[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government
OPIUM.
CONFIDENTIAL.
10673 [March 20.]
PR
SBOTION I.
[10117]
No. 1.
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.--(Received March 20.)
(No. 90.) Sir,
Peking, February 27, 1911. WITH reference to my despatch No. 40 of the 31st ultimo and my telegram No. 33 of the 8th instant, I have the honour to report that the negotiations for a revised opium agreement were resumed on the 11th instant.
I enclose translation of the Wai-wu Pu's note of the 8th instant, in which they take note of the offer made by His Majesty's Government, and inform me of the appointment of Mr. Yen Hui-ch'ing (Dr. W. W. Yen), a councillor of the board, as their representative, to discuss the matter with me.
Dr. Yen, who, it will be remembered, conducted the last stage of the negotiations with Mr. Max Müller in November last, is the son of a former pastor of the American Church Mission at Shanghai, and was himself educated in America, and served for a time as Secretary of the Chinese Legation in Washington.
At an interview with the board on the 10th instant I arranged with the Grand Secretary Na Tung that each point as agreed upon with Dr. Yen in the course of negotiation should be confirmed by the board as occasion arose, in order to prevent a repetition of what had happened in the previous negotiations, and I also again urged on him the desirability of a speedy settlement in the interests of both countries.
Dr. Yen at my request called at the legation on the 11th instant, in order to arrange the preliminaries for future meetings, and I took the opportunity to state that the basis of the negotiations would be the proposals contained in Mr. Max Müller's memorandum of the 1st November, 1910 (enclosed in my despatch No. 441 of the 6th December, 1910), and that if an agreement could be come to on these, I was authorised to entertain the additional proposals put forward in the board's note of the 29th December, 1910, for a shortening of the period during which Indian opium might be imported, and for prohibiting its import into particular provinces.
I also explained the action of the Indian Government in commencing the system of earmarking opium intended for China, pointing out that this has been done as evidence of good faith and in anticipation of an agreement, that it had no effect until such had been reached, and that there was, in fact, every inducement for a speedly settlement of the question. In the meantime, I added, it was most desirable that the Canton Viceroy should be instructed to suspend the operation of the new regulations for the taxation of opium promulgated by him a few days previously on the 30th January, which seemed to have been drawn up with little regard to treaty stipulations.
Dr. Yen informed me that he had prepared a memorandum showing the modifica tions desired by the Chinese Government in Mr. Max Müller's proposals, which he would send to me before the next meeting, fixed for the 14th instant.
The Chinese text of this memorandum reached me in the afternoon of the 11th instant, and from the translation which I have the honour to enclose, it will be seen that Dr. Yen's description to me of its terms as "following closely those of Mr. Max Müller's memorandum of the 1st November" is far from accurate.
The preamble and clauses 1(a), 1(6), 1 (c), 2 (a), 2(b), 2(c), 2 (d), 2(e), 2 (f), 2(g), 2th) of our memorandum relating to restrictions of import and earmarking are substantially reproduced with the addition of a claim for the Chinese officer to add his seal to the earmarked chests. Clauses 1 (d), 1(e), 1(f), and 1 (g), however, relating to the safeguarding of Indian opium after import are entirely omitted.
The additional stipulations contained in the Chinese memorandum display an even greater departure from the agreed basis of negotiation then do the omissions.
Article 1 declares the general principles on which the two Governments will deal with the opium question, and the first of these is to be the treatment alike of the native and foreign drug, in other words, a principle which, if assented to, would go far to remove the necessity for any agreement on the subject at all. While a stipulation of this character is placed in the forefront, the two most important concessions offered by His Majesty's Government to China, namely, the shortening of the period of import of
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