[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
OPIUM.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[19443]
13008 REC2 REG 16 JUN 11
[May 22.]
SECTION 2.
No. 1.
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.—(Received May 22.)
(No. 181.) Sir,
Peking, April 27, 1911. WITH reference to my despatch No. 143 of the 4th instant relative to the protest of British opium dealers against the measures adopted in the province of Kiangsu for controlling the trade, I have the honour to transmit the copy of a despatch from His Majesty's consul-general at Shanghai, enclosing copies of the correspondence with the Governor of Kiangsu, which I outlined briefly in my above-mentioned despatch.
Two points stand out in this correspondence on which I have felt it my duty to remonstrate with the Chinese Government. Merchants importing Indian opium into the interior are required to take out extra-treaty permits, and, in the absence of such permits and the trading licences required by the regulations, are threatened with heavy penalties, including the confiscation of the opium. A similar penalty is provided for in the Fukien regulations enclosed in my despatch No. 167 of the 19th instant, and conflicts directly with the assurances given last year by the Chinese authorities and embodied in article 17 of the Kwangtung additional regulations.
The copy of the note which I have addressed to the Wai-wu Pu on the subject is enclosed herein, and instructions are being sent in the above sense to His Majesty's consul-general at Shanghai and His Majesty's consul at Foochow
Enclosure 1 in No. 1.
I have, &c.
J. N. JORDAN.
Consul-General Fraser to Sir J. Jordan.
(No. 40.) Sir,
Shanghai, April 1, 1914. IN confirmation of my telegram No. 25 of the 29th March, I have the honour to forward copies and translations of despatches exchanged with the Governor of Kiangsu in regard to the demand that opium importers in the interior shall take out extra-treaty permits for Indian drug under very heavy penalties.
The governor relies on the absence of any charge for such permits as keeping them within the letter of the law, but to me it seems that the spirit of the provisions of the additional article is that the performance of certain specified conditions entitles Indian opium to be conveyed into the interior without let or hindrance. The imposition of any further condition of any sort would appear to require the assent of both parties to the additional article, especially when such extra condition is to be enforced by confiscation or fine.
The British importers allege that the native dealers inland suspect that the rules will not be applied with equity, and therefore threaten to repudiate their contracts, and that with so valuable an article as opium they dare not await concrete instances of the prejudicial effect of the rules before protesting.
I have, &c.
E. H. FRASER.
Enclosure 2 in No. 1.
Sir,
Consul-General Fraser to Governor of Kiangsu.
Shanghai, March 14, 1911.
I HAVE again the honour to direct your attention to complaints that have reached me with regard to the opium regulations introduced some few months ago by the Kiangsu Opium Suppression Bureau,
The 8th article of these regulations states that all opium dealers or retailers, whenever they import opium from another province or district, or in ease of small
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