Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 4.djvu/565

 of the eastern seaboard iu indicated by the bold headland of Cape St. Andrew, beyond which stretches the little-known district of Menubé, fringed by coral reefs and desert islets. The south-west coast, although less provided with good harbours than that of the north-west, has nevertheless some frequented seaports. The most important is Tullear (Tolia or Ankatsaoka), on a fine spacious and well-sheltered haven some 12 miles north of the mouth of the Saint Augustine river. The surrounding district, which is remarkably healthy and fertile, yields for export cereals, cattle, wax, and dye-woods; and nearly all the orchilla used in

France comes from this place. A French resident has recently been stationed at Nossi Bé, a small island on the south side of the estuary of the St. Augustine, regularly visited by traders from the Mascarenhas Archipelago.

The Hova Government is practically an absolute despotism, tempered by revolutions of the palace, and disguised by some constitutional fictions. The sovereign is master, and to him belong the lives, fortunes, and substance of all his subjects.