Thirty years in Madagascar

by Thomas T. Matthews

‘Antanànarìvo, Friday, January 1, 1897. A new year is beginning. What will it be for Madagascar? Shall we advance further into the dark night? Or shall we walk towards the dawn? We can repeat with the Mussulmans: “God alone knows!” I have just spoken of the dark night. We are in fact in it, at least from a religious point of view. Sometimes while listening to the complaints which reach me day by day from the four quarters of the country, I fancy myself carried back two centuries, into the later years of the great king. Those bands of men with no faith of their own, who go about in the pay of the Jesuits, spreading terror among the people by their lies and violence, threatening with death those who pray with the “English,” and even in some places ill-treating the Protestant pupils, and beating their masters as they come out of school; those evangelists and native pastors accused of treason and cast into prison after the most cursory trial; those schools closed under pretext that the Catholic school is the only authorized one; those chapels used as barracks; and those others confiscated by the local authorities and given over to the priests; that quasi-royalty exercised by the Jesuits in the country, and thanks to which no governor, interpreter, or native magistrate is appointed without their advice and approval; those officers of every grade (if not all, at least a great number) lending the aid of their sword to that cassocked race to hasten the conversion of the heretics; does not all this remind one of some of the proceedings so dear to the heart of Père la Chaise and of the Maintenon?

‘I do not speak of General Gallieni, whom I am pleased to recognize as doing all in his power to ensure liberty of conscience to all.

‘Can all this take place, a hundred years after the Revolution, in a French colony? Alas, yes! it does happen, and in the present day under our very eyes, and yet more, as lamentable and heartrending. In future years, when the religious history of Madagascar is written, this period will be denoted by a name which will recall to us who are Huguenots sad but glorious memories, the name of “The Church under the Cross.”

‘There are a few high-born spirits here who foresee the danger, without, however, daring to point it out openly. I have been told that one of our most noted magistrates said recently to some friends: “They (the Jesuits) will go so far that the result will be that the decree of expulsion which is applied against them in France will be applied here as well.” Those who think with him are quite the exception. The mass of the colonists and officials are under the yoke of the “good Fathers.” They vie with each other in bowing and scraping to them, for they look upon the Jesuits as the predestined saviours of Madagascar. They consider them the only ones capable of wrestling against what is commonly called the English influence; although that influence (as far as it is exercised by the missionaries) is entirely on the side of France. And the priests feel their power, and they look upon their position as impregnable, hence their unprecedented boldness.

‘What is needed to avert the peril is a change of the public opinion; a firm and loyal campaign led by the French press, to enlighten our people on the doings of the disciples of Loyola, and to force the government to recall them to a more evangelical conception of the duties of their ministry.

‘Caveant consules! If they are allowed full swing much longer, it will not only be a question of Protestant flocks dispersed or destroyed, but it will mean religious struggles of the severest kind. It means defiance, revolt, and hatred sown and taking root in the hearts of the Malagasy; the work of civilizing the great island (entrusted by Providence to our beloved France) thrown back, and may-be for ever compromised.

‘8 p.m. I had an hour and a half’s interview with the General to-day. Although I did not obtain satisfaction on all points, I am none the less pleased with the interview. I was touched by the confidence the General showed me, by making me acquainted with a number of documents on the religious question. I saw once more that he wishes to remain absolutely neutral on religious matters. He means the orders that he gives on that point to be scrupulously carried out by his subordinates. He is perfectly in earnest, and declares himself ready to punish most severely those who favour either the Catholics or the Protestants. The misfortune is that he receives from his subordinates reports which do not correspond with the truth. He read me the letters he had received from the Minister of the Colonies, and the order which he had sent, on receipt of these letters, to the various residents and commandants of the circle. All would be well if these officers executed them loyally. Unfortunately they take their own way, and if complaints are brought up against them they know how to arrange that the inquiry should result to their favour. The General takes the word of his officers, and their accusers are put to confusion.

‘Tanànarìvo, Tuesday, Jan. 26. The General wishes to remain impartial on religious matters, and he intends assuring religious liberty to all Malagasy, no matter to what church they belong. Unfortunately, there is an officer, whom I might name, who does his own sweet will with the General’s orders. Again, certain governors, especially in the south of the Imèrina, are readier to obey the orders of the priests than those of the General.

‘This storm, thanks be to God, does not rage with the same violence everywhere. There are even some parts where it is perfectly calm. I am happy to acknowledge that there are some residents and officers who are prompted by sentiments of justice and kindness, and who are in no wise desirous of making Madagascar into a settlement of Capuchin friars. That is how the district of Ambòhimànga, in spite of the efforts of the Jesuits, remains attached to Protestantism. Our schools there have fifteen times the number of the Catholics; three thousand against two hundred. Let us guard ourselves against despair; there are more than seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal. The Christian churches of Madagascar have bright days before them; we have only to do our duty, all our duty; that is, accept all the task it may please God to commit to us.

‘I heard very edifying things at Tsìafàhy about Captain Y., among others his views on religious liberty. Some time ago he assembled all the people of Tsìafàhy, and said to them, “You know the French government allows you liberty of conscience; you are therefore quite free to be either Catholic or Protestant; only, if you remain Protestant I shall shoot you.” He said this in the presence of his soldiers; but, as you know, the latter cannot bear witness against their chiefs.