This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government, j
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25387
RECY REU
199 APR 19
[November 19
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OPIUM.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[191083]
No. I.
SECTION 1.
301
(No. 941.) (Telegraphic.)
Sir J. Jordan to Mr. Balfour.-(Received November 19.)
YOUR telegram No. 576.
Peking, November 18, 1918.
I saw President this morning and entered into an exhaustive statement of whole opium question. I reviewed its history during the last twelve years, acknowledged effective co-operation we had received from Chinese Government until agreement of 1915 was made with combine without our knowledge or consent. Since then we had a series of agreements between wholly corrupt men, the Chinese officials on the one side and British opium merchants on the other. Principal offender had been the late President Feng Kuo Chang. All this had culminated in present situation at Shanghai. Chinese Government had purchased 1,500 odd chests of opium at prices which had no relation to value of article, but which were composed of bribes [? and]"squeezes." They had already sold 130 chests at 16,000 taels a chest, and were openly exploiting position for pure gain. If this were to be the end of all these arduous years of reform, only result would be a recrudescence of poppy cultivation throughout the country, for which both President and his Government would be held responsible by public opinion of the world.
President said that he had been member of Grand Council when question of opium suppression was first undertaken, and that he had given measure his cordial support. He had since followed with genuine admiration self-denying part which Great Britain had taken in that work, and he had no intention, if he could help it, of allowing its fruits to be sacrificed. He had already given order for stoppage of further sales at Shanghai, and he was ready to consider with me question of disposal of opium. His own wish would be to burn it publicly, but that step would be most embarrassing in present fiscal straits of China. Bouds had been made over to merchants and matters had gone so far as to make it difficult to cancel agreement.
I then told him that, in order to relieve China and ensure a clean deal, we would be prepared to take over opium at something like 3,000 rupees a chest and remove it out of China. He expressed warm appreciation of the offer, but repeated that huge financial obligations which [ previous] Administration had entered into with combine were extremely embarrassing.
He promised, however, to consider whole question, and in the meantime, at my request, agreed to instruct foreign customs to resume control of stocks and not allow their removal from godowns.
(Sent to India.)
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