CO129-341 - Acting Governor May Governor Lugard - 1907 [7-10] — Page 377

CO129 Colonial Office Hong Kong Records 理藩院香港檔案 All AI Reviewed

Dear Sir,

Shanghai, 27th June, 1907.

We beg to bring to your notice the following:

Some of the Chinese opium dealers here have received information from their constituents in Nanking that the Viceroy there intends granting the monopoly of the Opium trade in Nanking to a few dealers, who will only be allowed to import opium there. So far, no official notification has been issued, but as there is every probability of its coming into force at any moment, and subsequently a similar monopoly is intended to be given here and elsewhere, we think it advisable to lay the matter before you so that immediate steps may be taken to stop its being carried into effect.

Such monopolies would prevent other dealers from participating in the Opium trade, thus destroying the healthy competition and thereby crippling the business and causing heavy losses to importers who will be at the mercy of the few who hold the monopolies, as regards prices, &c.

It would also be greatly prejudicial to the interest of the Indian Government if such a scheme is permitted to be enforced, specially in the present unsettled and unsatisfactory state of the opium trade owing to the action of the Chinese Government in closing up the public smoking dens, and importers, in view of the further uncertainty of demand from those who would hold the monopoly, would curtail importation, which would mean a material reduction of their purchases from the Government of India's monthly sales.

We therefore beg to request you to be good enough to take immediate action and oppose the movement, and if necessary, to communicate with H.B.M's. Minister at Peking, as it is a contravention of Article X of the Treaty of Nanking of 1842, which provides that British Merchandise having paid the regulated Customs and dues, such merchandise may be conveyed...

Page 372

(27th June 1907)

...

...

Page 373

...

(the rest of the text is not provided in the original snippet)

However, to follow the exact format requested:

Dear Sir,


Shanghai, 27th June, 1907.

We beg to bring to your notice the following:

Some of the Chinese opium dealers here have received information from their constituents in Nanking that the Viceroy there intends granting the monopoly of the Opium trade in Nanking to a few dealers, who will only be allowed to import opium there. So far, no official notification has been issued, but as there is every probability of its coming into force at any moment, and subsequently a similar monopoly is intended to be given here and elsewhere, we think it advisable to lay the matter before you so that immediate steps may be taken to stop its being carried into effect.

Such monopolies would prevent other dealers from participating in the Opium trade, thus destroying the healthy competition and thereby crippling the business and causing heavy losses to importers who will be at the mercy of the few who hold the monopolies, as regards prices, &c.

It would also be greatly prejudicial to the interest of the Indian Government if such a scheme is permitted to be enforced, specially in the present unsettled and unsatisfactory state of the opium trade owing to the action of the Chinese Government in closing up the public smoking dens, and importers, in view of the further uncertainty of demand from those who would hold the monopoly, would curtail importation, which would mean a material reduction of their purchases from the Government of India's monthly sales.

We therefore beg to request you to be good enough to take immediate action and oppose the movement, and if necessary, to communicate with H.B.M's. Minister at Peking, as it is a contravention of Article X of the Treaty of Nanking of 1842, which provides that British Merchandise having paid the regulated Customs and dues, such merchandise may be conveyed...

The initial part of the text appears to be OCR errors and unrelated to the main content. The main letter starts from "Dear Sir," and continues coherently. The table or list at the beginning seems to be a result of OCR misinterpretation and is not directly related to the content of the letter. The correction focuses on the coherent part of the text provided.

