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I have led him are in pronounced opposition to the declared policy of His Majesty's Government. This Memorandum, though apparently not intended for publication, seems to have become public property, and in these circumstances exception might be taken to the appointment of Mr. Clementi as adviser to the Senior British Delegate. On the other hand, his Lordship recognizes that in the absence on leave of Mr. Brewer, the Registrar-General, the Hong Kong Government might find it difficult to make another selection, and he also has regard to the fact that when instructing the Governors to nominate your assistants he did not lay it down that the names of the officers selected should be submitted for his approval.
3. Lord Crewe therefore does not propose to interfere with the choice of the Hong Kong Government, but in the circumstances he deems it advisable to remind you that the policy of His Majesty's Government in respect of the opium divans in the Colony is not a subject for argument, and it will be communicated to the Conference as a matter finally decided and to be carried into effect as soon as possible.
I am, &c.
(Signed) R. L. ANTROBUS.
3
two officers in question are sent for the purpose of affording you assistance, and they will have no voice in the deliberations of the Conference, though there can be no objection to their being present at the meetings with the permission of the Conference.
7. You will be furnished by the Foreign Office with a copy of the Report (with Appendices) of the Royal Commission on opium which was published in 1895. I am to call your attention to the evidence laid before the Commission with respect to Hong Kong and the Straits Settlements as shown by the index (vol. 7) and the Appendices XXIII-XXV (vol. 5).
8. Your name has been placed first on the list of British Delegates, and it will therefore naturally fall to you to speak and act on their behalf on any occasions when it is necessary to convey to the Conference the views of the British Representatives as a whole. It is impossible to furnish you in advance with instructions as to the attitude which you should assume towards the various questions which may come up for discussion, but, if you think it necessary at any time, you are authorized to refer to His Majesty's Government by cable through Sir Pelham Warren and the Foreign Office.
I am, &c. (Signed) FRANCIS J. S. HOPWOOD.
Inclosure 3 in No. 1.
(Confidential.) Sir,
Colonial Office to Sir C. Smith.
Downing Street, December 4, 1908.
I AM directed by the Earl of Crewe to state that his Lordship has learned with much satisfaction that you are willing to act as one of the British Delegates at the forthcoming International Conference on the opium question, which will meet at Shanghae on the 1st February next, and he desires me to convey to you his cordial appreciation of the readiness with which you have placed your services at the disposal of His Majesty's Government.
2. You will receive through the Foreign Office a copy of the instructions issued to the British Representatives. Lord Crewe has, however, nominated you specially to represent the Eastern Colonies, and he therefore thinks it desirable to supplement those instructions by indicating, in the present confidential letter, certain points to which your attention should be particularly directed.
3. You are aware from the public notification already issued that the Dominion of Canada will be represented by Mr. Mackenzie King. The Commonwealth of Australia will not be represented, but, as you will see from the accompanying copy of a telegram from the Governor-General,* the Commonwealth Government propose to furnish a report on the measures taken in Australia with regard to the prohibition of the importation of opium for smoking. Lord Crewe has been in communication with the India Office with regard to the suggestion made in the last sentence of the telegram; but in the opinion of the Secretary of State for India in Council with which his Lordship concurs, the matter cannot be regarded as coming within the scope of the inquiry as defined by the Government of the United States, and it is therefore not proposed to communicate this suggestion to the Conference.
4. As regards Wei-hai Wei, the inclosed copies of correspondence with the Commissioner will inform you of the present position in respect of that Protectorate;† and as regards Ceylon, in addition to the papers furnished to you by the Foreign Office, you have received, in the letter from this Department of the 13th ultimo, the draft of the Ordinance which the Governor proposes to introduce into the Legislative Council.
5. A copy of the Report (with Appendices) of the Straits Commission,‡ which has been received since the Foreign Office instructions were prepared, is inclosed for your perusal. The Secretary of State has requested the Governor not to publish the Report until he has had an opportunity of considering it; and therefore, while the information which it contains will be at your disposal, you should not lay the Report before the Conference unless you know that it has been published in Singapore.
6. The Governments of Hong Kong and the Straits Settlements have been requested each to nominate an officer who will be competent to furnish you with full information as to the local aspects of the question. It will be understood that the
* Dated October 15, 1908.
† Confidential despatches dated July 27 and September 15, 1908.
‡ See Hansard, May 6, 1908.
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