OFFICIAL DELINQUENTS. 391 



as for the perquisites, which., when managed skilfully, 

 in the course of a few years make one rich. An idea 

 may be formed Of the conduct of some of these officials 

 from the following extract from the Boletim of I^oanda 

 of the 28th of October, 1854. 



'- The acting governor-general of the province of Angola 

 and its dependencies determines as follows. 



" Having instituted an investigation (Syndecancia) 



against the commandant of the fort of , a captain 



of the army of Portugal in commission in this province, 



, on account of numerous complaints, which have 



come before this Government, of violences and extortions 

 practised by the said commandant, and those complaints 

 appearing by the result of the investigation to be well 

 founded, it will be convenient to exonerate the captain 



referred to, from the command of the fort of , to 



which he had been nominated by the Portfolio of this 

 general Government, No. 41, of 27th December of the 

 past year ; and if not otherwise determined, the same 

 official shall be judged by a council of war for the criminal 

 acts, which are to him attributed." 



Even this public mention of his crimes, attaches no 

 stigma to the man's character. The council of war, by 

 which these delinquents always prefer to be judged, is 

 composed of men who eagerly expect to occupy the post 

 of commandant themselves, and anticipate their own 

 trial for similar acts at some future time. The severest 

 sentence a council of war awards, is a few weeks' sus- 

 pension from office in his regiment. 



This want of official integrity, which is not at all attri- 

 butable to the Home Government of Portugal, would 

 prove a serious impediment in the way of foreign enter- 

 prise developing the resources of this rich province. And 

 to this cause, indeed, may be ascribed the failure of the 

 Portuguese laws for the entire suppression of the slave- 

 trade. The officers ought to receive higher pay, if integrity 

 is expected from them. At present, a captain's pay for 

 a year will only keep him in good uniform. The high 

 pay our own officers receive, has manifest advantages* 



Before leaving Ambaca, we received a present of ten 

 head of cattle from Mr. Schut of Loanda, and, as it shows 

 the cheapness of provisions here, I may mention that the 

 cost was only about a guinea per head. 



On crossing the Ivucalla, we made a detour to the south, 



