[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.1.
OPIUM.
CONFIDENTIAL.
20857
RECR
Rege 8 JUL 10
[July 1.
SECTION 1.
316
[23299]
No. 1.
Sir,
Foreign Office to Messrs. E. D. Sassoon.
Foreign Office, July 1, 1910. I AM directed by Secretary Sir E. Grey to inform you that he has had under- consideration your letter of the 14th ultimo, complaining of the action of the Canton authorities in imposing regulations levying a new tax on prepared opium.
In reply, I am to inform you that his attention has been called to the matter, and that is Majesty's chargé d'affaires at Peking has informed the Chinese Government that His Majesty's Government could not accept any regulations which enforced an additional duty on raw foreign opium in a treaty port, and that the Wai-wu Pu had undertaken to inform the Canton Viceroy and were calling for a report.
In the meantime, am to state, with regard to the tax in question, that His Majesty's consul-general at Canton bas explained that its main object would appear to be the prevention of storing large stocks of opium, and that the agent of your firm at Canton had informed him that, in his opinion, the regulations, which are equally applicable to native opium, do not infringe the additional article of the Chefu Convention.
Sir E. Grey would also refer you to the reply which he returned to Mr. Rees, M.P.,. in the House of Commons on the 16th ultimo on this subject.
[2812 a-1]
I am, &c.
LOUIS MALLET.