The Sun.
London, England, 1863-07-10 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS,

TIMES.—We are now in a position to understand
some of the causes, if not to estimate all the conse-
quences, of the strange revolution in Madagascar
rwo independent but perfectly consistent accounts,
the one from an eminent English missionary, the
oiler from the French Consul at Tananarivo, the
so•called capital of the island, leave no doubt of the.
fatal errors whicn cost King itadama 11. his throne
Ind his lite. Ti-e glimpse which we thus obtain into
M.idagascar politics is most curious, and opens t,
us many of the contrasts as well as of the analogies
between civilised and semi-barbarous States. The
late King, though not a professed Christian, had
protected and countenanced the Christians during
the persecuting reign of his mother, and his acces-
sion was hailed as the triumph of toleration and
liberal policy. The former was, in fact, pro-
claimed, and the golden era of the first Radama
seemed to the missionaries to have come rouna
again. If they had misgivings, they did not
make them known, and few people had the least

idea that the regime of this enlightened Prince was
in fact, an anarchy. Owing to the unhealthiness n
the sea coast in spring, no intelligence has reached
us from Madagascar for the last five months. We
are now told that from the first " his views of the
duties of a ruler were exceedingly defective ;" that,
like Rehoboam, he banished from his councils the
old Hovah chiefs, whose memories probably ex-
tended back to the glorious reign of his father, and
surrounded himself with hot-headed and profligate
young men ; that he neglected all measures for
the suppression or punishment of crime, and fre-
quently gave himself up to intoxication and
debauchery. This degeneracy gradually sapped
his popularity, and led to a reaction, headed
not by such persons as generally compose the
revolutionary faction, but by veteran officers, among
whom were the Prime Minister and Commander-in-
Chief. Personal jealousy, antipathy of race, and
sentiments of patriotism were the motives which
combined to animate the leaders of this opposition,
and the measure upon which they finally took issue
with the King was so monstrous and indefensible
that it gives some colour to the statement that he
had lost his reason. Private war, and duelling on a
scale that" closely resembled private war, had been
the curse of Madagascar, as it was once the curse
of Europe, and is now the curse of Japan. Instead
of putting these lawless practices down with a
strong hand King Radama actually issued, or pro-
posed to issue a decree which legalised them,
and promised impunity to the perpetrators. All
his old councillors besought him in vain to with-
draw or cancel it. He positively refused, and, sup-
ported by the great majority of his " Mena maso"
(confidential advisers of the dominant party), re-
jected the petition presented by a powerful depute-
tion of the discontented nobles. This act sealed his
fate. The petitioners assembled at the house of the
Prime Minister, and resolved to dislodge their rivals
by force. During the night of the Bth of May they
drew up, like civilised conspirators, a proscription
list, containing 33 names. Next morning they re-
newed their previous demands, in the form of an
ultimatum, and, receiving the same answer, de-
nounced the proscribed favourites to the people,
4ed ordered those of the whe could be found to
he put to death. Mean while they again pressed the
ultimatum on the King, adding to it the condition
treat tae rest, of the
robpble that Raproscribed
dama won laersons should
now
given up. It is be
ca
e fist point, but he had too
have given way on ll'
much generosity to concede the second. Again
and again he insisted on sti,?ulating that, if they
were sarrounth d, their lives at lees: should-be spared.
At last it was arranged, through the ntervention of
he Queen, that they should be confine(; for life in
irons. Still the palace was surrounded by troops,
and the populace, which had been c,atnorous foi the
blood of the prisoners, was not yet satisfied. At i 0
o'clock on the morning on the 12th "it was rumoured
that the King was no more." Soon atter midday a
,elute of 21 guns was fired in honour of the new
Sovereign, the widowed Queen Rabodo, whose ac •
cession was duly notified to the foreign Consuls. The
time, mode, and immediate cause of the King's death
are still a mystery. A short proclamation was issued :
—" The King, inconsolable for the loss of his friends,
has perished by his own hands;" but Mr. Ellis,
the missionary, agrees with the French Consul in
stating that he was strangled by the Minister
and his accomplices. The most remarkable part of
the story remains to be told. Before the Crown was
offered to the Queen, who, to do her justice, is said
to have done all in her power to save her husband's
life, she was required to sign a paper of conditions,
amounting, as Mr. Ellis truly says, to the germ of
constitutional Government. She pledged herself not
to drink intoxicating liquors, to the use of which the
nobles attributed much of Radama's weakness and
vice, to legislate and govern in concert with the
nobles and heads of the people, to leay duties for
revenue purposes, but to encourage commerce, and to
grant liberty and protection to foreigners. The
punishment of death is to be restored, no doubt in
order to check those outrages which the late King
declined to sappress, but no one is to be put to death
on the order of the Sovereign alone. If Mr.
Ellis's extracts from this singular document may
be trusted; something very like trial by jury is to be
adopted in Madagascar, for no person is to be sen-
tenced till he has been found guilty by " twelve
men." Absolute toleration, and full liberty of wor-
ship and teaching for native Christians, complete
a programme which would not disgrace a limited
despotism in more favoured parts of the world.
We must hope for the best, but we must not forget
that neither in the personal character of half-
civilised Monarchs, nor in the traditions or habits
of half-civilised races, have we any guarantee for
the steady maintenance of a principle, however
beneficial to themselves. At the same time, it is
impossible to deny that this coup d'etat has been
effected with a certain moderation and regard
for the stability of the Government, if not
for the lives and rights of individuals, which is
creditable to its authors. It is something that it
was not the result of mere passi .n or intrigue of the
worst kind, but of a settled conviction that the
cause of order was suffering in the hands of the
King. The conduct of it was more than a fantastic
burlesque of European emeutes, and the prudence
shown by the Minister in sending prompt orders for
the protection of foreigners to the Governors of the
coast is a proof that we have not to deal with reek-
less barbarians. By this time we may hope that
our neighbours have given up their whiaisi4l no-
tion that "English influence" pavrd the way * the
murder of Radama. The report of the French
consul contains no trace of such au impressioq, and
tnough Mr. Eats makes a somewhat severe allusion
to M. Lambert, the Marquis de Boissy and his
friends may rest assured that no coalition !Isis yet
been formed between Lords Palmerston and Russell
with the triumphant Hovah faction through the
medium of the Protestant missionaries
HERALD.—If Parliament once assents to the prin-
ciple of a measure it practically hands over to the