little island of Ste. Marie's,
off the eastern coast, but retained not a foot of soil upon the
mainland; and so ended, it might have been supposed, their "ancient
rights" in Madagascar.[15]

It is, however, quite unnecessary to dwell further on this point, as the
recognition by the French, in their treaty with Radama II., of that
prince as _King of Madagascar_ was a sufficient renunciation of their
ancient pretensions. This is indeed admitted by French writers. M.
Galos, writing in the _Revue des Deux Mondes_(Oct. 1863, p. 700), says,
speaking of the treaty of Sept. 2, 1861:--

"By that act, in which Radama II. appears as King of Madagascar, we
have recognized without restriction his sovereignty over all the
island. In consequence of that recognition two consuls have been
accredited to him, the one at Tananarivo, the other at Tamatave,
who only exercise their functions by virtue of an _exequatur_ from
the real sovereign."

Again he remarks:--?

"We see that France would not gain much by resuming her position
anterior to 1861; also, we may add, without regret, that it is no
longer possible. We have recognized in the King of Madagascar the
necessary quality to enable him to treat with us on all the
interests of the island. It does not follow, because he or his
successors fail to observe the engagements that they have
contracted, that therefore the quality aforesaid is lost, _or that
we should have the right to refuse it to them for the future_."[16]

And the treaty of 1868 again, in which the present sovereign is
recognized as "Reine de Madagascar," fully confirms the view of the
French writer just cited.[17]

2. Let us now look for a moment at the Lambert treaty, or rather
charter, of 1862. On his accession to the throne in 1861, the young
king, Radama II., soon fell into follies and vices which were not a
little encouraged by some Frenchmen who had ingratiated themselves with
him. A Monsieur Lambert, a planter from Reunion, managed to obtain the
king's consent to a charter conceding to a company to be formed by
Lambert very extensive rights over the whole of Madagascar. The king's
signature was obtained while he was in a state of intoxication, at a
banquet given at the house of the French Consul, and against the
remonstrances of all the leading people of the kingdom. But the
concession was one of the principal causes of the revolution of the