Comprises: MSS. Afr. s. 107: Diary: Zanzibar, 1892 MSS. Afr. s. 108: 'Private Letters - Zanzibar', 1892-1893 MSS. Afr. s. 109: Letters: Uganda, 1893 MSS. Afr. s. 110: 'Copies of Letters - Kampala, Mar 1893', 1893 MSS. Afr. s. 111: Diary: Uganda, 1893.

The entries are mostly very brief, with many gaps.

Volume of manuscript copies, numbered 1-51, of letters from Portal, with alphabetical index at back of volume. Some of the letters precede chronologically those in MSS. Afr. s. 106.

Volume of manuscript copies, numbered 1-14, of letters from Portal, written during the expedition to Uganda as Special Commissioner. The letters are followed by four pages of photographs by Colonel Rhodes. Members of the Uganda Mission were as follows: Colonel Frank Rhodes, DSO (Distinguished Service Order), Royal Dragoons Brigade-Major Owen, DSO, Lancashire Fusiliers ...

Letter-book containing pencilled copies (or drafts) in Portal's hand of letters numbered 1-28, some damaged. All but No. 8 (fol. 8) are from Portal, written while in Uganda or during the first part of his return journey to the coast, to correspondents within British East Africa.

Parts of the diary are quoted in The Mission to Uganda, edited by Rennell Rodd and published in 1894, after Portal's death. Entries record the voyage in HMS Philomel to Mombasa, the journey of the caravan, arrival at Kampala on 17 Mar, the course of Portal's investigations, the return march to the coast via the River Tana (to discover whether an alternative route to the coast was practicable), and the arrival in Zanzibar on 22 Oct. The four...

The letter concerns the danger of East Africa being left in the hands of the Portuguese and Germans as regards communication with Europe, correcting certain points made by Mackenzie regarding this and the Imperial British East Africa Company's financial difficulties.

Includes information about the declaration of Zanzibar as a Free Port; the postponement of the Brussels Act; anxiety about the financial state of the Imperial British East Africa Company, its possible collapse, and the question of what should take its place; and the succession to the Sultanate, or its abolition.

Includes information about the proposal that the Bank open a branch in Zanzibar, the proposed purchase of the concession respecting banking rights granted by the Sultan to the Imperial British East Africa Company, and Greffülke's coinage and his claims for damages.