CO129-445 - Public Offices - 1917 — Page 139

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pending the settlement of the Boundary Delimitation

question, he could not admit the claim of Fortugal to maritime jurisdiction in Macao waters, or even to juris- diction within the harbour. No reply has so far been received to a retort dated November 7th, pointing out that in terms of an agreement dated July 22nd, 1890, no Chinese Government vessels could exercise functions

south of a line drawn midway between A-po-seac and Green

Island.

On the 31st of October the Civil Governor forward-

ed a report by the Hsiangshan Magistrate, evidently the

outcome of instructions to endeavour to discover acts of

Portuguese violation of treaty, in which complaint was

made of the anchoring of a Portuguese war-vegsel off

Wanchai in Lappa and of the renting by Portuguese citi-

sens of houses on that island, To this answer was made

that Portuguese war-vessels never anchored outside of

Portuguese waters and that Portugal had always claimed

right of residence on the island of Lappa, and that the

there of could historic status of the latter only be altered by the

Boundary Commission. The Macao Government, however, in my opinion incautiously, added that, even were the island Chinese territory, Portuguese had a right to reside there. in terms of Article XVI of the Treaty of 1887, and this gave the Civil Governor the opportunity of pointing out in forcible language that no foreigners can lease land or houses away from a Treaty port, and that for them to do so is a distinct infraction of Treaty.

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