AFRICA : MADAGASCAR. 429 



PRODUCTION. 



There is considerable undeveloped water power in the interior of 

 the island. Railwiiys and navigable water ways exist on paper at 

 present, save about 8 miles of railway from Tamatave to Ivondro, 

 not yet completed. Fuel here consists of wood, charcoal, and ag- 

 glomerated bricks (from France), costing from $11.58 upwards per 

 ton. Transportation is effected on the backs and shoulders of men. 



There is a tree, the name of which I can not at present learn, 

 from the fiber of which the finest quality of bank-note paper can be 

 made. A large quantity of the fiber of aloes also exists in the region 

 of Fort Dauphin. Rafia fiber grows here in abundance; but I learn 

 from an English manufacturer, who has experimented with it, that 

 it is too expensive for this use. The quantities of these trees and 

 fibers are large, as the island is as yet quite undeveloped. I can not 

 state the cost of these materials, as they must be transported on the 

 backs of men, which is expensive. There are no facilities for making 

 machinery or paper, nor are there any mills on the island. 



BANKS, TARIFFS, AND MAILS. 



The banking facilities are confined to branches of the Comptoir 

 National d'Escompte de Paris at Tamatave, Majunga, and Tana- 

 narivo. The tariff on paper is 13 francs ($2.51) per 100 kilograms 

 (220.46 pounds) ; minimum tariff, 10 francs ($1.96) per 100 kilograms; 

 writing paper, 15 francs ($2.89) per 100 kilograms. French papers 

 are free of duty. 



The mail facilities between France and Madagascar consist of 

 two steamers per month, arriving on the 5th and i5th and departing 

 on the 3d and i8th of each month. The English mail (intermediate 

 steamers Castle Line) touches at Tamatave once a month on the 

 return trip via Mauritius. The inland mail is carried by men. The 

 telegraphic facilities of the island are unreliable, by reason of fre- 

 quent interruptions. 



IMPORTS. 



The quantity of paper imported annually is small. Imports of 

 all sorts of paper for the year 1897, according to the official figures, 

 were valued at $26,043, of which $12,976 came from England and 

 colonies, $12,947 from France and her colonies, and $120 from 

 America. 



France controls the import business by a tariff policy that is all 

 but prohibitive in its nature. Other countries are doing nothing at 

 present to build up their export business here. Hitherto, England 

 and America have had control of the trade here, but the present 

 policy makes competition well-nigh impossible. 



Nothing is being done to develop the paper and pulp trade at 



