CO129-349 - Governor Sir Lugard - 1908 [10-12] — Page 496

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*energy shewn by the central Government in the question, as "compared with the growing apathy evinced by the provincial #officials, and their lack of sustained effort to eradicate

*the evil.”

Ae the provincial officiels are expected to carry out the Edicts, their actione are chiefly to be considered, and not the ineffective Edicte igaved by the central Government. We entire- ly fail to see why His Britannic Majesty'e Minister should lay stress on the Opium Edict of reptember 20th 1906 which is merely an Edict or wish expreɛɛed by the Government of China, and has never to our knowledge, become a Treaty between the Chinese

Government and the British Government. We would point out that Treaties do exist between England and Chim regarding the former's trade and commerce, and we submit that so long as those Treaties remain unrepealed, British merchants trading in the Far East, and, as we have already pointed out, purchasing their merchandise direct from the British Goverment, should have the protection afforded them by those Treaties.

*

The result of the two recent attempte by the Viceroy of Wanking and by the Viceroy of the Two Kwonge, to interfere with legitimate trade have on each occasion caused a heavy drop in prices and a falling off in deliveries, rcgulting in heavy loss to the British Merchants and a complete disorganization of the trade in Raw Opium.

We would emphasize the fact that pressure was brought to bear upon the Viceroy of the Two Kwonga by the energetic action of the Consul-General in Canton so that the Regulations which he sought to enforce throughout the Kwong T-ng Provime were with- drawn in the City of Canton, yet in other Prefectures these Regulations have been brought into force, native dealers in raw opium have been fined and imprisoned by the Provincial Authorit- lea at Chiu Chow and Wui Chow, thus causing extreme uneasiness

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