T
110
22.
In all the circumstances set out
in this Despatch and its enclosures, I venture upon the
unanimous advice of my Executive Council in which the
matter has been very fully discussed to appeal to Your
Lordship to allow me to accept the Farmer's offer to
reduce the number of chests he draws per annum from 1,800
to 1,200 on January 1st. next on condition that no other
steps are taken till the expiry of his contract on 28th.
February, 1910, and that from that date onwards there
should be a progressive decrease in the number in each
successive contract so long as the Indian Government is
satisfied with the action in China and continues its
progressive decrease in exports. I would, however, for
the reasons given in my Memorandum deprecate the entire
extinction of supply of Opium on the grounds that the
abolition of the Farm will deprive this Government of its
most effective weapon for preventing the illicit import of
Opium to the Colony and of export to China, and the grave
fear that a more pernicious substitute may replace it. In
addition to this limitation of supply there are the
further measures for controlling the Farm and checking the
consumption of Opium Compounds and of Morphia for eating
and for hypodermic injection to which I have referred and
which