372 THROUGH ANGOLA 



trators, and too much red tape. The Governors 

 of Districts and Chiefs of civil and military 

 " circunscripsions," or subdistricts, sit in their 

 offices and write about the work instead of going 

 round the district and seeing it done. My experi- 

 ence was that most of the really charming and 

 hospitable gentlemen I met, rarely got into per- 

 sonal touch with their native subjects or practical 

 questions ; they did not even know the geography 

 of their districts. 



While realizing to the full the great spaces 

 of Angola, and the difficulty of travel, I have no 

 hesitation in saying that the diary of travel of the 

 Portuguese Administrators would compare very 

 unfavourably with that of a District Official of 

 a British African Colony. The native soldiers 

 and police, who are organized in companies on 

 a district basis, often appear to represent the 

 authority of the Administrator under whom they 

 serve ; and every one who knows Africa will 

 realize what delegation of authority means to 

 such people, and what a tyrant a black in tem- 

 porary authority can prove if given the chance. 

 The money required for opening up roads and 

 encouraging local native production is partly 

 spent in paying the large Portuguese admini- 

 strative staffs, especially in the big towns. 



Some of the labour, already so scarce, and 

 which should be fully utilized for the urgent 

 needs of the colony, is lost to San Thome and 

 Principe to the obvious advantage of those islands, 

 but to the undoubted detriment of Angola. 



If I have spoken frankly, I speak as a friend 



