EMBASSY TO ENGLAND.

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no change! The embassy reached the Mauritius in September, 1836. They were received with many marks of attention by his excellency the governor, Sir William Nicolay, and then proceeded to England. They had several interviews with Lord Palmerston, and were introduced to his late Majesty, William IV. No important results, either of a public or commercial character, arose out of their visit. They returned home, and were received with honour by their sovereign, but no change whatever has taken place in the policy of the native go

vernment.

About the time the embassy left the capital on their way to the coast, Ratsimanisa, with 6000 troops, was despatched to the south; Rainingitabe with 2000 to the north, and Ravalontsalama with 3000 to the west. All these returned home in September or October. Ratsimanisa had destroyed upwards of 4000 men in one day, and carried home with him upwards of 9000 captives. On his arrival in the Betsileo country, messengers were sent out by him in every direction to invite the people to assemble, and to assure them that he was only sent by the queen to administer to them the oath of allegiance, and to take their muskets and spears, &c. to Imerina. Having thus collected all the inhabitants he could, he ordered them to divide themselves into three parties, the first consisting of the adults who were capable of carrying arms; the second the youths who were about four feet high, and the third, all the women and children. The men then were all bound, a ceremony insisted on, and too tamely submitted to, as a form in which they were to take the oath. They were then ordered to accompany the soldiers to a spot

40

MURDER OF TEN THOUSAND.

near a large morass about a mile distant. The impossibility of escape across the marshy swamp was the real reason for choosing the place,—the ostensible reason would be, the contiguity of a pool of water, required for the purpose of administering the oath, one part of which consists in striking the water with their spears.

On arriving at the place, and being surrounded by the troops in the rear, the fatal drum was ordered to beat, and every one of the natives was put to death on the spot! An examination was then made of the youths, and all who were found to be even half an inch in stature above the given though arbitrary standard which the officers had carried with them by the queen's instructions, were placed by themselves, and soon shared the fate of their fathers. The cries of the women and children were most distressing. These of course had no effect on their ruthless conquerors. On his return home, the queen highly praised the commanding officer for his consummate skill and success, observing that she had no officer to be compared with him, in getting captives and obtaining booty!

Rainingitabe returned from his expedition in the north with about 1000 captives, after putting to death upwards of 400 men. He had encountered a pretty sharp struggle with the enemy, and many had fallen on both sides.

Ravalontsalama, having also killed about 400 of the enemy, returned home with 700 captives.

These details are sufficient to illustrate the position advanced in the commencement of this chapter, that the military character of the queen's government is desolating the whole island, and proving as ruinous in the long run to the Hovas themselves, as to the provinces they subju

gate. The country is full of disaffection, and on the verge of anarchy, and so far may be preparing for a change. favourable to its interests.

Besides the severe military service exacted of the people, there is also a large amount of labour imposed on them in the civil department. All service paid to government is called "Fanompoana," which properly means the stated work of servants. In principle, it therefore treats all the people as the servants, and not merely as the subjects, of the government. In character, it considerably resembles the feudal service of former times in Europe, unaccompanied, however, by any redeeming stipulations in favour of the people. It is imposed on the whole mass of the population wherever the authority of the sovereign is completely established, that is to say, wherever the power exists to enforce the service, and it can be exercised with impunity. As already mentioned, the people not employed in military service are called bourgeois; and these, it may be safely affirmed, are employed in the Fanompoana, by orders of their task-exacting government, not less than three weeks out of the four. In this department of civil service, officers are appointed, holding the same rank and titles as those in the military service, from corporals to generals. Hence, no native of Madagascar, under the Hova government, can be considered a freeman. that are not in the military service are enrolled for civil service, and the latter is as oppressive as the former. No man is allowed even to leave his home for a single day without first obtaining permission from his superior officer, and the favour is frequently obtained only by

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All

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bribery; or if permission be obtained to visit the coast, it may be for a few weeks, for purposes of traffic, it is often obtained only on condition that half the profits realized be given to the officer who grants the permission. By a similar stipulation, all the Betsimisaraka, (the people living at and near Tamatave,) who go over in charge of cattle to Mauritius, pay half their wages to their superior officers. The officers are called the "Mpifehy," "tiers up," "binders," signifying that they collect and keep the people in their respective classes for service. In the time of Radama, the officers called Ambonijato, (literally, over hundreds,) centurions, had under their command the full complement of a hundred men each. Many of these are now reduced to ten, twelve, or fifteen each, the rest having been drawn to the army, or having died, or removed from other causes. Still the service imposed remains the same. No matter how many, or how few compose the nominal "zato," or "hundred," each division of the people so called, must perform its full share of "Fanompoana."

A great hardship is frequently imposed on them, also, by the absurd practice of Miloka, that is, of betting to a large amount by one party against another, to finish a certain amount of labour first. The head officers of one district make the bet, say one thousand dollars, that the people under them shall complete their task before those of another district, or pay the amount. The party failing in the task, of course pays the bet, or fine. The party receiving the fine must then help the party paying it; but the people are the losers in both cases. pay the money, and the officers alone share it.

They
The

THE PEOPLE, THE LOSERS.

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people, who have laboured incessantly that their party may win, must still help the others who have, unfortunately, lost; and those who are helped must still continue working, though they have paid their money. The jackals find the provender, quarrel among themselves who shall bring it first, and the lion, having got it, eats all without even tossing them a bone.

In other cases, the military officers and the judges persuade the mpifehy to bet, that the people under them shall finish a given task for the government within such a time, taking care to fix so short a period that it would be next to an impossibility to complete so much within so short a space. If the work be not finished, the people have to pay a large amount to the officers and judges, though these parties run no risk. They divide the spoil among themselves, generally giving a fair share of it to the mpifehy, lest they should oppose such a measure the next time it might be proposed. Many families have been reduced to slavery by being compelled to pay such heavy fines as these. They must pay their share, and if they happen not to have it ready, they must borrow, and if not able to repay it, the interest, often at ten per cent. per month, soon amounts to so large a sum that payment in money is out of the question, and the borrower must sell himself into slavery.

Some hundreds of the people have thus been sold for debts, and continue in slavery, either for life, or till their friends can and will redeem them.

The betting just described is often employed when the service consists of carrying timber from the forest to the capital.