CO129-368 - Acting Governor May - 1910 [8-9] — Page 473

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.IV

YOPY.

469

(To accompany VI.)

30678

REG REG 6 001-10

Canton.

(No date.)

Messrs. B. D', Sassoon & Co.

Dear Sirs,

satw oŋbuIwondɔs of tuo nod odd ove." I

oð bna,omktív .dt05 edt to restei a'vons((soxă twoy #imarit tejjel a to vgoo a noktalanart bus Ianlatno ni d‡iweted brawtot

notna erit vď vrtaqmoɔ bis noonesë ‚C .I .arazek of beanethis

yď jneruriavoð aldé of habnar stow aźnemaroob gaert .bfluð mɛå QU

erit no

naqmod bus nooɑas2 ·C .I .atɛɛek to evijstnerenqez #

.*nstent .*ef

(.030 oveď I

(X@M .F .* (.52)

-ntevoð eất gatrodatakmba roɔlt70

JHOE-

We beg to inform you that a few days ago the

Canton Viceroy received a wire from the Wại Wua Pu stating that

the British Minister proposed to double the Tariff duty if the

prepared opium tax is allowed to be removed. The Viceroy asked

the directors Hu and Chong of the Bureau for the suppression

of opium for advice. They strongly objected to the British

Minister's proposal on grounds that this tax is levied on prepar-

-ed opium and divided into 10 stages from 30 cents a tael to

$3 a teel and will bring an income of 5 to 6 millions yearly

and inside 3 years the Canton revenue will be profited by 20

millions. The British Minister's proposal is simply a trap to

give us a bait, no doubt, the foreigners have a bad heart.

We are surprised to note again the state-

-ments made by the directors of the Bureau that this tax is on

prepared opium and that it # is a matter of internal adminis-

-tration. How would they explain that the tax has to be paid

before sale is effected and what about the security ↑ Now the

Bureau declared to the Viceroy as well as to the Wai Wa Pu that

the tax is levied on prepared opium and ≈ at the same time forces the raw opium dealers to pay it.

We hope you will be good enough to point

this out to your Minister and beg him to protest strongly.

‚aozka??A'b ógrand e'yjæetsk sinnsti-E

. и IX I ¶

Yours faithfully,

(sd.) Tung Fook Tong,

(Canton Opium Guild.)

į

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