The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-11-15

Education goes on apace. There are mis- sionaries in nearly all the colonies and mission schools, as well as government schools. In the Congo colony alone fifty six schools have been established and a proportionate number in Dahomey and on the Ivory coast All these colonies trade chiefly with Europe They buy bright -colored calicoes, beads, knives and notions, trading ivory. rubber, palm seeds and palm oil for them. So far the only thing they get from America is our leaf tobacco. which is sent there in hogs- heads, being first shipped to. Liverpool The freight rate from Liverpool to Daho- mey is about three-fourths of a cent A pound.
 The French in Madagascar. The French have materially changed the conditions in Madagascar They have claimed to own that island for hundreds of years. but It is only seven or eight years ago that it was formally declared a French colony. The queer. was then deposed md carried to the French Island of Reunion, whence she was afterward taken to Algiers.
 Madagascar in the fourth largest island in the world. It has more land than France, and it's population is two and one- half millions. About one-third of the na- lives are Hovas, a most intelligent people, who until the French came were the con trolling element of the island. In addi- ton to them are the Sakalavas on the west coast and other tribes on the east. north and south. In the coast towns there are many Arab traders and also many negroes from Africa who were brought in as slaves.
 The Capital of Madagascar.
 The Island of Madagascar consists of a high plateau with a fringe of unhealthy forest around the edges. Its chief port is Tamatave. on the east coast, and the cap ital is Tananarivo. in the heart of the plateau. The French are building a rail- road from one to the other. It will be over hundred miles long. and thirty-nve miles have already been built
 Tananarivo stands on a ridge i've hun dred feet high in the center of a rich farming country. It has comfortable two-story housess and the Hovas. who form its chief population, have many peo- pie of wealth. The public buildings of the queen are now used by the French officials. who are introducing modern im- provements of all kinds. They have im- proved the ports, having instituted schools and colleges and are doing much to better the country
 Some French Islands. France has a big sized island empire. Madagascar alone Is as long as from New York to Chicago, and as wide as from Washington city to Boston. Just east of 1t Is Reunion, an island not quite as big as Rhode Island, which also belongs to France. It is noted for its plantations of coffee, vanilla and spices. Northwest of Madagascar are the Comoro Islands and the Island of Mayotte. all very rich fin sugar. vanilla and coffee, and in the West Indies are a number of islands equally valuable. The chief of the West India n islands are Guadeloupe and Martinique The French also own the State of French Guiana on the coast of South America below them.
 France has also islands in the Pacific East of Australia 1t owns New Caledonia which 1t uses largely as a prison settle ment. It has the Wallis Archipelago northeast of the Fitis. the Ruon Islands northwest of New Caledonia, the Loyalty Islands farther eastward Futuna and Alafi. south of the Wallis Islands, and the New Hebrides. It also has a large num- Der of islands in the South seas. and es- peclally the Society Islands, the most im- portant of which is Tahiti, with an area of 600 square miles and population of ten thousand souls.
 The French have also small colonies in East India and some very large ones in farther India, such as Tonkin, Annam, Cochin China and Cambodia, of which have written in previous letters.
 Frank G. Carpenter. 
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