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[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.C.O.
SOUTH-WEST CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
9412
[February 23.]
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Sir,
No. 1.
India Office to Foreign Office.~(Received February 23.)
India Office, February 22, 1905.
I AM directed by the Secretary of State for India in Council to refer to Mr. F. A. Campbell's letter of the 10th September, 1903, on the subject of removing the prohibition, under the Burmah-China Treaty, of the passage through Burmah of Yunnan opium in bond, and, in reply, to forward, for the information of the Marquess of Lansdowne, a copy of a letter from the Government of India, with inclosures, expressing their opinion on Mr. Litton's proposals,
It will be seen from this letter that the Government of India have no objection to negotiations being entered into with the Chinese Government, with the object of securing the concessions which it will be necessary to obtain before Yunnan opium can be conveyed to the Treaty ports by the Bhamo-Rangoon route. They feel, however, some uncertainty as to the results of the experiment, and they are afraid that, unless caution is exercised in the conduct of the negotiations, the attitude of His Majesty's Government in the matter will be liable to misrepresentation, and that a general discussion of its opium policy may be reopened. For these reasons they are strongly of opinion that pressure should not be exercised upon the Chinese authorities in order to induce them to accept the scheme; that the scheme should be put before them as one which is quite as much for the benefit of the Chinese Government and its finances as for the benefit of India; and that it should be made clear that the Indian Government are not prepared to purchase the consent of the Chinese Government by concessions of material value in other directions.
I am to say that the Secretary of State for India in Council considers that, subject to the precautions suggested by the Government of India, the scheme might be placed before the Chinese Government by His Majesty's Minister at Peking.
The specific proposals which commend themselves to the Government of India are modelled on the suggestions made by Mr. Litton in his Memorandum of the 15th November, and are summarized in paragraph 8 of the Government of India's letter.* Taking the Yuunan and Canton provincial li-kin charges at 66 rupees and 40 rupees respectively, and the cost of transportation from Tengyueh to Bhamo and from Bhamo via Rangoon to Hong Kong at 14 rupees and 6 rupees, and adding to these sums the proposed Imperial Customs consolidated export and re-entry fee of 50 rupees and the Indian transit fee of 12 rupees, the aggregate cost for delivery at Canton would be 188 rupees per picul. Lower charges than these, the Government of India consider, would make it possible to sell Yünnan opium in the eastern ports of China at a rate materially below the current rate, and might adversely affect the sales of Indian opium.
I am to invite attention to the request of the Government of India that they may be kept fully informed of the progress of any negotiations which may be entered into in respect of the matter, and that they may be consulted before any promises which would bind them are made.
I am, &c. (Signed)
A. GODLEY.
Sir,
Inclosure 1 in No. 1.
Government of India to Mr. Brodrick.
Calcutta, January 5, 1905. WE have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of Lord George Hamilton's despatch, dated the 8th October, 1903, with which was forwarded a copy of a Memo- randum on the Yunnan opium trade, prepared by Mr. Litton, Acting Consul-General in
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*Inclosure 1.
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