23931/23.
4
No. 4.
HONG KONG.
THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE
(Received 1.5 a.m., 12th May, 1923.)
TELEGRAM
[Answered by No. 9.]
11TH MAY. Your telegram of the 6th [? 5th] May* No objection to the first proposal provided that adequate period is allowed for substitution of Government reta:i sale for existing system of private retail sale. With regard to your second proposal, in view of the large number of Chinese passing daily between Hong Kong and China, where unlimited supplies of cheap opium are available, such restriction as registration and licence will encourage smuggling and illicit smoking on a scale which cannot be controlled by the ordinary machinery of preventive service. The very drastic system of search and punishment now in force leads to much bribery and corruption and is extremely unpopular, and the introduction of more rigorous methods necessitated by your proposals would be strongly resented and might do immense harm to the Colony. I can suggest no practical scheme until China effectively controls production and sale of opium. Despatch follows.
28565/23.
ŞIR,
No. 5.
MR. N. L. SMITH to COLONIAL OFFICE.
Geneva, Switzerland, 4th June, 1923. I HAVE the honour to submit my report on my visit to the Advisory Committee on Opium to the League of Nations.
2. It was generally foreseen that the 1923 meeting would be of considerable importance, firstly, because the statistics collected by the League during the past two years were sufficiently complete to give a more exact indication of the opium situation than has hitherto been possible, and, secondly, because of the presence for the first time of an influential delegation sent by the Government of the United States.
3. Before proceeding to Geneva I had the opportunity of many interviews with Sir Malcolm Delevingne, the British Representative on the Committee, Mr. Cland Severn being present at one of these interviews. Sir Malcolm informed me in advance of his intended proposals framed for the fulfilment in particular of the terms of for the Article 6 of the Hague Convention, which insists on measures being taken gradual and effective suppression of the manufacture of, internal trade in, and use of, prepared opium." It was clear that, so long as unrestricted sales of prepared opium continued, any apparent reduction in consumption must (apart from the raising of price) merely signify decreased demand owing either to trade depression, abundance of illicit opium on the market, or the abandonment of the habit by individual smokers. It is evident, for example, that the decreased sales of Hong Kong Government opium in 1919 and 1920 could not fairly be claimed as a deliberate reduction by the Govern- ment. The Singapore Government in 1919 did actually attempt an arbitrary reduction of 10 per cent. on the quantities normally supplied to retailers, but this had to be
" cornered abandoned, as it was found merely to create another middleman who stocks.
4. Sir Malcolm considered that the time had come to frame definite proposals for complying with Article 6. His first proposal was for the universal abolition of the "farm
system and of private retailers. His second and more formidable proposal was for registration of smokers as the first essential for any effective rationing system. (as I agreed with him that this was logically the only possible means of "reduction " against mere decrease in demand), though I doubted if it would be practicable in Hong Kong with its migratory population. Mr. Swettenham from the Federated Malay States Monopoly had given it as his opinion that such a system would in due course be practicable in Malaya, but a telegram to Hong Kong was replied to by a definite
* No. 3.
non possumus.
5
In view of this Sir Malcolm altered the form of his proposal to the following: The possibilities of the system of registration and licensing which has already been introduced in some of the Far Eastern possessions should be thoroughly explored." He also added that the States having Far Eastern Possessions should attempt to come to some agreement as regards (a) the price at which prepared opin is sold, and (b) uniform penalties for contravention of opium laws. As regards these two last points, British colonies (and especially Hong Kong) would have everything to gain if such an agreement could be reached."
5. In this form Sir Malcolm's resolution was put to the Advisory Committee, and the latter agreed to recommend the Council to call a conference of the interested Powers to discuss the question of uniform action on such lines. It would appear doubtful whether the other nations concerned will accept these proposals, and naturally any action would in principle be dependent upon their universal adoption in the Far Eastern Possessions of European Powers; but I would suggest that Great Britain's reputation in the matter (already firmly established so far as the Advisory Committee is concerned) would be greatly improved by action on these lines whether or not they are accepted by Macao, Indo-China and Formosa.
6. As regards the difficult question of registration of smokers, such a system has been tried in parts of the Dutch Indies and in Formosa. If the Singapore Govern. ment, with its more stable population, is willing to make the experiment, it might be advisable for Hong Kong to wait awhile and copy it if successful. (It will be remem- bered that the abolition of the "farm" system followed this same order-(1) Dutch Indies, (2) Straits Settlements, (3) Hong Kong.
7 The Committee was fully aware of the difficulties of the proposal, viz., the possibility of the growth of a class of middlemen in the guise of registered smokers, and the natural reluctance (to take an analogous case) of the British workman to have to show his photograph and ration card whenever he wants a glass of beer. At the same time it is clear that the gradual and effective reduction of consumption to which the signatories of the Convention are pledged cannot honestly be claimed to have been effected by any Government if any decrease in consumption is caused merely by bad trade or a gradual growth of public opinion condemnning the practice.
8. If I might make a personal suggestion as regards Hong Kong, I think that the findings of a really strong commission representative of enlightened Chinese opinion, charged to consider the ways and means of reducing consumption in accord- ance with the Convention, and in particular the proposed system of registration and ultimate rationing, would be of great value if presented to the League of Nations in due course. The Committee as a whole knows little of what the Chinese themselves think about opium smoking, and, for example, persists in blaming the provincial Tuchuns for the recrudescence of poppy cultivation in China instead of realizing that if there were no demand for opium there would be no revenue in it.
9. The Committee seemed to recognize the enormous production of opium in China and the comparative unimportance of the problem in those European colonies where the presence of Chinese raises the opium problem. At the same time it seemed to be generally realized that colonies depending on opium for revenue are apt to be biased in their view of the problem. was prepared to say that Hong Kong had gradually, by tapping other sources of revenue, prepared itself of late years for a complete disappearance of opium revenue without serious dislocation; but I was not quite so sure in the case of Malaya, where the proportion of opium revenue to total revenue is so much higher. I think that a categorical statement has been made for most colonies to the effect that no question of revenue would be allowed to influence their policy: but if this could be accompanied by a general outline of any possible increase of revenue or decrease of expenditure to meet such a state of affairs, it would, I think, be of great value in establishing the good faith of the Governments concerned. 10. The American delegation attempted to show that any non-medicinal use of opium was contrary to the spirit of the Convention, but the Chinese delegate was the only one who accepted such an interpretation without reservation.
11. To raise one point of detail, I would suggest that immediate steps should be taken in Hong Kong and Malaya to secure accurate statistics of the imports and exports of drugs coming under Chapter III of the Convention. The smallest actual figures furnished in the annual report to the League are greatly preferable to such
negligible or
The international aspect expressions as
no figures available." of the subject makes it clear that something more than mere customs statistics are in this particular case necessitated.
12. The question of notification of seizures was raised in the Committee, and it was agreed that important seizures (especially of drugs) should be reported imme-
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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
EPIC.O.882/11
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
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