[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.] 298
(Telegraphic.) P.
Enclosure 1 in No. 1.
Viscount Morley to Government of India.
India Office, April 18, 1911. OPIUM negotiations: Your telegram of the 7th instant. An early settlement is clearly necessary, in the view of His Majesty's Government, who are impressed by the danger of drifting into the position of attempting to force opium on China after production in that country has virtually ceased. The full views, both of the Government of India and of His Majesty's Government, on the two questions still outstanding (a) as to existing stocks of opium and (b) as to the exclusion of Canton and Shanghai from any arrangement for closure by provinces--are well known to His Majesty's Minister at Peking, and I have consulted Foreign Office as to whether the time has not come for authorising latter to conclude a settlement on the best terms he can get. As regards (a), the position appears to be that a settlement on the lines of your telegram quoted above is not impossible; as regards (b), I take note of your strong protest against concession, but I am not prepared to face the breakdown of negotiations over this point. His Majesty's Minister at Peking has therefore been given authority to conclude a settlement on these two points at his discretion, subject to confirmation by His Majesty's Government. Reference will be made to the Govern- ment of India, if necessary, as regards derails in connection with (a), so as to ensure that any arrangements proposed by Sir J. Jordan are workable. As to (b), Sir J. Jordan will make the concession, but only in the last resort, and, if possible, a proviso to the effect that no treaty port shall be closed to opium before the end of 1912, or some such date, will be added.
OPIUM.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[15199]
0 13572
[April 24.]
SECTION 5,
|| MAY No. 1.
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received April 24.)
(No. 143.) Sir,
Peking, April 4, 1911. WITH reference to Mr. Max Müller's despatch No. 214 of the 29th June last year, I have the honour to enclose copies of a despatch and enclosures from His Majesty's consul-general at Shanghai, recording a further protest from British opium dealers against provincial regulations affecting the trade in the drug.
In a telegram dated the 29th March Mr. Fraser informed me that the Governor of Kiangsu declined to recognise that transit certificates issued under the additional article to the Chefoo Convention were excepted from the new stipulations that inland importers must be provided with the permits of the Kiangsu Opium Suppression Bureau on pain of confiscation of the opium. At the merchants' request. Mr. Fraser then suggested to the governor that the rules should be suspended until a uniform code for the whole Empire was settled between the two Governments. He added in his telegram that he felt sure the provincial authorities would not give way without orders from Peking,
In my reply I stated that, unless it could be clearly shown by concrete cases that the stipulations requiring inland importers to take out permits were actually prejudicing the free transport of Indian opium under transit certificate, I doubted if we had grounds for effective protest.
I agree generally with the views expressed in the penultimate paragraph of Mr. Fraser's despatch, and I have authorised him to communicate them, if necessary, to
I have, &c.
the merchants.
(Telegraphic.) P.
Enclosure 2 in No. 1.
Government of India to Viscount Morley.
April 7, 1911.
WITH reference to your opium telegram dated the 1st April. We recommend that British Minister should agree to closure of treaty ports to importation of uncertified opium on the 1st July, or on the date of the agreement, which- ever is the later date, supposing the consent of the Powers is obtainable in sufficient time.
Further, we recommend (1) that on the 1st July, or on the date of the agreement, whichever may be later, a census should be taken of all non-certified opium lying in the treaty ports; (2) that to all such opium the same privileges be guaranteed as to opium certified; (3) that in return for this guarantee we agree to reduce our total sales and exports of certified opium in 1912, 1913, 1914, and 1915, by the quantity thus determined, less the amount of last year's shortage, viz., 5,000 chests; (4) that, on condition we are allowed to warn our merchants to remove to treaty ports any opium bona fide destined for the market in China, the census and the privileges shall not be extended to Hong Kong.
There is no objection to the enforcement of the new consolidated duty whenever British Minister can ensure simultaneous withdrawal of restrictions at Canton, and secure guarantee that similar violations of the spirit of treaty rights shall not recur. It is unnecessary to fix a special period of grace, but we desire authority for com- municating to our merchants what the new duty will be, and what precise amount of relief they will obtain in consideration thereof. If Sir J. Jordan will advise what terus of intimation we should give we should be obliged.
On the 4th April all our sales at Calcutta were for China, and at the auctions in May and June only certified opium will be sold. Virtually this will bring us to the limit for the year 1911.
With regard to telegram of the 31st March from Sir J. Jordan, if the implication of the Chinese argument is that certified opium will be refused admission to Canton as a port whenever, in Kwangtung province, the cultivation and importation of native opium cease, we most strongly protest against such an arrangement being accepter, since it must go very far towards nullifying the entire settlement, making nought of the concessions and heavy sacrifices already offered by us. This telegram has been
communicated to Sir J. Jordan.
Enclosure in No. 1.
Consul-General Fraser to Sir J. Jordan.
J. N. JORDAN.
(No. 35.) Sir,
Shanghai, March 22, 1911. THE steps taken by the Chinese authorities to extinguish opium smoking have again led to complaint from the British dealers, whose views were expressed in a letter to my predecessor of the 28th October last, Sir Pelham Warren laid these views before the Governor of Kiangsu, copy and translation of whose reply is annexed.*
On the 4th February Messrs. Hansen McNeill and Jones again addressed this office asking for an official pronouncement that the regulations are not intended to overrule the treaty rights of foreigners and to interfere with the free transport of imported opium under transit passes, They also complained of a new intended tax on opium sold.
Copies of this and of further letters and of my answers are enclosed.*
The local regulations objected to are chiefly fussy provisions regarding periodical reports on stocks in hand, care in identifying purchasers as genuine licence-holders, registering of shopkeepers and their employés, use of special sales registers, and so forth.
After referring to the correspondence on record in this office and observing that this office received no reply to the letter forwarded in despatch No, 52 of the 21st June, 1910, I concluded that I should inform the opium dealers that the peculiar incidence on the Indian drug of Chinese measures to suppress the use of opium is not a sufficient reason for demanding the postponement until the final cessation of the Indian import of the system of licensing the retail sale and purchase of opium by Chinese; that such measures as are adopted, however annoying or even useless, do not amount to breaches of the existing convention regulating the trade; that their validity does not depend
• Not printed.
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