Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-03-28

receives but 81 900 In salary. and his fees
amount to about $13 year. Moreover,
the living expenses on the island are hign,
as result of the excessive customs tax,
that It costs an American to live in this
colony Just twice the amount required
of him in the United States. The
Tahiti post. therefore, Is one which mas
years past Consul Doty lately succeeded
his brother, who had held the commission
since 1885, and who was once page In the
United States Senate.
Our consul at Hobart, Tasmania, Is an
other Isolated official. But this island.
south of Australia, and one Of the feder-
ated states thereof, boasts Of one of the
healthiest climates of the world. Neither
the summer heat nor the winter cold IS
excessive. House rent and the cost OF
provisions are both moderate. Consul
Webster, an Englishman by birth, is sew
enty-one years old, and has held his post
for twenty-seven years. He is paid only
in fees.
In Madagascar.
In Madagascar is another ,out-of-the-way
post That big island east of the southern
point of Africa is the home of the black
Hovas. and in addition to representa-
tives there are no resident Americans at
Tamatave. where our consulate is located
This town Is built upon a small tongue Of
land jutting out from the coast and so
narrow that when walking on the main
street can see the ocean washing the
beach few hundred yards to the right ana
left. A few years ago the French eXiled
the Hova queen of Madagascar and set up
their own progressive regime upon the Is
land Previous to that time the filthy
streets of Tamatave were knee deep in
sand. In the center of the town stood an
unsightly collection of native huts. But
Consul Hunt reports that era of recon-
struction has commenced. Our consulate
l. ,.,f
Italian. German and Norwegian govern
ments. Consul Hunt receives $1,000 a year
and Insignificant fees. He reports that NV
ing expenses are so per cent higher than
in the United States. Europeans and
Americans find the climate healthy, pro-
vided they may leave the island at least
once in three years.
At Sierra Leone. on the west coast of
Africa. just north of the equator, our con-
sui must battle with the dread malaria. The
climate is very unhealthy for foreigners
the year round. Only fifty American re-
side in the district. and it is a lonely spot.
The consufs salary is S1.5e0, and last year
he realized only s5.0o in fees.
At Zanzibar.
Our consul at Zanzibar enjoys the fellow
ship of but two Americans in his entire
district, which includes 100000 people,
mostly negroes, who are dominated by
Arabs. Several thousand Hindus also re-
side in the sultanate. The American con-
sulate is at Zanzibar city, the capital of
the island, and the largest settlement upon
the eastern seaboard of Africa 1t has a
population of 100000 The climate Is tropi-
cal and unhealthy for white men, The
cost of living is very high, but man with
out a family can live quietly In his own
house for about 81 500 a year The consuls
salary is $1,000 year, and inasmuch as he
makes nothing in fees he just about makes
ends meet. However, he has access to the
court of that Mohammedan potentate, the
Sultan of Zanzibar, whose palace is located
near orr consulate.
Our consulate at Pretoria, South Africa
was conspicuous during the Boer war, es-
pecially at the time of the resignation of
Consul Macrum, because of his sympathy
for the Transvaal republic. The consul S
salary is $1,000 and small fees. We also
have consular agencies at Bloomfontein
and Johannesburg.
In the Holy Land.
At Beirut, the seaport of Damascus and
the chief city of Syria and Palestine, our
consul is enervated by extreme heat and
humidity during eight months of the year.
So trying is the climate that the wives and
children of Americans and Europeans To-
Gated at this Mediterranean port must de-
part during July, August and September.
In Beirut there are 105 Americans out OF
a total population of 125,000, so the consul
is by no means isolated from his fellow
countrymen. His district embraces the Holy
Land and the Island of Cyprus. About 400
persons of Syrian BIRTH but claiming
Anne rican protection, are constantly calling
upon him to intervene in their behalf with
the Turkish government. The consuls sal
ary is $1,000 and he receives about $500 ad-
ditional in fees.
Our Chinese consuls had no sinecures dur
ing the recent Boxer uprisings. We have in