The Express.
London, England, 1847-02-22 00:00:00

PROVINCIAL.

beggars, in every direction, meet the eye, chiefly Irish, but
with a very largo admixture of English. While families of
these wretched outcasts perambulate the streets from morn.
sag till night, and enter the shops and warehouses to ask
alms. Others take up a position on the staircases leading to
offices and places of business, and remain there the whole day
importuning every person going in or coming out. It is no
unusual thing to see a family of six or eight persons
(the wife loaded Irish fashion, with one child in the arms
and another on the back), crowded on the large square en.
trance step to such places, whilst another family has taken
possession of the landing place above, as if to prevent mono-
poly. The entrances to the Exchange, to the Arcade, to the
rooms of the League, to the Atheneum, and to the club•
houses, are taken possession of daily by the people, who
teem to have established a kind of prescriptive nght,and the
condition of these poor creatures is such, that nobody, whe-
ther civil officer or private citizen, seems to have heart
enough—or rather want of heart enough—to interfere with
them. In front of the eating-houses, at noon, again, num-
bers of beggars assemble, and besiege the departing guest
after he has relieved his own wants end is pocketing the
change, and are frequently successful in obtaining coppers.
Ort eating-house keeper, Mr.Wovenden, Market-street,daily
VI% u away to the poor nearly a thousand quarts of soup.
A I t public soup kitchen 6,000 quarts of soup and 1,500
Jl,Tee of bread are distributed to the poor every morning,
and the applicants, who must first be provided with a ticket,
to prevent c •nfusion, are marshalled and kept in order
by • body of police regularly appointed to e duty.
These wretched-looking creatures usually begin to th
assemble
some hours before the kitchen is opened, and the police
haying formed them two or three abreast, the column often
extends to several hundred yard.; in length, presenting to the
passer-by a sad and melancholy spectacle. The tickets are
furnished by the owners of warehouses and shops, who are
*applied in proportion to their subscriptions to the charity,
and when the poor get scent of one of these places, and learn
that a large number are to be given away, immense crowds
assemble round the doors, and the crush to get admission is
sometimes fearful. The seems on such occasions are always
moot painful and distressing from the excitement which pre-
vails during the struggle. The workhouse is full to such a
degree that some of the weaving looms have had to be pulled
down, and the work rooms turned into sleeping apartments.
The majority of the Irish, however, who come into the town,
never go near the relieving officer, but prefer taking their
chaste in the streets. Meantime the shopkeepers in the
town are beginning to complain most bitterly of the
stagnation of trade; 'for the increased demand upon the
labourers' wages for food (added to the system of working
short time) is telling fearfully upon many descriptions of
tradesmen. It is no unusual thing to hear of shopkeepers
who are without a customer for a day together, and it was
told by a draper renting a shop at nearly 90/., in Deansgate,
that on Saturday last, crowded as that thoroughfare is on the
market day, his receipts only amounted to eighteenpenes !
Again, one of the large retail establishments in the drapery
and haberdashery trades is reported to have suffered in the
average of their receipts to the extent of nearly 4001. per
week. A great many shopkeepers make no secret of these
things, and produce their books to prove that there is no
exaggeration.
FLOODS ON THE MANCHF.STER AND SHEFFIELD RAIL-
WAT.—During the past week the embankments on this rail-
way are stated to have been in some danger at several points
alone the line, owing to the heavy rains which have fallen.
It is well known that the railway passes through a moun-
tainous and difficult country, and over a number of ravines
which at some seasons of the year are liable to be much
swollen. The culverts constructed to carry these streams
under the line teem to have been formed in two instances at
least, as it now turns out, without a right estimate of the
possible quantity of water to be carried away, 'and on
Thursday, at these two places, one about eight miles, and
the other seventeen miles from Manchester, the line was
placed in great jeopardy. At the first of these places, Hurst
Edge, the culvert burst at the higher side of the line, and
was choked up; the water was, consequently, thrown upon
the line, and washed bare the sleepers on which the rails
rest, and also carried away the earth from under the real in
some places. The mischief might have been serious, but
that a policeman saw the occurrence, and giving notice,
large body of labourers were set to work, and repaired the
damage to the culvert, so as to remove the pressure of water
before nightfall. The other accident was at a point called
Torside, on Thursday evening, only two miles from the
mouth of the summit tunnel. Here a torrent from the
hill-side tore up stones and everything in its course, and
washing them into the mouth of the culvert, the water was
thrown upon the up-line of rails, and washed away the
embankment on that side, so that the trains could not pass,
and the down-line had to be made use of for thralls in both
directions, on Friday, till the mischief had been repaired.
The cessation of the rains happily rendered this of easier
accomplishment than was at first expected.
Ton LAW or Strrtaxerte.—At the meeting of the Man-
chester board of guardians, last week, a petition to the House
of Commons for an amendment of the law of settlement,
which had been drawn up by a committee appointed to con-
sider the question, was discussed and adopted. It appears
that, in addition to 2,000 in the workhouse, there are now,
in this union, 10,000 persons in the receipt of out-door relief.
The guardians state :
. _ . . . .

