The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1895-10-28
Ex CONSUL HALLER's ARREsT

An American Eyewitness Describes the
Outrage-Tried the Evidence of Pa
pers Written Before the War and New
Witnesses called-strong Feeling Among.
the Ma1agasy Against All Foreigners
The Hovas Count on the Fever to de-
feat the French,
[From the London News.l
The latest arrival from Antananari-
vo is Mr.. Ethelbert G. Woodford, an
American traveller and engineer, who
reached Marseilles on the 18th inst.
from Madagascar. Since that date he
has presented to Mr.. Eustis, the United
States ambassador in Paris, a full re-
port of the case of Mr.. Waller, the
American ex-consul at Tamatave,
| whose summary condemnation to TWEEN
ty years Imprisonment is now the sub
ject of an international question be-
tween the governments of France and
the United States. Mr.. Woodford, who
has also collected a large quantity of
documentary evidence regarding for
eign rights on the island, arrived in the
capital on the day of Colonel Sherving-
toms departure, and remained there for
six weeks. Mr.. Woodford said;
81 left Antananarivo on May 81, six
| weeks later than the British officers,
and am the only man now in England
who has come direct from Madagascar.
| I arrived in London three days age
from Paris, having reached Marseilles
on the 18th inst. reached Madagas-
| car in March last in order to transact
some banking and private business
On arriving at Tamatave in the steam
| ship Djemnah, on March II, all the
| passengers had landed, and Mr.. Cooper
my secretary, and | We're preparing tc
| leave the ship, when we were notified
| that the French commandant had SEM
| orders that we were not to land. I al
once wrote a dispatch to Mr., Wetter
| the acting American consul, claiming
my right as an American subject tc
land. Mr.. Cooper, being a British sub.
| ject, addressed a similar letter to the
| British consul. The letter to the Amer.
| lean consul was opened by the French
officials and was received by the consu
| torn open. AS a result of energetic &C.
| ton by the two consuls, my secretary
and myself were permitted to land late
at night, but our baggage was com.
pletely overhauled.
''On landing / heard that Mr. Waller
| the United States ex-consul, was ir
prison, having been arrested on q
charge of communicating with the Ho.
vas. A week later, on Monday, March
| IS, Mr.. Waller was tried by military
| tribunal, and, after about a couple Of
hours, was sentenced to twenty years
| imprisonment He was convicted sole
/ ly on documentary evidence, for the
most part dated previous to the war
and no witnesses were called. The
| charges were based on number of let
| tiers written by Mr.. Waller to his wife
which were intercepted by the French
| Among the documents seized was al
article of mine written to an American
| journal, in which 1 criticised the French
occupation. This had been cut from {
newspaper and enclosed by Mr.. Waller
| to his wife. There was also a Letter
/ from Hova lad of nineteen to Mr.
Waller, asking the latter to purchase
him some stores, among other things
four revolvers. 1t was on this evidence
that the American ex-consuI was con
demned. The feelings of Mr.. Wette
and myself on hearing of this sentence
can be imagined, but We were the onl!
two responsible Americans in Tama
tave, and we were helpless, as nj
American gunboat was near the coast
The United States consul attended tn
trial and did all that was possible. AM
1 am convinced that, had an American
war ship been at Tamatave. he woult
have insisted on the American com
| mander placing Waller on board unde