[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government]
OPIUM.
CONFIDENTIAL.
C.C.
2663 [December 16.]
95
S24 JAN 31
[53581]
No. 1.
(No. 157.) Sir.
Sir A. Ilardinge to Sir Edward Grey.--(Received December 16.)
Lisbon, December 7, 1912. I HAVE the honour to transmit herewith the official reply of the Portuguese Government to my representations as to the importation of Indian opium into Macao, which differs but slightly from the unofficial views expressed by Colonel Freire d'Andrade, and reported to you in Mr. Wingfield's despatch No. 133 of the 16th September.
I venture to request your instructions as to the reply which should be returned to Senhor Vasconcellos' note.
I have, &c.
ARTHUR H. HARDINGE.
Enclosure in No. 1.
(Translation.) Senhor Ministro,
Senhor Vasconcellos to Sir A. Hardinge.
Lisbon, December 4, 1912. IT is only now possible to reply to your Excellency's note of the 3rd July last relative to the advantage of fixing a lower limit for the commerce of opium in Macao.
This very complex question, which so seriously affects the finances of our colony, could not be settled without careful analysis of all the circumstances and of the consequences which any decision we might come to would have.
Thus, during the term of the former contract for the monopoly of the Macao opium trade (1903–9), the monthly average was 53 cases for local consumption and 153 for export, making for the year 630 cases for local consumption and 1,830 for export. After that time, in consequence of the restrictive measures adopted in conformity with the conclusions of the Shanghai Conference, a great depression set in, both in local consumption, which fell to an average of 38 cases a mouth, and in export, which fell to an average of 61 cases a month, which still made 450 cases a year for local consumption and 732 for export. Nevertheless, the limit fixed for the current contract (1910-13) was 500 cases of opium for local consumption and 1,500 cases for export, with an annual reduction of successive quantities of 10 per cent. and 15 per cent. respectively, a limit which, as your Excellency may see, has not been hitherto reached.
This reduction resulted in a loss of revenue for Macao of 182,250 patacas (16,5701) from the monopoly.
In spite of this serious loss the Government of the Republic are prepared to agree, in principle, to a further lowering of the limit to be fixed for the adjudication of the contract in 1913; to modify the regulations on this subject, in view of the decisions of the International Conference at the Hague; to impose heavier fines for breaches of these regulations, and to modify the arrangements for inspection, which duty would no longer be entrusted to the Port Captaincies, but would be handed over entirely to the Finance Department in order to prevent illegal trading in opium.
The Government would likewise be inclined to approximate its limit to that adopted by Hong Kong, perhaps fixing it at 720 cases, without drawing any distinction as to what is intended for export and what for local consumption. But a doubt arises which it would be desirable to clear up. The wording of clause 2 of the Hong Kong contract tacitly admits the possibility of the limit being exceeded by special authorisa- tion of the governor of the colony. Perhaps a case of this sort may have occurred during the period of the last contract. That fact is that, whilst the income from the the monopoly in Macao sank from 334,000 patacas (30,360.) to 148,750, patacas
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