CO129-396 - Public Offices - 1912 — Page 517

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the terms of the Agreement of May 1911, would be

weakened by even temporary suspension of this year's

notified sales. It is thought that this last

consideration should appeal to firms having large

commitments in China,

I am to

Lord Crewe concurs in the terms of Sir Edward

Grey's proposed reply to Messrs. Sassoons' request

that His Majesty's Government should hold the Chinese

Government responsible for losses sustained by the

merchants through the breach of Treaty stipulations,

or that it should press the Chinese Government to

take the merchants' stocks of Indian opium.

observe that the magnitude of the losses complained

of is in a great measure due to the action of the

merchants themselves In representing that they hold

stocks of opium "bought from the Indian Government at

high prices" Messrs. Sassoons do not mention the fact

that the prices in question were determined by

themselves and other opium dealers on grounds which

can only be described as speculative.

They have

themselves

aw

Ved

writ