Thai the bil of loot emir. tho Ilth and 10th Vict., e 66, intltoled
" An Act to mod Ine limo riling to the removal of the poor"
width random spimp, inomenitio after • meidenorof live years in
ray wish, W nme9l,9kl G&W et your humble petitioner', been
protive et Se eigesiMaga to the poor which wee contem-
pla*L net he tom bold out in that act to induce
Sams woliont,
tisi,..:rkbpersone to transport them-
mho es pedalo from which an be legally removed to their
=et ennemont, in populous are very numeral.. That,
eta pienw open to mak torresios, your petitioners humbly
suggest Os eetaWmoat of a sonillownt many obtainable by the in.
duotrione poor. Ind year madams yeah' humbly reeoraniend the
repeal of the her Innoprol MR 9 and 10 Vic. c. 6 t, and, In
Ilea thmeat, an eneolmant is Ike eilhot that every person who shall
ham beam rated as an Inhohlhint lemseho:der, in any parish or town-
ship, for five ommemese ye" wtthoot having been Oa receipt of
parochial rellsfi Wow en smount of himself or herself, or any of his
or her children roirbir dams years of age, during such five years,
or any portion tbeireet, dna be deemed to have *qui,* • settlement
U any such with or towneldp. The mune to be retrcepectin in its
operation.

PREVALENCE OP Smarr ROBBERIES.—The Liverpool
Journal of Saturday hoc an enormously long list of out-
rages committed in the streets of that town. About eleven
o'clock, on Saturday evening, a man, named John Fitz-
patrick, was knocked down in Vauxhall-road by three men,
and robbed of a silver lever watch.—About the name hour,
a man named James Standing was knocked down by four
men, in Clayton-strut, and robbed of 35c—About eight
o'clock the same evening, a man named James Moore was
knocked down by four men, in Whitley-street, Kirkdale,
and robbed of 15e—About ten o'clock en Monday night a
gentleman was knocked down in Vauxhall-road, and robbed
of 10s. 41d. by two men.
Fevea has considerably increased, within the last few
days, among the Irish paupers in Liverpool.
TEE NEW TRANS-ATLANTIC STRAY SIIIPS.—The new
steamers of the British and North American Royal Mail
Company, intended for the increased service between
America and England, are to be called the Canada, the
Europa, the Niagara, and the America. These several vessels
are being forwarded with every despatch.
"Tan Hoo Cam." of the United States this year is
three times the worth of the cotton crop. The " standing
army" of swine consumes annually two hundred million
bushels of corn. .

PREVINTION or Aceinesrrs.—Charles Croft, an engine-
driver in the employ of the Manchester and Leeds Company,
was charged at Preston with being drunk whilst in the per-
formance of his duty. The charge was preferred under the '
3 and 4 Viet., cap. 97, sect. 13, which gives the magistrate
power to inflict a fine not exceeding 101. or two
months' imprisonment. It appeared that the defend-
ant was driver of the eight o'clock train, which left
Preston station on Sunday evening (yesterday sennight).
About a quarter of an hour before the time of starting, the
superintendent found he was intoxicated and incapable of
taking care of the engine, and he was accordingly given
into custody. The superintendent stated that the steam of
the engine at the time was blowing off with tremendous
forte, arising from the want of water, and an immediate
supply wan necesear7 in order to prevent the tubes from
being burnt. If this had not been done the consequences
would have been serious ; and the state in which the engine
was found was attributable to the neglect of the defendant.
The company pressed the charge, because only a short time
back an engine-driver had been guilty of the same offence.
The mayor, after reprimanding the defendant for so gross a
dereliction of duty, by which the lives of so many might
have been endangered, ordered him to pay a fine of 21. ; or
in default to be committed for three months.

