This Document is the Propoda 23 Fritannic Majesty's Cowcrometu j
AFFAIRS OF CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[37171]
No. 1.
268
CO 39159
RECE [Sptember 20
SECTION 2.
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received September 22.) (No. 344. Confidential.) Sir,
Peking, September 3, 1911.
I HAVE the honour to report that on the receipt of your despatch No. 261 of the 10th ultimo, I directed Mr. Loraine to call on the Portuguese chargé d'affaires in order to ascertain what progress was being made with the Chinese Government as regards the improvement of Macao harbour, and to acquaint him with your view that if the Portuguese were prepared to give satisfaction to the Chinese authorities in respect of their complaints as regards gambling at Macao, there should be little difficulty in removing their opposition to the dredging operations.
M. de Brederode stated, in reply, that he had made no representations on these subjects to the Chinese Government, and proceeded to explain confidentially that he was in complete ignorance of questions affecting Macao owing to the rupture of his relations with the present governor. The latter, he said, neither acknowledged nor answered his communications, and sent him no information whatever. It was possible, he thought, that communications had passed in regard to the harbour improvements between the Macao and the Canton authorities, and perhaps it would be best for His Majesty's consul-general to talk the matter over with his Portuguese colleague, who stood very well with the Governor of Macao. M. de Brederode expressed his strong personal sympathy with the desire to suppress gambling, and fully realised that the combined efforts of the Hong Kong and Canton Governments would prove abortive unless Macao were brought into line. Evidently, however, given the personalities of the present incumbents of these posts, be anticipated little assistance to this end from the Governor of Macao or from the consul at Canton.
In these circumstances it is difficult for this legation to intervene to any useful purpose until the Portuguese chargé d'affaires resumes relations with Macao and until we are in a position to estimate the merits of the case which is attracting much attention in the foreign and native press. The Chinese undoubtedly hold that the dredging operations constitute an infringement of the status quo, but in the absence of detailed information it is impossible to say whether their contention is justified or not.
I venture to think that all we can usefully do at present is to send the correspondence as suggested to His Majesty's consul-general at Canton, whom I am instructing to render any assistance be properly can to his Portuguese colleague. The latter, however, seems to deserve the dubious reputation attributed to him by M. de Brederode, and is generally in such bad relations with the Viceroy that Mr. Jamieson may find it difficult to be of effective use.
Meantime I shall not fail to take an early opportunity of letting the Wai-wu Pu know that His Majesty's Government are watching the course of events at Macao with close interest.
I have, &c.
J. N. JORDAN.
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