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This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
PEOP
C. O.
6406
REG 19 FEB 14
OPIUM.
CONFIDENTIAL
[January 26.]
SECTION 1.
[3631]
No. 1.
ļ
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received January 26.)
(No. 9.) Sir.
Peking, January 12, 1914, WITH reference to Mr. Alston's despatch No. 264 of the 30th June last, I have the honour to report that, at an interview on the 8th instant, the Minister for Foreign Affairs introduced the subject of the Chinese proposals for taking over the stocks of Indian opium, made orally to me by his predecessor on the 30th January. Mr. Sun Pao-ch'i stated that the Cabinet had lately had the matter under consideration, and had now, he believed, come to the decision to purchase the whole of the stocks, and as soon as the details of the scheme, under which it was proposed that the purchase should be carried out, had been settled, he would be prepared to discuss them with Mr. Wilton, the opium commissioner.
According to figures supplied by the opium merchants at Shanghai, the total stocks of certificated Indian opium in bond on the 31st December last were 14,248 chests. Of these, 1,931 and 578 had already been sold and paid for by Chinese dealers at Shanghai and Hong Kong, leaving a net amount of 11,739 chests unsold on the 1st January of this year. The Shanghai quotations on that date are given by the opium merchants as 4,080/4,180 taels (535/5497.) per chest for Benares, 4,080/4,230 taels (535/5551.) per chest for Patna, and 3,825/4,000 taels (502/525.) per picul (133 lbs.) for Malwa opium, while the published Hong Kong prices at the end of December were 5,475/5,700 dollars (536/558L.) for Benares, 5,650/5,875 dollars (553/5757.) for Patna, and 4,900/5,000 dollars (480/4907.) for Malwa.
At present prices, the unsold stocks represented on the 1st January a total value of about 6,000,COOL.
I shall not fail to report to you by telegraph the substance of the Chinese proposals as soon as they are communicated to me.
I have, &c.
[2032 cc-1]
J. N. JORDAN.
101