CO129-406 - Public Offices - 1913 — Page 366

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

OPIUM.

C.O

39233

[November 13

CONFIDENTIAL.

[49854]

No. 1.

SECTION 1.

*

(No. 396.) Sir,

Mr. Alston to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received November 3.)

Peking, October 20, 1913. WITH reference to your telegram No. 206 of the 10th instant, I have the honour to report that on the receipt of your despatch No. 177 of the 27th June last respecting the traffic in opium in Kwangchauwan, I prepared a short memorandum of the contents of the despatch from the Governor of Hong Kong of the 3rd May for communication to the French Minister. M. Conty was absent from Peking at the time, and when he returned later on I gave him the memorandum and asked that he would consider the matter. Since that time he has again been absent from Peking off and on, and when I referred to the question a few days ago he said that he did not realise that I attached any great importance to it, but would look into it again.

On receipt of your telegram No. 206, I gave M. Conty, unofficially, a copy of the Anglo-Portuguese agreement of June of this year for regulating the traffic in opium at Macao, and suggested to him that a similar arrangement might be come to with the French Government as regards Kwangchauwan before the termination of the present farmer's lease at the end of this year.

M. Conty said that he would study the Macao agreement, but observed that the colony of Indo-China, in the administration of which the leased territory of Kwang- chauwan is comprised, had not yet adhered to the opium convention, and that he did not understand our solicitude in desiring to prevent any smuggling of opium which might take place from there into China, as China had not asked for it herself.

I pointed out that from the figures given it was admitted that the importation of opium into Kwangchauwan was over 200 chests in excess of the estimated require- ments of the locality (roughly fifty chests), and apart from the obvious fact that part of it must find its way into the mainland, it was also a hindrance to the measures which were being taken by the colony of Hong Kong to restrict the traffic in conformity with the stipulations of The Hague Opium Convention of the 23rd January, 1912.

M. Conty did not appear to be much affected by these arguments, but said he would refer the matter unofficially to the Government of Indo-China and to the Quai d'Orsay for observations, and promised to let me know the result.

I have, &c.

[1943 c −1]

B. ALSTON.

364

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