CO129-292 - Governor Sir Blake - 1899 [6-8] — Page 200

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Sir,

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REC

(Reef 7 AUG 19

Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce.

Hongkong 6th.June, 1893.

I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter ( No.812 )

of the 19th ultino replying to the representations made by

this Chamber as to the frequent, and heavy fines inflicted on

British and German ships at Saigon for seizures of opium at.

the instance of paid informers, and an instructed to express

the satisfaction of the Committee at the action taken by the

Government in the matter.

At the same time I would respectfully call the at-

tention of the Government to a fresh and very recent proof of

the manner in which the system adopted by the French Customs

Authorities is surely rendering trade with Saigon impossible

The German steamer "Ingraban", which had gone to that, port, for

a cargo of rice, was on the point of leaving for Hongkong an

the 19th ultimo, when acting on the information laid by an

informer, some Customs Officers boarded ship and discovered some opium. A Saigon paper, recording the seizure, says the

officers went, almost straight to the hidden contraband. The

but. result. was a heavy fine, which was subsequently reduced,

the ship was not released until after a deposit of $12,000 had been made by the agents. The French journals at Saigon ful- ly recognise the injustice done by the system of paying such

to

large sums to informers, opening as it does the downfrauĺđu-

concealment

A

A

lent of small quanties of the drug on board for the purpose

of giving information against the vessel.

With reference to the suggestion made in paragraph

3 of my letter of the 3rd ult. concerning which you ask for further obervations, the Committee desire me to point out that if opium were discovered on board a steamer prior to de- parture from Hongkong, the master could, as you suggest,

certainly