667
•
170
Federated Malay States and, it may be, the Governments of the Unfederated Malay States also.
What I should like to be quite sure of is that Bellairs, Atkinson are in a specially favourable position to purchase opium for us at reasonable prices. I have not, of course, seen the terms of the proposed Agreement with Messrs. Bellairs, Atkinson, and I therefore am not in a position to judge how, and to what extent, our interests are safeguarded. There appears to be some reason to think, however, that the market for Persian opium is, at the present time, a practical monopoly in the hands of a ring of black-listed firms with which is connected the Mr. M. A. Nemazi, whom Sir Malcolm Delevingne is for ever hunting, carrying his crusade against him as far as Batavia on the one side and to Siam and French Indo-China on the other. The grounds upon which this crusade is based, an alleged shady transaction in connexion with opium supplied to Indo-China, with which, however, the French Authorities there seem to have been better satisfied than is Sir Malcolm, do not appear, on the face of them, to be extremely strong; and if these people really have any sort of strangle- hold upon the Persian supply, I think we should be fully convinced that Messrs. Bellairs, Atkinson are in a position to cope with it, and that by employing them and paying them a 2 per cent. commission, we really are assuring ourselves of a supply on more favourable terms than would be obtainable by us without their aid. I am admittedly writing this to you on the strength of rumour, upon the truth or reliability of which I am not in the least prepared to bank; and it is certain that the Department is better informed concerning this matter than are the Governments of the Straits or of the Federated Malay States. I am very reluctant, however, to see respect- us bound by an agreement with any European firm, merely because it is " able," while certain native firms are held to be "disreputable," if, as there seems to be some reason to apprehend, the latter are likely, after all, to be the real suppliers. the European firm enjoying no special means of obtaining the opium it requires for us, save through their agency or through dummies put up by them to pose as being independent of them.
I will deal with your telegram by despatch as soon as the papers come back to me from Kuâla Lumpur, but I have thought it as well to write this letter to you in the meantime, in order that the accuracy or otherwise of the suspicions which we entertain can, if possible, be tested by the Department.
In this connexion I might mention that Mr. Elias of the firm of Elias, Manasseh and Co., recently showed Cator, the Acting Superintendent of Government Monopolies, a telegram from an European firm, the name of which he would not disclose, inviting him to tender for the supply of 100 chests of opium per mensem required for the Straits Government. Elias also said that though his firm had no connexion with Nemazi, they had an understanding in accordance with which they each refrained It is worth noting, too, that Messrs. Bellairs, from getting in the way of the other. Atkinson at one time traded under the somewhat less John-Bullish title of "M. P. Nicolaidi and Co.," vide their letter to the Under-Secretary of State dated 9th August, 1926.
Yours, &c.,
HUGH CLIFFORD,
Malayan Civil Service.
171
of 100 chests of opium per mensem which they required for the Government of the Straits Settlements. The difference between these two statements is not very material, but I am anxious that the actual facts, as alleged by Elias and as believed by Cator, should be known to you.
0. 30801/A/27 [No. 97].
(Paraphrase.)
No. 129.
Yours, &c.,
HUGH CLIFFORD,
STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.
Malayan Civil Service.
THE SECRETARY OF STATE to THE GOVERNOR.
(Sent 6.30 p.m., 24th October, 1927.) TELEGRAM.
[Answered by No. 132.]
FOLLOWING from Sir Samuel Wilson. Private and Personal.
Begins: Opium. Your letters 22nd and 23rd September.† Acting Secretary of State's despatch of 7th Septembert forwarding documents on which his telegram 2nd September§ was based will now have reached you. From these it will be seen that it is confidently expected to get behind Singapore ring and save money. Further discussion on matter had taken place with Gordon Wilson before receipt of your letters. In view of the fact that the agents (if appointed) will require considerable time to make initial arrangements in Persia, he deprecates undue delay in placing orders for delivery in 1928.
Further, Hong Kong now wishes to enter Persian market, and it is important that they should adopt same procedure as the Straits in order to avoid competi- tion. It is accordingly desirable to reach an early decision.
Unless therefore your doubts have been removed by the documents referred
to above the Secretary of State would be glad if you would telegraph a more precise indication of the nature of your doubts with suggestions for safeguarding the interests of the Straits Settlements: The actual terms of the agreement would be settled of course with Crown Agents and Solicitors.
I wish to impress on you the fact that the question of supply of opium can- not be treated as a matter of purely domestic interest to Straits Settlements Government. You will have learnt from other documents recently supplied to you that it has been the subject of frequent interdepartmental contention by reason of its wider repercussions. It is therefore clearly advantageous that a scheme in which the Foreign Office and Sir M. Delevingne have concurred should be adopted. Ends.—AMERY.
· PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
mim C.O.882/11
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
C. 30801/A/27 [No 96].
No. 128.
SIR HUGH CLIFFORD (GOVERNOR, STRAITS SETTLEMENTS)
to
SIR S. H. WILSON (Under-SecreTARY OF STATE, Colonial Office). [Answered by No. 129.]·
MY DEAR WILSON,
Government House, Singapore, 23rd September, 1927.
I FIND that the statement made by me in the concluding paragraph of my What Elias showed Cator was letter to you of yesterday's date is not quite correct.
a cable from his Agent at Bushire reporting that he, the Agent, had been approached by an European firm, whose name Elias would not disclose, to arrange for the supply
* No. 127.
C. 30801/B/27 [No. 6].
SIB,
No. 130.
STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.
THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE. (Received 2nd November, 1927.)
(Confidential.)
[Answered by No. 131.]
Government House, Singapore, 1st October, 1927.
I HAVE the honour to address you further with reference to your Confidential telegram of the 2nd September§ and my Confidential reply of the 17th September, || regarding the proposed appointment of Messrs. Bellairs, Atkinson and Co., as agents for the supply of Persian opium to this Government.
*No. 127. No. 128. C. 30801/A/27 [No. 83]: not printeil. § No. 125.
|| No. 126.