Though the result of the negotiations between Portugal and the
United Kingdom in regard to South-East Africa is not yet known, the negotiations have been made the subject of attack in the Portuguese House of Peers. The Foreign Minister, however, refused to be drawn into disclosing the nature of the agreement now in process of making, and the incident practically ended in a good deal of abuse of England, and in the declaration that it was better that Portugal should be dispossessed by force, than dishonoured by yielding voluntarily. In the meantime, the tribes in the neighbourhood of the Zambesi are apparently beginning to get tired of a Portuguese Protectorate, for it is announced that one of the chiefs has converted his Portuguese flags into clothing. The incident shows that the African natives are not only thrifty, but have a distinct sense of humour.