Edit History

2026-06-05 03:53:58 · NVIDIA / meta/llama-4-maverick-17b-128e-instruct
Live
View comparison
AI Proofread
Dear Sir, Shanghai, 27th June, 1907. We beg to bring to your notice the following: Some of the Chinese opium dealers here have received information from their constituents in Nanking that the Viceroy there intends granting the monopoly of the Opium trade in Nanking to a few dealers, who will only be allowed to import opium there. So far, no official notification has been issued, but as there is every probability of its coming into force at any moment, and subsequently a similar monopoly is intended to be given here and elsewhere, we think it advisable to lay the matter before you so that immediate steps may be taken to stop its being carried into effect. Such monopolies would prevent other dealers from participating in the Opium trade, thus destroying the healthy competition and thereby crippling the business and causing heavy losses to importers who will be at the mercy of the few who hold the monopolies, as regards prices, &c. It would also be greatly prejudicial to the interest of the Indian Government if such a scheme is permitted to be enforced, specially in the present unsettled and unsatisfactory state of the opium trade owing to the action of the Chinese Government in closing up the public smoking dens, and importers, in view of the further uncertainty of demand from those who would hold the monopoly, would curtail importation, which would mean a material reduction of their purchases from the Government of India's monthly sales. We therefore beg to request you to be good enough to take immediate action and oppose the movement, and if necessary, to communicate with H.B.M's. Minister at Peking, as it is a contravention of Article X of the Treaty of Nanking of 1842, which provides that British Merchandise having paid the regulated Customs and dues, such merchandise may be conveyed... Page 372 (27th June 1907) ... ... Page 373 ... (the rest of the text is not provided in the original snippet) However, to follow the exact format requested: Dear Sir, Shanghai, 27th June, 1907. We beg to bring to your notice the following: Some of the Chinese opium dealers here have received information from their constituents in Nanking that the Viceroy there intends granting the monopoly of the Opium trade in Nanking to a few dealers, who will only be allowed to import opium there. So far, no official notification has been issued, but as there is every probability of its coming into force at any moment, and subsequently a similar monopoly is intended to be given here and elsewhere, we think it advisable to lay the matter before you so that immediate steps may be taken to stop its being carried into effect. Such monopolies would prevent other dealers from participating in the Opium trade, thus destroying the healthy competition and thereby crippling the business and causing heavy losses to importers who will be at the mercy of the few who hold the monopolies, as regards prices, &c. It would also be greatly prejudicial to the interest of the Indian Government if such a scheme is permitted to be enforced, specially in the present unsettled and unsatisfactory state of the opium trade owing to the action of the Chinese Government in closing up the public smoking dens, and importers, in view of the further uncertainty of demand from those who would hold the monopoly, would curtail importation, which would mean a material reduction of their purchases from the Government of India's monthly sales. We therefore beg to request you to be good enough to take immediate action and oppose the movement, and if necessary, to communicate with H.B.M's. Minister at Peking, as it is a contravention of Article X of the Treaty of Nanking of 1842, which provides that British Merchandise having paid the regulated Customs and dues, such merchandise may be conveyed... The initial part of the text appears to be OCR errors and unrelated to the main content. The main letter starts from "Dear Sir," and continues coherently. The table or list at the beginning seems to be a result of OCR misinterpretation and is not directly related to the content of the letter. The correction focuses on the coherent part of the text provided.
Baseline (Original)
oyote? Tojiam ent val bus notim das tqmong noltasup Fast0qmt •Idsalvos 188. 48 YAI 83 84978 reddo dova sds) to Ansmanevoð oft hclosure 2. OP Y. .DI } Vad OW 10 3 100gumb bivad (.bƐ) fo Tom). COMMUŢI FEG* Dear Sir, -ing:- 372 ! Shanghai, 27th. June, 1907. We beg to bring to your notice the follow- (27*) E* D* 3922001 CO* .00 ± RhymⱭ .l .8 (.be} •Toads¶ .I (.be) .00 $ eno s‡T (.52) .eeyamaй .K . . (.52) .00 3 sa¿MB(Is¶ setasws) (.52) .IJAIBT (.be) .alIR . M . . (.b2) .90 3 rhianḍI YllaloobGA (.b?) ...oƆ » sívabdďA .0 (.52) .00 3 leiV guooM (.hƐ) .00 A Jite¶ . nísacrlf (62) Some of the Chinese opium dealers here have received information from their constituents in Nanking that the Viceroy there intends granting the monopoly of the Opim trade in Nanking to a few dealers, who will only be allowed to import opium there. So far no official notification has been issued, but as there is every probability of its coming into force at any moment, and subsequently a similar monopoly is intended to be given here and elsewhere, we think it advisable to lay the matter before you so that immediate steps may be taken to stop its being carried into effect. Such monopolies would prevent other dealers from participating in the Opium trade thus destroying the healthy competition and thereby crippling the business and causing heavy losses to importers who will be at the mercy of the few who hold the monopolies, as regards prices,&c. It would also be greatly prejudicial to the interest of the Indian Government if such a scheme is permitted to be enforced specially in the present unsettled and unsatis- -factory state of the opium trade owing to the action of the Chinese Government in closing up the public smoking dens, and importers, in view of the further uncertainty of demand from those who would hold the monopoly, would curtail importation, which would mean a material reduction of their purchases from the Government of India's monthly sales. We therefore beg to request you to be good enough to take immediate action and oppose the movement and if necessary to communicate with H. B. M's. Minister, at Peking, as it is a contravention of Article X of the Treaty of Nanking of 1842, which provides that British Merchandise have paid the regulated Customs and dues such merchandise may be conveyed
2026-06-05 03:53:58 · Baseline
View content

