[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
OPIUM.
CONFIDENTIAL.
REC
C.O.
115
[June 16.]
27449
Rea 28 JUN 2.
[27072]
No. 1.
Colonial Office to Foreign Office (Received June 16.)
Sir,
Downing Street, June 15, 1914. I AM directed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies to transmit to you, with reference to the letter to the Colonial Office of the 8th April, copy of a despatch from the Governor of Hong Kong (with enclosures) on the subject of the sale of opium by the Government Monopoly established at Kwang-chau-wan.
Enclosure 1 in No. 1.
I am, &c.
JOHN ANDERSON.
Ї
(Confidential.)
Sir,
Governor Sir F. May to Mr. Harcourt.
Hong Kong, May 12, 1914. WITH reference to your Confidential despatch of the 18th February and to previous correspondence, I have the honour to transmit, for your information, an extract, with translation, from the " Official Journal" of Indo-China of the 26th March last, copy of which was lent to me by the courtesy of the French consul-general here, containing regulations governing the sale of raw and prepared opium by the Government Monopoly, which has now been established at Kwang-chau-wan.
2. Under these regulations the Monopoly may sell an unlimited quantity of raw and prepared opium. M. Liébert informs me, however, that at present the quantity of raw opium offered for a sale is limited to forty chests per mensem. On the other hand, the Superintendent of Imports and Exports reports that early in April the Monopoly sold 120 chests at 5,500 dollars per chest. He corroborates the French consul-general that future sales will, until further notice, be limited to forty chests a month,
3. No questions seem to be asked by the Monopoly as to the disposal of the raw opium sold by it. Mr. Hutchinson reports that, according to his information, a Chinese merchant at Sheklung, near Canton, recently purchased two chests of raw opium coming from Kwang-chau-wan at 7,000 dollars a chest. Raw opium purchased at 5,500 dollars per chest could be sold at a good profit in this colony. The methods adopted by the Monopoly are, therefore, prejudicial to the success of the Opium Monopoly here. But it is evident that most of the opium sold at Kwang-chau-wan will find its way into
China.
4. Some very large seizures of prepared opium have recently been made here by the Superintendent of Imports and Exports. This opium it is said came from Kwang- chau-wan, but it is impossible to prove that the suspicion is well-founded because the former opium farmer at Kwang-chau-wan refused to supply a sample of the opium he boiled, on the ground that he did not want to give away his secret of manufacture. The samples this Government possessed were therefore not authoritative. I have now asked for a sample of the Government Monopoly's production,
The opium seized here was destined for Manila.
I have, &c.
F. H. MAY.
P.S. Since writing the foregoing a further seizure of nine balls of Patna opium has been made on board the steam-ship "America." The cases in which they were packed were shipped from Kwang-chau-wan and were partly filled with dried shrimps.
F. H. M.
[2183 q-2]
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