610
56
How about publishing now the Reports of the Hong Kong and Malaya Committees? There is nothing apparently to be gained by holding them up any longer. Ought you not also to publish the letter of the 30th May* from the North Borneo Company and the Memorandumt enclosed therewith? I notice that they did not send you the Report of the Commissioner, but I should think that ought to be published too.
Yours sincerely,
MALCOLM DELEVINGNE.
57
presumably of less consequence at any rate to non-Asiastic countries than the question of excessive opium production, and in elaborating a policy which would be morally sound and genuinely practicable.
I am sending a copy of this letter to Grindle and should be glad to know what you and he think of these suggestions.
Sir Malcolm Delevingne, K.C.B.
Yours sincerely,
S. P. WATERLOW.
31518/24.
No. 34.
41830/24.
No. 36.
MR. S. P. WATERLOW (FOREIGN OFFICE) to SIR G. GRINDLE (COLONIAL OFFICE).
(Personal.) DEAR GRINDLE,
Foreign Office, S.W.1, 1st August, 1924
MANY thanks for your letter of the 21st enclosing a draft Memorandum and other papers relating to the policy to be followed in regard to opium consumption in the Far East
I enclose a copy of a letter which I am writing to Delevingne, and should be glad if we might have your observations on its contents.
DEAR DELEVINGNE,
Enclosure in No. 34.
Yours sincerely,
S. P. WATERLOW.
Foreign Office, S.W.1, 1st August, 1924. THE policy in regard to opium consumption in the Far East to be followed by the British Delegate at the International Conference to be hold next November has been engaging our attention in the light of your draft Memorandum for the Cabinet and of that prepared by the Colonial Office. I do not know yet whether the Foreign Office will want to submit any statement of their own, but it may assist you if I let you know in an informal way how the matter is viewed here.
The Prime Minister considers that we should be careful to make our moral position clear, and that our attitude should be governed by the following general principles. We wish to see an end of the traffic, but we cannot ignore practical difficulties, which the Americans in particular must be made to understand. In bringing out these diffi- culties we should show plainly that we are trying to overcome them, and we should avoid giving any impression that we either resent legitimate American or other criticism or that we are adopting a non possumus attitude. On the contrary, it should be made clear that our policy is thoroughly sound in purpose and idea, but is beset by practical difficulties which we are doing our best to face and overcome.
"
As I indicated in my letter of the 18th, a policy of eventual complete suppression of opium smoking would (because it would give us a strong negotiating position) be favourably received by the Foreign Office, provided it is reasonably practicable. But the Colonial Office evidently consider that such a policy is not at present practicable, and their reasons seem, so far as I can judge, to have much force. If their view is to prevail, does it not mean that Chapter 2 of the International Opium Convention provid- ing for the "
gradual and effective suppression of the use of opium for smoking cannot be genuinely carried out in Hong Kong and Malaya? In that case it seems to us that the honest and practical course would be to reveal frankly the nature of our difficulties and to recommend that the whole question of the policy to be pursued in Far Eastern territories should be further investigated, and if necessary revised, in the light of our own experience, and that of other countries confronted with similar pro- blems. For this work an impartial commission of a more important and authoritative character than that indicated in the Colonial Office draft Memorandum might serve a useful purpose in showing the comparative achievements of the countries concerned, in putting in its proper perspective this particular aspect of the problem, which is
31518/24: not printed.
* 26080/24: not printed. † Eastern No. 141
HONG KONG.
THE SECRETARY OF STATE to THE GOVERNOR.
(Sent 4.5 p.m., 4th September, 1924.)
TELEGRAM.
[Answered by No. 37.]
Your despatch of 6th March.* Malayan and North Borneo Opium Reports are being published." Unless you see any objection Hong Kong Committee's Report should be published after excision of references to Confidential despatches, e.g., paragraph 11, substitute "It has been suggested that the official figures "; paragraph 12,
..
"It has to ; paragraph 16,
be admitted that "; paragraph 15, "It has been suggested that The Hong Kong Government has been urged to supplement."
Fletcher agrees and Foreign Office have no objection on the understanding that
His Majesty's Government are not committed to acceptance of views expressed by Committee.
Please send 50 copies as published.-THOMAS.
44479/24.
No. 36.
STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.
THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE. (Received 5.15 p.m., 18th September, 1924.)
TELEGRAM.
[Answered by No. 67.]
CONFIDENTIAL. 18th September. Referring to my despatch of 18th March, Confidential,t I am now in position to state that all the Malay Governments accept generally the British Malaya Opium Committee's Report as a working basis and will endeavour to conscientiously carry out its recommendations though of course at varying speeds. My telegram of 1st July. Beatty leaves here 26th September. Will report to you on or about 20th October. Have to-day conferred with the Chief Secretary, Colonial Secretary, and Pountney in regard to Beatty's instructions. Decided that the only practicable course is to allow Malaya to carry out its own policy on the lines of the Committee's Report. Reference to my first telegram of 9th July,§ Beatty instructed to oppose with the utmost vigour policy of prohibition in any defined period and prepared with arguments on this point. Reference my second telegram of 9th July, report of the Financial Committee referred to confirms my own impression that diversion proposal of British Delegate would inflict serious and possibly irremediable injury upon the finances of Malaya especially in some of the Unfederated Malay States. At to-day's Conference held that resultant financial measures could only be carried through the Colony Council by use of the Official Vote and that the Federal Council impossible to carry them unless their Highnesses The Rulers could be persuaded to ‡ No. 25.
|| No. 29. § No. 30.
* No. 18.
† No 19.
1. PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :--
C.O.882/11
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
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