

MADAGASCAR 



599 



tation as a judge second to that of no man of his 

 time, and the business of the court was soon 

 enormously increased, while its decisions were 

 considered of greater weight than those of the 

 King's Bench itself. Though prevented by of- 

 ficial duties from participating largely in par- 

 liamentary proceedings, he was one of the most 

 strenuous opponents of the reform bill, and 

 upon the resignation of Earl Gray, in 1832, en- 

 deavored unsuccessfully to form a new con- 

 servative ministry in conjunction with the 

 Duke of Wellington. He held the Great Seal 

 again during the brief administration of Sir 

 Robert Peel, in 1834, and after retiring from 

 office, devoted himself for several years chiefly 

 to the interests of his party, becoming one of 

 the most effective leaders of the tory opposi- 

 tion in the Upper House. 



His speeches at this time were characterized 

 by power, brilliancy, bitterness, and sarcasm, 

 particularly his annual review of each session, 

 and were considered to have exercised a great 

 influence in reanimating and consolidating the 

 conservative party. In 1841, Sir Robert Peel 

 formed his second ministry, and Lord Lynd- 

 hnrst for the third time accepted the Great 

 Seal, which he retained until 1846, when he 



declared himself " at the close of his public, 

 almost of his natural life." He however oc- 

 casionally took a prominent part in the pro- 

 ceedings of the House of Lords, supported the 

 Derby ministry of 1852, advocated the war 

 with Russia, and denpunced the policy adopted 

 by Lord Clarendon in concluding the peace of 

 1856 as a practical capitulation on the part of 

 England. Until the infirmities of age overcame 

 him, his speeches, remarkable for their elegant 

 and severely simple style, and delivered with a 

 voice of singular sweetness and power, were 

 listened to with unabated interest ; and to the 

 day of his death he continued one of the most 

 trusted advisers of the crown, and is under- 

 stood to have greatly influenced, if not entire- 

 ly guided by his opinions the conduct of the 

 leaders of the party in power. 



In personal appearance Lord Lyndhurst was 

 remarkably handsome, and although past 90 

 years of age, his vigorous and graceful car- 

 riage caused him to be considered by strangers 

 a much younger man. He was twice married, 

 his second wife, to whom he was united at the 

 age of 65, being a young Jewish lady of remark- 

 able beauty. His oifspring by both marriages 

 being daughters, his title expires with him. 





M 



MADAGASCAR, an island of the Indian 

 Ocean lying east of Mozambique in Eastern Af- 

 rica, and separated from it by the Mozambique 

 channel. It is about 816 miles long and 288 at 

 its greatest width. Its area is about 200,000 

 square miles, and its population is estimated at 

 4,700,000. Iliera-Be " the great land," is the 

 name given to it by the natives, in contradis- 

 tinction to the smaller islands which surround 

 it. Its great mineral wealth in the precious 

 metals and coal, its fertile soil, its magnificent 

 forests, the extent of its silk culture, and its 

 admirable ports have made it for many years 

 an island of great interest to European powers, 

 and that interest is now enhanced by its prox- 

 imity to the Oriental possessions of Great Brit- 

 ain and France, and its position on the lines of 

 communication with the East by way of the 

 Red Sea. Its inhabitants are composed of two 

 different races, the dominant one being Malay 

 or Malagash as they call themselves, and the 

 larger but subject race are African, though with 

 long hair, and approaching more nearly to the 

 Kaffir than to the Negro. There are numerous 

 subdivisions or tribes of both races, and in the 

 southeast a small tribe who call themselves 

 Anta-Smours seem to be of Arab origin. The 

 largest and most enterprising of the Malay 

 tribes are the Hovas, occupying originally Ank- 

 Hova, a territory in the centre of the island, 

 but who have of late years attained to the su- 

 preme power over the whole island. They do 

 not number more than 350,000 or 400JOOO. 

 Their capital is called Tananarive, or " the 



thousand villages," being made up of a consid- 

 erable number of small villages surrounding 

 within a distance of seven or eight miles the 

 central one of Emirne, in which is the palace 

 of the monarch of the Hovas. The population 

 of Tananarivo is estimated at 75,000. At va- 

 rious times for more than two hundred years 

 France has maintained a claim to the posses- 

 sion of Madagascar, though it is difficult to 

 ascertain exactly the grounds upon which she 

 has based it. The principle of international 

 law is well established that the " rights of a 

 nation to a foreign territory must depend either 

 upon discovery, conquest, or treaties of cession." 

 The French did not discover the island, for it 

 was discovered by the Portuguese ; they did not 

 conquer it, though they often attempted to do 

 so, but were defeated and driven from it with 

 heavy losses, and from 1786 till 1861 they have 

 had no other than merely nominal settlements 

 on the island, and those only at Tamatuve, or 

 if for a short time four or five individuals were 

 permitted to reside at Tananarivo, they were 

 expelled with ignominy more than once for 

 plots against the Government. They could 

 claim no treaty of cession for their only treaty 

 had been one with the King of the Hovas, of 

 amity and commerce, and in acknowledging 

 Radama II. as King of Madagascar, they had 

 emphatically relinquished any claims which 

 they might previously have made to sovereign- 

 ty over the island. 



The domination of the Hova dynasty is re- 

 cent, dating back only to the first years of the 



