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[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
445
AFFAIRS OF CHINA.
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CONFIDENTIAL.
[523]
No. 1.
0653 [January 5.]
SECTION 1
R2 4 APR 10,
Sir J. Jordon to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received January 5.)
Peking, January 5, 1910.
(No. 3.) (Telegraphic.) P. MACAO. General Machado, the Portuguese commissioner, reports unfavourably on the result of his courtesy visit yesterday to the Wai-wu Pu. The language employed by Liang Tun-yen, who received him, left him with the impression that there is little hope of the Chinese submitting the question to arbitration.
Speaking in a tone which the general describes as by no means conciliatory, his Excellency declared the 1887 treaty to have been badly drafted, and expressed his opinion that the Portuguese should be satisfied with the possession of the peninsula of Macao as a commercial centre, and should give up the dependencies and islands to China.
When General Machado alluded to the evidence in support of the Portuguese claims, contained in the memoranda which he had supplied to the Chinese com- missioner, Liang Tun-yen replied that the Wai-wu Pu had not had an opportunity of studying these papers. Their commissioner, who had only reported to them by telegraph, would doubtless bring the memoranda with him to Peking. Illness had, however, prevented him as yet from leaving the south.
(Private.)
Both the "Timos" correspondent and the United States chargé d'affaires share the general opinion held here, that the Chinese attitude in refusing arbitration is unreasonable. I am doing my utmost to bring home this view of the case to the Wai-wn Pu,
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