as long as the
delimitation of the boundaries is not concluded, everything in respect
to them shall continue as at present without addition, diminution or
alteration by either of the Parties."

In the beginning of 1908, a Japanese steamer, the _Tatsu Maru_, engaged
in gun-running was captured by a Chinese customs cruiser near the
Kauchau archipelago (Nove Ilhas). The Portuguese authorities demanded
her release on the ground that she was seized in Portuguese territorial
waters thus raising the question of the status of the waters surrounding
Macao.

In the same year the Portuguese authorities of Macao attempted the
imposition of land tax in Maliaoho, and proposed to dredge the waterways
in the vicinity of Macao. The Chinese Government thereupon instructed
its Minister in France, who was also accredited to Portugal, to make
personal representations to the Portuguese Foreign Office in regard to
the unwarrantable action of the local Portuguese authorities. The
Portuguese Government requested the withdrawal of Chinese troops on the
Island of Lappa as a quid pro quo for the appointment of a new
Demarcation Commissioner, reserving to itself the right to refer to The
Hague Tribunal any dispute that may arise between the Commissioners
appointed by the respective Governments.

After protracted negotiations it was agreed between the Chinese Minister
and the Portuguese Government by an exchange of notes that the
respective Governments should each appoint a Demarcation Commissioner to
delimit the boundaries of Macao and its dependencies in pursuance of the
Lisbon Protocol and Article 2 of the Sino-Portuguese Treaty of 1887,
subject to the decision of their respective Governments.

THE PORTUGUESE CLAIM

In February, 1909, Portugal appointed General Joaquim Machado and China
Mr. Kao Erh-chien as their respective Commissioners and they met at
Hongkong in June of the same year.

The Portuguese claim consisted of the whole of the Peninsula of Macao as
far north as Portas do Cerco, the Island of Lappa, Green Island (Ilha
Verde), Ilhas de Taipa, Ilha de Coloane, Ilha Macarira, Ilha da
Tai-Vong-Cam, other small islands, and the waters of Porto Interior.
The Portuguese Commissioner also demanded that the portion of Chinese
territory between Portas de Cerco and Peishanling be neutralized.

In the absence of evidence, documentary or otherwise, China could not
admit Portugal's title to half the territory claimed, but was prepared
to co