[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
OPIUM.
CONFIDENTIAL.
< [57070]
C. O.
6 406
RECS
REG 19 FEB 14
[December 19.]
SECTION 1.
No. 1.
(No. 450.) Sir,
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received December 19.)
Peking, December 3, 1913. I HAVE the honour to report that the bonded stocks of certificated Indian opium for disposal in China markets at the end of October last were 17,129 chests. The stocks at the beginning of January, as given in the enclosure of my despatch No. 60 of the 6th February last, were 29,760 chests. The number that went into consumption during the first ten months of this year shows thus a monthly average of 1,263 chests, and it is noteworthy that the consumption during the last two months of this period were 1,628 and 1,714 chests respectively, the improvement in the markets at Shanghai and Hong Kong being ascribed as due, in a great measure, to the demand for the drug by the northern soldiers of Chang Hsün at Nanking and the southern followers of General Lung at Canton.
The foreign opium merchants at Shanghai and Hong Kong estimate that, in the ordinary course of events, the balance of the stocks should be absorbed by the middle of 1915, but I am disposed to think that an earlier month will see the end of the trade, unless various causes which require consideration should extend the date even beyond June 1915. The most important of these appear to be three in number, and described as-
be
1. The shrinkage of the outlets for Indiau opium.
2. The ratification of The Hague Convention of 1912,
may
3. The increase of the amount of uncertificated opium to be exported from India during 1914.
Two points arise in the discussion of the first of these three causes, viz.: (a) the loss of inland markets due to illegal obstruction on the part of the Chinese authorities; and (b) the addition of provinces to the list of those into which the conveyance of Indian opium is already forbidden. With regard to the former of these points, it should be plainly stated that the sentimental outcries of anti-opium sympathisers in England have encouraged and emboldened the Chinese authorities to violate openly opium agreements, scrupulously observed by His Majesty's Government, and framed to assist China to a gradual and effective suppression of the opium habit. The persecution of native dealers in the legitimate handling of the drug by confiscation, fine, imprisonment, and blackmail has not only seriously embarrassed this legation and His Majesty's consuls in China, but has also brought about a very difficult condition of affairs for the foreign opium merchant to face and meet, and the extraordinary situation has been created that the Chinese Government collect duty and issue passes for the inland transit of Indian opium, as provided for in clause 3 of the additional article to the Cheefoo Convention, and then confiscate the drug and punish its owners after it has left the shelter of the Chinese customs-houses and the foreign settlements. This irregular procedure has forced a perfectly lawful traffic into illicit channels, and it would not be an exaggeration to state that the bulk of the Indian opium consumed in the interior has been smuggled there by the Chinese dealers. The ingenuity, resource, and boldness of the Chinese smuggler are notorious, but, nevertheless, the insurance against official confiscation and blackmail is represented by an addition to the ultimate price at the rate of not less than 500 taels (70%) a chest. With regard to the second point, of the addition of provinces to the list of those into which the conveyance of Indian opium is already forbidden, it is noteworthy that the average annual import of Indian opium into the eleven provinces already on the prohibition list for the two years preceding that in which they were granted exemption was 1,666 chests, of which more than 96 per cent, was taken by Shantung, Anhui, and Hunan, the latest additions to the list in June of this year. The Chinese Government in June and July last requested the addition to the list of Chekiang, Fukien, Kiangai, and Hupeh, and it is highly probable that they will insist upon a joint inspection next spring. Should these provinces then be found clear of poppy cultivation and free from the importation of
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