30
privilege of having at least a Vice-Consul or Consular Agent resident at Macao to look after British interests; more especially when it is considered that between Portugal and most, if not all, of these countries, Consular Conventions exist, in which a clause is inserted stating that Consuls must obtain the necessary exequaturs from the Portuguese Government before they can act officially in the Portuguese possessions, from which it must be assumed that they have all obtained their exequaturs from the Portuguese Government, and thereby have tacitly admitted the sovereignty of Portugal over Macao. And as it has been shown that, in several instances before now, British Consular Agents have resided in Macao, and that their official recognition has invariably been asked for from the Portuguese Government, and never from the Chinese, the advice which was given by the Queen's Advocate in 1844 would appear to hold as good now as it did then, that it would be more advisable to apply for an exequatur than to bring forward the question of sovereignty; more especially since it was stated in
Sir T. Wade's despatches of 1864 that since 1849
Pages 27, 28.
the Portuguese have asserted their claim over Macao
by ejecting the Chinese and by refusing any longer
to pay them the rent which they had for so long
a period been in the habit of paying.
December 23, 1879.
E. HERTSLET.
Foreign Office,
MINUTE.
Mr. de Subech Baal &
Mr. Wingfield
Mr. Bramston.
Mr. Meade.
Mr. Herbert.
Lord Cadogan.
12
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