ayof
.0)
again, owing to the urgency of the matter, and the very limited time afforded to my Board for its consideration, there was no time to consult the Treasury.
63
The object of this letter is to inform Their Lord-
ships how the matter at present stands in relation to
Their Lordships have the Customs and Excise Department.
on several occasions expressed their reluctance to im- pose upon the Department additional duties of a non- revenue character. If, however, the Government should decide to give its adhesion to a Convention embodying
stipulations which necessitate Customs co-operation in
preventing or restricting the importation of morphia,
cocaine, or opium, my Board have no doubt but that
J
machinery could be set up which would ensure the fulfil-
ment of these stipulations as effectively as is reason-
ably possible with articles which lend themselves so
readily to importation and exportation without being
brought under the cognisance of the Customs authorities.
The requisite Customs control over exports of these
drugs could be secured by an extension of the Board's
powers of requiring "due entry and clearance before
shipment" under Section 139 of the Customs Consolidation
Act