RIPRZSISTATION OF MANCHISTIIR.—The requisition to
Lord Lincoln has received from 2,800 to 2,900 signatures,
and is to be presented to the noble lord to-morrow, at his re-
sidence in London, by a deputation consisting of Mr. Tho-
m,. Bayley Potter, Mr. Jehn Peci, and Mr. Alderman
Neild. These gentlemen are intrusted with the onerous and
somewhat delicate duty of " popping the question" as to his
lordship's future intentlyns, and the iseue will of course
decide whether the next election for Manchester will be
contested.
STATI or MANCIIIIITI9..—To the most cursory observer
Manchester presents a vary altered appearance. Shoals of

FACTORY IWPOILWATION.=;;WiIid(Ord. on Wednesday,
Mews Kershaw, of Allerton, were charged, upon five in-
formations, preferred by Mr. Baker, with not having allowed
their workpeople the requisite time, fixed by the statute, for
meals. The charges were not denied; and the defendants
were convicted in 61. in each case, besides expenses, 13s.
DlB7BlBB rev BRADFORD.—it will give an idea of the
amount of distress at present prevailing in Bradford, to
state that for the present week, Bairstow, the relieving offi-
cer for the township of Bradford, has on his books the
names of 1,070 families receiving relief ; which, on an ave-
rage of five persons to a family, gives a total of 5,350 per-
' sons. The other relieving officers are said to be equally
pressed by the claims of the destitute.
DZATH ROM IGNORANTLY TAMING AWILNIC As•
MIDICIWI.—Last Monday, Robert Shaw, of Dewsbury,
plasterer, feeling unwell, mentioned the circumstance to a
carpet weaver, who advised him to go to a drueptist, and get
Id. of mercury, Id. of spirits of nitre, Id. of spirits of wine,
and take thirteen drops each night and morning. It appears
Shaw preferred making his purchases at three separate
shops, and obtained double the quantity recommended.
At the place where be obtained the weenie, he said
he wanted it to Mal With whiting to destroy bugs. He was
cautioned as to its dangerous nature, and stated he knew that
very well, as he had often used it with whiting for the pur-
pose of killing bugs. After obtaining these ingredients, he
mixed the whole in an Boa. bottle, went into kis father's
store cellar, and took, as he thought, a teaspoonful of the
mixture about seven o'clock in the evening. At ten o'clock
he was taken seriously ill. He returned home, but could eat
no supper; he then went to bed. Medical aid was obtained,
but he continued is great agony till about half-past tan on
Tuesday morning, when he died. An inquest was held on
Wednesday. Verdict, " Died from taking arsenic as a me-
dicine."
Titi.Foinelloatoe SrogE of the New Town-hall, Don-
caster, was laid on Monday last, by R. Milner, Req., mayor.

RIPIUNIVITATION 017.LIICIUSTEIL—At a r.eeting of the
committee of liberal electors of Leicester, ball. as Wig=
List, Sir helms Wal !risky wry.. intreamerit as •
candidate Om the borough. After ease dielliefil it Wei
riool,llld

if~t art kr kin Wtakirr, and an twortaily
skillet kik WaariWiaaOkadaY apikoss. awl
sktionly nerhe nestmedfiats My astalsory ass aelltbre
at kr =int *Am : ski arks, Osier liessiks to on
k *air parer k arbor te some lit ntrik—Tllk It
=moat kipletiktik rake isarmft d the lbseml

THE EXPRESS, MONDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 22, 1847.

tercet, that the individual who Alan be recommended by this commit-
tee al the other candidate athall be • gentleman, who in addition to
sound view. ajell commercial and exial pohq Is sleo • decided advo-
cate of the moat evended right of suffrage Lind of the wparation of
church and stde.

