MAURITIUS AND MADAGASCAR.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 1930, 25 February 1867, Page 3

MAURITIUS AND MADAGASCAR.

■ '■>:.' ■■:■ (Ftm the Australasian, Feb. 2.) ' The arrival of a French brig laden with

sugar is nothing so remarkable in the commercial chronicles ofMelbourne astowarrant any specialobservation,., were it not for the particular country she hails: from. Hitherto, with (He exception: ofJava, the .Australian sugar mart has beenalmost, exclusiyelysup- : plied from Mauritius. That has; been a .matter of cbursj. ' Mauritius is, .as.everyone, knows, the greatest sugar-producing island, .next to Cuba, in the world. ■.When by the Emancipation ' Acfcof, 1834 the negro slaves were liberated, as in all the rest of. the' British. dominions, the French Creoles showed a far of what was to be done than, the colonists of Queensland how show in their irrational opposition to'the introduction of coloured labourers. Deprived.: of' : the compulsory ser-.. vices of the blacks, : they, drew at once upon the great field of. cheap ■ arid nominally; free; labour existing jiii. India,' and: .■chiefly" in southerhlndia. \At the present time somewhere about' a hundred, thousand coolies, writing in the in the Mauritius, and their cheap work it is which is making some of the sugar■>. growers■ > among the ricliest capitalists of ; the island. The original negroes are swamped jn it. multitude of ■the tawriy-hued natives of Malabar and .Gorpmandei. TheislandofPaulandVirginia 'seems .to fairly reek with sugar, as of all crops this is by far the most preferable, provided the cost of production is kept down to a 'steady, low average;. The island, though anything but large, is extraordinarily fertile, 11 has generally been able to export abundantly, but still/its own produce would be scarcely able tO'meetthe growing demand.. Little;bj liUle, theic'repleiplahtershayei extended their operations island, and the ehief scene: of. their. "outsi.Je. enterprise is in Madagascar. '■ This, magnificent' island is one of i threeinsfc Guinea being the other two-pf which, from their very- magnitude,. we know next to nothing. In the case of fell three, moreover, the insalubrity- of'the climate, real or imputedj has been a constant drawback, Madagascar in particular, has till of late years home a terrible character iri this respect. It is now,. however, found to be greatly exaggerated, Iri -theihotswampy lowlands which fringe the margin :oi;thesea- : maiariaahd ague ( as iij all tropical countries, are abundant.' But a little further back the land rises rapidly in a series 'of terraces into an elevatedtable-land, perfectly adapted' : to European life, and capable of producing everything. The natives of. this. table-land, and sovereigns of the island, the Hovas; are in riiany resjects a very peculiar, arid for; a semi-barbarous, a superior race. ''■■ They are; 'shrewd,; sceptical, good diplomatists (liavjng several times diplomatically check-mated the French), good hands;at driving.a; bargainj.andoftener cheat foreigners than;... they allow •■-foreigners to , cheat them. "■They show much aptitude for learning and imitating -foreign manners find' ■ : customs'. 'J hey partially, understand Kuropeari drill, and have procured European firearms. The historyof ,tlieisland for the last ■quarter of a .century has been the history of the struggle-between the partisans of. the new opinions aiid what we should call in England the old Tories. It lias been one continuous action and re-action. In 1835, Christianity.was introducea.i in 1845, all tlie;Europeans were 'expelled; The founder of the present dynasty, Radama the Ist,, a very superior man,en.cpuraged.the;advance of European habits in every direction, and supported, the-.■mission-, aries, A, great'reaction followed pnhis death,. and was successful for some, years. With the accession of, Radama ll.> the late king* ■ an equally violent rebound took pliice Jo the policy of Radama I, The ypuag king threw himself with indiscreet enthusiasm into the wildest schemes -for'the introduction of Euro-

pean , mahnerß,:coramerce,and religion. He. abolished' all duties; oh exports and ■"imports, drank raw rum to any extent, and finally went mad. His madness took an ■eminently, mischievous shape,. and finally liis 'chiefs settled the question by putting him to

death, ... . It is satisfactory to find that the removal of the Kbyal maniac: has in no respect endangered the European intercourse, hut '.rather confirmed it.' & treaty has jus.f.been concluded between the sovereigns of Great ■Britainand- Madagascar, which, forits coin-. pleteneas amMusihess-like phraseology v . reads. as if it had" been drawn tip. between Her Majesty find a vrliile instead of a tawny tentate—only that its provisions are-femora, liberal than a continental power would be likely to .concede,-- it may be/summed up in. ; two' provisions-freedom of religion, and freedom:6f trade. ■ Any. .foreigner may trade with: .Madagascar direct. upon payment, .of very moderate import and; export duties.; An Australian firni.cnti deal with the Hovas now iirectly : ;and ■as securely.as ■> with any of .its : 6ther customers. .: The Bugar plantations

urider;thisliberal syßtem are spreading with, extraordinary'.rapidityj and the nrriyal of the SCPierre direct is |a.proof. There seems no reason whatever why this trade should pass to us Mauritius, and why we. should. ,not,.for a portion' at least of our stocks; go direct-to the fountainhead.