The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-09-07

| oussion of the validity of the grant.
| What is interesting here is the cause or
| the viruIant opposition of the French
| TO Mr.. Walters holding il. One eX-
| PLANTATION is that France intends to turn
| the island into a colony, and that no
| nation desires considerable settle
ment Of negroes in one of its colonies,
| such a settlement. for instance, as Mr..
| Waller proposed TO establish. This is
in the face of the fact that the popula-
| ton of France is stationary and that
she has no surplus coloniZing popula-
| ton. Another theory is that French
! SPECTATORS wanted TO loot the island
by themselves and objected to for
| eigner carraying away choice bit. In
| support of this theory it is argued that
| the French opposition papers are con-
tinually harping upon the statement
| that millions are being wanted in Ton
! quin in military operations when Dene-
| fit only some privileged traders; that
/ the French influence on the Ivory coast
| in Africa is made to serve monopoly
| alone; that when phosphate deposits
were discovered in Algeria certain gov
ernment officials pareceled them out,
| and that in general Frances colonial
! enterprises have been so used and di-
rected as to benefit, not France, but
| private fortunes. Ii is further stated
| that the French officials in Madagascar
are mad with Jealousy over the Amerl-
can cotton trade in the island; that
they resort to every possible excuse TO
trammel American trade, and that they
would drive il from the island if they
could. If they object to American
trade, 1t is asked, how much more
would they oppose the occupation by an
American of one of the most fertile and
=
ORDERS FROM PARIS.
The French are undoubtedly exercis-
ed also by the report that Mr.. Waller
intended turning over a part of this
grant to the United States for use as a
naval coaling station. French officers
had surveyed the neighborhood of Fl.
Dauphin themselves with the purpose
of locating A coaling station there.
Their knowledge of the friendly senti-
ments entertained by the Madecasse
toward the United States alarmed
them.
Whatever the motive, the grant was
attacked officially and unofficially. The
same tactics were tried that squelched
the Kingdom grant earlier. An Eng
lishman named Kingdom obtained a
contract to negotiate loan in 1856 and
to establish bank of issue. The French
government caused A note to be pub
lished in the London papers denying
the validity of the contract. and King
don found it impossible to interest cap
italists in his project. The same meas
ures were used to scare off capital from
Waller. The luminosity of the French
toward him at this period is proved by
both official communications and by
inspired articles in the Malaga scar.
Among the former is a cable dispatch
received by the French president gener
al from Paris inStructing him to op-
pose all concessions. and especially Mr..
Walters. The signs of the storm were
so manifest that Consul Waller notified
the state department, after the arrival
of the advance Of the French expedi-
ton last autumn, that, while he did
rot expect trouble, he believed that the
French were prepared to act in high
handed manner.
Trouble soon came. First John Dublin
On American negro, who had long been
marshal of the American consular court
at Tamatave, was assaulted and robbed
by three sailors from the French war
ship Hugon- IT is believed that the
motive of the attack was that he had
been pointed out to them as a friend
Of Waller. Then Mr.. Waller himself
was attacked. French men-of-war'S
men broke into his house and terrorized
the women of the household. They
theatened Mr.. Waller with their knives.
Mr.. Waller is six feet tall, big and fear
less. He seized a chair and drove them
out Consul Waller made a formal COM
plant about the assault to NJ Chaloin,
the French municipal administrator.
He promised an investigation, and that
was the end of 1t.
The French declared artiaI a
Tamatave and issued a set of postal
regulations, which proved that all let
terS (muStbe mailed unSealed to permit
an eXamina ton of the contents, and i'm
posed afine OF from 10 % francs upon
any one caught smpuggling letter out
of the country. In both acts the French
according to Mr.. Walters counsel, vi
ola'ted international law. In defiance
of the regula lions Mr.. Waller Dispatch
ed a letter on board the British steam
ship UmloZi. It was addressed to
friend named Tester at Antananar-
Two, the capital. and was to go via the
English port of Natal and thence to
Natomandry, a part of Madagascar
then in the hands of the Hovas. IN
fortunate ly, the steamship missed her
connection at Natal, and the mail bag
instead of going to Vatomandry was
sert back to Tamatave. where the
French officials discovered Mr.. Walters
letter.
WALTERS ARREST.
His arrest on March 5, last followed
the discovery. To show the animosity
Of the officials, it is stated that after
arresting him they searched and over
hauled the house of a Malagasy Gre
ole where Waller and his step-son Paul
Bray, lived. and said to the creole:
You, Frenchman, associate with
the enemies of your country, the Am
orleans and English? You ought to
know better! Look out for yourself!
You'll be watched"
The letter had three Enclosures. One.
10 Tessier. merely requested him to de-
liver one of the incloSed letters TO Mrs.
Waller, then at Antananarivo. and the
other 10 young Hova lad. To the
latter Mr.. Waller had promised a revolt
Yer. and the latter, a mere note. relat-
ed 10 the fact. 1t was upon the letter
10 his wife that the charges against
him Were based chiefly. II was in the
form of a diary covering three or four
days. 1t worked to his DISADVANTAGE
in three ways-it contained mat tier
49, may have incensed Consul Wetter
against him. II added fuel to French
hatred, and it supplied material for an
accusation. II criticized severely the
action or Consul Wetter before the
-Sae department. II said that two men
whose initials We're given, had left
Tamatave for the capital. that they
were spies, and should be watched. on !
this statement and on the letter 10 the !
HoVa lad in relation to the revolver are /
based. 50 far as is known. the charges !
OF which Mr.. Waller was tried. and on /
conviction Of which he received the SEN
tence Of twenty years.
The third subject referred 10 as hav- |
inS added fuel to French hatred Of Mr.. |
W aller was the barbarities alleged 10 /
nave oeen committed by French SOL |