REFERENCES.

Barret (Dr.), Senegambie, Region Gabonnaisse. &c. Paris, 1858.

De Chavanne, La Mission de Brazza. Paris, 1886.

Foà (E.), La Traversée de l'Afrique du Zainbèze au Congo français. Paris, 1900.
Fureau (F.), De l'Alger au Congo par le Tchad.

Paris, 1902.

Gentil (E.), La Chute de l'Empire de Rabah. Paris, 1902.

Kruger, Le Congo. Paris, 1890.

Mezières (A. B. de), Rapport de Mission sur le Haut Oubangui, le M'Bomou et le Bahr-el-Ghazal. Paris, 1903.

Morel (E. D.), The British Case in French Congo. London, 1903.

Oppenheim (M. F. von), Rabeh und das Tschadsee Gebiet. Berlin, 1902.

Rhyns (Dutreuil de), Le Congo. Paris, 1885.

MADAGASCAR

Government.

The assertion of the claim of France over Madagascar dates from the year 1642, when a concession of the island was granted to a trading company by the French King. This grant and similar concessions subsequently made, as well as decrees proclaiming French sovereignty and the appointment of viceroys over the island, were entirely ineffective and, except on some parts of the coast, nothing was done in the way of exploration. In the year 1810 Radama I. succeeded in reducing a large part of the island to the sway of the sovereigns of the Hova, the most advanced, though probably not the most numerous, of the various Malagasy races, and in 1820 he was recognised by the English as King of Madagascar. His widow, Queen Rànavàlona I., obtained the sovereign power in 1829, and until her death, in 1861, intercourse with foreigners was discouraged. She was succeeded by Radàma II., in 1861, and he by his wife Ràsohèrina, in 1863, on whose death, in 1868, Rànavàlona II. obtained the throne. The recently deposed sovereign, Rànavàlona III. (born 1861), succeeded in 1883. The French having claimed a portion of the north-west coast as ceded to them by local chiefs, hostilities were carried on in 1882-84 against the Hovas, who refused to recognise the cession. In 1885 peace was made, Diego Suarez being surrendered to France. A French ResidentGeneral was received at the capital, and the foreign relations of the country were claimed to be regulated by France. By the Anglo-French agreement of August 5, 1890, the protectorate of France over Madagascar was recognised by Great Britain; but the Native Government steadily refused to recognise any protectorate. In May, 1895, a French expedition was despatched to enforce the claims of France, and on October 1, the capital having been occupied, a treaty was signed whereby the Queen recognised and accepted the protectorate. By a unilateral convention made in January, 1896, Madagascar became a French possession, and by law promulgated August 6, 1896, the island and its dependencies were declared a French colony.

On February 27, 1897, the Queen was deposed by the Resident-General, and on March 11 she and her family were deported to the island of Réunion ; whence, in March, 1899, she was transferred to Algiers.

Governor-General.-General Gallieni.

A Consultative Council of Administration has been established at Antananarivo. The Colony is not represented in the French Parliament,

nor has it any elective assembly. The island is partly under civil and partly under military administration. In 19 provinces or districts there are civil administrators; in 7 military territories or circles military officers direct affairs, while in 3 mixed territories the officials are either civil or military. The administrative system is based on the autonomy of the different races. The administrators appoint as local governors and chiefs of districts usually those who have been chosen by popular vote. Natives are employed to a large extent in subordinate positions both in the civil and military administration.

Area and Population.

Madagascar, the third largest island in the world (reckoning Australia as a continent), is situated on the south-eastern side of Africa, from which it is separated by the Mozambique Channel, the least distance between island and continent being 240 miles; greatest length, 980 miles; greatest breadth, 360 miles.

