CO129-383 - Public Offices - 1911 — Page 81

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From the local an average of 1,500 taels per picul in 1909 to 2,200 taels in 1910. Chinese dealer's point of view, the year's trade was unsatisfactory, but not actually bad ; profits were small, but no losses were incurred.

Canton. No report has been received from His Majesty's consul-general at Canton, but he has forwarded certain information regarding the opium trade in Hong Kong "the trade of Canton is during the past year, with which, Mr. Jamieson states, intimately correlated."

The Hong Kong opium trade in 1910 was of an abnormal character, prices fluctuating violently throughout the year. In the spring a boom in the Indian drug sent prices up to the record figure of 3,000 dollars per chest. In the summer the anti- opium regulations of the Canton Government, involving heavy additional taxation, brought trade for two months almost to a standstill. In the autumn business revived, owing to a prospect of a withdrawal of the obnoxious taxes at Canton, and during the last three months of the year prices remained steady at between 2,200 dollars and 2,300 dollars a chest,

The import into Hong Kong in 1910 was --Patna, 15,026 chests; Benares, 6,241 chests; Malwa, 4,934 chests; total, 26,201 chests. At the end of January 1911 stocke amounted to 7.412 chests.

The opium merchants undoubtedly made large profits on the rise in the early part of the year and during the subsequent recovery above referred to, but against these must be set the heavy losses incurred in the summer on opium bought at the top of the market in April. On the whole, it may be said that, while it is highly improbable that the losses of Hong Kong opium merchants amounted as currently reported to, "several million dollars," the balance of their accounts for the year was probably on the wrong side.

Shanghai-His Majesty's consul-general states that a review of the customs returns for the past five years reveals the following facts :-

(a.) That the net total imports have been reduced from 15,000 piculs to slightly over 12,000 piculs.

(b.) That the sterling value of these imports has at the same time nearly doubled, from just over 1,250,000l. to over 2.500,000l.

(c.) That the quantity of Malwa opium imported has increased.

(d) That the decrease comes in about equal proportions from a reduction in the

import of Patna and Benares.

(e.) That the import of Persian opium has ceased entirely at Shanghai.

The price of the drug has fluctuated violently, having more than trebled during the past five years, i.e., 1906, 600-700 taels a chest; 1910, 1,060-2,000 taels a chest.

Mr. Fraser says that, generally speaking, firms which have bought opium steadily through the last five years have made large profits, and still more so those foreign firms which keep huge quantities of the drug in bond at Shanghai and elsewhere.

At the same time, frequent complaints have been made by Messrs. Sassoon and Co., and other large importers of Indian opium, regarding the prejudicial effect on the trade These restrictive measures of the anti-opium regulation of the Chinese Government.

not only hamper the free circulation and sale of the drug, but cause foreign importers to run great risks "which should not be found in any trade in an article of which the import and sale is allowed." Messrs. Sassoon point out that foreign importers cannot get out of the trade at a moment's notice, and that, as long as the Indian Government sells opium and there is a demand in China for it, it is necessary for them to continue in the market on account of connections.

As regards the measures taken by the Indian Government for the gradual reduction of export, Messrs. Sassoon and Co. complain that they tend directly to the encourage- ment of smuggling. They state that at the present time there is a stock of 3,000,000l. worth of opium in Hong Kong and China, much of it purchased at a high price, and they are afraid that a large proportion of the opium nominally exported to non-Chinese ports will ultimately be smuggled into China, and there sold at a comparatively low price.

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Messrs. Sassoon, in a letter to His Majesty's consul-general, discuss the “ marking" arrangements of the Indian Government, which they regard as highly prejudicial to their interests, and they suggest that the fairest manner of dealing with what is admittedly a very difficult situation would be for the Indian Government " to reduce the total quantity for sale in 1911 to proportions commensurate with the legitimate requirements of Chinese and non-Chinese ports."

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The following report was received too late for inclusion in the foregoing memorandum :----

Kiungchow (Island of Hainan).-His Majesty's consul reports that the average consumption of foreign opium in Hainan amounted until 1910 to 1,000 chests per annum. In that year, however, the legitimate import fell to 96 chests. He attributes this decrease to the following causes lack of purchasing power, due to drought and plague, smuggling from Kwangchowwan and Singapore-Mr. Pearson estimates the illicit import during the year at 400 chests-and the gradual diminution of the habit, due to the moral influence of the officials (none of whom smoke) and the better classes.

A Government monopoly of the import and sale of raw opiun of all kinds was established in December 1909. The average price per picul rose from 686-694 Haikuan taels in 1909 to 1,568 Haikuan taels in 1910.

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