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[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.] 39899
AFFAIRS OF CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[43216]
No. 1.
[November 26.] 9 DEC 09
SECTION 1.
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.—(Received November 26.)
(No. 406. Confidential.) Sir,
Peking, November 5, 1909. I HAVE the honour to report on the course of the negotiations regarding the delimitation of Macao since my despatch No. 348 of the 22nd September was written.
The memoranda exchanged between the two commissioners, copies of which are inclosed,* give a detailed account of the various stages of the discussion, and it is only necessary for me to pass their contents in brief review, and to add a statement of the action that has been taken here in pursuance of your instructions that I should give such assistance as I could to the Portuguese commissioner.
In his memoranda Nos. 6, 7 and 8 the Chinese commissioner reiterates his offer to exchange the villages of Lungtin and Mongha, situated between the old walls and the barrier gate in the peninsula of Macao, for the parts of the Islands of Taipa and Colowan actually in the occupation of, or as he chooses to put it "encroached upon,' by the Portuguese. The portion thus occupied, he asserts, amounts to only the 100th or 150th part of the total area of those islands.
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The commissioner refuses to discuss the question of territorial waters, as not mentioned in the treaty of 1887, declines to consider the neutral zone lying between the barrier, and Fort Passaulean, to which China, he alleges, never consented, and holds that Lappa, where he finds no traces of Portuguese occupation, should also be excluded from the negotiations. In a well-reasoned reply (memorandum No. 8) the Portuguese commissioner expressos his inability to accept the proposal to exchange Taipa and Colowan for Mongha and Lungtin, both of which places he regards as integral parts of Macao. He points out that the territorial waters are the very essence of the Colony's existence, have been in the possession of Portugal for centuries, and if they ever belonged to China, they were under the sway of formidable pirates whom the Portuguese expelled.
He expresses his readiness to agree to a division of Lappa, D. João, and Vongeam, although China, he asserts, only attempted to establish her authority in these islands in 1897, ten years after the treaty with Portugal was concluded.
The Chinese memorandum No. 9, which follows, is little more than a recapitulation of previous statements. It renews the offer to exchange Taipa and Colowan for Mongha and Lungtin, and insists upon the exclusion of all other places from the discussion, except Green Island. This, the Chinese commissioner suggests, should be restored to China, but he is willing that the Green Island Cement Company, which is a British concern, should continue to hold their ground on lease from the Chinese Government.
The Portuguese memorandum No. 9, which forms a reply to the above, is short and to the point. It states definitely that no arrangement will be accepted which does not recognize the continued occupation and government by Portugal of the whole peninsula, the inner harbour, and the Islands of Taipa, Colowan, and Verte, with their littoral waters, but reiterates the willingness of the Portuguese commissioner to accept a division of Lappa, D. João, and Vongcam in a manner calculated to avoid future disputes.
In his memorandum No. 10 the Chinese commissioner drops the question of exchanging Talpa and Colowan for Mongba and Lungtin and states that he is prepared to leave the occupied parts of the two former places in the possession of Portugal “to serve as a resting station for the Portuguese of Macao who have relations with the said islands, but they must never be considered as dependencies.”
The territorial waters and the Islands of Lappa, D. João, and Vongcam are again left out of consideration.
The memorandum from the Portuguese commissioner, which concludes this
Esc -June
[2495 cc-1]
* Not printed.