THE GEEAT NOETH-EAST. 
177 
as it will be creditable both to themselves and to 
all those who have befriended them. A natural 
indolence oppresses the other races in the island, 
and they are quite satisfied with producing suffi¬ 
cient rice for the day's requirements, and sufficient 
sugar-cane for the manufacture of their favourite 
drink, called toaka, without being in the least 
impressed with the lavish prodigality with which 
Providence has blessed their beautiful country. 
It is feared that there is still a leakage in the 
matter of the slave-trade in this particular corner 
of the territory of the Hovas ; and gum, copal, 
and other productions of the locality are occa¬ 
sionally sold for cotton prints, gunpowder, and 
slaves , introduced stealthily by the Arabs, with 
whom kidnapping appears ever to be a pleasant 
as well as a profitable employment. Under pre¬ 
tence of being sailors, and mere servants of the 
owners of the Arab dhows, miserable Africans 
from the Mozambique have been introduced into 
the island and sold to Hova officials up to very 
recent times, and it is to be feared it will be years 
before the traffic can be said to be for ever put 
an end to. 
The influence of these Arabs of Johanna 
and the Comoros is anything but salutary. I 
heard of one, who frequently called upon 
me during my residence at Andevoranto for 
medical treatment, who carried on a system of 
M 
