26
and it then went on to say that His Majesty the Emperor of China might appoint, should he deem it convenient, "an Agent to reside at Macao," there to treat of commercial affairs and watch the due observance of the Regulations; that this Agent must either be a Manchû or a Chinese of the fourth or fifth rank; and that his powers were to be equal to those of the Consuls of France, England, America, or of those of other nations who resided at Macao and Hong Kong, and there treated of their public affairs, showing their national flags.
Article XXI declared that Chinese criminals seeking refuge in Macao or on board Portuguese ships lying in the harbour should be given up to the Chinese authorities upon their requisition, and upon proof of their crime.
Article XXIX declared that all Portuguese vessels that were dispatched from "one of the open ports of China to another or to Macao" were entitled to a certificate from the Custom-house, which would exempt them from paying new tonnage dues, during the period of four months, reckoned from the date of the dispatch.
This Treaty consisted of no less than fifty-four Articles, and in concluding it it was stipulated (Article LIII) that in the event of any differences arising thereafter between the two countries it should be referred to the arbitration of a third Treaty Power.
The ratifications were to be exchanged within two years. Mr. Mayer, late Chinese Secretary to the Legation at Pekin, says in his work on China Treaties that this Treaty was never ratified, but Sir T. Wade, in his present despatch (No. 91, of October 6, 1879) says it was not ratified until the Portuguese should have satisfactorily explained their understanding of the only two clauses to which they attached any importance; which would at first sight imply that it was ratified when these explanations were given;
but in his despatch of the 27th January, 1870, he, Mr. Wade, No. 8, said, "Portugal has, strictly speaking, no regular relations with China. The Treaty of 1862 has never been ratified, and one of the two reasons for which its ratification was withheld by China was the refusal of Portugal to admit the Chinese interpretation of an Article by which the appointment of merchant Consuls was disallowed."
January 27, 1870.
Mr. Wade, No. 8;
July 10, 1864.
27
1864.
In a despatch of July 1864 Mr. Wade gave the following account of the misunderstanding between China and Portugal with regard to the Treaty of the 13th August, 1862; he said:-
'Macao, it will be remembered, was originally held by the Portuguese, as tenants of China, and although Portuguese were always ruled by Portuguese, the Government of China did, up to 1848, assert its sovereignty at Macao by the presence of one or more Mandarins, who moved about Macao with the insignia of office, collected duties on maritime trade, and otherwise exercised jurisdiction.
"This state of things was summarily brought to a close in 1848-49 by a new Governor, Senhor Amaral, who discontinued the payment of the 800 taels (£266) hitherto levied as rent, closed the custom-house, and expelled the Chinese officials."
"Senhor Amaral was assassinated in 1849, it was reasonably assumed at the instance of the Canton Government, but after some passing demonstrations, both sides ceased to take any particular notice of the Macao question, until Senhor Guimaraes appeared in 1862 at Peking.
"He came to negotiate a Treaty, the sole difficulty of which must have been the recognition of Macao as Portuguese territory, for the Portuguese had enjoyed all the advantages of the Treaty Powers, the Chinese Government having, with characteristic apathy, accepted their Consuls and admitted their merchants to trade at every open port.
"Senhor Guimaraes resided at the French Legation, and after four months' delay obtained a Treaty which it was affirmed, without conceding titular sovereignty, left Portugal de facto Sovereign in Macao. This compromise, it was understood, had been effected by the reservation of the right of China to place a Consul at Macao."
Mr. Wade then inclosed translated copies of the VIth, VIIIth, and IXth Articles of the Treaty, as published in Portuguese and Chinese at Macao, and which had been communicated to him in 1863 by a member of Senhor Guimaraes' Legation; he pointed out that Article VI provided that each party should put faith in the version rendered in his own tongue,
151
1.