344 
MADAGASCAR. 
simisaraka generally down east; and I still have 
very pleasant remembrances of the manner in 
which I was welcomed by this young but ener¬ 
getic and rising Malagasy statesman. 
There can be no doubt about the strength of 
the party of which the present prime minister 
and Ravbninahitriniarivo are the leaders. Their 
policy of union with the more advanced nations 
of Europe, and free access for foreigners to the 
island, is popular to-day, in spite of the spas¬ 
modic efforts of a few of the older and more 
conservative native nobles. As soon, doubtless, 
as the French difficulty is arranged, we shall see 
a great advance made by the Hova Government* 
The prospect of a railway to the capital is 
brightening, and is coming within the range of 
practical discussion. There are no insuperable 
difficulties in the way, and with British or other 
European capital and engineering skill the jour¬ 
ney from Tamatave to Antananarivo may yet be 
capable of accomplishment in a day. What the 
island now requires is capital and enterprise. 
Dormant resources are lying beneath the surface; 
vast deposits of natural treasure are awaiting 
removal to European markets. Rivers, such as 
the Mananzari in the south, with an estuary half 
a mile broad and a flow estimated at three miles 
an hour, must be opened up and cleared from the 
paltry sand-bars which at present close them, and 
