CO129-486 - Public Offices - 1924 — Page 532

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الا الله

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the year 1923 as compared with the imports of 1919 to 1922. The

Government of India, however, find difficulty in accepting the

contention that exports of Indian opium to this Colony are

excessive since, from the papers received from the India office,

it appears that French Indo-China la supplementing its supplies

from India by large purchases of Chinese opium.

2.

The Colonial Office vide their letter, No. 47043/23, dated

the 14th December 1923, seem to be under the impression that opium

is exported from India to French Indo-China under the system

of direct sales, This is not the case. The question of selling

opium to French Indo-China under the stem raferred to was raised

by the Secretary of State for India in paragraph 5 of his despatch

No. 84-Revenue dated the 11th September 1919, This proposal was

welcomed by the Government of India in their telegram No. 1912–F...

dated the 15th October 1919 in which it was suggested that negotia-

tions might be opened with France to this end, In reply to a

subaequent reference, the India Office in their letter, No. R & S

2551/20, dated the 19th April 1920, stated that negotiations of

this kind with foreign powers take much time and there are

obvious difficulties in attempting to expedite than. From the

Foreign Office letter to Lord Hardinge, No. 3495/117/10 dated the

24th November 1922, which was received with Mr. Walton's letter

No, I & 0 3798/22, dated the 3rd January 1923, it, however,

appears that the French Government are not in favour of conclui ing

an agreement for the direct supply of Indian opium to French

Indo-China.

3. The present position, therefore, is that the Government of

French Indo-China are buying opium at monthly auctions in

Calcutta through their agents who are allowed to export it from

Calcutta on furnishing the Government of Bengal with an 'import

certificate' in the form prescribed by the League of Nations. Τη

this connection, I am to invite attention to paragraph 3 of Sir

Edward Cook's letter No. 1366-F.E. dated the 30th June 1921, in

which a reference was made to the difficulties which exist in the

way