[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.] 25
OPIUM.
CONFIDENTIAL
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[January 2
SECTION 1.
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[3367]
(Confidential.) Sir,
No. 1.
Colonial Office to Foreign Office-(Received January 24.)
Downing Street, January 23, 1912. 1 AM directed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies to transmit to you, with reference to letter from the Colonial Office of the 8th September, 1911, copy of despatch with enclosures from the Governor of Hong Kong on the subject of the export of prepared opium, &c., from Siam and the Netherlands Indies to Hong Kong.
I am,
&c.
JOHN ANDERSON.
(Confidential.) Sir,
Enclosure 1 in No. 1.
Governor Sir F. Lugard to Mr. Harcourt.
Hong Kong, December 15, 1911. IN continuation of my Confidential despatch of the 25th July last, I have now the honour to enclose copy of a letter, dated the 1st November, from the Siamese Minister for Foreign Affairs, to whom, in the absence from the colony of the consul for Siam, an enquiry was, at my request, addressed by His Majesty's chargé d'affaires in Bangkok as to whether the Siamese Government would be prepared to co-operate with this Govern- ment by prohibiting the export of prepared opium, dross opium, morphine, and compounds of opium from Siami to Hong Kong except for medicinal purposes.
2. I have also the honour to enclose, with reference to paragraph 5 of my despatch, copy of a letter, dated the 7th November, from the consul-general for the Netherlands at this port.
I have, &c.
F. D. LUGARD.
Enclosure 2 in No. 1.
Prince Devawongse to Mr. Beckett.
Bangkok, November 1, 1911. M. le Chargé d'Affaires,
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 4th instant, communicating a request on behalf of the Government of Hong Kong that the Siamese Government should prohibit the export to that colony of opium, dross opium, morphine, or compounds of opium, except for medicinal purposes.
In reply, I beg to say that His Majesty's Government feels every sympathy with the desire to control the trade in these drugs, and will be glad to co-operate as far as it is possible to do so. Under the existing treaties, however, any attempt to enforce such a prohibition against foreign subjects not under Siamese jurisdiction would meet with opposition and protest. It would, therefore, be unfair to enact such a prohibition against persons under Siamese jurisdiction only, especially as such partial prohibition would be quite ineffective.
The foregoing is an exposition of the present situation as a matter of principle. In practice, however, I may say that hitherto there has been practically no exportation of opium from Siam to Hong Kong. If in future such cases should occur, His Majesty's Government will----
1. Inform the British Legation at Bangkok of the facts, leaving it to the legation to convey the information to the Hong Kong Government if it sees fit to do so.
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