235 
which they shall subsist: may the most horrid slavery 
confound them !” 
This oath, having been read aloud three times, was 
signed in the name of the whole nation, by 
Hyavi, King of the East . 
Lambouin, King of the North . 
Raffangouii Rhoandrian, of 
the Sambarives. 
The troops attached to the establishment, w r ere by 
no means indifferent spectators of these extraordi¬ 
nary transactions. At the conclusion of them, a 
petition, signed by thirty-eight soldiers, five subaltern 
officers, three officers, and six gentlemen in the civil 
department, was presented to the count, intreating 
his protection, which was granted. 
The next step which was taken, sets the character 
of the count in a favourable point of light, as it 
respects his designs upon Madagascar. It was no 
less than the proposal of a form of government, and 
a constitution on a liberal and enlightened basis, well 
calculated to promote the happiness, and to meet the 
exigencies of a people just emerging from the savage 
state. The form of government he proposed was as 
follows:— 
1. A Supreme Council—this was to consist of 
thirty-tw 7 o persons chosen from the Rhoandrians and 
Anacandrians. This council was to “ exercise all 
