72
as much interested to see preserved as he was.
There
was no understanding with the Macao Government on
the subject and therefore it was to be hoped that the
Hongkong Government would restrict as far as possible
the sale of arms to the Portuguese Colony. I remark-
ed that, in my opinion, that was rather a different
question, for on what grounds should arms be refused
to a Portuguese at Macao who wished to purchase them
for export, say, to some third country? Why should
the Hongkong Government possibly offend the Portu-
guese to please China? His Excellency would not fol-
low up the argument but only smilingly persisted in
hoping that the Hongkong Government would place all
possible restrictions on the trade.
As I had but lit-
tle knowledge in regard to the question and had not been
requested to discuss it, I considered it a good op-
portunity for turning the conversation to the present
restrictions on the export of cattle to Hongkong, which,
I said, had sent up the price of beef in the Colony.
I added that the Governor was looking forward to the
4th of May when the Viceroy had promised that the re-
strictions
restrictions in question would be removed. His Ex-
but
cellency said that the promise would be kept,
did not pursue the question further. The Kowloon-
Canton Railway was next mentioned. I informed the
Viceroy how matters stood at present, that negotia-
tions between the British and Chinese Corporation
and the Government at Peking in regard to the final
agreement had probably already begun and that the
Colony was quite ready to begin their section.
expressed himself in favour of railways generally
Tsen
and alluded to the great convenience he had himself
lately experienced from the Samshui-Canton line. I
said I hoped that he would support the present scheme
for were he to do so it would go far to bring the
negotiations to a successful issue. He replied that
he could not express any opinion until he had seen
the Agreement. This, I told him, I believed to be
almost identical with the Shanghai-Nanking Railway
Agreement. The Viceroy was, however, anxious to
know if the proposed concession was a bona-fide
British concern, in regard to which he was given
satisfactory