Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, For the Year 1887, Transmitted to Congress, With a Message of the President, June 26, 1888

No. 173.
Mr. Denby to Mr. Bayard.

Legation of the United States,
Peking, May 31, 1887. (Received July 14.)

No. 378.]

Sir: I have the honor to report that the following protocol has been published in the Shanghai papers:

protocol.

• Art. I. A treaty of friendship and commerce with the most favored nation clause will he concluded and signed at Peking.
• Art. II. China confirms the perpetual occupation and government of Macao and its dependencies by Portugal, as any other Portuguese possession.
• Art. III. Portugal engages never to alienate Macao and its dependencies without agreement with China.
• Art. IV. Portugal engages to co-operate in opium revenue work at Macao in the same way as, England at Hong-Kong.

Done at Lisbon the 20th March, 1887.

Henrique Barros Gomes.

James Duncan Campbell.

By this agreement the cession of Macao is made absolute. It had been supposed that it would be contingent on the success of the new scheme for the collection of the duty and lekin on opium.

Thus Macao as well as Hong-Kong becomes a lekin station of China.

I have, etc.,

Charles Denby.