Los Angeles herald., 1891-12-29
ODD SORT OF SLAVERY.
SECURING GOVERNMENT LABORERS
IN MADAGASCAR.

gascarone-what "Fanampoana" Means
to Barbarous People.
Not only is slavery universal through
out Madagascar, hut also is there still
more gigantic evil, and one which is
even more surely crushing the manhood
and sitting the life of that curious and
beautiful country.
"Fanampoana," or forced labor, has a
protean shape. 1t may best be under
stood by describing it as partaking of the
nature of the corvee; it is also applied to
conscription, to all kinds of government
service; it is part of the feudal system,
| and it even sometimes takes the shape of
a logging bee." It would be unjust to
the astute old man who presides over the
destinies of the people of that country if
it were not stated that he has more than
once considered plan by which it might
be modified and reformed. But the sys-
tenn is too deeply woven into the inner
life of the nation to be dealt with except
by master hand, and then only with
the assistance of outside and friendly
financial support. For instance, it is one
poan' that it supplies the place of the
payment of officials throughout the is
land. In fact, in all Madagascar no Sec
retary, clerk, artisan, soldier or civilian
serving the government in whatever ca
pacity with the exception of trifing
percentage received by some of the gov
ernors of districts) is paid or even fed by
the state. "The queen honors them by
employing them" $50 the official euphem-
ism runs) and they must feed and clothe
themselves. But when loyalty takes the
shape, as is constantly the case, of carry
ing vast weights of wood, iron or stone
on raw and bleeding shoulders, along
goat tracks for roads there are none)
through swamps and forests, up and
down hills 5000 feet high, then the addi-
tional stimulus of shackles and leg irons
is needed to persuade the poor captured
peasant that on the whole he had better
accept the "honor," half starved though
he must be-
POWER OF THE QUEEN.
If he runs away he brings punishment
ON his family, and becomes fugitive
and bushranger; the numerous robber
bands are mainly recruited from such
runaways Hundreds of instances could
be cited, especially within the past
twelve months, to show that this tyran-
ny is becoming more and more unsup-
portable.
In the first place all the land in NADIA
gascar, with comparatively few excep-
tions, belongs nominally to the queen,
but actually to the government At the
present moment and for many years past
the government is and has been COM
pletely centered in and despotically ruled
by the prime minister, Rainilaiarivorny,
who besides his original wife has mar
ried two successive queens of Madagas-
car Fortunately for himself and his
family his rule has, on the whole, been
wise as well as vigorous In the Saka-
lava expedition, out of tens of thousands
of peasants who were summoned, as
sembled, and even partially drilled
throughout the country, only about 1900
could be actually laid hold of, and few
months of fever and numerous deser-
tions quickly reduced this number.
Similarly in the alluvial gold fields,
which are being worked by forced labor
upon the enormous nominal royalty of
55 per cent to the government (45 per
cent. is divided among the foreign
shareholders, directors and superintend
ents), immense exertions have to be con-
stantly made to keep up the supply of
forced labor.
TALENT UNDER A BUSHEL.
Thus it comes about that this most
important branch of the national wealth
is not developed. Here, as elsewhere
serfdom spells poverty.
Again, in the case of craftsmen and
artificers, Madagascar possesses and
could produce plenty of men whose
talent would compare favorably with
that of almost any people in the world.
Bnt the moment they show proficiency
in their art they are "Fanampoaned,"
that is, they are honored by being en-
ployed by the government or by some
powerful official, without wage and
without food. A clever craftsman, from
whom you buy work of art, in what
ever metal, begs you not to say from
whom you purchased it, solely for fear
of the ''honor" which would be in store
for him. So if you want good tins1nith,
carpenter or jeweler you must not search
for him among the tradesmen of his own
craft; but the clever jeweler is found
among the washermen, and SO on, in an
amusing 'bo-peep" of industry. The
queen honors ''Raini-be" or "Bootoo" by
taking him away from his rice fields just
at the season when his labor and super
vision are most required for his crop. So
the unfortunate freeman" who is not
allowed to send his slave as his substi-
tute-mark the grandeur of the distinc-
ton conferred upon him-is remorseless-
ly bled, even to his penultimate dollar,
if he desires to procure exemption from
the honor. .-Fortnightly Review.
A Problem in Mathematics.
A vessel divided into ''forty- two thir-