24%
Gov. 3299/10
4
I requested the Consul-General at
Canton to protest at once against these new Regulations and
the proposed increase of the tax. In reply he forwarded to
me a copy of a telegram he had received from His Majesty's
Minister, Peking, of 31st. January, 1911, which ran as
follows:- "Enforcement of new tax should be watched by
"you with care having special regard to rule 9 section 2
"and rule 14 section 5 of the draft regulations forwarded
"under cover of your despatch No. 45 of December 2nd. and
"to the assurance of the Governor-General with reference
"to the non-taxation of raw opium, contained in his
"telegram to the Wai-wu-pu of Uctober 17th., copy of
"which I forwarded to you in my Despatch No. 25 of
*October 22nd. last". I think Sir John Jordan who has
never ceased to protest against the illegality of these
proceedings, and do his best to put an end to them, must
have been under a misapprehension when he despatched this
telegram. Sections II (9) and V (14) to which he alludes
appear on pages 86 and 87 of Mr. Clementi's precis forward-
-ed to you under cover of my Despatch No. 437 of the 28th.
of last December. The former provides that the levy should
be effected only after boiling and that the Chefoo Con-
-vention should not be violated: while the latter requires
that