POVERTY OF THE FRAME•TrORX KNITTERE.—WAGES
AND THE POOO-LAW/1.--A struggle is still Roh on at
Hinckley, between the frame-work knitters and one leading
house amongst the manufacturers, for a small advance of
wages. The advance, if secured, will not average more than
Bd. per week to the workmen. Many of the frames were
taken in on Tuesday, and it is expected that more than 200
will be sent in during the week. Every other firm is giving
this small advance. The board of guardians have taken up
the subject on behalf of the workmen. Mr. Weale, the
assistant poor-law commissioner, has attended one of th•
meetings of the board, and has examined the subject in all
its hewing', and crow-examined some of the workman. He
ham also given the following important decision
" That the earnings of the linsekk7 framework knitters are lama.
dent, when hi full work, to sibed the neoseuries of life—that is,
food, clothin shelter, and fuel. That It IA incumbent upon the para.
chial authorities to see that the industrious poor should have these
neeemaries ; but as the law will not .lbw that the wages of labour
should be made up out of the poor rates, the baud are justified In
taking all each families oponthe poor-rats funds, and to support them
wholly, without autpectteg them to the workhouse tent."
The board of guardians have agreed to take all the men
who have a wife and three children and upwarls, who can-
not get the small advance of wages, sad allow them to work
at the mill in the Union-house, and pay them for such la-
bour every night in Burin of money and breed, in proportion
to the number of their children. This system is now adopted
at Hinckley ; and at nine o'clock every morning the opera-
tive homework-knitters may be seen going in droves to the
Union-house to " work atthe mill." The sympathies of the
rate-payers are stated to be with the workmen.
THE WHIPPING TOllB.—On Wednesday the prisoners
captured for assaulting the police whilst attempting the sup-
pression of this game, were brought before the magistrates;
after a lengthened examination 13 of the prisoners were com-
mitted to the sessions frir trial; one of the other. was fined 40s
and casts, another 20.. and coats, and two others were ordered
to find sureties to keep the peace for three months.
STA MRIDSHI RE.
AN EXPLOSION OP HYDROGEN took place on Tuesday
morning in a pit called Walbuta Colliery, at Bilston. It
appears that a man named Collier, with another men, in-
cautiously took a lighted candle into the working, when a
quantity of gas exploded, burning Collier in a dreadful
manner. His companion escaped with but a slight injury.
The other persons in the pit were uninjured.

TIMER Lives LOST FOR WANT or • Batoos.—On
Saturday the coroner for this county concluded an inquest at
North Minis, upon the bodies of Mary Linn, aged 23:
George Lines, aged 18 months ; and Eliza Ellenham, and
12, who came by their deaths under the following circum-
stances:—lt appeared from the evidence of George Lines,
that the deceased, Mary Lines, wished to go and sae her
friends, who lived at Icledon, near Hitchen ; that on Sun-
day morning last, his wife, and child, and servant, stoned
from home, in a hone and chaise, for that purpose. To reach
Icledon, it was necessary to pass a ferry. Upon passing the
stream in the morning, it was not dangerous. On his return
home, ha arrived at the spot where the accident occurred,
at about half-past six. It was quite dark, and being un-
aware of the flood which had taken place, he attempted to
cross, and, before he had any suspicion of danger, the horse
plunged into the deepest part of the river, and they were
immediately swept away. The deceased, Ellenham,
entangled m the harness, and was of course drowned with
the horse. Witness then saw his wife, with the infant in
her arms, snatched away by the impetuosity of the stream.
He made every effort to save them, but he could not do ao;
and it was with great difficulty he preserved himself. Two
of the bodies were found next day, but his wife was not
found before Wednesday last. Verdict, " Aceitlental
death ;" but the jury expressed a wish that the surveyors of
the highway, or parish authorities, would take immediate
steps for constructing a bridge over the stream.
NORFOLK.
A MIFTINO was held at Norwich on Thursday last to take
the necessary steps for the formation of a Chamber of Com-
merce in that city.

TEN PERSONS DROWNED IN •E OKNINV3.—OD TUES-
day evening last, Bowden's omnibus, which plies between
Bideford and Torrington, and is designated the " Safety,"
drew up opposite the quay, and at six o'clock started for the
latter town. The vehicle was full of psasengers, eleven per-
sona being inside, and one on tee roof. It had not gone
many yards before one of the horses became restive, and
after making two or three plunges the pole and splinter
broke asunder from the carriage, which instantly went down
the declivity of the quay, and with the whole of its passengers
was precipitated into the river. The night was dark, and there
was upwards of twenty feet of water, the tide being up.
There was a terrific shriek from the passengers, but It was
only momentary. A woman, who was on the roof, fortunately
got ashore, and Mr. M. Chapple, a glovemaker, of Torrinit-
ton, by a desperate effort burst open the door of the omnibus,
and swam ashore, assisted by a soldier, who bravely jumped in
to his rescue. He was the only one of the inside passen-
gers who escaped--all the others perished. Grappling irons
were immediately procured, and every effort made to save
some of them, but in vain. ft was nearly two hours before
the omnibus was brought ashore. When raised on to the
quay the sight was truly horrifying ; the sufferers were lying
in a mass at the end furthermost from the entrance. It was
evident they had struggled earnestly to escape. The inquest
on the bodies WOK place on Thursday. Their names were
given as follows:—Mrs. Fanny Frieildshipceled 40 (left
five children): Ann Norman (a widow), 65; Mr..
Elizabeth Friendship, aged 3.5 (left six children); Mary
Ann Friendship (daughter of the last deceased), aged II ;
Mrs. Ann Page, aged 40 ; Mr. John Cbapple, aged 60 (bro-
ther of the gentleman who escaped) ; John Passmore, aged
30 ; Miss Elizabeth Griffey, aged 60 ; and two other female.,
names unknown. The burthen of the evidence went to
prove that the melancholy affair arose from accident alone,
for although the driver was charged with being drunk, and
incapable of taking charge of his horses, the whole proved
unfounded. After an inquiry, which lasted several hours,
the jury returned the subjoined verdict : —" Accidental
death, and the jury strongly recommended an indictment
being laid against the authorities of the town for allowing
the quay side to remain in the dangerous state it was."

