urge that the possession of Macro should be resumed by
China, and they had probably only been deterred from a
10
Ou too. 27654/10
resort to force by the threat of British intervention con-
-veyed by the Minister in accordance with instructions
from the Foreign Office (see Foreign Office Print 44,964
of December 16th.,1909, 25489 1). When the news of the
everthrow of the Monarchy in Portugal was announced
forcible ejection was again urged in the native press. It
was therefore possible that should any rioting er out-
-break occur in Macao the Chinese might intervene, and at
a later date I ascertained that a considerable body of
Chinese troops were in point of fact collected just out-
-side the boundary of Macao, and that several Chinese
War-vessels had arrived in the vicinity.
Though I was not then aware of the
action of the Chinese, I consulted the Commodore as to the
advisability of sending a British Gunboat to Macao for the
protection of British subjects is case of necessity. I was
anxious that our action should not appear in any way as 8
threat to China, or be capable of interpretation by them
as an armed intervention on behalf of Portugal, a course
of action for which I had no instructions from you. More-
-over the provisional Government at Lisbon had not so far