[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.] 467
OPIUM.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[41634]
Your Excellency,
No. 1.
CO 37665
REC?
Reat 9 DEC 10
Sir Edward Grey to Mr. Whitelaw Reid.
[December 1.]
SECTION 2.
Foreign Office, December 1, 1910. WITH reference to your Excellency's note of the 15th ultimo stating that the Netherlands Government have informed the United States Government that they will issue a supplementary note to the interested Powers embodying the British proposals respecting morphine and cocaine as contained in my note of the 17th September last, I have the honour to bring the following facts to your Excellency's notice with regard to the enquiries set on foot by His Majesty's Government as to the trade in these articles in this country.
The Board of Trade have made arrangements under which they are being furnished by the Commissioners of the Customs and Excise with particulars respecting any shipments leaving the country, which are actually described by the exporters ou their customs declarations as consisting of the products in question. As, however, exporters are not at present under any obligation to declare these articles specifically to the customs officers, the information so obtained has proved incomplete and unsatisfactory. It is accordingly proposed to introduce a requirement that declarations shall be made with regard to the quantities and value of all imports into and exports from this country consisting of either "morphine and its salts" or "cocaine and its salts."
It has not, however, been found possible to bring the new requirements into operation before the 1st January next, and several months must necessarily elapse before the statistics based on these declarations can be considered representative of the ordinary course of trade. Until reliable information is available with regard to the imports and exports referred to, and consequently as to the names of the importers and exporters, the Board of Trade do not think it advisable to institute enquiries as to the extent of the manufacture of the articles in question in the United Kingdom.
I should be glad if your Excellency would be so good as to bring this information before your Government, who will observe that several months must elapse before the statistics desired can be considered representative of the ordinary course of trade. The United States Government may think it desirable to communicate the above to the other countries concerned, who will possibly experience similar difficulties in obtaining the requisite data.
[1804 a-2]
am, &c.
E. GREY.