94 
HISTORY OF MADAGASCAR. 
French minister, that he considered the tendency of the 
traffic to be prejudicial to the Isle of France. 
The manner in which this inhuman traffic is supposed to 
have been introduced into the island, has been alluded to, 
as well as the melancholy illustration afforded by the con¬ 
duct of Drury, of criminal apathy and absence of correct 
feeling in the public mind, on the horrors entailed by 
slavery upon its hapless victims; and Benyowsky, with all 
his liberal and philanthropic plans for ameliorating the 
condition of the Malagasy, mentions in his memoirs more 
than one instance, in which he engaged in the slave-trade, 
at the same time that he professed to abhor the principles 
of slavery itself. The only extenuation of his crime that 
could be brought forward, may be found in the erroneous 
views on the subject so generally entertained, and the state 
of his colony, cut off as it was from all other resources. 
This disregard of the clear dictates of j ustice and humanity 
renders his claim to the possession of better principles of 
a very questionable nature. 
The French revolution, which took place soon after 
Benyowsky had abandoned the colony, so fully engaged 
the attention of the French government, that, amidst the 
tragical and appalling events which crowd the page of 
history, it was scarcely possible to entertain any new project 
relating to the occupation of a distant island. St. Domingo 
was a scene to which much of the public attention of 
France was at that time directed, and its subsequent sepa¬ 
ration from that country was an alarming indication of the 
power which such colonies possess, when they have acquired 
a practical knowledge of their own physical strength and 
resources. 
The island of Madagascar continued to be visited by 
European vessels, and some interesting particulars respect- 
