CO129-479 - Governor Sir Stubbs - 1923 [1-3] — Page 312

F

CONFIDENTIAL.

307

FRES

12741 |

R. 12 MAR 23

GOVERNMENT HOUSE,

HONGKONG. 25th January, 1923.

40 54809/02

My Lord Duke,

I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt

of Your Grace's Confidential despatches of the 18th and 23rd:

H0 56745/22 November on the subject of the transhipment at Hongkong of

4

19.49197/22 50637/22 Yov: 98787/22

2006 713

15796/13 ** 23185/13

opium consigned to Formos?.

2.

The Turkish opium incident to which His Majesty's Ambassador at Tokyo refers has been dealt with in Mr. Severn's Confidentiel despatches of the 21st August and 4th September, and in my telegram of the 27th November; but having regard to the comments made by Sir C. Eliot and by the Foreign Office some further explanation seems to be desirable.

3.

In pursuance of the definite instructions of His Majesty's Government, contained in correspondence ending with Sir Henry May's Confidential despatch of the 19th December, 1912, the importation of raw Turkish opium into the Colony was made illegal as from the 13th February, 1913;

and, although in the same year, as reported in Sir Henry

May's Confidential despatches of the 16th April and the 13th

June, 1913, a special concession was made regarding Persian

and Indian opium consigned to Formosa, the exclusion of

Turkish opium from the Colony has remained absolute. Owing

to its high morphine content Turkish opium is not suitable

for smoking purposes, and it cannot be legitimately required

DE RIGHT HONOURABLE

THE DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE, K.G.,

&c.,

&C..

by