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and he expresses the opinion that the shipping companies could take more effective steps to deal with the ques- tion if so disposed.
4.
His Majesty's Consul admits that the shipping companies might, with some justification, throw all responsibility on the Customs, but he points out that in some cases and places reliance on the Customs is a counsel of perfection and that at Ichang for instance the Customs staff of searchers is not sufficient to attempt to deal adequately with this problen.
5
His Kajesty's Consul is inclined to advocate that the Opium Suppression Bureau should be provision- ally authorised to send unarmed parties to search Bri- tish vessels, subject to their undertaking not to search the accommodation of foreign officers and passengers, end not to remove any of the crew from the ship without the approval of the Dritish Consul. Such an agreement would only be concluded on the express condition that this provisional right of search would be liable to withdrawal in the event of any failure to abide by the above undertakings, while it would wàso have to be made clear that any such concession would not be regarded as a precedent for permitting independent searches of British vessels by other tax offices, but was only grant- ed on account of the interest of the British Government in opium suppression,
6.
His Majesty's Consul realizes that the introduc- tion of such a measure might cause the shipping companies a certain amount of inconvenience and annoyance but he expresses the opinion that the removal of this constant source of friction and the prospect of a better under-
standing/
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