28 
MADAGASCAR. 
equal to that of Great Britain and Ireland, and 
a population not quite equal to that of London. 
It lies chiefly in the tropics; and a portion of 
the northern coast, and some of the low-lying 
districts along its eastern side, are extremely hot 
and unhealthy, and have an unenviable notoriety, 
even amongst the natives themselves, for the ma¬ 
larious fogs and vapours and fever-swamps which 
abound. Although possessing an extensive coast¬ 
line, Madagascar is strangely deficient in good 
harbours ; and most of its finest rivers are un¬ 
fortunately choked at the mouth, and so ren¬ 
dered useless as means of exit for native produce, 
by dangerous sand-bars and drifts of vegetable 
and other deposit, which form across the estuaries 
and effectually block the passage. There are no 
insuperable difficulties in the way of the removal 
of these obstacles by the use of ordinary engineer¬ 
ing appliances ; and when the internal affairs of 
the country are in a more settled state, and the 
native Government is able to give its attention to 
domestic affairs and the further improvement of 
its means of communication with the outer world, 
some attention will be given probably to this im¬ 
portant question of opening up the waterways 
from the interior to the coast, so that vessels can 
enter and take cargoes at various points which 
are at present altogether closed to them. 
Considerable danger, and a great deal of diffi- 
