CO537-3711 — Page 10

14

Stewart Lockhart, the civilian population would be sure to

follow if the military were to remove. The Chinese officials

stationed within Kowloon City at the time of the Convention

were (with the exception of one civil officer, a deputy magistrate) military officers, the head of whom was the

This officer was the chief military

Colonel-in-Command.

HAG

PA

officer in the district of San on, now known as 70 ún.

jurisdiction was purely military in character, extending over

the whole district of San on and the islands adjacent thereto.

The garrison under the command of this Colonel was maintained for the defence of the district of ban on, and the adjacent

islands. The deputy magistrate resident within the city exer

cised a somewhat extensive jurisdiction not confined to the city, but comprising a large portion of the area leased by

the Convention to Great Britain. The Chinese Covernment, in

the course of the various c mmunications which have passed in

relation to howloon City, have relied upon the circumstances

that other not dissimilar treaties were made in 1898 and 1899

with Great Britain, Germany, Lussia and France in relation to

other Chinese territory. They have contended that they were

"unable to resist the successive rival demands from the Powers

who were seeking a sphere of influence on the Asiatic mainland"

This way well have been an accurate description of what was

taking place, the Chinease Government endeavouring so far se

they could to save f'kçe by retaining at any rate some measure

of token or real jurisdiction in relation to some of the

territories comprised in the leases, ke do not think, howeve

that any other deduction can be made from the terms of these

other treaties helpful for the solution of the questions put

to us.

Fro.... the date when the Convention was made,

there was

not,/

Page 10Page 11