[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
OPIUM.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[29892]
No. 1.
C. C.
[July 15.2 AUG 12
SECTION 3.
(No. 275.) Sir,
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.--(Received July 15.)
Peking, June 29, 1912. WITH reference to your telegram No. 104 of the 28th instant, received this morning, I have the honour to transmit to you herewith a copy of a memorandum which I addressed yesterday to the Wai-chiao Pu, giving the explanation of the nature of the opium detained by the Customs authorities at Shanghai as furnished by the Government of India, and requesting the issue of instructions for its release.
I have, &c.
J. N. JORDAN,
Enclosure in No. 1.
Memorandum communicated to Wai-chiao Pu.
IN accordance with the request contained in the Wai-chiao Pu's memorandum of the 31st May, His Majesty's Minister at once communicated with the Government of India regarding the export from India to China of prepared opium in certificated and numbered half-chests, and he has now received a reply to the effect that, when Malwa opium is purchased in India for export to China, merchants, in order to obtain some idea of the quality of this drug, must test it before export. This test is performed by selecting certain samples, usually one ball for every two chests, which are boiled and filtered, and the residue remaining is known as "touch" opium, which is not specially prepared, but consists of remnants in the ordinary course of buying and selling. To complete shipments under the priority system and to minimise losses from tryage and shortage, merchants exported from India in February last four half-chests of "touch" opinn
as part of the permissible export for the current year. The Government of India do not consider that, as "touch" opium is not specially prepared, there has been any violation of the opium agreement, but, to remove the least suspicion of infringement of the agreement, they are considering the possibility of disposing of these remnants otherwise than by export.
In view of the above explanation, His Majesty's Minister requests that the opium detained by the instructions be issued for the release of the "touch" necessary Shanghai customs.
Peking, June 28, 1912.
[2549 p-3]
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