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new Opium Agreement of.apervising the issue of these
Certificates. I could not, therefore, admit that lir.
Harris or the Commissioners of Customs at the Treaty Porta
in Chins were not in a position to give effect to the
@pium Agreement. On the contrary, it has been my duty to
impress upon the Chinese Coverment and upon the Acting
Inspector General of Customs that there was no insuperable
difficulty in carrying out the Agreement in view of the ample
information furnished by the Government of India, and they
have now both admitted the justice of this contention.
As to the Draft Customs Convention alluded to
in the 12th paragraph of your Despatch, the President and
Ministers of the Wai Wu Fu professed entire ignorance of
the question. They said they had no knowledge of any
negotiations or of any Agreement. It was possible that
lir. Aglon, the Acting Inspector General of Custons, night
have been in camamication with the Reverme Council on the
subject, but nothing had reached them.
After some pressure, the Ministers pranised
to speak to Sheng kung nae in favour of the conclusion of
the Working Agreement, but said that I knew as well as they
did