The state of affairs in Madagascar is most deplorable. The
brigand tribes, whom the Hovas kept down or bribed, finding the Hova authority destroyed, have broken loose, have be n joined by many of the Hovas who, in their rage at the French occupation, have relapsed into heathenism, and are completely destroying all vestiges of civilisation in the country districts. Hundreds of churches have been destroyed, the very suburbs of the capital are plundered, and all means of communication from place to place, without an armed escort, are suspended. It is very doubtful whether the Queen and the Hovas are loyal, and quite certain that the French garrison, which con- sists mainly of Senegalese, is hopelessly insufficient. The authorities in Paris are talking of a second expedition, but even if it starts, and is successful, it must be supported by a. permanent garrison, and the Foreign Office shrinks from asking the Chamber for the necessary money. The alternative policy is to replace the Queen in power, " concentrate " all Frenchmen in Tamatave, and thus, in fact, abandon the island while retaining a nominal possession, and it is by no means certain that this course will not be adopted. The French Government dare not station a large body of conscripts permanently in Madagascar. The men would die too fast of heart-break, and the peasantry, whose children were sacrificed, would begin to hate the Republic.
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