[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
8
those who are permitted by your Excellency's Government to trade with him. Such a monopoly would prevent other dealers from participating in the opium trade, thus destroying healthy competition and crippling business, thereby causing heavy loss to importers, who will be at the mercy of a few licensed shops who would be able to dictate their own prices,
The effect of clause 4 is to create a monopoly, and, as existing shops gradually decrease in number and no new shops are permitted to take out licences, the trade will soon be in the hands of a few privileged individuals. So many pretexts can be found for closing down existing establishments that a small ring or Trust of the kind feared would probably be created within a very short period of time.
The procedure laid down by these Regulations is burdensome, and necessitates the payment of a licence fee on each occasion that an individual purchases opium. This will of necessity hamper trade and prevent the free buying and selling of raw Indian opium.
The British firms interested contend therefore that the new Regulations form the nucleus of a monopoly which will place the control of the raw opium trade in the two Kwang Provinces in the hands of a few individuals or in the hands of the Provincial Government itself.
I have the honour to point out to your Excellency that the restriction on trade contemplated by these new Regulations is directly contrary to Article 5 of the Treaty of Nanking, by which the British merchants are permitted "to carry on their mercantile transactions with whatever persons they please." By Article 10 of the same Treaty, "such merchandize may be conveyed by Chinese merchants to any province or city in the interior of the Empire of China," and by Article 14 of the French Treaty of Tien-tsin it is clearly laid down that, "Aucune Société de Commerce privilégiée ne pourra désormais s'établir en Chine, et il en sera de même de toute coalition organisée dans le but d'exercer un monopole sur le commerce.”
I would remind your Excellency that last year an attempt was made at Nanking to create a similar monopoly, and that in this case the Central Government, upon the representations of His Majesty's Minister to the Wai-wu Pu, fully recognized its illegality and ordered the measure to be withdrawn.
I would further remind your Excellency that the Indian Government is co-operating with the Government of China in its efforts to suppress the use of the drug by reducing the annual export of opium from India. This of itself will automatically bring about the total suppression of the import of Indian opium within a period of ten years.
It is, therefore, not only contrary to Treaty, but totally unnecessary, to adopt these harsh measures to restrict the sale of Indian opium in Canton.
Under the circumstances, I feel it my duty to bring the protest of the British firms interested to your Excellency's notice, and to request that your Excellency will give instructions to have the restrictions which have been placed upon the free sale of Indian opium in the two Kwang Provinces by these new Regulations removed without loss of time.
I avail, &c.
CHINA TRADE.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[40053]
No. 1,
649
[November 16.]
SECTION 4.
Mr. Whitelaw Reid to Sir Edward Grey,-(Received November 16.)
The American Ambassador presents his compliments to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and, with reference to his note to the Foreign Office of the 5th August last, begs to state that the note in question should read: “My Government has named Bishop Brent in the place of the Honourable Thomas Burke as Senior American Commissioner on the Joint International Opium Commission."
The name Dr. Charles D. Tenney was the result of a mistranslation of a cypher telegram, and though Dr. Tenney is still one of the American Commissioners he is not the Chief Commissioner, and the Honourable Thomas Burke is no longer a member of the Commission.
The Commission as at present constituted would therefore be as follows:- Bishop Charles H. Brent, Chief Commissioner.
Dr. Charles D. Tenney.
Dr. Hamilton Wright.
American Embassy, London, November 16, 1908.
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(Signed)
H. H. FOX.