very much so. More than the
half--perhaps nearly two-thirds--of the whole effective male population
of the central province were enrolled either as officers or privates.
These received no pay, except an occasional gift of a lamba, and about a
week's rice during the year! The soldiers were indeed freed from money
taxes in consideration of their service, but this was small compensation
for the hardships that it entailed. Although the drills at ordinary
times did not occur more frequently than for a day or two every
fortnight, much time was taken up in passing to and from the exercises,
especially in the case of those who lived at a distance, and thus found
it almost impossible to cultivate their own rice-fields. Frequently,
also, the officers would not allow the men to return home without a
money bribe. In short, the private soldier was little better than a
slave--in some cases worse--while the officers of the highest rank
possessed unreasonable power.

Military rank was founded on a system which led to some absurdities. It
was reckoned by numbers, commencing with _one honour_ for the private,
_two honours_ for the corporal, three for the sergeant, and so on up to
thirteen for a field-marshal of the higher rank--a few having sixteen
honours! Those thus highly _honoured_ were not numerous; but the number
of officers of lower grade was much greater in proportion to privates,
than in the British army. Indeed from a third to a fourth of the army
was composed of officers, so that "ta Phairshon," with his excess of
pipers over fighting men, would not have appeared very outrageous in the
eyes of the Malagasy troops!

These officers had an eye to profitable business when not on service.
It is stated by the missionaries that when engaged in building their
churches and schools they sometimes found they had a field-marshal for a
foreman, a colonel for mason or carpenter, a major for bricklayer, and
so on! Above the thirteenth rank the numbers were very few, and of the
sixteenth there were not above half-a-dozen.

Good, stout, courageous fellows were the men whom John Hockins and his
comrades saw that day manoeuvring below them on the plain of
Imahamasina; men who, although by no means comparable to European troops
in precision of movement, understood their work nevertheless, and would
have proved themselves formidable opponents to deal with in war.
Laihova further informed them that the first man who organised the force