CO885-11 — Page 596

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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

C.O.882/11

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

H

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Borneo, either by the appointment of a local Committee. (as suggested in paragraph 6 of this letter) or otherwise as the Court may determine; and that His Grace may be furnished by the end of May at latest with a memorandum (for the information of the British Delegation to the proposed International Conference) containing a full expression of the views of the Court on the suggestions which have been made, and submitting any alternative suggestions which the Court may consider to be of value.

10. It has also been suggested to His Grace (who agrees) that the British Delega- tion should include officers from the Far Eastern Colonies and Protectorates, who are fully acquainted with the problem as it exists in their various territories and with the views of their respective Governments. He would accordingly be glad if such an officer could be nominated to hold himself in readiness to attend the Conference as the representative of the Company in the British Delegation if required. The officer selected should be fairly senior, and (it need hardly be added) his value would be the greater if he had been a member of the local Committee, should one be appointed to examine the question.

11. The British Agent for Borneo is being requested to communicate also (on the lines of this letter) with the Government of Sarawak.

44421/23.

SIR

No. 11.

BRUNEI.

I

am, &c.,

G. GRINDLE.

THE SECRETARY OF STATE to THE BRITISH AGENT.

Downing Street, 27th September, 1923. WITH reference to my Confidential Straits Settlements despatch of the 24th of September,* I have the honour to transmit to you the accompanying copy of a letterf which I have caused to be addressed to the British North Borneo Company on the subject of the resolutions adopted by the League of Nations Advisory Committee on Traffic in Opium. I shall be glad if you will address the Government of Sarawak in the general sense of the letter to the British North Borneo Company.

You should, however, in addition, invite the Sarawak Government's special con- sideration of the first suggestion (relating to the abolition of the farm system) in the second resolution‡ of the Advisory Committee, and intimate that His Majesty's Govern- ment would be gratified if it could be found possible for Sarawak to come into line, in this respect, with the policy adopted in all other British Colonies and Protectorates in which the smoking of prepared opium is still permitted.

Three copies of the Advisory Committee's Report, and of the Minutes§ of the Session are enclosed for transmission to the Sarawak Government.

51791/23.

No. 12.

CEYLON.

I have, &c.,

DEVONSHIRE.

THE SECRETARY OF STATE to THE GOVERNOR. [Answered by No. 22.]

(No. 713.) SIR,

Downing Street, 15th November, 1923. I HAVE the honour to transmit to you for your consideration the accompanying copies of the Report and Minutes of the Fifth Session of the League of Nations Advisory Committee on Traffic in Opium and of the Report of the Fifth Commission of the League Assembly which met in September last; and to inform you that the resolutions recommended by the Fifth Commission were adopted unanimously by the Assembly.

* No 9.

† No. 10.

Annexure to No. 9.

Not reprinted.

§ Not printed here.

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In order to be able to take an effective part at the proposed Conference of Powers with Far Eastern Territories (which will probably take place next summer), it is essential that the British Delegation should be fully acquainted with the local conditions of the Far Eastern Colonies, so far as they affect the duc observance of the International Opium Convention 1912, and with the views of the Governments concerned as to what ineasures for the effective observance of Chapter II of the Convention are practicable in their respective territories.

I shall therefore be glad to receive by the end of May at the latest, for the information of the British Delegation, a despatel containing particulars as far as possible brought up-to-date in regard to the use of opium for smoking in Ceylon and a full expression of your views concerning the suggestions contained in the second recom- mendation* of the Advisory Committee, which will be found on page 9 of their Report. In particular, an account of the experience of your Government in connexion with the inauguration and administration of the system of registration and rationing of consumers would be very valuable. It is understood that in Ceylon under this system no fresh smokers are registered and that in course of time the use of opium for smoking will automatically be brought to an end, as provided by Part II of the International Opium Convention of 1912. I shall be glad to learn whether this understanding is correct.

In view of the fact (stated in the first enclosure to your despatch No. 620 of the 11th of Septembert) that the smoking habit is mostly prevalent among the Malays and Moors in the Island, it would appear that the third suggestion of the Advisory Com- mittee (that the amount of raw opium to be imported should be determined in relation to the number of resident adult male Chinese) would not be applicable to Ceylon, and that a different basis would have to be taken

I have asked the Governments of the Straits Settlements, Hong Kong, North Borneo, and Sarawak to nominate officers who are well acquainted with the opium problem as it exists in their respective territories, to represent them at the proposed Conference; but in view of the fact that the system of registration is already in opera- tion in Ceylon, it does not appear to be necessary-unless you specially desire it--for you to be represented.

51791/23.

SIR,

No. 13.

[17 HONG KONG.

[2] STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.

I have, &c.,

DEVONSHIRE.

THE SECRETARY OF STATE to THE GOVERNORS.

(Confidential.)

Downing Street, 23rd November, 1923. WITH reference to my Confidential despatch of the 24th of September, I have the honour to inform you that my attention has been drawn to the table which is printed on page 177 of the Minutes of the Fifth Session of the League of Nations Advisory Committee on Traffic in Opium (copies of which were sent to you under cover of the Under-Secretary of State's note of the 27th of September§). I am informed that this table contains certain inaccuracies: for example the consumption of chandu per head of the Chinese population of the Unfederated Malay States in 1921 was 116.6 grammes and not 1,166 as stated.

2. Discussion of comparative statistics of the consumption of chandu in the Far Eastern Territories of the various Powers will no doubt be a cardinal feature in the deliberations of the proposed International Conference and it is important that the British Delegation should be in possession of accurate figures. I should, therefore, be glad if you will cause the figures in this table relating to [Hong Kong] [Territories under your administration] to be carefully checked and brought up-to-date. It would he convenient if the British Delegation could be supplied with similar information for (say) 10 years including the year 1923 showing for each year the numbers (estimated where necessary) both of the total Chinese population, and of the adult male Chinese population. In order that there may be no doubt as to the comparability of the statistics furnished by the various British Territories,, "adult" should be taken to mean "of 21 years of age and over."

* Annexure to No. 9.

† 47973/23 not printed.

↑ No. 9.

§ 44421/23: not printed.