF THE QUEEN OF MADA-

GASCAR.

A telegram has been received at the London Mis-
sionary Society's House which states that the Queen
of Madagascar died on the 13th of July. Order and
quiet prevail in the capital and central provinces.
the Times gives the following particulars respecting
the late Queen :
Queen Ranavolana 11. succeeded to the throne of
Madagascar on the death of Queen Rasoaherina on
April 1, 1868. As she was known to be in favour
of progress, her accession was generally hailed with
satisfaction. After she had been elected Queen she
adopted the Christian religion. The late Queen,
while her deceased predecessor was lying in State,
read portions of an old Bible, which for some time
was kept on a table in the palace, and from the perusal
of that book the Queen decided to embrace the faith
for which many distinguished people of her country
had suffered loss of life. Her coronation was marked
by the absence of idols and other symbols of
heathenism, and on the canopy above her throne
Scriptual quotations were inscribed. The voluntary
abolition of idolatrous practices by which vast
numbers of innocent people were slaughtered fol-
lowed her secession. One evil practice was the
sacrifice of children born on unlucky days by placing
them at the entrance of a cattle-pen, but in the
event of the child being passed over unhurt by the
cattle it was preserved, as its escape was regarded as a
token of good luck. The Queen, being of a kind and
intelligent nature, was greatly distressed by the per-
secutions which had occurred in the past in sight of her
palace. The suburb of Faravohika was on the north
side of the capital, and there four persons, of noble
birth, were burnt to death; while in the distant south
were regions of pestilential malaria which had been
fatal to many members of distinguished families. It
was Queen Ranavolana's wish to suppress idolatry,
which bad borne such evil results, and to substitute
for it something better, and from her acceesion until
her death she was strictly faithful to the welfare of
her people. Under her sway education made rapid
advances, and in the principal schools in the provinces
there were about 140,000 scholars. Frequently the
Queen displayed her interest in this work by person-
ally distributing prizes to the scholars. According to
the native law, all the men in Madagascar are liable
to Government service in lieu of taxes. The Queen
enacted, however, that teachers and others occupied
in education should be exempt from such service.
Other reforms which she made involved the abolition
of certain vested interests, Officers were accustomed
to secure to themselves the services of men of lower
grade, and many had thus acquired command of a
thousand subordinates; but by a new law thirty was
fixed as the maximum number allowed to the highest
officer in the country. This reform was hailed with general
satisfaction. Great reforms were introduced into the
army, and the system of life service was abolished, the
longest period of service now required being five years.
Many reforms in the administration of justice have like-
wise been made, the old system being rotten and cor-
rupt. Legislation was frequently kept pending for
years ; bribery was common; and suitors, being unable
to pay coats, were in consequence sold into slavery.
Under the new system, the decision, which
formerly rested with the judges, was placed in the
hands of a jury of 12 officers and a chief judge. The
late Queen laid the foundations of constitutional
government in Madagascar, and the important offices
which she established are now held by native gentle-
men educated in the college at Antananarivo. Queen
Ranavolana effected the emancipation of all the
Mozambique slaves in her dominions, and made the
importation of slaves illegal. Though domestic slavery
still exists it has been shorn of its worst features, and
the public slave markets have been abolished.