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[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
OPIUM.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[18768]
(No. 145.) Sir,
C.O
18633
RNO L
REGE 2 JUN 13
[April 24.]
SECTION 1.
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.(Received April 24.)
Peking, April 10, 1913. IN continuation of my despatch No. 86, of the 25th February, I have the honour to state that the Minister for Foreign Affairs informed me at an interview on the 28th February that he had discussed the matter with the President, who has given instruc- tions to the Minister of the Interior to lose no time in submitting his scheme for the working of the monopoly. It was the intention of his Government, he said, to extend the monopoly only to such provinces as were not on the prohibition list.
He was not yet in a position to present any definite reply, but the President had suggested that the officers who were dealing with the scheme should consult with Mr. Wilton, and he hoped that they would soon be able to formulate definite proposals.
No further intimation was received, and on the 26th March I took the opportunity of enquiring from Mr. Lu whether the scheme for the creation of a Government monopoly, news of which I had telegraphed to London, was still under consideration. Mr. Lu gave me to understand that the matter was still under discussion by the Cabinet, but had been somewhat delayed by the popular opposition.
The popular opposition to which the Foreign Minister made reference took the form of a Nationalist Opium Conference organised by Mr. Thwing, an American subject. Delegates from the Governors of twelve provinces as well as officials deputed by the President, the Wai-chiao Pu, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry attended. The Conference met at Peking on the 4th March and held five sittings. At the fourth on the 7th March the following question put on the 20th January by Mr. Ginnell in the House of Commons, and Mr. Acland's reply were read: Does the British Government insist upon China paying for opium she does not want?" "The suggestion is perfectly untrue." Mr. Acland's statement, "No, sir," in answer to a repetition of the same question was also read. The provincial delegates expressed great appreciation of this statement made by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. At the same sitting, strong opposition was manifested against the idea of an opium monopoly.
The last act of the Conference was to issue an appeal to the world." It was proposed to send the appeal to every newspaper, both Chinese and foreign, with the object of starting subscription lists to buy out the existing stocks of Indian opium in China, the actual cost price of which was given at about 7,000,000, or 8,000,000Z "If the whole world will help us," the Conference declared, "we can raise enough to burn it all and put an end to the cursed traffic." The foreign and native press in China have not received the appeal with any show of enthusiasm, and it appears tolerably certain to become a dead letter.
I enclose copy
of the resolutions passed at the fifth and last sitting of the Conference on the 8th March, as reported in the " Peking Daily News" of the 10th March. In regard to resolution six, the Tien-tsin delegate was prominent in the discussion. He asserted that only quite recently twenty new sale shops were estab lished in the German, ten in the French, four in the Japanese, but none in the British concession at Tien-tsin.
The recent attitude of the Foreign Minister has conveyed the impression to me that the Chinese Government have no intention at the moment to proceed with the proposals reported in my despatch No. 60 of the 6th February, namely, the purchase of existing stocks of Indian opium at Shanghai and Hong Kong, and the establishment of a State monopoly.
His Majesty's consul-general at Shanghai has forwarded information which he has recently received to the effect that Indian opium confiscated in the Shanghai district is immediately resold and the money pocketed by the anti-opium bureau, that it was reported that the chief of the anti-opium bureau in Chapei had paid the tutu 5,000 dollars for his appointment, and that he had already made over 20,000 dollars by means of fines and sales. Further information testifies that the so-called opium detectives are reaping a rich harvest by similar methods, and that district officials are being heavily bribed to connive at the consumption of the drug.
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