138
9
He was there imprisoned for two days, and only he was a dangerous criminal. relcased on entering into a bond to pay a fine of 1,850 taels (say, 2357), while the two chests have been confiscated by the Kwong Wing Yuen firm. returned to Hong Kong and made his report to Messrs. Sassoon's.
The dealer then
The result of this is that, in view of the fact that the Canton opium monopolist does not pay the slightest attention to the Imperial Maritime Customs transit passes, but intends to enforce his regulations and the payment of the new tax on all raw foreign" opium prior to its reaching its point of consumption, the native dealers have stated that they are now afraid to deal in the drug.
<<
Business is consequently entirely at a standstill, and the loss to British importers has already reached an alarming figure.
At the time of the first introduction of the new regulations these firms held some 15,000 chests of Indian opium. Since then they have repeatedly requested the Indian Government to suspend the monthly sales, but as this has been refused they have heen forced, in self-defence, to continue buying, with the result that their holdings have now been largely increased,
In spite of the repeated representations made by His Britannic Majesty's chargé d'affaires to the Wai-wu Pu, and, under his instructions, by the consul-general to the Viceroy at Canton during the past three and a-half months, matters have been going from bad to worse, while the Chinese officials merely put off all enquiries by stating the matter is being enquired into, or they are communicating with such and such an official or hody.
The only point that has been gained is an offer from the Canton authorities : first, that the time of boiling the opium should be extended from three to ten days, and later, that it should be extended indefinitely.
This proposal has been passed down by the consul-general at Canton to the Hong Kong Government, who in their turn have asked for an expression of opinion on the subject from the Chamber of Commerce. The committee has informed his Excellency the Officer Administering the Government of this colony that in their opinion the proposal is worthless, and nothing will meet the case but an entire abolition of the tax and the opium monopoly, with a return to the status quo ante.
T
As already stated, the Chamber of Commerce hold the view that, so long as the present Indian agreement is in force, so long should British merchants be permitted to deal in raw opium unhindered under the terms of existing treaties.
It was understood that the entire import trade of raw opium into China would ccase, provided China herself carried out her part of the bargain within seven years from the present date. During this period merebants should be fully protected in their treaty rights by His Majesty's Government.
If China wished to bring matters to a close sooner, this was clearly a question to be settled between the two Governments concerned.
In the event of the British Government agreeing to such a proposal, then reasonable notice should be given to the public; full opportunity should be rendered to merchants to dispose of their stocks, and the auction sales of raw opium should at once be discontinued by the Indian Government. So long, however, as India continues to sell opium, merchants should be permitted to enjoy their right of trading in China, and the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce cannot but believe that, on a full consideration of the facts, His Majesty's Government will agree that there is no middle course possible.
The gravity of the situation, not only as regards the large sum of invested money at stake, but the even still more important principle of standing firmly to a full recognition of treaty rights in all matters relating to British subjects trading in China must be the justification for dealing so fully with this important question.
I have, &c.
GILBERT A. HEWETT,
Chairman.
[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
OPIUM.
CONFIDENTIAL,
No. 1.
со
[September 24
SECHON 2.
Rro 3 OCT 10,
([32759]
(No. 282.) Sir,
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your telegram No. 116 of the
Peking, August 20, 1910. 9th instant, enquiring whether the representations which I made to the Wai-wn Pu on the 1st August in regard to the Kuangtung Opium Regulations had led to any result, and instructing me, if not, to again urge on the Wai-wu Pu the importance attached by His Majesty's Government to the matter.
Mr. Max Müller to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received September 9.)
In reply, I had the honour to inform you in my telegram No. 139 of the 10th instant, that in reply to a verbal enquiry made on the previous day the Wai-wu Pu stated that my note was under careful consideration, but that they could not say when I might expect a reply. On the 16th instant I again caused verbal representations to be made to the Wai-wu Pu, and urged upon them the importance which His Majesty's Government attached to a modification of the regulations which would be acceptable to them. The Wai-wu Pu replied that as we had stated our willingness to consider an enhancement of the import duty it might be possible for the Chinese Government to meet us half-way, by removing the source of annoyance to us at Canton and elsewhere, but that there would be many points to settle and the Board of Finance would have to be consulted.
Mention was then made again on behalf of the legation of the seizure of several balls of opium covered by transit passes at the li-kin station of Ketyung Fort, Swatow; it was pointed out that the opium had not been released up to the 4th August, and that the system adopted at Swatow for collecting the additional tax amounted unquestionably to a tax on raw opium, if the description of the procedure given in a letter from the Swatow raw opium dealers to the Hong Kong dealers were correct, a copy of which reached me in a despatch from the Government of Hong Kong, The Wai-wu Pu maintained that there had been no breach of treaty, but that the Chinese dealer had been guilty of a breach of regulations. They had received a telegram from the Canton Viceroy on the subject, and promised to communicate it to His Majesty's Legation.
On the 9th August I had made representations in writing in regard to twenty balls of Patna opium which were seized on the 2nd August at Samshui after payment in full of duty and li-kin. I also stated that on the same date two chests of opium in transit were seized at Suntong, in the Sanning district, after payment in full of duty and li-kin; the owner arrested, sent to Canton and fined 1,850 taels, while the opium had been retained by the Kuang-Yuan office at Suntong. In my note I protested most strongly against the action of the provincial authorities in making these illegal seizures, and I requested that telegraphic instructions should be sent at once to the Viceroy of Canton to put a stop to such proceedings, which were in direct contravention of treaty. On the same day I supported these representations verbally, and was told by the Wai-wu Pu that they had no information, but promised to telegraph for a report. I said I failed to see how any justification could be found for such proceedings, and I expressed surprise that they should be allowed to continue while the whole question was under consideration and the Chinese Government had been given proof of the conciliatory disposition of His Majesty's Government. I renewed my representations in regard to this case on the 16th instant. I said we had no information that the opium had been released or the fine remitted, and the promised information had not been received from the Wai-wu Pu. I added that British trade was being seriously interfered with, and that British firms had already incurred heavy financial losses, for which they would undoubtedly prefer claims later.
1 am glad to be able to report that no fresh case of illegal seizure has been brought to my notice since those which I have mentioned above, but the results of two months' almost incessant representations are meagre in the extreme. They may be summarised briefly as follows :-----
1. The period within which raw opium must be boiled has been extended from three to ten days, and the Viceroy of Canton has undertaken to consider the possibility
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