CO129-502-10 Macao opium traffic 6-12-1926 - 7-12-1927 — Page 93

S.0.261.

CAM

39.

Home Office,

Whitehall,

93

S.W.1.

29th June, 1927.

Dear Paskin,

With regard to Beckett's note of the 25th (30049/27)

enclosing copy of a telegram from the Governor of Hong Kong, there

are one or two points in connection with this application from the

Goverment of Macao which seem to me to be curious. First, one would

imagine from the terms of the Governor's telegram (the sentence

begiming "Macao Government therefore desire to borrow, etc.) either

that he is unaware of the decision of the Indian Government to supply

no more Indian opium to Macao, or else that the Government of Macao

have led him to believe that that decision has been reversed and that

they are supegpångnames about to receive, supplies of opium from

India. Secondly, the Portuguese Government have had many months in

which to prepare for the change over from the farm system to the system

of the Government Monopoly. They signed and subsequently ratified

Agreement

the Geneva tintention with a reservation that the provisions requiring

the institution of a Government Monopoly should not take effect until

the then existing lease to the farmer had run out, and they knew that

the lease was going to run out at the end of this month. It seems

amazing that knowing all this, they should find themselves without any

opium at the moment of the institution of the Government Monopoly.

The "normal sources" from which Macao has been obtaining its opium

for some time past have been Persia, and we are not aware that there

has been any difficulty in obtaining supplies of opium from Persia.

What the "opposition of vested interests" has to do with the matter

མ་. of course one cannot tell without much fuller knowledge and facts.

There have been rumours, as you know, of grave scandals at Macao in

connection with the opium question, but we are without y full or