440
This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.
C. O.
[April 10.16436]
CHINA TRADE,
CONFIDENTIAL.
[12286]
No. 1.
SECTIONF1
H 8 MAY 08
:
ANTE
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received April 10.)
(No. 125.)
Peking, March 13, 1908. Sir,
MY despatches Nos. 80 and 93 of the 17th and 25th February last will have shown you the steps which were taken, in pursuance of your instructions, to influence the decision of the Municipal Council at Shanghae in favour of the suppression of opium saloons within the Settlement, and I have now the honour to transmit to you herewith copy of a despatch from His Majesty's Consul-General, in which Sir Pelham Warren forwards copy of the Council's reply to his representations on the subject.
The policy which the Council proposed to adopt is outlined in the Minute inclosed in this despatch. It was intended to make the levy of opium licences the subject of a Resolution to be submitted to the ratepayers' meeting before the consideration of the Budget, so as to afford ample opportunity for its discussion. It was to be suggested that the partial measures of diminution which are now in force should be continued, and that further steps should be taken in the same direction, either by a reduction in the number of licences, to be determined by lot, or by a curtailment of the lamps in each house proportionate to an ascertained decrease in the cultivation and importation of the drug. Sir Pelham Warren explained that the Council was, he understood, prepared to recommend a reduction in the number of licences by one-quarter, to take effect from the 1st July next, and, if the anti-opium movement continued to make progress elsewhere, to consider at an early date such other steps as might lead to the total abolition of the opium habit within the International Settlement.
Two later despatches from His Majesty's Consul-General, copies of which are likewise inclosed herewith, relate to the intervention of the Shanghae Missionary Association in the question. That body is willing to give its adhesion to the Council's proposal on the distinct understanding that the reduction of one-quarter in the number of licences is to be first of a series of consecutive reductions of 25 per cent., taking effect in four successive periods of six months, and resulting in the cancellation of the whole of the licences within a period of two years from the date of the inception of the scheme.
In his reply to the Association, the Secretary of the Council states that the reduction in question is to be "part of a programme of periodic reductions to extend over a period of two years." This statement has been received by the Missionary Association with satisfaction, and, should the proposal be accepted by the ratepayers, it will, I hope, fulfil the requirements of the case.
I have, &c. (Signed) J. N. JORDAN.
Inclosure 1 in No. 1.
(No. 25.) Sir,
Consul-General Sir P. Warren to Sir J. Jordan,
Shanghae, March 2, 1908. IN obedience to the instructions contained in your despatch No. 17 of the 17th ultimo, I communicated to the Chairman of the Shanghae Municipal Council the contents of His Majesty's Secretary of State's despatch of the 25th January commenting upon the decision of the Council to take no immediate steps for the reduction of the number of licences for opium saloons within their jurisdiction, and at the same time I expressed to him, in your name, the hope that the Council would recognize the wisdom of acting upon the advice of His Majesty's Government.
I have the honour now to inclose a copy of the Chairman's reply to my letter and of the Minute setting forth the policy of the Council to which he refers. In the opinion of the Chairman, the measures which the Council propose to recommend for the ratepayers, namely, either the reduction, by lot, in the number of licences or the [2918 k-1]
B
440
This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.
C. O.
[April 10.16436
CHINA TRADE,
CONFIDENTIAL.
[12286]
No. 1.
SECTIONF1
H 8 MAY 08
:
ANTE
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received April 10.)
(No. 125.)
Peking, March 13, 1908. Sir,
MY despatches Nos. 80 and 93 of the 17th and 25th February last will have shown you the steps which were taken, in pursuance of your instructions, to influence the decision of the Municipal Council at Shanghae in favour of the suppression of opium saloons within the Settlement, and I have now the honour to transmit to you berewith copy of a despatch from His Majesty's Consul-General, in which Sir Pelham Warren forwards copy of the Council's reply to his representations on the subject.
The policy which the Council proposed to adopt is outlined in the Minute inclosed in this despatch. It was intended to make the levy of opium licences the subject of a Resolution to be submitted to the ratepayers' meeting before the consideration of the Budget, so as to afford ample opportunity for its discussion. It was to be suggested that the partial measures of diminution which are now in force should be continued, and that further steps should be taken in the same dircetion, either by a reduction in the number of licences, to be determined by lot, or by a curtailment of the lamps in each house proportionate to an ascertained decrease in the cultivation and importation of the drug. Sir Pelham Warren explained that the Council was, he understood, prepared to recommend a reduction in the number of licences by one-quarter, to take effect from the 1st July next, and, if the anti-opium movement continued to make progress elsewhere, to consider at an early date such other steps as might lead to the total abolition of the opinm habit within the International Settlement.
Two later despatches from His Majesty's Consul-General, copies of which are likewise inclosed herewith, relate to the intervention of the Shanghae Missionary Association in the question. That body is willing to give its adhesion to the Council's proposal on the distinct understanding that the reduction of one-quarter in the number of licences is to be first of a series of consecutive reductions of 25 per cent., taking effect in four successive periods of six months, and resulting in the cancellation of the whole of the licences within a period of two years from the date of the inception of the scheme.
In his reply to the Association, the Secretary of the Council states that the reduction in question is to be " part of a programme of periodic reductions to extend over a period of two years." This statement has been received by the Missionary Association with satisfaction, and, should the proposal be accepted by the ratepayers, it will, I hope, fulfil the requirements of the case.
I have, &c. (Signed) J. N. JORDAN.
:
Inclosure 1 in No. 1.
(No. 25.) Sir,
Consul-General Sir P. Warren to Sir J. Jordan,
Shanghae, March 2, 1908. IN obedience to the instructions contained in your despatch No. 17 of the 17th ultimo, I communicated to the Chairman of the Shanghae Municipal Council the contents of His Majesty's Secretary of State's despatch of the 25th January commenting upon the decision of the Council to take no immediate steps for the reduction of the number of licences for opium saloons within their jurisdiction, and at the same time I expressed to him, in your name, the hope that the Council would recognize the wisdom of acting upon the advice of His Majesty's Government.
I have the honour now to inclose a copy of the Chairman's reply to my letter and of the Minute setting forth the policy of the Council to which he refers. In the opinion of the Chairman, the measures which the Council propose to recommend for the ratepayers, namely, either the reduction, by lot, in the number of licences or the
[2918 k-1]
B
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