CO129-373 - Public Offices - 1910 — Page 322

[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]

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other countries than China, We regret, therefore, that the development of the position has been so unfavourable to the interests of India. But so long as India receives a reasonable quid pro quo for all points freshly conceded to China we have no desire to obstruct the negotiations. Accordingly we proceed to state our recommen- dations as to the terms of settlement :----

1. China's request that the agreement should be renewed for seven years from 1911 should be accepted on the following conditions :---

(a.) Corresponding reduction shall be effected by China in her production of opium until it is extinguished in 1917, and our officers shall be permitted to conduct inquiries locally, and to obtain continuous evidence of this. The decision of these officers (Hosie or his successor) shall be accepted by both parties on the question of the extent of cultivation.

(b.) Facilities shall also be granted to our officers for reporting, with reference to localities other than treaty ports, the facts regarding taxation and restrictions on trade.

(c.) At treaty ports our wholesale dealers shall be relieved from all restrictions and taxation other than the consolidated duty.

(d.) During the period of agreement, no such restrictions or taxation shall again be imposed on our wholesale dealers at treaty ports.

(e.) The Chefu additional article, as interpreted in the past by the British Government, shall be literally observed.

or

(f) No arbitrary reduction shall be made in the number of wholesale traders. (g) India shall be at liberty, on breach of any of these conditions, to suspend terminate this agreement and to suspend or withdraw restrictions on the export of opium from India.

2. Subject to the following conditions, we agree to earmarked chests for China on the diminishing scale fixed in 1907-

(a.) The trade to receive adequate notice of change in procedure.

(b.) Before earmarking begins, the above-proposed conditions for seven years agreement to be accepted unreservedly and put in force.

(c) Interference by Chinese official not to be permitted. The proposal that chests should be sealed and endorsed by Chinese official is one to which we take strongest objection; its political effect in India would, we consider, be very regrettable.

3. We urge that the present negotiations should not embrace the question of increasing the consolidated import duty. On this matter ample assurance of our good faith has been given; but we consider that increase of duty should not be discussed until answers are forthcoming to the three questions put in Jordan's letter to Prince Ching, dated the 12th May, 1907. It should also be made clearly contingent on the When seven years agreement and its conditions being bona fide accepted by China. the position on all these grounds is satisfactorily established, we should have no objection to increased import duty, proof being given that, irrespective of all licences or other taxes on prepared opium, the excise on indigenous raw opium has been equivalently increased.

We solicit your Lordship's best consideration to our opinions, in view of the grave importance of the subject to India, and we trust that on all further developments of the negotiations you will give us the opportunity of offering advice.

OPIUM.

S

CONFIDENTIAL.

[38445]

Sir,

C O

34472

[October 22.]

SECTION 2.

REGIO NOV 10

No. 1.

China Association to Foreign Office-(Received October 22.)

159, Cannon Street, London, October 21, 1910. IN the letter from the Foreign Office with which this association was favoured on the 27th August last, it was stated, in regard to two instances of illegal seizure of opium at Samshui and Suntong, that His Majesty's Minister at Peking had addressed a strong protest to the Chinese Government, who had promised to call for an immediate report on the matter.

I am instructed by my committee, who at a meeting ou Tuesday had this question under consideration, to say that they would much appreciate any later information which the Secretary of State might be so good as to afford them relative to the above subject, as well as the general protest made by His Majesty's Government in regard to the new opium regulations at Cantou.

I have, &c.

[2957 y-2]

H. C. WILCOX, Secretary,

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