The Government is evidently getting tired of the Portu- guese
shilly-shallying about the Convention, which involves,. besides the annoyance to diplomatists;' seme serious local dangers. Sir J. Fergusson on Monday, in reply to a question from Sir G. Baden-Powell, took occasion to give the Govern-. ment of Lisbon a somewhat peremptory warning. He re- minded them of the fact that the modus vivendi under which, England is bound not to perform any act of sovereignty within certain disputed territories would expire in May, and observed that "recent events have made it improbable that her Majesty's Government can be a party to any future Convention as favourable to Portuguese claims to the south of the Zambesi as that which Portugal failed to ratify." This utterance ia explained in Lisbon as the result of personal feeling on the part of the Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs ; but states- men will understand what it signifies. Great Britain cannot for ever keep on shielding the Braganzas against the populace of their capital.
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