France has made the most of the opportunity given to her, by holding
Bourbon as a military colony, and maintaining a powerful fleet there. It
is, however, for us to regard the interests of the United States, and to
see if any foothold can be gained for our protection. Had war been the
result of the _Trent_ affair, what would have become of our immense
fleet of merchant ships which was then afloat in Indian waters? Manila
and Batavia were the only two neutral ports to which they could have
fled for safety; and neither Spain nor Holland would have dared to
permit our cruisers to refit or to coal in their ports. The American
flag would have been driven from those seas without the slightest
difficulty.
And yet the means for avoiding this disgraceful state of affairs in the
future lie open to us now. The fertile Island of Madagascar, abounding
in safe harbors, lies as near the track of commerce as do Mauritius and
Bourbon. It has innumerable advantages over either of these islands, and
it is especially adapted to our wants. Mauritius must be weak in time of
war, because it is so entirely an artificial colony. A mere dot on the
map, only some thirty miles in diameter, it has a population of over
three hundred thousand, wholly devoted to the cultivation of sugar. This
product has been the source of immense wealth to the island, but it has
necessitated the abandonment of every other branch of agriculture.
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