Tae PRIM TTTTT DU-OVIIEII PRODUCTIVE or CRIME.—
At the half-yearly crown audit recently held at the Speech-
house, the subject of the pure ervadon of the deer in the
forest of Dean was discussed, and a strong feeling wee gene-
rally expressed that the deer preserves were a nurse for
crime, encouraging the growth of an idle and disorder)
population, producingheartburnings, strife, and bloodshe,
greatly increuing the burdens of the poor and county
rates, and grievously interfering with the proper working
of the mines and collieries in the Forest. These sentiments
were embodied in an address, which has been presented
to Sir M. H. Crawley Boevey, who is a candidate for the
vacant office of Verderer in succession to his deceased father,
and the parties signified that they could not vote for the ap-
pointment to the office of Verderer of any gentleman who is
favourable to the continuation of the present aystern of pre-
serving deer in the forest. In his reply to this document,
Sir M. H. C. Boevey says—" Having now for some years
acted sea magistrate in the immediate neighbourhood of the
Forest, I can quite understand and sympathise with them in
thinking that the existence of a large herd of deer in so
populous a district is calculated (m in other districts similuly
circumstanced) to demoralise the lower orders of the people;
but this I attribute mainly (as I have reason to think) to the
great facility and impunity afforded to the poacher by those
of a higher order, and who should know better, of selling the
spoil with pecuniary advantage. The evil is very great, and
much to be deplored."—Gloucester Chrottick.

LITERATURE.

Madagascar, Past and Preatnt, by a RESIDENT. London.
The island of Madagascar already engages much
of the anxious attention of those who are interested
in the commerce of the eastern seas, and is very likely
at no distant date to mile questions of difficult solu-
tion in European diplomacy. When it pleased Gwry
IV. to present the island of Bourbon to the Count de
Provence, that on his return to Paris as LOUIS XVIII.
he might be able to gratify the French people
by announcing to them a restored colony as well as
a restored monarch, every one but the royal
Sybarite himself foresaw that such generosity
the way for a contest between French
rarrgglish intrigues in the seas and coasts of
Eastern Africa. England retained the Mauritius,
and, consequently, whatever claims that colony held
OE Madagascar; claims of some importance, us the
chief supplies of provision for the Mamithss wean
derived from the latter island. It is
off-
known
that these supplies have been cut knob
Nero " who now rules in Madagascar : Qum Rana-
volona has prohibited commerce, fearing that its ex-
tension may lead to the introduction of civilisation
and Christianity.
Madagascar:which, from its size and situation bra;
been called the Great Britain of Africa, Ike many
other islands of the eastern sees, is tenanted by two
races, one of Malay, and the other of African, the
latter belonging to the ;Kaffir, not the negro=
Unlike, however, the other islands, the more -
roue, or African rue, is found on the am-coasts, while
the more advanced Malayan tribes, or Royals, have
'on of the interior. A cause for this may be
possession of the interior. A cause for tlns may be
found
lin the great unhealthiness of the coasts, which
are, fur the most part, pestilential swamps and
marshes, capable, however, of being easily drained,
and converted into most productive fields. The capi-
tal, Tananarivo, is in the centre of the island, at a
distance of about three hundred miles from the
nearest seaport.
Thit island was divided among several independent
tars, until the accession of Radama to the go-
vernment of Ankara, the district in which the capital
was 'Austad, about the middle of the year 1810.
Sir Robert Farquhar, who governed oar newly
wiping conquests of Mauritius and Bourbon, anxious
to put an end to the traffic in slaves which then
flourished in Madagascar, opened negotiations with
Radama, and found him so enlightened a prince that
he resolved to aid him in establishing his supremacy
over the entire island. In return for this aid Radama
opened his country to the missionaries, who bad
hitherto sought an entrance in vain, and a mission
ware established at the capital with more than the

