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د نشان نه ده داستان ها است
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rotestos da minha mais elevada
Emsiteração
Teos Suarte a
West
Palacio do Governo
te Mincas 22 de Julho de 1878
I Governada & leacas, Suit Extraordinario
de
e Ministro Plenipotenciaris de L.M. F. junto
as Cortes on Thina, Japão
C
Siam.
Signed) Charlos Augenis Corcia da Silvon
THE CHINA MAIL.
HONGKONG, THURSDAY, JULY 11, 1878, IT must be confessed that the protest of the Governor of Macao we published last night caused us unmixed astonish- ment.
A more unnecessary exhibition of patriotism we have seldom witnes sed. The history of the affair is as follows. Several firms in this Colony presented a petition to Mr Hennessy complaining of certain interferences on the part of the Chinese Customs' officials with the export of gunpowder, by junks, to Macao. His Excellency the Gov- ernor replied in due course through the Acting Colonial Secretary to this petition, the words used in his reply being as follows: "I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 17th! instant, and to inform you that His Excellency the Governor has been in correspondence on the subject of the petition which you forwarded on the 12th April last with the British Consu late, Canton, and that he finds that it is impossible for the Hongkong Govern ment to interfere respecting the import gunpowder to Macao, inasmuch as the Canton authorities consider Macao to be part of China, and the import of munitions of war into China is subject to stringent regulations,"
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This reply of Mr Hennessy was not intended for publication, and it found its way into the public press without official permission or cognizance. On the same day as it appeared an absurd report was ingeniously put into circulation to the effect that the Chinese intended to re- sume possession of Macao! There was, of course, not the slightest foundation for the rumour, but it answered its pur- pose of directing attention to the memo- rial and to the unfavourable reply of Mr Hennessy. It also resulted in drawing the unhappy protest in question from the Governor of Macao.
The complaint against Mr Hennessy in the matter is that it is stated in his reply to the memorial that after corre spondence with the British Consulate at Canton, he finds that it is impossible for the Hongkong Government to inter. fere respecting the import of gunpowder to Macao, inasmuch as the Canton autho rities (Chinese) consider Macao to be a part of China, and the import of muni tions of war into China is subject to stringent regulations." Now, is Mr Hennessy to be blamed for stating that he finds, on reference to the representa, tives of Her Majesty at Canton, borne- thing cannot be done, because the Chinese authorities consider Macao to be a Chiness port? If so, a greater measure of con demnation must be poured on Sir Brooke Robertson and the British Gov- ernment for making similar statements in more direct and stronger language. Hardly a blue book on the Blockade Question can be consulted without soms reference being found as to the treatment af Macag sa a native part is the Chi nese authorities. Earl Carnarvon has himself referred in his despatches to certain advantages enjoyed by Macao, through the Customs officials dealing with it as a Chinese port. And yet no sooner does Mr Hennessy state that the Chinese regard Macao as a part of China than this hubbub is raised,
At the pre-
sent moment the Chinese authorities are levying duties in accordance with the native instead of the foreign tariff right under the noses of the Macao officials, on the openly professed grounds that the port is a native and not a foreign one. What, then, does our local contemporary mean by referring to the reply of Mr Hennessy as a "startling one," to say nothing of his bolstering up the ridiculous canard that the Chinese Government were about to resume possession of the peninsula. "The claim put forward by the Chinese Government to the Holy City at this juncture," says our contem- porary, "is exceedingly annoying to some of the Hongkong merchants, as it is calculated to stop a
considerable branch of trade!"
Apparently Mr Hennessy is not to be permitted to state in a document not intended for publication, what British Consuls and the British Government do not hesi tate to express in blue books, printed and circulated, to some extent, for the benefit of the public. The following is, for instance, an extract from a despatch from Sir Brooke Robertson to Earl Car- narvon, appearing in a blue book, pre- sented to Parliament the year before last
The Chinese Government still consider Macao to be Chinese territory, it having been taken by force from it in 1840, Now Maoso has a considerable native trade with the coast places, and the Customs authori. ties discovered that janks clearing for Maoso paid the "nei ti shui," or export duties, but not the "nei ti shui," or import duties, or the "siao bao," because the Portuguese had proclaimed it a free port, and exempt from Chinese jurisdiction.
This was intimated to the Chinese traders and hongs there, and they were called upon (by the Chinese authorities) to pay “nei ti suu or import duties with the "siao ba on the grounds that Macao was Chinese territory and a Chinese port, which they refused to do, and Macao was in oon. sequence blockaded, and junks making for it were seized and compelled to pay or be confiscated.
You will observe the distinction made between Hong Kong and Macao, the former being treated as a foreign Possession and therefore coming within the operation of the Treaty Tarif, and the latter as Chinese ter ritory, and sherefore subject to the Chinese Customs Fariff.
The only excuse we can assign for the preparation of this elaborate, or rather, these elaborate protests, on the part of the Governor of Macao is that he mis- understood the drift of Mr Hennessy's letter, The Portuguese Government is able to vindicate its own rights in regard to Macao, and obviously so long as it chooses to wink at the open treat- ment of the peninsula as Chinese territory by the native authorities, England can do nothing in the matter, especially in the absence of a treaty. It is no doubt to the commercial advantage of both Macao and Hongkong that the Chinese authorities should treat the former as a native instead of a foreign port, and accordingly levy duties under the native tarif. Any way, there is no use blinking the question that the Chinese do continue to lay clain to Macao, and act openly at Macao in accordance with that claim, while it is absurd, under these circumstances, protesting against Mr Hennessy's saying as much, especially when higher British authorities than he have repeatedly made similar and even stronger asertions.
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