lands, situated apart from the great maritime routes, it did not, in fact, seem at 
all indispensable to confirm by the establishment of effective authority the rights 
of sovereignty which, from a distant date, France had acquired over the archi- 
pelagoes and over the parts of the Antarctic continent discovered by our 
navigators. 
The scientific missions carried out at the beginning of this century in the 
southern seas have established that these long-neglected dependencies of our 
overseas domain could offer to the large-scale fishing industry some extremely 
precious resources: whales, seals, and sea elephants are in reality very abundant 
in these latitudes, and the great industrial value of the products derived from 
these animal species did not take long to inspire the creation of fishing and hunt- 
ing enterprises whose first campaigns have proved to be most fruitful. 
In order to exercise over the exploitation of these national riches the effective 
and continued contro] which is needed, it has appeared necessary to provide an 
administrative organization for these southern islands and lands and to plan, for 
this purpose, their attachment to an already constituted government: that of 
Madagascar has seemed to me naturally designated, by the geographical situation 
of that colony and by the means of action of which it can make use, to assure the 
sovereign authority of France over that part of our colonial domain. Consulted 
on the principle of this attachment, the governor general of Madagascar has de- 
clared himself favorable to this measure and has just made known to my depart- 
ment that he has decided to include in the budget of the colony a credit covering 
the participation of Madagascar in the expenses of organizing these new de- 
pendencies of the Great Island. 
With these considerations, I have the honor to beg of you, Mr. President, to 
have the kindness to complete with your signature the attached draft of a decree 
which places the Saint-Paul and Amsterdam Islands, the Kerguelen and Crozet 
Archipelagoes, and Adelie Land under the authority of the governor general of 
Madagascar and confides to that high official the task of organizing, under the 
supervision of my department, the effective administration of these territories. 
I beg of you to accept, Mr. President, the homage of my profound respect. 
Minister of colonies 
DALADIER 
* * * 
The President of the French Republic, 
Having seen the senatus consultum of 3 May 1854; 
On the report of the minister of colonies, 
Decrees: 
Article 1. The Saint-Paul and Amsterdam Islands, the Kerguelen and Crozet 
Archipelagoes, and Adelie Land are attached to the government general of 
Madagascar and constitute one of the administrative dependencies of that colony. 
Article 2. Some orders of the governor general of Madagascar subject to the 
approval of the minister of colonies will fix the conditions for the application of 
the present decree. 
Article 3. The minister of colonies is responsible for the execution of the 
present decree which will be published in the Official Jowrnals of the French 
4] 
