Mr. Conger to Mr. Hay.

No. 344.]

Sir: I have received Department’s instructions, No. 229, of the 3d ultimo, and upon consultation with several of my colleagues find that they agree with the opinion that a consul accredited to China can not exercise consular functions in the foreign leased territory, except upon some express recognition of his official character, by exequatur or otherwise, on the part of the sovereign into whose control the territory has passed.

They also are of the opinion that any arrangement for the recognition of the competency of the most available consul to exercise any function in said territory can not be made here, but only with the European lessee governments themselves. The leased territory in every case is small, and in practically all of them judicial procedure according to civilized methods has been established. In the territory adjacent to that leased, as in Shantung and Manchuria, the consuls will still exercise extraterritorial jurisdiction. The English minister informs me that his Government is arranging to establish consulates at Kiaochow and Talienwan.

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I have, as directed, instructed Consul-General Goodnow to inform the United States consuls in China that they have no authority to exercise extraterritorial consular jurisdiction or to perform ordinary nonjudicial consular acts within the leased territory under their present exequaturs.

I have, etc.,

E. H. Conger.