 Johnston rued bitterly that the Rhodesians had apparently made practical arrangements for an independent office in Lisbon anyway , even going to the trouble of renting the prospective mission premises . He repeated the claim he had made in the meeting with Smith on 18 August , saying once more that the Federal government had not made appointments off its own bat . He accepted that there was an independent Rhodesian envoy in Pretoria , but argued that this was the result of South Africa 's enforced withdrawal from the Commonwealth . He did not mention the Rhodesian ( formerly Federal ) office in Lourenço Marques , which Wood comments could be considered " precedent for Portugal " . 
