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forbidden; but with the facilities for smuggling which are known to exist throughout China it is hardly to be expected that such prohibition can be successfully maintained.
4.
The inference to be draw from these and similar documents is I submit that insufficient control is
exercised by the French Authorities over the sale and distribution of Government opium in the district of Kwong Chow Wan and that as a consequence a considerable proportion of this finds its way to other parts of China. It is not
suggested that this takes place with the connivance or knowledge of the French Authorities. But it is I think clear that the difficulty of detecting and checking the activities
of smugglers is so considerable that unless great care is
exercised in controlling the source of supply the existence
of abuses such as those suggested is inevitable,
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your most obedient humble servant,
7. E. Statte
Governor, &c.
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