Madagascar of To-Day. By the Rev. W. E. Cousins. (R.T.S.)
—Mr. Cousins has been a missionary in the island for more than thirty years. To these opportunities of observation he adds a liberal and broad-minded way of looking at things and persons. Himself in the employ of the London Missionary Society, he notes with approval some very glowing testimony to the merits of the Roman Catholic missions. What he tells us about the Hovas and their method of government, especially as it has been carried out by the Prime Minister who has lately fallen, does not incline us much to regret the catastrophe. It is to be hoped that French rule will not make matters worse. It has hardly worked for good in Tahiti. It would be very hard if the missions, continued as they have been under heavy discouragement, should now suffer. The death of the great R.adama was followed by an era of persecu- tion under Queen Ranavalona I. This lasted for thirty-three years. Since 1861, there has been considerable success.—We may mention with this Women in the Mission Field, by the Rev. A. R. Buckland (Isbister). Here we have not a few noble instances of brave, self-sacrificing work. We are inclined, not to doubt the general aptitude of women for the work of missions, but to question whether any married woman should be sent out. The strain of many concurrent and conflicting duties is too much for them. It breaks down the colonist's wife even in healthy climates.
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