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and the efforts which have been made, by means of high taxation, to render the use of this poison less accessible to the addicts, would be largely nullified. It is difficult to see, therefore, how any humuni- tarian purpose would be served by an immediate embargo on shipments, for it is probable that the effort to reduce the evil in one country would result in increasing the evil in another.
It appears probable that with a strong army, with well organized finances, and with a balanced budget, the Fersian Government will be ins position to take effective measures for controlling oplu, production and somme rce. It may be of interest to set forth some of the steps which have already been taken since the arrival of the American mission. Stens have been taken, with encouraging results, to bring the opium business under effective control. The Government have spent about forty- two thousand Tomans for the collection of opium say this year, as compared with twenty thousand Tomans or less spent in previous years. The amount of olum sap collected into Government warehouses this year greatly exceeds that collected in previous years. A project of law hag bêen prep red with a view to ruining the opium trade in Fersla into a state Monopoly. Strin ont orders have been issued prohibitin ópíum cultiva- tion in Azerbaidjan, Gullan, Khamsseh, Hazanderan, Kurdistan and Astara- bad. rrangements have been made to restrict the exortation of opium to specie authorised norin und frontier customs officers. Control on the frontiers has illustrated the fact that recenti- there was discovered and confiscated three Kharvars of opium smuggled into Persia from Afghanistan. The seizure of such à quantity of opium is said to be
aprecedented in the history of the orium trade in Persia. Opium h.s recently been subjected to new impositions which are almost equal to the export Customs duties collected on the frontiers.
ttention is also called to the wellknown fact that in other countries it has been realized that moral reforms affecting wide-s read and deeply-rooted vested interests cannot be carried out suddenly without creating political and economic confusion. The Administrator General of the Finance is in favour of giving the utmost publicity in Persia to the facts of the opium industry, to the opinion of foreign Governments, nd to the regulations and policies in this connection of the Persian Govern- rent. It is his desire that foreign Governments should be kept well informed of the Opium situation in fersla, and it is his intention to publish the paw oplum re.ulations as soon as they are approved by the Council of Ministers, Certain statistics regarding opium will be found In the fourth quarterly report of the administrator General.
In view of the above considerations, it is hoped that the British Government, before taking the action contemplated, will give the Persian Government more time to develop its policy and will submit to the Persian Foreim Öffice a statement of the attitude of the British Government, in order that the Fersian Government may fully realize the seriousness of the situation, and may have an opportunity to mke another official pronouncement on the subject,