CHAP. XII. PAYMENT FOR CANOE- WORK. 339 



entirely of women and children. For three months this 

 traffic was incessant, and at last, so completely was the 

 mask thrown off, that one of the officials came to pay a 

 visit to Bishop Tozer on another part of the same moun- 

 tain, and, combining business with pleasure, collected 

 payment for some canoe work done for the Missionary 

 party, and with this purchased slaves from the rebels, 

 who had only to be hailed from the bank of the river. 

 When he had concluded the bargain he trotted the slaves 

 out for inspection in Mr. Waller's presence. This official, 

 Senhor Mesquita, was the only officer who could be forced 

 to live at the Kongone. From certain circumstances in 

 his life, he had fallen under the power of the local 

 Government ; all the other Custom-house officers refused 

 to go to Kongone, so here poor Mesquita must live on a 

 miserable pittance — must live, and perhaps slave, sorely 

 against his will. His name is not brought forward with 

 a view of throwing any odium on his character. The 

 disinterested kindness which he showed to Dr. Meller, and 

 others, forbids that he should be mentioned by us with 

 anything like unkindness. 



Under all these considerations, with the fact that we 

 had not found the Eovuma so favourable for navigation at 

 the time of our visit as we expected, it was impossible not 

 to coincide in the wisdom of our withdrawal; but we deeply 

 regretted that we had ever given credit to the Portuguese 

 Government for any desire to ameliorate the condition of 

 the African race; for, with half the labour and expense 

 anywhere else, we should have made an indelible mark of 

 improvement on a section of the Continent. Viewing 

 Portuguese statesmen in the light of the laws they have 

 passed for the suppression of slavery and the slave-trade, 

 and by the standard of the high character of our own 

 public men, it cannot be considered weakness to have 

 believed in the sincerity of the anxiety to aid our enter- 



