CO129-385 - Public Offices - 1911 — Page 47

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

о

[B]

OPIUM.

CONFIDENTIAL.

[35243]

No. 1.

33819

7.1

SECTION 4.

Sir,

India Office to Foreign Office.--(Received September 7.)

India Office, September 6, 1911. WITH reference to the correspondence ending with your letter of the 23rd August, I am directed by the Secretary of State for India in Council to forward a copy of a telegram received from the Government of India on the 23rd August regarding the subjects for discussion at the forthcoming Opium Conference. The Government of India urge three points, viz. -

1. That measures for controlling the trade in cocaine, morphia, &c., should be given

a position of the highest importance in the agenda.

2. That the arrangements regarding the Indian opium trade with China should not be included in the subjects for discussion.

3. That the domestic regulation of the production and use of opium in India should also be excluded.

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On the first two of these points satisfactory assurances have been obtained. The third, however, appears to be still uncovered by any express assurances. The "tentative programme" submitted by the United States Government in their "circular instructions' of the 1st September, 1909, included certain proposals to which objection might be taken on the ground that they may possibly involve interference by the conference in matters of domestic administration, notably, those lettered (a), (f), and (i). In replying to the United States Government on the 17th September, 1910, Sir E. Grey expressed the view, based on the recommendation of the Interdepartmental Committee, that the subjects for discussion at the conference should be those indicated in the recommendations of the Shanghai Commission," and stated that His Majesty's Government "must take exception to items (h), (l), (m), (n) of the tentative pro- gramme," specifically mentioning, as excluded from the scope of the conference, the opium arrangements and other existing treaties between India and China. Exception was at the same time taken to the use of the word "uniform" in resolution (a) of the tentative programme. In reply to this latter point, Mr. Whitelaw Reid agreed, in his letter of the 4th October, 1910, to the substitution of the words " more effective" for

uniform."

It appears from the above that, with the exception of items (h), (1), (m), and (n), the tentative programme, as amended, stands as accepted by His Majesty's Govern- ment for discussion at the conference, but that no assurances have been received that the discussion under headings (a), (f), and (i) will not be allowed to infringe on matters essentially of internal administration.

I am directed by the Secretary of State for India in Council to express the strongest objection to the inclusion of matters relating to Indian domestic opium administration in the discussions of the conference, and to say that his Lordship fully concurs in the remarks made by the Government of India on this point. I am to suggest that it would be desirable, if Sir E. Grey does not see insurmountable difficulties, to secure from the United States Government, for the information of the Government of India, a statement of their views and intentions on this point. It may perhaps be anti- cipated that such a statement would be of a reassuring character, but if not, it will remain for consideration whether it would not be well formally to record an objection to the inclusion of matters of internal opium administration among the recommendations of the conference.

I am to inquire whether any final programme of the agenda at the conference has been, or will shortly be, issued by the Netherlands Government.

I am,

&c.

R. RITCHIE.

[2182 g-4]

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