18 
MADAGASCAR. 
new treaty between England and this sovereign, 
by which considerable injury is done to the slave- 
trade ; and the operations of the chief traders, 
who have hitherto found a too ready welcome 
in the Comoros, are considerably circumscribed. 
From Mauritius to Madagascar is often a voy¬ 
age of only a day; but sometimes it is extended 
to a week, or even twenty-one days, if the wind 
is contrary. 
Travellers proceeding to Tamatave via Mauri¬ 
tius have sometimes to re-embark at Port Louis, 
and take passage for the land of the Hovas in 
one of the numerous bullock-vessels which are 
employed to bring cattle and rice to Mauritius. 
As the meat-market there is almost entirely de¬ 
pendent upon the Malagasy for its supplies, these 
vessels are frequently passing between the islands 
during the summer months. A considerable sum 
is charged for passengers; the accommodation is 
abominable, the food almost uneatable, and the 
danger very considerable. Only vessels already 
condemned as unfit for use in every other part 
of the world are put upon this line of commerce, 
and the bullock-trade with Tamatave has been 
well described as the “ Botany Bay ” of shipping. 
This particular quarter of the world is remarkable 
for the special dangers to which those who tra¬ 
verse its waters are liable at certain seasons of 
the year; and whilst the Pacific is known for its 
