‘The rebellion had brought nothing but disaster to all parties, and more especially to the natives. Their rice-fields had been neglected, and famine not only stared them in the face, but also, to some extent, overtook them. Their cattle had been raided, their rice-stores rifled, their houses looted, many of their villages burnt down, large tracts of territory practically devastated, and, most serious of all, great numbers of the people had suffered death, either at the hands of the rebels, from destitution, or from other causes. The rebellion had doubtless also something to do with the conversion of the island from a protectorate into an actual colony. The French too had suffered, for to them the repression of the insurrection meant the loss of life and treasure. The merchants, moreover, were losers, for during a considerable period trade was practically at a standstill. The various missions were also subjected to considerable losses. A large amount of property, including missionary residences, a sanatorium, a leper establishment, &c., were destroyed. Of the churches which, however, belonged to the natives associated with the various missions, including the Roman Catholic, the Anglican, the Friends’, the Lutheran, and our own, some 750 in number were burnt down or otherwise destroyed, about 500 of which were under the care of the London Missionary Society. Many of the pastors, preachers, evangelists, teachers, and prominent leaders in religious work, being connected more or less with foreigners, were made the chief objects of persecution by the rebels, and large numbers of them had to resort to flight in order to save their lives, leaving their property behind to be looted. Some of those that were caught, bravely refusing to forswear Christ and join in the revolt, were cruelly murdered. ‘The authority of the Hova sovereigns, though far-reaching, had never been more than nominal over certain parts of the island, and in some was even completely _nil_. In the highland regions of the interior, and all along the eastern slopes of the island, with the sole exception of a few districts inhabited by small tribes of Tanàla in the neighbourhood of Ikòngo, who were semi-independent, the authority of the queen was supreme. In the west, however, certain tribes, chiefly of the Sàkalàva, had maintained an independence more or less complete. Ruled over by innumerable kings and chiefs, they lived in a state of chronic rivalry and petty internecine warfare. Constant cattle-lifting and slave-raiding amongst the various tribes, which brought untold misery upon the inhabitants, had become an established curse, and travelling in the country was in general attended with considerable danger. A Hova military station existed here and there, but, for the most part, exerted little influence or authority over the surrounding people.