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inform the whole Commission when it assembles at Shanghae as to the Regulations and restrictions in force at present in its own country, and to formulate and discuss proposals for amending such Regulations in points in which they may be found, in the course of the joint inquiry, to affect the production, commerce, use, and disadvantages of opium in the Far East.
So far as this country is concerned, the sale of opium and morphia is regulated by "The Pharmacy Act, 1868," copy of which is annexed to this despatch. There are no Regulations in force in this country applying to opium divans—which, indeed, can hardly be said to exist—and, as far as can be ascertained, the practice of opium smoking in Chinese boarding-houses in the East End of London is rather on the decrease than otherwise.
The position of His Majesty's Government towards British municipalities in the Far East is not generally understood in this country. They are not, as you are aware, subject to the control of the Foreign Office.
As regards the action of the Shanghae Municipality in respect of the abolition of opium dens which has been criticized, it must be borne in mind that Shanghae is an international Settlement, and though no doubt there is a large British majority on the Council, a matter such as the abolition of opium divans is one which had to be decided not only by the Council but also by the ratepayers, among whom are a large number of people of other nationalities. The municipality has, as you know, undertaken to reduce the opium dens with a view to bringing them to an end in two years, i.e., in the summer of 1910. Chinkiang is the only other British Concession in which commerce in opium existed, and the Municipal Council at once passed a Regulation prohibiting the sale of prepared opium within the limits of the Concession as soon as the matter was brought to their notice.
The Crown Colonies and British Protectorates which are chiefly concerned in the matters to be discussed by the Conference are Hong Kong, the Straits Settlements, the Federated Malay States, and Wei-hai Wei.
In the Straits Settlements a Commission has been appointed by the Governor, to investigate the question as affecting both the Colony and the Federated Malay States, and His Majesty's Government expect shortly to receive the views of the Governor and High Commissioner on the opinions and recommendations formulated by the Commissioners. Copies of the Report and evidence are not yet available for your use, but they will be furnished to you at a later date.
The attitude of His Majesty's Government towards the opium question, with special reference to the opium divans in Hong Kong and the Malay Peninsula, was made the subject of debate in the House of Commons on the 6th May last, when the policy of His Majesty's Government was explained by the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies. A Report of the debate is annexed for your information. Correspondence is now in progress with the Governor of Hong Kong as to the procedure for giving effect to the Resolution adopted by the House of Commons.
The accompanying Sessional Paper, published by the Government of Ceylon, contains the Report of a Committee appointed by the Governor to inquire into the importation, sale, and consumption of opium in the Colony, and shows the steps which it is proposed to take in the matter. An Ordinance to give effect to the policy of the Colonial Government has now been drafted, and will shortly be considered by the Legislative Council.
With a view to assisting the Chinese Government to carry out their policy of restriction, His Majesty's Government informed them in 1907 that they accepted in principle the proposal that the import of Indian opium into China should be diminished by one-tenth annually, pari passu with an equal decrease in the production of the native drug, up to the year 1910, and that they will continue to reduce at the same rate the export in 1911 and subsequent years, on proof that China has carried out its share of the arrangement. With effect from the 1st January, 1908, measures were taken by the British Government in India to restrict the export of opium from India in accordance with this Agreement. These measures will involve a considerable loss of revenue to the British Government in India and to native States in India where the poppy is cultivated, and they will also affect the means of livelihood of a considerable body of cultivators and traders.
In thus diminishing the export of opium from India to China, and in contemplating the complete cessation of the trade in the course of ten years, the aim and object of His Majesty's Government is to help the Chinese Government not merely to get rid of the import but also of the production and consumption of opium in China itself. The progress which has been made in the different provinces of the Chinese Empire is described in papers presented to Parliament in February and October of this year (Cd. 3881 and Cd. 4316), and doubtless fuller information will be laid before the Commission by the Chinese Government.
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His Majesty's Government are convinced that the Chinese Government and also many high officials in the provinces in China are in earnest, and are assured that the Chinese Government on their part are greatly impressed by the helpful attitude which has been adopted in the matter by His Majesty's Government.
The desire of this country is that China should progress, and that the Chinese Government should realize by such measures as you may be able to suggest as the result of your inquiry that in their present opium policy they have the fullest sympathy of His Majesty's Government.
In the opinion of His Majesty's Government a Commission sitting at Shanghae will be well placed for making a detailed inquiry into facts before the subject of restrictive and repressive measures can be further or profitably considered; and the findings of the Commission on the facts will naturally govern the nature of its recommendations.
Assurances of the co-operation of China have been given in their reply to the invitation of the United States' Government, while their general policy in the matter is evidenced by the desire expressed in various subsequent Decrees to see the Regulations for the gradual suppression of the production and consumption of opium in China and the orders for their enforcement effectively carried out.
The terms of reference to the Commission which have been suggested by the Government of the United States, while indicating that the principal object of the inquiry is how to assist the Chinese Government in carrying out their declared policy, give to the Commission the fullest latitude, both as regards procedure and scope of investigation and recommendation. It is not the desire of His Majesty's Government to place any limitations on your discretion in this respect.
The manner in which the investigation is to be conducted will be decided upon by the Commissioners after they shall have met, but the terms of the invitation to the Commission make it clear that any conclusions which the Commissioners may reach can only be ad referendum, and that each country must decide for itself whether they are applicable to its own possessions and nationals.
I also inclose, for your confidential information, copies of confidential correspondence and of papers bearing on the subject which have been presented to Parliament from time to time, as indicated in the list which accompanies this despatch.