CO129-383 - Public Offices - 1911 — Page 594

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seven years, the import of foreign opium shall also be prohibited, and that this prohibition shall take effect progressively in any province from time to time.

The prohibition of the import of foreign opium depends on the prohibition of the cultivation of native opium, and so it has been decided to proceed province by province. The earlier native opium is suppressed, the earlier will the import of foreign opium come to an end.

The arrangement proposed is entirely satisfactory.

The increase of the duty on foreign opium simultaneously with the raising of the tax on native opium is part of the same object of forwarding prohibition by means of taxation, and orders should accordingly be given for this to be put into execution immediately. At the same time all the restrictions and taxation imposed by the provinces on the wholesale trade in foreign opium are to be immediately withdrawn in order to avoid confusion.

The new rates of increased taxation are, however, merely in the nature of a temporary expedient for the supply of deficiencies; the Throne is most anxious for the reform of the people, and although the country's resources are inadequate we As soon as the have not the slightest desire to rely on such a source for revenue. prohibition of the import of opium has become effective in all the provinces, some other source of revenue must be devised to make good deficiencies.

In the meantime orders for prohibition must be strictly enforced in order that the root of the evil may be speedily destroyed. Let the Ministers of the Interior and of Finance, and the Viceroys and governors of all provinces at once redouble their efforts to effectively carry out the prohibition of the production, the smoking and the transport. of opium and give such orders to their subordinates in this regard as will ensure a uniform progress towards complete abolition.

Thus will the wishes of our own people be met, and justice be done to the kind assistance of a friendly Power.

Such is our earnest desire.

Let this edict be made known to all.

(Signed by Prince Ch'ing, Na T'ung, Hsu Shih-ch'ang,

and Tsou Chia-lai.)

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This course having been sanctioned by rescript, telegraphic notifications were sent to the Viceroys and governors accordingly. Up to the present, however, no report has been received by the Ministry of the steps taken to carry into effect the abolition of the native opium tax bureaux, but in the meantime the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already concluded an agreement with the British Minister providing for an increase in the consolidated import duty on foreign opium up to 350 taels per 100 catties, on the understanding that the tax on all native opium be increased to an equivalent amount simultaneously.

The amount of the tax should be in proportion to the respective values, and the value of native opium is approximately two-thirds of the value of foreign opium. In the suppression of opium a beginning must first be made in our own country, and regarding the taxation of native opium as a means towards its suppression, there can be no objection to making that taxation heavy; it is proposed, therefore, to take two- thirds of the duty on foreign opium, and reckoning in round numbers to impose a tax on native opium of 230 taels per 100 catties.

In the event of the proposal being approved, it will be necessary for this Ministry to send telegraphic instructions to the Commissioner of the Native Opium Tax and to the Viceroys and governors that from the date of the decree all native opium, the transport of which has not been prohibited, together with all native opium intended for local consumption, shall pay duty at the new rate. On the receipt of the reports from the Viceroys and governors on the measures to be adopted when total extinction has been achieved, this Ministry will make further arrangements, and request the Commissioner of the Native Opium Tax to deal with the whole question of the revenue from this source.

The increase of the duty on foreign opium having been dealt with by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a separate memorial, this Ministry has accordingly submitted as above the reasons for requesting an equivalent increase in the tax on all native opium.

May 8, 1911,

(Translation.)

Enclosure 2 in No. 1.

Rescript of May 9, 1911.

Taxation of Native Opium.

WITH reference to the memorial presented by the Ministry of Finance requesting that a tax of 230 tacls per 100 catties should be levied on the opium produced in every province in order to correspond to the proposed increased duty on foreign opium, let action be taken as requested.

(Signed by Prince Ch'ing, Na T'ung, Hsü Shih-ch'ang,

and Tsai Tsê.)

Enclosure 3 in No. 1.

Memorial by Ministry of Finance regarding Taxation of Native Opium.

(Translation.)

DUKE TSAI TSÉ, &c., Minister of Finance, submits a memorial requesting the imposition of a tax on all native opium equivalent to the increased rate of duty agreed upon for foreign opium.

On the 20th March my Ministry submitted a memorial recommending the abolition of the native opium tax bureaux in view of the proposed prohibition of cultivation in the present year with a view to total extinction of the trade, but it was pointed out at the same time that there was a considerable amount of opium in stock, and that there was no intention of foregoing the collection of duty on this; accordingly, with a view to arriving at a suitable plan, Imperial instructions were asked for to all Viceroys and governors to examine the circumstances of each locality and report to the Throne

thereon.