CO129-392 - Governor Sir May - 1912 [9-10] — Page 296

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A

CONFIDENTIAL.

C.O.

35553

TRE02

284

IR 9 NOV 12

GOVERNMENT HOUSE,

HONGKONG. 15th. October, 1912.

30 30101

Sir,

I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of

your telegram in cypher of the 26th. ultimo of which the following is a paraphrase:-

You. 36239

The Foreign Office require a detailed statement in sup- -port of the assertion in Sir F. Lugard's Despatch of

the 16th. of October, 1911, to the effect that the total legitimate annual requirements of Indian Opium for

Lacao are 440 chests.

2.

The figure given by Sir F. Lugard was derived

from an estimate made in October, 1911, by the Superintendent of

Imports and Exports of the legitimate exports of uncertificated

opium from this Colony. At that time Er. R. 0. Hutchison estimated

that the legitimate annual consumption of Indian Opium in Macao

could not exceed 200 chests per annum and that the legitimate

requirement there for boiling for export could not exceed 240

chests per annum. In both cases the estimate was a liberal one.

Mr. Hutchison had not been asked to make a careful estimate for

official use and gave the figures as the expression of his opinion

only. If he had known that the figures would be made use of he

would have closely examined the subject.

3.

The Superintendent of Imports and Exports has now gone carefully into the matter. The figures quoted below are derived from records of exports of Indian opium to Macao from

RIGHT HONOURABLE

LEWIS HARCOURT, M.P.,

Hongkong;

&C.,

&c..

&C...

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