COPY.
(7 409/244/87)
No. 148.
(20/7/1928)
sir,
BRITISH MBASSY,
PARIS.
93
January 25th, 1928.
I have the honour to inform you that on January
24th, acting on my instructions, a member of my staff
visited M. Bourgois, the competent official at the Ministry
for Foreign Affairs in order to discuss with him the matters
relating to the Opium Traffic in the Far East raised in your despatch No. 119 ( 244/145/87) of January 18th. M. Bourgois
is one of the French representatives on the Geneva Opium
Advisory Committee and is, therefore, familiar with these
questions.
2. On being shown the extract from the report of the
Portuguese Government to the League of Nations, in which the
importation of Indian opium into Macao from Kwang-Chow-Wan
is mentioned, M. Bourgois said that he had first noticed this
statement in the Portuguese report some two months ago. Ho
had at once caused enquiries to be made of the French Colonial
sthorities with a view to ascertain the facts of the case
and the reasons why the export of this opium from Kwang-Chow-
Wan had been allowed. M. Bourgois regretted the attitude
which had apparently been adopted in this matter by the local
French officials; in this particular case, no question of
smuggling arose since the transaction had apparently been
carried out with the knowledge of the local French authorities.
He intended to insist upon a full explanation being furnished
and declared more than once that in the absence of such an
The Right Honourable
Sir Austen Chamberlain, K.G., M.F.,
ato.,
ata..
etc.
explanation,/