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appointed by the League, to visit the countries concerned; and it should be considered whether he should not also be authorized to say:-

(a) that as regards Hong Kong, when the smuggling of opium into the Colony from China ceases, His Majesty's Government will be prepared to enforce complete prohibition of the practice of opium smoking in the Colony; (b). that as regards Malaya (where the opium monopoly revenues constitute a very large part of the revenues of the Colony and independent States) His Majesty's Government have already decided to instruct the local Governments of the Straits Settlements to prepare a scheme for the reorganization of the finances and budget of the Colony with a view to rendering them independent within a reasonable period of the profits of the monopoly, and that similar measures will be recommended to the Protected States.

5. That Sir Malcolm Delevingne should at once prepare a memorandum on the speech made by Mr. Porter in the Second Conference when putting forward the American proposals on Chapter II, of the Convention, which should be submitted to the Foreign Office with a view to their considering the question of making strong representations to Washington on the impropriety of the allegations made against the British Government; and that subsequently similar memoranda should be prepared by the Home Office and the India Office on other unwarranted allegations made at the Conferences with a view to possible diplomatic representations to the Governments concerned.

6. That the Foreign Office should intitiate a programine of propaganda and publicity for the British (and Indian) case in relation to opium, co-ordinating informa- tion received from the Home Office, Colonial Office and India Office; this campaign being opened by a reasoned letter from the Home Secretary or the Foreign Secretary to a selected correspondent on the subject of "What has Great Britain done in the Opium Question?

59890/24.

No. 64.

HOME OFFICE to COLONIAL OFFICE.

SIR,

I AM directed by Secretary Sir William Joynson-Hicks to refer to the Depart- mental Conference which was held at the Home Office on Friday last, the 19th instant,* on the subject of the situation which has arisen in the Second International Opium Conference at Geneva, and to enclose, for the information of Mr. Secretary Amery, a note of the conclusions† arrived at by the Departmental Conference. Sir William Joynson-Hicks will be glad, in view of the shortness of the interval before the Inter- national Conference reassembles, if the matter can receive the early attention of Mr. Amery, and in particular the proposals contained in conclusion No. 4.

Home Office, Whitehall, 22nd December, 1924

59890/24.

No. 65.

I am, &c.,

MALCOLM DELEVINGNE.

SIR G. GRINDLE (COLONIAL OFFICE) to Sir M. DELEVINGNE (HOME OFFICE).

DEAR DELEVINGNE,

[Answered by No. 66.]

Downing Street, 27th December, 1924.

OUR Far Eastern Department has prepared the enclosed draft of a Declaration to be made by you in regard to opium in Hong Kong and Malaya. Before we send it to you officially we should like to get your concurrence. Do you agree to the draft?

Yours, &c.,

G. GRINDLE.

83

Enclosure in No. 65.

DECLARATION.

(1) That as the Government of Hong Kong has more than once stated, Hong Kong is quite prepared to close down the opium monopoly there when it can be established to the satisfaction of an impartial Commission that China has permanently ceased to grow the opium poppy, and that the danger of opium smuggling from China to Hong Kong is thereby removed;

(2) that within a fixed period from the date of prohibition in Hong Kong opium smoking will be prohibited in Malaya also. In the meantime it has been decided to bring gradually into operation in Malaya a system of registration and rationing. The monopoly will continue to be in the hands of the Government as a safeguard against abuse and high prices must continue to be charged to restrict consumption. The profits arising must continue to be paid into general revenue for the carrying on of Public Services until the opium revenue can be replaced. Such replacement in Malaya is extraordinarily difficult, but close attention is being given to finding other sources of revenue to enable administration to be carried on as the opium revenue decreases and ultimately ceases.

59890/24.

No. 66.

SIR M. DELEVINGNE (HOME OFFICE) to SIR G. GRINDLE (COLONIAL OFFICE).

[Answered by No. 68.]

MY DEAR GRINDLE,

Home Office, Whitehall, S.W.1, 30th December, 1924.

I AM afraid the draft Declaration in regard to Hong Kong and Malaya which has been prepared in your Far Eastern Department seems to me to be too indefinite to be of much use. As regards the first paragraph, what authority or body would ever be in a position to say that China had permanently ceased to grow the opium poppy? As regards the second paragraph, a declaration that replacement of the opium revenue in Malaya is extraordinary difficult, but that the Government will attempt to find other sources of revenue to enable administration to be carried on as the opium revenue decreases would, in my view, be worse than no declaration at all; and why should action in Malaya hinge upon action in Hong Kong, as proposed in the first two lines of your second paragraph?

It seems to me that what we want is-

(1) as regards Hong Kong, a declaration which will make it clear that it is only the prevalence of opium smuggling from China that prevents the British Government from taking effective measures to bring the use of prepared opium to an end, and that they are prepared to do so as soon as the Chinese Authorities are taking effective measures themselves and opium smuggling from China into Hong Kong entirely ceases or is reduced to an amount which can be adequately dealt with by the ordinary customs and police administrations. (We cannot expect that opium smuggling can be com- pletely eradicated in the Far East any more than it is in London, Cardiff, or Liverpool, as long as opium is grown in the world); and

(2) as regards Malaya, a declaration that will meet the charge that we are deterred by revenue considerations from carrying out our obligations. This declaration must, as it seems to me, be on the lines that we intend to proceed at once with the business of finding fresh revenues to replace gradually the opium revenue, though there will be no harm in mentioning incidentally the point that the business will be one of some difficulty and take time.

Yours, &c.,

MALCOLM DELEVINGNE.

* No. 63.

† Anuexure to No. 63.

* Enclosure in No. 65.

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

TRELEC.O.882/11

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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