CO129-487 - Others & Individuals - 1924 — Page 514

L

MINUTES

__Consignothin)

practice for the Persian to give

Hong Kong as destination for a

The

lot of this opium. As a matter of

fact, of course, the opium never

went to Hong Kong but was diverted

to Macab, Vladivostock, Darien,

etc., whence it is presumed to be

smuggled mainly into China. importation of Persian opium

into Hong Kong is already

illegal except on a through bill of lading to a destination into

which it may legally be imported.

I understand that very little

Persian opium is smuggled into Hong Kong, the bulk of the

smuggled opium reaching the

Colony being Chinese,

(4) The 0.0. is willing to

co-operate generally in any practicable

measures designed to suppress

or reduce the illicit traffic in

opium in the Far East,

B. So far as Hong Kong

is concerned the immediate effect

of the issue of these regulations

would be :-

(1) to make (3) impossible,

and (ii) to enable the Hong Kong

Govt. to bring Namazee to book

for his transactions carried on

elsewhere than in the Colony,

that is, if, indeed, they are

This could be done

illegal.

under

MINUTES NOT TO BE WRITTEN

ON THIS SIDE.

† (ę umiller oku Ents and sunil an regulations.

503

under the new Opium Ordinance which

has recently been passed on the

lines of the Dangerous Drugs Acts

which makes it an offence against

Hong Kong Law for anyone to use the

Colony as a headquarters for carrying on a traffic which is against the laws of other countries

and gives the Hong Kong Govt., extensive new powers of search,

etc.

Ultimately the effect

*

of the Regulations might well be:-

(a) to drive the traffic to

foreign ships. The Japanese are already taking an interest in the Persian Gulf traffic and if this

lucrative field were denied to

British ships there would not

appear to be much doubt that Japanese and other foreign snipe would quickly take advantage of it.

(b) to force Namazee to transfer is office (so far as this traffic is concerned) from Hong Kong to Macao, Canton, or elsewhere

-

and (possibly if he still wiches to continue in the trade) to transfer

his ships from the Hong Kong Register. From these pointe of view it is doubtful whether the regulations would ultimately be very effective in curtailing the illicit traffic to the Far East.

D.