i
follows:-
A. Bengal Opium:
i. Stock in Hongkong...
.3,446 chests.
il. Stock in Shanghai.
.10,289
#
iii. Stock in Calcutta
(bought but not yet
shipped).
1,280
N
15,015
11
293
say....15,000 chests.
B. Malwa Opium:
chesta.
i. Stock in Hongkong.
..3,280
ii. Stock in Shanghai.
.8.724
iii. Stock in Bombay......
.9,784
21,788
Less probable delivery to end of year (7 months I 600)....
.4,200
17,588.
say.
.17,000 chests.
Total.
.32,000 chests.
The value of this stock at £400 per chest of Bengal Opium and £350 per chest of Malwa Opium is:-
300
₤260 000
Bengal Opium. .£6,000.000 Malwa Opium.....£5,950,000
Total......
.£11,950,000
or say twelve million pounds: and I am assured that this is a conservative estimate.
3.
The financial position is therefore extremely serious; for, if the price of certified opium continues to fall, this stock can only be worked off at an enormous loss. For this
reason