3. Sir Maurice Peterson acted on these instructions on the 27th November, 1939. He reported that the Spanish Foreign Minister evinced considerable interest in the communication. He said, however, that the landing ground in the neutral zone was a fait accompli just as was the British possession of the Rock itself, and the Spanish Government had no intention of questioning our right to utilize it. The point which did interest the Spanish authorities and which had formed the basis of their previous representations was that in the view of their experts the ground could not be used without the violation either of Spanish territory or of Spanish territorial waters.