St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-05-26
BRAY TELLS OF THE TROUBLES
OF THE EX-CONSUL AT MAD-
AGASCAR.
ACTION OF THE FRENCH
APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN WHO'LL
LY UNWARRANTABLE AND
HARSH.
State Department Gives Assur-
ances of Its support, as Does
Minister Eustis.

WASHINGTON, May 2w5.-A re-
porter for the Associated Press today
succeeded in securing an interview
with Paul Bray, the stepson of ex-
Consul Waller, concerning his and his
stepfather's trouble in Madagascar.
1.-The French" ne said, "claim author
ity over the foreign affairs Of the
island under the treaty of 1885, which
gives them the right to represent
Madagascar in its foreign relations,
but not in any way to interfere with
the management Of the internal af-
fairs of the country. They have since
maintained a French resident at
Antanonorivo, which is the capital
while other European nations and the
United States have kept only consuls
there. The French representative has
claimed that under this treaty France
was entitled to exercise a protectorate
over the island, and among other pre-
negatives has demanded that he be
allowed to issue exequateurs to the
representatives of other foreign coun-
tries. Mr.. Waller was appointed @on-
sui by President Harrison, and when
he arrived at the capital the French
representatives made the demand that
Waller should receive this badge of
authority from him. Knowing that
the natives, > or Hovas, resisted this
claim of the French, and placed diff
ferent Interpretation upon the treaty
Mr.. Waller resisted this demand. and
accepted his exequateur from the ma
tive governmelt. When Mr.. Walters
term of office expired and he ought
to secure concession of lands from
the native government, the French au-
thorities opposed him in every way.
Mr.. Walters home is at Autonana-
rivo, which is about 225 miles inland
from Tamatave, but he was at the
latter place on business connected with
his concession when he was placed
under arrest, as I was also at the
same time. Being interested with fim
in the concession, 1 went to Mauritius
|, in May,51894, to finance the scheme,
but / was followed up by written
and printed representations of the sit
uation, sent out by the French authori-
ties, characterizing the grant as fraud
ulent and in every way calculated to
prejudice our enterprise" Mr.. Bray
says that when
WALLER WAS ARRESTED
March 5, he Bray) was sitting in Mr..
Walters house engaged in a game of
draughts, when the building was sur
rounded by a falf-dezen French
gendarmes. Waller was not in. but
Bray undertook to find him, and sue
ceeded in doing so. Waller was then
told by the officers in charge of the
squad thai. he had an order fromS the
military commander of the post for
! his arrest and the confiscation of his
papers. But upon his request that he
be allowed to see the order this was
refused, and ne was taken to prison,
not, however, until the house had been
ransacked, and not only Mr.. Waller's
| papers, but Bray's also, taken posses
sion of by the French officers. Bray
then reported the entire proceedings
to United States Consul Wetter. The
latter Immediately asked for an ex-
planation, which, according to Mr..
| Bray, were very vague. 1t was to
| the! effect that Mr. Waller had vio-
lated the French treaty in attempting
! to 5conduct correspondence outside of
Tamatave without permitting il to
pass through French hands, and in
i timated that full inquiry was expected