This Document is the Property of His Britanie Majnko's
OPIUM.
CONFIDENTIAL
[11534]
No. 1.
[March 29.]
SECTION 1.
Sir,
India Office to Foreign Office.--(Received March 29.)
India Office, March 28, 1911. WITH reference to your letter of the 22nd February last, I am directed by the Secretary of State for India in Council to forward, for Sir Edward Grey's information, a copy of a telegram from the Government of India in which they deprecate the making of an announcement in the sense proposed by Sir J. Jordan until the pending negotiations have been successfully concluded.
Lord Morley is of opinion that, as against any formal and public announcement at present, the considerations mentioned by the Government of India have much force, but that they would not apply in like measure to an intimation confidentially conveyed to firms engaged in the trade, in their own interests and for their guidance. Such a hint has already been given to the firms in the correspondence with Messrs. Sassoon and Co. in October last (see Foreign Office letter to Messrs. E. D. Sassoon and Co., of the 25th October, 1910), and if Sir Edward Grey considers it advisable to repeat the warning on the occasion arising, his Lordship sees no objection.
I am, &c.
ED. S. MONTAGU.
Enclosure in No. 1.
Government of India to Viscount Morley,
(Telegraphic.) P.
The
March 17, 1911. We fear that issue of a WITH reference to your telegram of the 6th March. warning that trade in raw opium must be affected by measures of Chinese for curtailing consumption might be taken to imply breakdown of negotiations in Peking. merchants, while fully aware of the inevitable consequences of control over the China retail trade, nevertheless hope that we can obtain guarantees that Indian opium will not be unfairly treated as compared with native. Until, as a result of negotiations now in progress, an agreement is reached, we should advise that no announcement be made.
[1930 #1]
72
May
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