36989
[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government]
TRECE
REGP 11 NOV 09
CHINA TRADE.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[40072]
[November 1.]
नगाल
SECTION 1.
7%
No. f.
(No. 367.) Sir,
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.--(Received November 1.)
Peking, October 6, 1909. IN my despatch No. 340 of the 17th ultimo I had the honour to enclose a copy of a note which I had addressed to the Wai-wu Pu protesting against the enforce- ment of certain new regulations issued by the Canton Opium Prohibition Bureau, which appeared to interfere unnecessarily with the legitimate trade of the British opium importers.
On the 26th ultimo I received a telegram from His Majesty's acting consul- general at Canton reporting that he had had an interview with the new Viceroy, but had failed to obtain from him a renewal of the assurance given by his predecessor that the regulations would not be allowed to interfore with the wholesale trade carried on between the British importers in Hong Kong and the Canton dealers.
On receipt of this telegram I addressed a further note to the Wai-wu Pu, copy of which I have the honour to enclose, and at an interview which I had with his Excellency Liang Tun-yen on the 4th instant I made a verbal protest against the manner in which the anti-opium regulations were being enforced in various parts of the Empire to the prejudice of the wholesale trade in foreign opium. I disclaimed any intention of interfering with the issue of regulations for the control of the trade in native opium, but I pointed out that the present vexatious restrictions on the already reduced trade of the British foreign opium merchants were quite uncalled for, as the ultimate suppression of that trade was fully secured by the agreement concluded between our two Governments. From the practical point of view I pointed out that the action taken at Canton last year, in consequence of my repre- sentations, proved that it was possible to enforce regulations in regard to the sale of native opium without affecting the wholesale trade in foreign opium. Finally, I requested his Excellency to issue instructions to all the provincial authorities concerned, in accordance with the repeated assurances of the Chinese Government, that foreign opium should be excluded from the operation of any regulations applying to the wholesale trade, so that the legitimate interests of the British importers should not be interfered with. His Excellency promised to send instructions in the sense desired by me.
From the enclosed reply of the Wai-wu Pu, dated the 1st October, it will be seen that the Viceroy of Canton categorically denied that there is any interference with the trade in foreign opium, or that it is proposed to levy an additional tax of 13 taels on each ball of raw opium as reported to me by Mr. Fox. In regard to the proposed increase of taxation on prepared opium, the Viceroy states that such a step is under consideration, partly as the result of a suggestion put forward by the Governor of Hong Kong, that in order to put a stop to the smuggling of prepared opium from China into Hong Kong it would be necessary to raise the price of native prepared opium in China to a parity with the price of prepared opium in Hong Kong. The last sentence in the Viceroy's telegram, which implies that additional taxation may be levied on foreign opium in a treaty port after the original packet is broken, is based on the same erroneous interpretation of the additional article of the 18th July, 1885, to the Treaty of Chefoo as was put forward last year by the Chinese Government. The correspondence which passed on this question between the Wai-wu Pu and this legation was forwarded to you in my despatches No. 522 of the 24th November, 1908, and No. 7 of the 6th January, 1909. As you will remember, I at that time informed the Chinese Government that I must adhere to our interpre- tation of the article in question, which was that foreign opium after payment of duty and li-kin was free from all taxation whatsoever in the treaty port, and also during transport to the place of consumption in the interior if covered by the prescribed transit certificate; and that it was only on arrival at the place of consumption in the interior, and after the package had been opened, that foreign opium became liable to taxation to the same extent as native opium.
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