The

The area of the island is estimated at 224,000 square miles. population, according to the incomplete enumeration of December, 1901, amounts to about 3,000,000, including a few hundreds of Asiatic and African origin, and 15,000 Europeans. The civil officials number 760, the officers in the army 598, and the troops 12,151. The female population seems in excess of the male. Hindu, Chinese and other Asiatics carry on small retail trade. The most intelligent and enterprising tribe is the Hova, whose language, allied to the Malayan and Oceanic tongues, is understood over a large part of the island. The people are divided into a great many clans, who seldom intermarry. The Hovas are estimated to number 850,000; the other races, more or less mixed, are the Sakalavas in the west, the Bétsiléos, Bàra, and other tribes in the south and south-west, the Betsimisáraka, in the east and north-east, the Sihanaka, north and west of lake Alaotra, the Bezanozano, the Tanala, the Mahafaly, the Antanosy, the Antandroy, and others too numerous to mention here. In the coast towns are many Arab traders, and there are besides many negroes from Africa introduced as slaves. The slave trade was nominally abolished in 1877, and steps are now being taken by the French Government for the effectual suppression of slavery throughout the island; slavery in Imerina and in all parts under French authority was abolished by proclamation on September 27, 1896. system of forced labour in the public service was abolished on January 1, 1901, but the personal tax due from 16 to 60 years of age, formerly 5 francs, has been increased to 10, 15, in some provinces 20, and in Antananarivo to 30 francs. The capital, Antananarivo, in the interior, has a population of about 55,000. The principal port is Tamatave, on the east coast, with a population of 11,000. Majungà, the chief port on the north-west coast, has about 5,000 inhabitants.

The

In 1896 Diégo-Suarez (a French colony from 1885), the island of Nossi Bé (area, 130 sq. m.) on the west coast, and the island of Ste. Marie on the east coast (area, 64 sq. m.) were placed under the authority of the GovernorGeneral of Madagascar.

Religion, Education, Justice.

Up to 1895 a large portion of the Hova and of the other tribes in the central districts had been Christianised. The vast majority of professing Christians were connected with churches formed by the London Missionary

Society, but Anglican, Friends', Norwegian and American Lutheran, and Roman Catholic missions were also at work. The Christian population was estimated at 450,000 Protestants, and 50,000 Roman Catholics. Hospitals, colleges, orphanages, and about 1,800 schools, with 170,000 children, were connected with the various missions. Since the establishment of French rule, much has been done to break down the influence of Protestant missions in the island. Though decrees have been issued proclaiming religious liberty, the Catholic propaganda has nevertheless been pushed in such a manner that many native Protestants have been constrained to call themselves Catholic. The form of tenure of the real property of the missions required the adherence of Malagasy Christians of the same profession as the holders of the property, and many British mission churches were lost in 1897, through the failure of this condition. Many of these have, however, since been restored to the Protestant congregations. The outlying tribes are still mostly heathen.

Education is compulsory from 8 to 14 years of age. For Europeans there are lay schools for boys, for girls, and mixed, at five of the largest towns, their total number of pupils in 1903 being 299. Primary preparatory schools are organized under regulations of 1903, and provide instruction similar to that given to the younger pupils in the lycées and colleges of France. The native school system provides for primary schools for boys and for girls in Antananarivo and in rural circumscriptions, the teachers being mostly native. There are also regional schools for agriculture and industries, normal schools, a school of practical agriculture, a professional school with 7 European teachers, and 180 pupils, and a school of medicine with 6 teachers and 102 students. Private (or mission) schools are required to carry out the Government programmes, and throughout the island many Protestant and Catholic schools carry on successful work. Children are required to learn the French language.

For the administration of French justice there are a parquet consisting of a procureur-général and other officials, a court of appeal, six courts of first instance in the principal towns, organised under decree of June 9, 1896. For native justice there are a court of appeal and tribunals in the provinces and circles.

Finance.

The local revenue of Madagascar is derived chiefly from direct taxation (including a personal tax and taxes on land and houses), from customs and other indirect taxes, from colonial lands, from posts and telegraphs, markets, and miscellaneous sources, and from subventions granted by France. The chief branches of expenditure are general administration, public works, the post office, and the public debt. For the year 1903 the revenue and expenditure were estimated each at 23,507,000 francs; for 1904, at 24,526,000 francs. The expenditure of France on Madagascar and Diego Suarez in 1905, was estimated at 21,245,552 francs, of which the whole was for military purposes.

