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I have the honour to transmit herewith copies of two despatches from His Majesty's acting consul-general at Canton, forwarding copies of the latest correspon- dence which has passed between him and the Viceroy on the subject of the enforcement of the now regulations.
If my representations to the Wai-wu Pu prove unsuccessful, I shall not relax my efforts to secure the exemption of foreign opium from the operation of the present regulations, and I shall protest against any attempt on the part of the Canton Government, as foreseen by Mr. Fox, to obtain a monopoly of the trade both in prepared and in raw opium.
I have instructed Mr. Fox to await the result of the representations which I have made to the Wai-wu Pu, and if they prove fruitless, to make a further protest to the Viceroy against the continuanee of the present vexatious interference with the legitimate interests of the British firms engaged in the foreign opium trade.
I have, &c.
Inclosure 1 in No. 1.
Sir J. Jordan to Prince Ching.
J. N. JORDAN.
Your Highness,
Peking, September 29, 1909. WITH reference to my note of the 16th September, in which I requested instructions to be issued to the Viceroy of Kuangtung to put a stop to the vexatious proceedings lately instituted by the Opium Prohibition Bureau of Canton, I have the honour to inform your Highness that I am in receipt of a telegram from His Majesty's consul-general reporting that, at an interview on the 13th September with the Viceroy Yuan Shu-hsun, he was unable to obtain an assurance that enforcement of the prohibitive regulations would not be allowed to interfere with the wholesale trade in foreign opium.
Mr. Fox states that the imports of foreign opium into Canton have entirely ceased since the 25th August, and that the Provincial Government are privately inviting the tenders to farm the new taxes mentioned in my note of the 16th September.
The violent disturbance of the wholesale trade in the foreign drug which has takeu place at Canton is greatly to be deprecated, in view of the friendly agreement between our two Governments. That arrangement provides for the automatic and gradual reduction of the traffic, and it is unfair, apart from treaty considerations, to subject the reduced trade of the British merchants to these vexations restrictions.
I have the honour to request that your Highness will be so good as to telegraph It is highly again to the Viceroy of Kuangtung in the sense of my previous note. important that his Excellency should refrain from any steps which will infringe treaty provisions by imposing new taxes on foreign opium, or which will injure the still legitimate trade of British merchants.
The favour of an early reply is requested.
(Translation.) Sir,
Inclosure 2 in No. 1.
I avail, &c.
J. N. JORDAN.
Prince Ch'ing to Sir J. Jordan.
Peking, October 1, 1909.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's note of the 17th September, stating that His Majesty's consul-general at Canton had telegraphed complaining that the sudden enforcement of certain of the new resolutions for the. control of the opium trade by the Opium Prohibition Bureau, involving the arrest and imprisonment of a Canton dealer and a purchaser of raw opium, had caused a cessation of imports of Indian opium into Canton and a serious decline in prices at Hong Kong. Further, that the bureau proposed to levy a new additional tax of 13 taels on each ball of raw opium, and a further 4 mace per tael weight on the ball when prepared. Your Excellency, moreover, asked that the Viceroy of Kuangtung should be moved by telegraph to put a stop to these proceedings.
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The Board accordingly made enquiry by telegraph of the Canton Viceroy, and he C has now telegraphed the following in reply:-
"The Canton Prohibition Bureau last month had a Chinese merchant, Ch'uan Fu Ch'ang, a dealer in raw opium, arrested by the police and punished for secretly selling raw opium to people without a licence. In this case the Chinese merchant was disobeying the regulations, and the question of what punishment should be awarded him is a matter affecting China's internal administration, and is no concern of British merchants. The number of native opium hongs in Canton totals twenty, and they are all doing business as usual. There is not the slightest interference with the trade in foreign opium. I have recently received a despatch from His Majesty's consul-general on this subject, and I have sent him a full explanation in reply. There is no question of putting any additional tax on opium affecting opium-smokers. His Majesty's consul-general's statement, that it is proposed to levy a tax of 13 taels on each ball of raw opium, is one founded merely on conjecture, and it is most probably a rumour started by the opium dealers themselves, which His Majesty's consul-general has been persuaded to believe.
"As regards the question of prepared opium, Ilis Majesty's Consul-General bas frequently pointed out that the smuggling of prepared opium into Hong Kong was injuring the revenue of that colony, and he requested that preventive incasures might be taken. He further forwarded a translation of a scheme proposed by the Governor of Hong Kong for the prevention of smuggling. This scheme pointed out that in Hong Kong and to south of it the price of prepared opium was high, while in the southern provinces of China the price was low, and so if smuggling into Hong Kong was to be prevented there was only one thing to be done, and that was that the price in China of native prepared opium should be increased to bring it up to a parity with the price in Hong Kong; there would thus be no advantage in smuggling, and a successful solution would be reached. The scheme suggested by the Governor of Hong Kong deals with an important question, and it has now been decided to consider the scheme with a view to its partial adoption, but regulations have not yet been drawn up. A general investigation into existing conditions must take place before raising the price per tael weight on each ball of prepared opium. Moreover, the tax on prepared opium is not levied until after the opium has been sold to Chinese merchants and the packet opened, and is therefore not affected by treaty."
The Board was just on the point of preparing this reply when your Excellency's further note on the subject, dated the 30th September, was received. I avail, &c.
Inclosure 3 in No. 1.
Acting Consul-General For to Sir J. Jordan.
Prince CHING.
(No. 108.) Sir,
Canton, September 22, 1909. REFERRING to my despatch No. 102 of the 7th instant on the subject of the new opium regulations which are now being strictly enforced by the Canton Opium Prohibition Bureau, I have the honour to enclose copy and translation of a despatch from the Viceroy, dated the 17th instant, sent in reply to mine addressed to the Acting Viceroy on the 25th August last.
I should explain that, learning that my Japanese colleague had made a business call on the new Viceroy on the 10th instant, I decided to waive my claim to receive the first call, and accordingly went to see the Viceroy on the 13th instant.
I informed his Excellency that I had received your instructions to make personal representations to him on the subject of the dislocation of the raw opium business between Hong Kong and Canton, caused by the recent action of the Opium Pro- hibition Bureau in imprisoning a dealer who had sold opium to a person unprovided with a permit, and reminding him of his predecessor's assurances with regard to non- interference with the wholesale trade, I endeavoured to obtain from his Excellency a promise that the triplicate permit system should be abandoned in favour of some other less irksome method of control.
In this I was not successful. The Viceroy, who appears to hold strong views on the question of opium prohibition, stated in general terms that all Chinese officials
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