oyote? Tojiam ent val bus notim das tqmong noltasup Fast0qmt

•Idsalvos 188. 48 YAI 83 84978 reddo dova sds) to Ansmanevoð oft

hclosure 2.

OP Y.

.DI

}

Vad OW

10 3 100gumb bivad (.bƐ)

fo Tom). COMMUŢI FEG*

Dear Sir,

-ing:-

372

!

Shanghai, 27th. June, 1907.

We beg to bring to your notice the follow-

(27*) E* D* 3922001 CO*

.00 ± RhymⱭ .l .8 (.be}

•Toads¶ .I (.be)

.00 $ eno s‡T (.52)

.eeyamaй .K . . (.52)

.00 3 sa¿MB(Is¶ setasws) (.52)

.IJAIBT .¶ (.be)

.alIR . M . . (.b2)

.90 3 rhianḍI YllaloobGA (.b?)

...oƆ » sívabdďA .0 (.52)

.00 3 leiV guooM (.hƐ)

.00 A Jite¶ . nísacrlf (62)

Some of the Chinese opium dealers here have received information from their constituents in Nanking that

the Viceroy there intends granting the monopoly of the Opim

trade in Nanking to a few dealers, who will only be allowed to

import opium there. So far no official notification has been

issued, but as there is every probability of its coming into

force at any moment, and subsequently a similar monopoly is

intended to be given here and elsewhere, we think it advisable

to lay the matter before you so that immediate steps may be

taken to stop its being carried into effect.

Such monopolies would prevent other dealers

from participating in the Opium trade thus destroying the

healthy competition and thereby crippling the business and

causing heavy losses to importers who will be at the mercy of

the few who hold the monopolies, as regards prices,&c.

It would also be greatly prejudicial to the

interest of the Indian Government if such a scheme is permitted

to be enforced specially in the present unsettled and unsatis-

-factory state of the opium trade owing to the action of the

Chinese Government in closing up the public smoking dens, and

importers, in view of the further uncertainty of demand from

those who would hold the monopoly, would curtail importation,

which would mean a material reduction of their purchases from

the Government of India's monthly sales.

We therefore beg to request you to be

good enough to take immediate action and oppose the movement

and if necessary to communicate with H. B. M's. Minister, at

Peking, as it is a contravention of Article X of the Treaty of

Nanking of 1842, which provides that British Merchandise have

paid the regulated Customs and dues such merchandise may be

conveyed

Comments

Approved members can add comments, bookmarks, and private notes.

No comments yet.

Private Research Note

Private notes are available after approval.