The debt of the colony consists of the converted Malagasy loan (1885) and a loan of 60,000,000 francs (1900) for railways and other public works.

Defence.

According to the budget of France for 1905, the troops in Madagascar (including the forces at Diego Suarez) consist of 3,949 Europeans, and 9,032 natives The police, gendarmerie, and militia are maintained on the local budget.

Production and Industry.

Of minerals, gold, iron, copper, lead, silver, zinc, antimony, manganese, nickel, sulphur, graphite, and lignite have been found. It seems probable that many parts of the island are very rich in valuable ores. The production of gold in recent years was in 1897, 79,115 grammes; 1898, 125,378; 1899, 401,423; 1900, 1,114,000; 1901, 1,045,000; 1902, 1,303,000; 1903, 1,910,000. In 1902, 1,535 kilogrammes of gold were exported; in 1903, 2,299. Cattle breeding and agriculture are the chief occupations of the people; there are about 2,800,000 cattle in the island; rice, manioc, sugar, coffee, cotton, cacao, vanilla, tobacco, and sweet potatoes are cultivated. Sericulture is encouraged. The forests abound with many valuable woods, while caoutchouc, gums, resins, plants for textile, tanning, dyeing, and medicinal purposes abound. The principal article at present produced in the island is caoutchouc, which is exported to London, Hamburg, and Marseilles. Silk and cotton weaving are carried on, and the manufacture of textures from the raphia palm fibre, and of metal work. Hitherto manufactures have been carried on mostly by natives with antiquated methods, but works for the preparation of sugar, rice, soap, beer, &c., are being undertaken by Europeans.

Commerce.

Before the French occupation the duties on imports were at the rate of 10 per cent. ad valorem, but in July, 1897, the French tariff was applied, with special rates for foreign imports. Since then the duties on cottons and other goods from the United Kingdom have been increased so as to be almost prohibitive.

The trade of Madagascar has been as follows in five years :

Imports
Exports

Francs

Francs Francs Francs Francs 27,916,614 40,470,831 46,032,759 42,289,036 33, 107, 171 8,954,840 10,623,869 8,975,473 13,144, 440 16,471, 128

The chief articles of import and export in 1902 and 1903 were to the following values (in 1000's of francs) :

Of the imports, 89 per cent. in value were from France, 1.7 per cent. from the United Kingdom. Of the exports, 60 per cent. were to France, and 4 per cent. to the United Kingdom.

The imports from Madagascar into the United Kingdom, and the exports

The principal imports from and exports to foreign countries in 1903

The subjoined statement shows the commerce of Algeria with Great Britain and Ireland in each of the last five years.

The most important articles of import into Great Britain in 1903 were : esparto and other fibres, for making paper, of the value of 218,2597.; iron ore, 170,3877.; phosphates, 125,0087. The British exports to Algeria consisted principally of coal, 464,3447.; cotton fabrics of the value of 12,7871.; machinery, 42,3951.; chemicals, 8,9807.

Shipping and Communications.

In 1902, 1,941 vessels of 1,346,753 tons, entered Algerian ports from abroad, and 1,978, of 1,130,724 tons, cleared.

On January 1, 1904, the mercantile marine of Algiers consisted of 842 vessels of 23, 286 tons.

Algiers is now the most important coaling station in the Mediterranean. There are 1,790 miles of national roads in Algeria.

In 1903 there were 1,920 English miles of railway open for traffic. The railway receipts (1902) amounted to 36,211,806 francs. The railways receive a subvention of 18 million francs a year for 1905. 1906, and 1907, decreasing by 300,000 francs a year in 1908-12, by 400,000 fiancs a year in 1913-17, and by 500,000 francs a year in 1918-46. There were 137 miles of tramway in operation.

The postal revenue for 1902 was 5,673,984 francs. offices. In 1902, in the internal service, 20,463,046 external, 27,205,729 packets were transmitted.

There were 582 post packets, and in the