[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majestyle Opremment]
OPIUM.
CONFIDENTIAL.
p
T
[September 11.]
SECTION 1.
[36576]
Gentlemen,
No. 1.
Foreign Office to Messrs. E. D. Sassoon and Messrs. D. Sassoon and Co.
Foreign Office, September 11, 1912. AS you are aware from the letter to you from this Office of the 15th July, His Majesty's Minister at Peking was instructed by telegraph to make a strong protest against the action of the Chinese authorities in imposing restrictions on the importation of Indian opium into the province of Kiangsi.
Sir E. Grey has now received a despatch from Sir J. Jordan, enclosing a copy of a memorandum dated the 13th August last from the Wai-chiao Pu, in which they state that, in reply to several telegrams which they addressed to the Tutu of Kiangsi, the latter informed them that restrictions had not been imposed on the introduction of Indian opium, and that the regulations in force in that province only exercised control over the retail sale. The Wai-chiao Pu, the menoraudum continues, telegraphed again and enquired how it was that, if the introduction of Indian opium had not been prohibited, the British consul at Kinkiang had declared that the import of Indian opium into Kiukiang after the 27th June had been forbidden. They were thereupon informed that the prohibition of the import of opium into Kiukiang was due to the fact that at that time the local officials there were not conversant with the treaties; and that later on instructions were telegraphed to them to conform to the opium agree- ment and impose no restrictions on the wholesale trade in Indian opium, but to prohibit entirely the import of the native drug.
I am, &c.
W. LANGLEY.
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