usual prospects of success in a heathen country.
European arts, though to a limited extent, were in-
troduced at the same time, and Madagascar seemed
likely to be added to the list of civilised nations.
These prospects were blighted by the premature death
of Radama, in 1828. The throne was usurped by the
Queen Ranavalona, who declared that she was called
thereto by the idols Rahilimaza and ltamahavely.
As a 'reward for the kindness of these deities, the
Queen denounced the worship of "the new Gods,
Jehovah and Jesus Christ," as treason, expelled the
English resident with ignominy, and soon forced the
missionaries to depart, leaving most of their property
behind them. The Bibles, and other works of reli-
gious instruction, were collected and burned : to
crown the whole, death was denounced as the punish-
ment of any Malagasy who should be found in pos-
session of a printed book.
Ranavaloua did not stop here; she subjected British
and French traders to each insults and outrages, that
both governments found it necessary to interfere, and
in 1845 the town of Tamarave, at the principal port,
was destroyed by a united French and English
armament. Though the forces of the two nations
acted together on this occasion with creditable
concert and harmony, the authorities in Bourbon and
the Mauritius exhibited not a little jealousy and sus-
picion towards each other. The author of the in-
teresting
little volume before us, plainly asserts that
the French are resolved on the conquest of Mada-
gascar, and he attributes this determination not so
much to that passion for colonies which the French
ministers have found it so difficult to repress, as to
the zeal of the Romish missionaries, who seem
equally instigated by. the desire of spreading their
religion, and an anxiety to extend the influence of
France.

Into the discussion of the missionary question, the
author rushes with too much of the violence of a
heated partisan, and urges the case of Tahiti
as a proof that Ramisla zeal is a formidable enemy
to the moderated exertions of Protestant missionary
enterprise. We have no taste for such discussions,
and we should be very sorry to find that the ardour
of the missionaries on either side tended to excite or
to strengthen national animosities. The danger of a
quarrel about any of the eastern islands does not arise
so much from the missionaries, as from the culpable
weakness of the French ministers, who are afraid to
rebuke aay of their subordinate functionaries when
they achieve some unauthorised exploit likely to
gratify the national vanity. The officers of the
French navy are treated like spoiled children, and
allowed to hoist a flag on a useless rock, to take pos-
session of a barren coast, to establish a nominal pro-
tectorate ever worthless islands, in order that a
pompous paragraph in the journals may announce
that France shares in the dominion of the seas.

If, as our author dreads, the French intend to
treat Queen Ravelona as they have treated Queen
Pomare, they will, in this instance at least, ad-
vance the interests of humanity, though certainly
not their own. If the statements before ua are to
be credited (and they seem supported by good autho-
rity), Ravalona's victims are to be counted by
hundreds of thousands; her punishment for any act
of disobedience is the summary extermination of the
inhabitants of an entire district; she has restored the
practises of infanticide, human sacrifice, and ordeal
by poison. It is, we find, a regular maxim of Malagasy
law, that the strength of the conscience must be tested
by the strength of the stomach. England and France
have causes of war with this female fury in
superabundance; but the author fears that
the two powers could not be induced to act
in concert to effect her overthrow, became they
are not likely to agree upon the conditions of a joint
protectorate; and even if the two powers should unite
in such a scheme, he fears that their rival missionaries
would soon involve both countries in very painful dis-
cussions.

Laverdant's lugubrious pamphlet on the rejection
of the scheme ho had formed for the French coloniaa-
' tion of Madagascar, both by Thiers and Guizot,
attracts a very
.disproportionate share of our author's
indignation. Like most of the writers of the Joinville
school, Laverdant values colonial establishments only
according to their probable use in a future war, and
Madagascar is recommended chiefly for its convenience
to the privateers which might interrupt British com-
merce in the Eastern seas. It may console the
English author to learn that the policy of piracy is
not so highly estimated by government as it once was,
and that privateering, which is only a modified form
of buccaneering, however acceptable to such men as
Laverdant, is not likely to be again tolerated by
civilised nations.

We have been much pleased with this little volume ;
it contains a great deal of interesting information,
the more acceptable as it is presented in a simple and
unpretending Corm. Were we disposed to complain,
we should add that the work would have been better
had it exhibited leas of missionary zeal and more of