CO129-384 - Public Offices - 1911 — Page 426

CONFIDENTIAL.

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RECP REGE 31 AUG

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Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.--(Received August, 445 P.M.)

(No. 184.) R.

YOUR telegram No. 116 [ of Gng. to

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Peking, August 3, 1911, 4·15 P.M. ] and my telegram No. 174[ of ą.

Governor of Hong Kong informs me that prohibition of import of uncertificated opium will not at present include non-Indian opium. This decision raises a serious question regarding Persian opium There are already over 500 chests of Persian opium in Hong Kong in excess of authorised import for 1911, and the British holders of it, on the strength of Customs notification of 1908 (see my despatch No. 152 of 31st March, 1908), have requested me, through governor, to negotiate arrangement with Wai-wu Pu for admission into China of existing stocks and for an extension of two years to enable them to wind up their business.

Chinese Government are determined to enforce prohibition from 1912 (see my. telegram No. 160[ 4 Jul 19 ]), and have, in my opinion, full right to do so. I could therefore hope to obtain for Hong Kong importers of Persian opiuma would be Most permission to transfer to China within present year stocks which can be proved to have been imported or ordered prior to the issue of prohibition, but in no case to exceed 625 chests, the quantity fixed for 1912 under 1908 arrangement. This will be extremely difficult in any case, but it will be impossible if Hong Kong is to be kept open to further imports of Persian opium and run the great risk of being made a base for smuggling into China.

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