CO129-349 - Governor Sir Lugard - 1908 [10-12] — Page 493

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"shall have once paid at any of the said ports the "regulated customs and dues, agreeable of the tariff to "be hereafter fixed, euch merchandise may be conveyed "by Chinese Merchante to any provines or city in the *interior of the Empire of China on paying a further *amount ae tranɛit duties, which shall not exceed "per cent on the tariff value of such goods."

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Article XIV of the French Treaty of Tientsin 1858 :-

"Aucune société de commerce privilegiée ne pourra "désormais e'etablir en Chine, et il en sera de même *de toute coalition organisee dans le but d'exercer une

"monopole sur le commerce, En cas de contravention

"en prevent Article, los autorités chinoises eur lee *representatione du congul ou de l'agent coneulaire, "aviseront aux moyens de dissoudre de semblablee

"aguociation dont elles s'efforceront d'ailleurs de "prévenir l'existence par dee prohibitione préalables, *afin d'ecarter tout ce qui pourrait porter atteinte a

1s libre concurrence."

We would wish to lay special stress upon the fact that by the Regulations now sought to be enforced by China, the right allowed by Treaty to all Merchants whether British or otherwise, to sell their opium to anyone. ie taken away, and that the "Scolêté de Commerce privilegiée" as quoted above,

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atom, has been practically brought into existence again: thus reviving an abuse which led to misunderstandings between the European Power and Ching and against which the Treaties of that period were specially intended to safeguard Free Trade in the future.

We submit that if Article 5 of the Edict ly carried out, in course of time, the number of dealers in raw opium will dwindle