Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Anacortes, Wash. Ter.) 1882-1887, 1883-07-28
MADAGASCAR.

There are three great obstacles to
the material PROCESS of Madagascar
which are as strong and now as potent
for evil as they were in the days when
there we're no schools and no Chris
tianity in the island. The first is the
system of forced Government service
known as fanompoana, under which,
from the highest down to the lowest
grades, Government officials subsist
by squeezing" those underneath
them. There are no paid offices; all
State work and State payments are
effected by fanompoana. The second
is slavery, which is rampant every
where in Madagascar; and the third
is the extreme jealousy of foreigners
and the suspicion with which their
efforts at opening up the country are
viewed. The Government is an alb
solute monalchv. The Queens word
Is law, and the people are loyal and
obedient to the Queens authority.
But all real power has for several
years been secured in the family Of
the Prime Minister, who, of course,
acts in the name of the sovereign, to
whom he is married This family is
becoming to the rulers of Madagas
car what the Peishwahs were to the
descendants of Sivajee in the great
Mahratta confederation. The last
Prime Minister was the brother of
the present man, and their father held
the reins of authority before them.
The Queen is, in fact, puppet.
Should she die at the present juno
ture, and she has been ailing for some
time past, there might be confusion
in Antananarivo, aud possibly blood
shed; for there are numerous claim
ants to the throne But it is general
ly supposed that the Prime Minister
is well prepared for that event; that
he has a successor ready at hand in
the shape of a young Princess of the
royal family; that he will proclaim
her Queen, marry her, and continue
to be the de facto ruler of the country.
The Prime Minister has a reputation
for great ability, and there is no
doubt he is an astute native states
man. But with the exception of his
adoption of Christianity and the free
ing of imported slaves-measures
which were more or less forced upon
him-he has done little for the
material progress of Madagascar.
Forced labor, corruption in the public
services, the Punishment of political
opponents, and an utter want OF
energy or attempt at improvement
beyond the occasional issue of abor-
tive DEGREES, still characterize the
Government system. For instance, at
the coast ports the customs duties are
collected in kind. OF every ten bales
of cotton imported, one is handed
over to the Government, and it is the
same with exports. Of course, under
such system, corruption is the gen
eral rule, and it is impossible that
commerce can flourish. Yet the
Prime Minister seems helpless to eff
feet reform. Then all those trained
to trades by the agents of the Lon
don Missionary Society are promptly
impressed into the Government ser
vice, so that there is no incentive to
individuals to acquire useful accom-
plishments. Everyone is liable to be
called upon to give his services tc
those above him without remunera
ton. In short, the Government is
about as bad as it can be. 1t retards
instead of assists the progress of the
country, and must be reformed ere
the Hovas can advance much further
in civilization.
While the missionaries are free tc
preach and to teach, there is one sub
ject which they all know must be ex
cluded from their sermons. They
must not allude to the system Of
slavery which prevails throughout
Madagascar. Should any missionary
lift up his voice against that institu
ton, he is we'll aware that in a short
time his church would be deserted
The secret influence of the Govern
ment would be brought to bear, and
he would practically find himself
"boycotted." Until recently NADIA
gascar was the chief market for slaves
On the east coat of Africa. Although
the importation by sea was against
the law, yet the law was continually
evaded, until at last the Government
urged and even threatened by Eng
land, determined to order the liberia
ton of all the slaves not born on the
island. This measure was carried
into effect in 1877. and since then the
foreign traffic, at least, has ceased
But every Hova continues to hold
slaves, many of them in large numbers
and as a consequence no Hova will dc
any labor, thinking work to be beneath
him. It is true that the slavery is Of
a somewhat mild description. Ill
treatment is rare, and often the
slaves are allowed to do pretty much
as they like, so long as they report
themselves occasionally, and pay to
their masters share of their earnings
Still, every Friday in the Hoya ca
pital, when the great market of the
week is held, there is stand for
slaves, and yesterday I saw there
over one hundred and fifty individu-
ais exposed for sale. They were
chiefly boys and girls, and it was
pitiable to watch the expression OF
hopeless misery on their young faces
as the intending purchaser felt them
over, examined their teeth or made