C. 0.
[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
C
F
OPIUM.
CONFIDENTIAL,
[38081]
No. 1.
Jag t
[September 10]
SECTION 3.
110
Mr. Wingfield to Sir Edward Grey. - (Received September 10.)
Lisbon, September 6, 1912.
(No. 132.) Sir,
I HAVE the honour to report, with reference to your telegram No. 21 of the 4th instant, that I yesterday pressed the Minister for Foreign Affairs for an early reply to the representations made to him as to the importation of opium into Macao. His Excellency repeated the statement, already made to me by Colonel Freire d'Andrade, that they had figures showing that any reductions in the import into Macao were followed by increases of the importation into Hong Kong, but he promised to hasteu the reply to our notes.
I have received from Colonel Freire d'Audrade a private suggestion that Macao should receive "the same number of chests as Hong Kong, without the power to increase the number possessed by the opium farmer of that colony" I venture to request your instruction as to what answer should be made to this enquiry.
The Portuguese argument seems to amount to this: Both Hong Kong and Macao are engaged in smuggling opium into China, and it is not fair that the revenue of Macao from this traffic should be sacrificed, not for the advancement of the cause of prohibition in China, but in favour of the Hong Kong revenue. I await the definite reply promised from Macao, but should like to be able to communicate to the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and of the Colonies some detailed reply to the figures supplied to me privately by Colonel Freire d'Andrade and forwarded in my "despatch No. 130, Confidential, of the 2nd instant.
I have, &c.
CHARLES WINGFIELD,
lia
[2644 k-3]