305
734
END.
0.83017/1/31 [No. 11).
SIB,
No. 274.
COLONIAL OFFICE to INDIA OFFICE.
Downing Street, 4th May, 1931.
I AM directed by Lord Passfield to refer to your letter of the 24th December, 1930,* regarding the proposed diversion of the Sarawak quota, and to request you to inform Mr. Secretary Benn that it is proposed that the new arrangement should come into effect from the 1st April, 1931.
2. The Straits Settlements Government will require 54 chests of opium this year to meet the quota of the Government of Sarawak.
3. A copy of the proposed form of Import Certificate has now been received from the Officer Administering the Government and is enclosed.† The Officer Adminis- tering the Government has explained that the proposal is not to prepare and pack prepared opium for Sarawak separately from that prepared for use in the Colony and Malay States, but to supply all administrations alike which draw prepared opium from the Government Monopolies Department with what may be called "Standard Malayan Mixture"; in other words, to treat Sarawak on exactly the same footing as any of the Malay States.
4. It will not, therefore, be possible to say that any individual chest of opium will be used solely in Sarawak. There is, of course, no difficulty in giving the assurance that prepared opium supplied to Sarawak will be smoked there under Government restrictions, and will not be exported thence (except on return to the Government Monopolies Department for exchange of defective tubes).
5. It is suggested, therefore, that the existing form of Import Certificate with the words "including the State of Sarawak "inserted after the words Malay States in the 5th line from the bottom of the body of the certificate, as indicated in red type on the enclosed copy, should continue to be used in respect of all opium imported from India for treatment at the Government Monopolies Department's factory.
6. In the event of the Government of North Borneo being supplied in the same way as Sarawak, the same considerations would apply, and it would be proposed to alter the form of Import Certificate by adding the words " and State of North Borneo after the words "State of Sarawak."
No. 275.
I am, &c.,
WALTER D. ELLIS.
+
C. 83017/1/81 [No. 15].
(No. 291.) SIR,
STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.
THE SECRETARY OF STATE to THE GOVERNOR.
Downing Street, 1st September, 1931. WITH reference to Mr. Scott's despatch No. 192 of the 31st March, regarding the supply of prepared opium to Sarawak, I have the honour to inform you that the Government of India accept the changes proposed to be made in the Import Certificates to be furnished by the Straits Settlements.
0.83017/31 [No. 47].
No. 276.
STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.
THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE. (Received 14th September, 1931.)
(No. 450.) MY LORD,
King's House, Kuala Lumpur, 20th August, 1931. WITH reference to your Lordship's telegram dated the 10th August, 1931,* on the subject of opium purchases, I have the honour to state that, while I can see no intrinsic objection to the Singapore factory supplying the chandu requirements of the Hong Kong Government, the practicability of any such arrangement depends on several factors which are for the time being uncertain, and I am not accordingly in a position at present to give any definite answer on this point.
2. The factors in question are:-
(a) the extent of Hong Kong's requirements;
(b) the effect on local consumption if it is decided to reduce the selling price
(paragraph 8 of Part IV of the Opium Commission's Report);
(c) the effect on local consumption if it is decided to introduce a system of rationing such as is recommended by the Opium Commission (paragraph 11, ibid);
(d) the effect on local consumption of a return to normal trade conditions. 3. Points (b) and (c) above involve matters of policy which will be discussed. at the forthcoming Conference at Bangkok, and all I can usefully say at present is that reduction in selling price would almost certainly increase local consumption to such an extent as to bring it up to the full capacity of the Singapore factory plant; while the effect of rationing would in all probability be such as to render the opportunity of supplying chandu to Hong Kong a welcome means of keeping the packing plant. fully employed and reducing overhead costs. This plant was designed for an output based on Malayan consumption at a fixed price over a period of years, and, though owing to trade depression the rate of local consumption is at present well below the maximum output of the factory, it is considered probable that, unless that consump- tion is still further decreased by the introduction of the rationing system above referred to, on the return of normal trade conditions it will not be possible to supply Hong Kong without extending the plant. The advisability of such an extension from a purely financial point of view will have to be considered, seeing that the economic life of the present plant is distinctly limited; but this Government will gladly go into the question when the position regarding reduction of price or rationing is known and Hong Kong's requirements have been ascertained.
4. With reference to your Lordship's inquiry as to this Government's approxi- mate buying programme, the reserve stock of opium is at present so large that buying is only necessary for the replacement of annual consumption. For the reasons stated above it is not easy to predict what the consumption will be, but it can, I think, safely. be said that for the next two years this Government's requirements are unlikely to exceed 600 chests a year.
I have, &c.,
C. CLEMENTI,
Governor.
I have, &c.,
J. H. THOMAS.
* C. 83017/31 [No. 41]: not printed.
Printed under the authority of His Majesty's Stationery Office, By METOHIN & SON, 8, Princes Street, Westminster, S.W.1.
(99847)
* No. 267.
+ Enclosure in No. 273.
‡ No. 273.
Gp. 6. 12308/2005. 30. 3/33.
+
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference:
PERC.O.882/11
ון
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
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