It is by no means impossible that the illness of
the Czar may have an influence upon the fate of Madagascar. There is a hitch somewhere, for although M. Le Myre de Vilers took with him complete instructions and an ultimatum, telegrams of unusual length are now passing, and the ulti- matum is not to be presented just yet. The new Resident is to ascertain first whether the Government of Antana- narivo will not yield without the necessity of a direct resort to force. In the event of its refusal, force must be em- ployed; hat this necessitates an appeal to the Chamber, which may hesitate in its response. While Alexander III. ruled, peace was secure, and France, being unopposed by England, might act freely ; but with Europe in uncertainty, the Chamber may be disinclined to seclude a division of the Army and a section of the Fleet by employing them in a South African war. These conquests beyond sea are not popular with the peasantry, who think their children will be killed or invalided ; while they do not obtain any of the "concessions" or appointments in which Paris finds a compensation. M. Chlmenceau would be: furiously opposed to the whole plan, and though he is no longer in the Chamber, he is still editor of La justice.
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