The Queen of Madagascar and her Ministry have finally determined
to fight. M. Le Myre de 'Niers has accordingly quitted Antananarivo, and next week the French Chambers will be asked to vote the credits necessary for a conquering expedi- tion. It is said that the first credit will be for £3,000,000, and that fifteen thousand troops of all arms will be landed in the island and marched towards the capital ; but it is evident that there is some hesitation. The Frenchmen who know the island all say it will not be conquered without great loss of life ; and there is clearly an idea that the electors may not like the prospect before them. To stimulate enthusiasm, therefore, much is made of Protestant feeling, and it is alleged that the English missionaries are entirely actuated by hostility to France, and are even poisoning French opponents. It is rumoured that the Government, for all its decision, will content itself at first with a blockade—you might as well blockade one of the little planets—but it is probable that the naval authorities are only waiting for events in China to declare themselves. They do not want to incur the great expense of strengthening their fleet in the North Pacific, and transporting a great expedition to the South Pacific at the same time. The grand difficulty when a landing has been effected will be carriage, and the Government, instead of buying mules, as we did for Abyssinia, is trying to bribe one or two of the subordinate tribes of the island to furnish twenty thousand coolies. They must be fed as well as flattered and paid.
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