Owing to pressure on our space last week we were
unable to deal with the debate on the Foreign Office Vote, but we must find room this week to notice the astounding speech made by Mr. Leland on the subject of Portuguese slavery. Mr. Leland had the effrontery—we can only describe it in such terms—to declare that the grave scandals in connexion with the recruiting of labour from Angola for the islands were " for ever over and done with." He went on to say that not only was there no recruiting from Angola for San Thom& now, but that a great deal of what was referred to as being conditions of slave-trading on the mainland was a closed chapter altogether. There might be a state of domestic slavery or something very like it in some parts of the Portu- guese dominions, but the great matter of complaint had been brought to an end. Mr. Leland went on to say in an airy way that the Foreign Office had suggested to the Portuguese Government that they should obtain a better census of the labourers on San Thome, while at the same time Mr. Small- bones, our Consul, was doing his beat to find out how many British subjects there were on the islands.
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