You ask what the Governments were doing to let this go on.
Yes, and you may well ask.

They were all asleep.

They never dreamed of danger from the natives, and in any case it was difficult to police the Portuguese side.

Laputa knew our weakness, and he staked everything on it.
'My first scheme was to lay Laputa by the heels; but no Government would act on my information.

The man was strongly buttressed by public support at home, and South Africa has burned her fingers before this with arbitrary arrests.