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Inclosure 6 in No.
Mr. W. Keswick to Mr. O'Conor.
Shanghae, October 19, 1885.
DURING the past year I have on several occasions been consulted by Chinese officials regarding the collection of import duty and of the li-kin tax on opium, and in consequence, I was led to make inquiries unofficially in India as to whether, should certain proposals be made, they would be likely to meet with consideration at the hands of the Government of India.
I am now in receipt of unofficial advices to the effect that if the Chinese Government wish to send to India an informal Agent, the Government of India will be prepared to give every attention to anything he may have to urge, and to give him any information he might require, provided he went with the full consent and knowledge of Her Majesty's Minister at Peking, and that Her Majesty's Minister had full knowledge of the purpose for which he was sent, and the instructions given him.
I am further advised that, if it is proposed to send an informal Agent from China to India, he should place himself in communication with the British Minister in Peking, and obtain his consent before leaving for India.
The informal correspondence which has reached me further mentions that the substance of the proposals which formed the ground of my inquiries, would be communicated to the Legation, but for your fuller information I beg to inclose a Memorandum for your reference.
I will communicate the nature of the reply I have received from India to the Chinese, and intimate that I will be willing to renew the consideration of the subject, and co-operate with them if invited to do so.
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the collection of the dues on opium to which the Government is entitled is very great, for many circumstances in her position render it impossible to suppress the smuggling of an article so easily carried as opium.
The proximity of Hong Kong—a free port and a British Colony—to the mainland of China affords many facilities for the surreptitious conveyance of drug into the country; and although the extreme and unfriendly blockade of the island by revenue cruizers has been resorted to, it is not an efficient remedy, is very costly, and is a fruitful source of international trouble and constant friction.
At the Treaty ports, too, although import duty on opium is rarely, if ever, evaded, the li-kin tax is most difficult to collect, and especially at Shanghae, its collection leads to frequent conflict with municipal authority and to endless controversy. With such an understanding as I suggest, and with duty and li-kin collected together in one payment, China would be freed from great expense in maintaining a preventive service, and would be able to collect every cent of duty justly leviable.
In consideration of these advantages and in recognition of the friendly services rendered by India and the British Colonies interested, China should be required to move the Rulers of Thibet to immediately sanction the right of travel and of residence in Thibet to British subjects on the same conditions that the right of travel and of residence in China is provided for by Treaty; and further, China should undertake to withdraw entirely from the neighbourhood of Hong Kong the revenue cruizers and Customs stations that have been maintained there.
It should be understood that any agreement entered into is on the distinct condition that opium which has once paid the legal duty and li-kin tax is absolutely free from any other impost, and is permitted to circulate throughout the Empire without being subjected to any additional charge whatever, and that in the event of wilful disregard by China of this condition, the agreement entered into should be considered cancelled.
Inclosure 8 in No.
Inclosure 7 in No.
Memorandum by Mr. W. Keswick on the Regulations necessary to enable the Chinese Government to collect the Import Duty and "li-kin" Tax on Opium authorised by the Chefoo Convention, dated Shanghae, October 10, 1885.
IN order to enable the Chinese Government to collect on opium the increased duty and li-kin tax which become leviable under the recently signed Chefoo Convention, it appears to me necessary for China to arrange with India some process by which the imported drug should come under her control.
The Straits Settlements and Hong Kong are consumers of opium, and must necessarily be parties to any agreement which would affect supplies, and these Colonies should therefore be consulted in any proposed arrangement.
The only arrangement which appears to me practical is one that would in its operation have to begin in India, and what I would suggest is a Regulation to be agreed on with the Indian Government, by which no opium should be allowed to leave India that was not shipped by the steamers belonging to Companies prepared to enter into bonds for the due carrying out of certain conditions.
These conditions might be embodied in special bills of lading, and should oblige the vessels carrying drug to Hong Kong or to the Treaty ports of China to deliver it into the custody of an Agent of the Government of China, to be held until all dues leviable by Treaty upon it were paid.
Opium for Penang and Singapore should, by Regulation, be declared at the time of shipment destined for these places, and bonds given to produce within three months certificates of the due and proper landing of the drug.
The quantity of the opium so to be shipped to the Straits Settlements during every month would have to be regulated according to the estimated consumption and requirements of Penang and Singapore in past years with, when necessary, a liberal allowance for probable increase.
The requirements of Hong Kong should, in like manner, be ascertained, and up to the amount agreed upon delivered free of all dues from the godowns of the Agents of the Chinese Government.
On the payment of duty and li-kin as fixed by Treaty to the European Agent in Hong Kong of the Chinese Government, the opium should be free to go wherever desired by its owners, and every facility should be given for the shipment of drug in bond from Hong Kong to the Treaty ports and between Treaty ports of China.
To China the importance of Regulations which would insure with absolute certainty
Mr. O'Conor to Mr. W. Keswick.
Peking, October 30, 1885.
I BEG to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 19th instant, inclosing a Memorandum respecting the Regulation necessary to enable the Chinese Government to collect the import duty and li-kin tax on opium in accordance with the new Opium Article of the Chefoo Convention.
Copies of the correspondence which has passed between Mr. J. J. J. Keswick, of Calcutta, and the Government of India, bearing on this subject, have been forwarded to me by the Indian Government.
The considerations set forth in this correspondence and in the Memorandum which you are now good enough to forward appear to me deserving of very serious attention, inasmuch as they afford a possible solution of difficulties which may before long arise in the execution of the new opium arrangement.
I am, however, of opinion that, while taking them into careful consideration, it would not be desirable to enter into actual negotiation upon their basis until it is seen how far the new Convention can be worked and every effort has been made to give practical effect to its stipulations.
The consent of foreign Powers, and the result of their possible refusal, is a matter which must be decided in the first instance; and until this point is settled and other details are carefully examined it would appear premature to engage in negotiation of the kind referred to in your communication.
Meantime, they will engage my serious attention, and I shall be glad to talk over the matter with you personally.