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Majesty's Government has long sympathised with the idea of
prohibiting the use of opium, feel assured that the friend-
ly relations which our two countries enjoy will secure for
us cordial assistance in this beneficial measure.
In pur-
suance of the Imperial Command to arrive at a satisfactory
understanding with Foreign Covernments we have accordingly
drawn up the present memorandum to facilitate personal dis-
cussion with Your Excellency and beg that you will be good
enough to communicate with His Majesty's Government on
this important question.
1.The term of ton years having been fixed for the totąl
cessation of the production of native opium, the same term
must also be applied to the import of foreign opium, in or-
der that both may be totally prohibited within the same par
icd.
The only plan seems to be to decrease the amount of
foreign opium imported, year by year, until it finally dis-
appears. We propose to take the average of the annual
import of foreign opium during the five years 1901-5 as
the figure to work upon, and to ask His Majesty's Govern-
ment to agree to reduce the import by one-tenth each year
after 1907 so that it shall disappear entirely in ten years.
2. 'Calcutta being the chief emporium for foreign
opium,
:
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