714
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference:
C.O.882/11
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
264
date, the Fund was drawn upon to supplement a diminishing revenue any sums drawn from it should be treated on a parity with revenue derived from other sources assess- able to defence contribution.
At first I found great difficulty in obtaining acceptance for my views and those of your predecessor, with which I had no reason to suppose you did not agree. But as explained in my despatch No. 186 of even date* an opportunity for full discussion arose in connection with the general investigation into the military contributions made by the various non-self-governing Colonies, &c., and by the time that your despatch was received I had succeeded in obtaining some measure of agreement that the annual contribution of the Colony to the Opium Revenue Reserve Replacement Fund should be excluded from the revenue assessable to defence contribution. In these circumstances even if your despatch had convinced me of the desirability of altering my attitude it would have been exceedingly difficult for me to withdraw. But for the reasons outlined above I still consider it best that the Colony should accept the exemption of the annual payments from defence contribution which I have been at pains to secure on its behalf.
In these circumstances it is perhaps unfortunate that in your Address to the Legislative Council of the 10th of October you omitted in giving the pledge which I had authorised to specify the condition attached to it, viz., that it would not preclude payment of the defence contribution on any sum received into general revenue from the Fund. However, the publication of my numbered despatch of even date will remove any doubt which may exist on this point.
I presume that the proposal contained in paragraph 3 of your despatch under reply is to be regarded as consequential upon the views expressed in paragraph 2 and that you will not now wish to press it.
I have, &c.,
L. S. AMERY.
C. 52138/28 (No. 4].
No. 233.
STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.
THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE.
SIR,
(Confidential.)
(Received 22nd May, 1928.)
[Answered by No. 235.]
Government House, Singapore, 21st April, 1928.
I HAVE the honour to refer to your Confidential telegram of 29th October, 1927,† on the subject of the Opium Revenue Replacement Fund and to paragraph 4 of my Straits Settlements despatch No. 622 of 17th November, 1927, in which I reported that the Legislative Council resolved that no contribution should be made to this Fund in 1928.
2.
In compliance with the suggestion in your telegram, I appointed a Com- mittee, with the Treasurer as Chairman, to inquire into the question of the future of the Fund and the financial position of the Colony generally, with terms of reference as follows:-
(a) To review the recommendations made by the Committee appointed in 1925 to consider the building up of a fund for the ultimate replacement of opium revenue, and to advise the Government what financial measures should be taken to make the Colony independent of opium revenue.
(b) To consider the necessity or otherwise of an extension of the basis of taxation in the Colony and the directions in which further taxation, if it becomes necessary, can most advantageously be imposed, so as to cause the least disturbance to economic and other conditions in the Colony.
3. This Committee, which was convened in November last, reported at the end
of January, 1928, and copies of the Report are enclosed for your information.
4. I have given careful consideration to the Committee's Report, but I am of opinion that it will be wiser to defer consideration of their recommendations until after
* No. 231.
+'No. 229.
C. 28232/27 [No. 1]: not printed.
265
the Opium Conference of 1929. Meanwhile I do not propose to make any provision in the Estimates for a contribution to the Fund in 1929.
5. As regards the question of additional taxation, I consider that the Com- mittee's finding that no increase is at present necessary may be accepted.
I have, &c.,
Enclosure in No. 233.
HUGH CLIFFORD,
Malayan Civil Service, Governor.
REPORT OF OPIUM REVENUE REPLACEMENT AND TAXATION COMMITTEE.
1. WE have been appointed a Committee by His Excellency the Governor with the following terms of reference :-
(a) To review the recommendations made by the Committee appointed in 1925 to consider the building up of a fund for the ultimate replacement of opium revenue, and to advise the Government what financial measures should be taken to make the Colony independent of opium revenue.
(b) To consider the necessity or otherwise of an extension of the basis of taxation in the Colony and the directions in which further taxation, if it becomes necessary, can most advantageously be imposed, so as to cause the least disturbance to economic and other conditions in the Colony.
OPIUM REVENUE REPLACEMENT FUND.
2. In the first place reference should be made to the terms of the International Opium Conference signed at The Hague on 23rd January, 1912, and of the Agreement and Protocol signed at Geneva on 11th February, 1925. The Articles with which we are at present, concerned are Article 6 of the Opium Convention, Article XII of the Agreement, and Articles I, II, and III of the Protocol.
These Articles are as follows:-
INTERNATIONAL OPIUM CONVENTION. Article 6.
The contracting Powers shall take measures for the gradual and effective suppression of the manufacture of, internal trade in, and use of prepared opium, with due regard to the varying circumstances of each country concerned, unless regulations on the subject are already in existence.
FIRST OPIUM CONFERENCE AGREEMENT.
Article XII.
The contracting Powers agree that they will jointly review from time to time at such dates as may be mutually agreed, the position in regard to the application of Chapter of The Hague Convention of 23rd January, 1912, and of the present Agreement. The first meeting shall take place at latest in 1929.
PROTOCOL. Article 1.
The States signatories of the present Protocol recognize that the provisions of the Agree- ment signed this day are supplementary to, and designed to facilitate the execution of the obligation assumed by the signatory States under Artiole VI of The Hague Convention of 1912, which obligation remains in full force and effect.
Article II.
As soon as the poppy-growing countries have ensured the effective execution of the neces- sary measures to prevent the exportation of raw opium from their territories from constituting a serious obstacle to the reduction of consumption in the countries where the use of prepared opium is temporarily authorized, the States signatories of the present Protocol will strengthen the measures already taken in accordance with Article VI of The Hague Convention of 1912, and will take any further measures which may be necessary, in order to reduce consumption of prepared opium in the territories under their authority, so that such use may be completely suppressed within a period of not more than fifteen years from the date of the decision referred to in the following Article.
Article III.
A Commission to be appointed at the proper time by the Council of the League of Nationa shall decide when the effective execution of the measures, mentioned in the preceding Article,
to be taken by the poppy-growing countries has reached the stage referred to in that Article. The decision of the Commission shall be final.