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lawful trade. Sir H. Blake pointed out that in prac- tice the Chinese Government allowed their subjects to be
removed from their jurisdiction on declaring adhesion to
foreign missions.
9. The question was again referred to the Foreign
Office who in February 1904 proposed to revoke the Costume Regulations of 1868, and generally to accept
the conclusions arrived at by Sir H. Blake and Sir E.
Satow. In August 1904 Sir F.H. May sent home copies of certificates for the four classes amended as directed
and the draft of one for the inhabitants of the New
Territory. These were approved, subject to the insertion
on every certificate of the condition as to registra-
tion at a Consulate: and the Costume Regulations were
withdrawn, Bitish naturalized subjects were still omitted
from this arrangement.
10. The position is therefore that the Costume
Regulations have been withdrawn and that a system of
certificates is in force entitling all classes of Anglo-
Chinese, except naturalised subjects, to protection in
China. The Chinese Government have never officially
acknowledged this system but, subject of course to the
vagaries of individual mandarins, have tacitly accepted
the situation.
th. Sir F.H. May in forwarding the new Chinese law
of Nationality argues that
(1) the Secretary of State has ruled that British
nationality cannot be claimed for persons resident in the
New Territories at the time of the lease
(2) it is open to question whether protection should
be afforded to natural born subjects who are the children
of Chinese subjects.
(3) It is anomalous that protection should be given
to
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