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branches continue to engage, as they are engaging at the present
time, in the illicit opium traffic, it is clearly the duty of the
British Government to do everything possible to hinder these
proceedings. The fact that Nemazee is a British subject and that
his branches in Macao, Shanghai, Bombay and elsewhere are engaged
in carrying on the illicit opium business is already embarrassing
to us at Geneva, and other countries are not going to allow us to
forget it.
It is certainly unfortunate that the Indian Government
have delayed so long to take the power necessary to enable them to
deal with the Nemazee branch at Bombay and other persons who
organise opium and drug transactions from Indian soil (it is not for
want of any urging from here), but the fact that they have not yet
done so clearly cannot be given as a reason for the Hong Kong
Government to allow Nemazee to do what he likes, so long as he does
not do it on Hong Kong soil.
We cannot see any ground for withdrawing the instructions
which were given to the Governor in 1924 and which have only been in
suspense hitherto because Nemazee has remained in Persia all the
time.
I return the draft despatch.
Yours sincerely,
malcoben Delevigne
Sir Gilbert Grindle, K.C.M.G., C.B.
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