HISTORY OF MADAGASCAR. 
163 
be given over to Mr. Hastie, with such further information 
as you may be able to afford him from your local know¬ 
ledge and experience. 
<£ The fine season being now set in, there can be no 
risk of sickness until the beginning of November; but it 
is not his excellency’s intention that either yourself or 
Mr. Hastie should remain at Ovah, unless peculiar circum¬ 
stances should occur to render it necessary or expedient; 
intelligence of which must be forthwith forwarded to Mau¬ 
ritius. It is intended that after having delivered over the 
princes to the king their brother, and gone through the 
usual ceremonies, you should enter with them confiden¬ 
tially into the views of his excellency respecting the abo¬ 
lition of the slave-trade. You will then return without 
delay to Tamatave, or, if necessary, to Mauritius, in order 
to submit the result of the mission to his excellency. Mr. 
Hastie is on no account to be detained in Madagascar con¬ 
trary to his inclination. 
“His excellency is aware the important object in view 
cannot be accomplished with precipitation. It must be the 
effect of persuasion and address. That object is to con¬ 
vince a semi-civilized despot, that it is more advantageous 
to him to keep his people in his dominions, and by their 
labour to provide those articles which his country produces 
in sufficient quantity to exchange for the merchandise of 
Europe and India, which he requires, than to depopulate 
his country by the sale of his subjects, and of his unfortu¬ 
nate neighbours, whose country he lays waste in order to 
gratify his desires. The object is to convince him that the 
means in the latter case must diminish every day, and at 
length be exhausted; whilst the opposite line of conduct 
would ensure to him and his country a certain and pro¬ 
gressive augmentation of wealth. 
m 2 
