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362
37089
OP Y.
Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce.
RECE
'By O! OCT O
Hongkong, 3rd. September, 1907
sir,
I have the honour to inform you that the
British firms engaged in the opium trade in this Colony have
addressed a letter to the Committee of the Hongkong Chamber of
Commerce asking for assistance in a matter very closely affect-
-ing their business.
It appears that the Viceroy of Nankin with
a view to establishing a monopoly in the opium business in his
Capital has ordered that all opium shops be closed and convert-
-ed into "prepared opium" shops which are to be conducted under
licences issued by the Viceroy.
The sale of raw opium is to be placed in the
hands of an individual, or syndicate, who will hold a monopoly
from the Viceroy and from whom alone the prepared opium shops
will be allowed to purchase their opium. The result of this will
be that all existing raw opium establishments will be forced to
suspend business and the whole trade will be converted into a
close Goverment monopoly. The intention is to inaugurate the
system in Nankin but it is understood that once the monopoly
has been started it will be extended to other parts of the
province.
This new departure has avowedly been taken
by the Viceroy of Nankin for the purpose of raising revenue and
we have reason to believe that the experiment is being watched
with interest by other Provincial Authorities who will not be
slow to adopt the same course if it be successfully carried out.
The Committee of this Chamber has on more
than one occasion in the past been obliged to protest against
attempts on the part of the Chinese Authorities in the neighbour -
-ing provinces to interfere with the foreign opium trude and
believe