564 



MADAGASCAR. 



a council in Baltimore, he received a dispatch 

 announcing the burning of his cathedral, hut 

 he delivered his sermon without an allusion 

 to the event. He had that sort of executive 

 ability \vhich accomplishes results without 

 bustle. In his high station he made a wise use 

 of the assistance of others, and neither took 

 to himself their glory when they succeeded 

 nor incurred any odium from their failure. 

 It was his lot to be the chief figure in a num- 

 ber of church pageants, and yet no touch of 

 malice or envy visited him, because it was 

 plain that the pomp was called forth by the occa- 

 sion, and gave no gratification to the personal 

 pride of the man. He had the full confidence 

 of Catholics, and yet never excited the distrust 

 of a Protestant community. It has been said 

 that the history of his life is the history of the 

 progress of the Catholic Church in New York ; 

 but it would be a mistake to say that that 

 progress was due mainly to him, or even to 

 him more than to any other man. It was a 

 growth to which the labors of many men and 

 the influence of various circumstances con- 

 tributed. He was fortunate in succeeding 

 Archbishop Hughes, for he was enabled to 

 enter into the results of that prelate's contro- 

 versies without inheriting any of the animosi- 

 ties they had engendered. His episcopate was 

 like the calm after a storm. That he kept the 

 peace so well was partly due to the fact that 

 the era of contest was over, and partly to the 

 character of the man. The first Bishop of New 

 York was a foreigner, who never saw his dio- 

 cese; the second and third bishops were of 

 foreign birth and education. The first arch- 

 bishop, though American by education and 

 adoption, was of foreign nativity, and had to 

 encounter a movement to proscribe both his 

 birth and his religion; but the cardinal was 

 the representative of a generation of distinct- 

 ively American prelates, who seem to pursue 

 their way by a sure-footed instinct toward 

 conciliating the sentiment of their countrymen 

 without compromising the interests of their 

 church. 



For four days the remains of Cardinal Mc- 

 Closkey lay in state in the episcopal residence 

 and in the cathedral, and on Oct. 15, after an 

 imposing funeral ceremonial, they were con- 

 veyed to the vault beneath the sanctuary. The 

 cardinal left a brief and simple will, convey- 

 ing all his property to his coadjutor and the 

 Bishops of Albany and Brooklyn. 



MADAGASCAR, an island in the Indian Ocean, 

 separated from the coast of Africa by the Mo- 

 zambique Channel. In 1810 the chief of the 

 Hovas conquered the other tribes of the island. 

 Radama I entered into relations with England, 

 which were interrupted during the reign of the 

 Queen Ranavalo I. She was succeeded in 1861 

 by her son, Radama II, with whom Lambert 

 concluded a treaty in the name of France. 

 Rasoherina, the widow of Radama, mounted 

 the throne in 1863 in consequence of a revolu- 

 tion. In 1865 ehe made a treaty of amity and 



commerce with England and with the United 

 States. In 1868 her successor, Queen Ranavalo 

 II, concluded one with France. The present 

 ruler is Queen Rasendranoro Ranavalo III 

 born in 1860, who succeeded her aunt, July 

 13, 1883, and married the Prime Minister Ra- 

 saromino, widower of the late Queen. 



The contour of the island is a remarkable 

 series of straight coasts, excepting the north- 

 west shore, which is broken by numerous bays 

 and inlets that afford excellent harbors. A 

 girdle of forests, ten to forty miles deep, ex- 

 tends around the entire coast. The central 

 portion of the island is formed of mountains, 

 rising from 3,000 to 5,000 feet above the level 

 of the sea, and fertile table-lands. 



Area and Population. The area of Madagas- 

 car and adjacent islands is estimated at 591,- 

 964 square kilometres, about 227,600 square 

 miles. The population is about 3,500,000, ac- 

 cording to the estimate of Rev. J. Sibree. The 

 official religion is Christianity, in the Inde- 

 pendent Presbyterian form, introduced by Prot- 

 estant missionaries of the London Missionary 

 Society. The capital, Antananarivo, situated 

 in the interior of the island, has from 70,000 

 to 80,000 inhabitants. Tamatave, the principal 

 seaport, contains about 3,000 inhabitants. 



Commerfe. The foreign trade is carried on 

 mainly with the English colony of Mauritius. 

 One of the chief articles of importation is rum. 

 The exports are cattle, hides, wax, caoutchouc, 

 gum, tallow, oil-seeds, rice, etc. The value of 

 the imports from Mauritius was some time ago 

 reported to be about $700,000 a year, the ex- 

 ports to Mauritius $750.000. The export and 

 import trade with all countries has recently 

 been estimated to amount to $5,000,000, not- 

 withstanding the lack of roads and the infre- 

 quent foreign communications. American com- 

 mercial interests in Madagascar have been 

 considerable. 



Ethnology. The aboriginal population, of 

 African origin, have been conquered or driven 

 back into the mountains by the Hovas, who 

 are of Malayan stock. They have the yellow 

 skin, the long and straight hair, and the facial 

 characteristics of the inhabitants of Malaysia. 

 Their dominion extends over a quarter of the 

 surface of the island. They are intelligent, 

 energetic, and lively, and possess commercial 

 aptitudes, but are fickle and deceitful. The 

 primitive Malagasy race, mentally inferior, but 

 more trustworthy, is divided into a number of 

 tribes called the Akantars, the Betsinusarak, 

 the Bethalemens, and the Sakalavas. 

 Hova immigration began during the period 

 when the French colony was in existence. In 

 1821 they menaced the'French establishments, 

 and were defeated at Antongil Bay. Their 

 political supremacy dates from the middle of 

 the last century. In 1754 they captured the 

 French fort at Foulepointe, and massacred all 

 the French and the natives in the place. 



The Military Sitnation. During the Tonqun 

 campaign the French undertook no aggressive 



