CO129-513-5 Coastal and river trade- prevention of smuggling and illicit trading 15-10-1928 - 14-12-1929 — Page 57

Enclosure No. 2 in Shanghai Despatch No. 78 to H.B.M.Minister

56

Peking,

13/3/29.

Copy of Letter from Messrs. Butterfield & Swire,

Shanghai to H.B.M. Consul-General, Shanghai,9/2/29.

Sir,

SHANGHAI,

9th February 1929.

We beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of 22nd January in connection with the question of opium smuggling on board British ships.

We propose to reply to your letter where necessary paragraph by paragraph as it contains many statements which we are not only unable to accept but which can only be read to imply that responsibility for smuggling lies at the door of the Shipping Companies and that they alone are able to suppress the evil.

Before however going any further we wish it recorded once again that all our vessels are searched thoroughly every trip for all unmanifested cargo in- cluding Arms, Ammunition and Opium and further to put it on record that when Opium has been found it is seldom if ever that any steps are taken by the responsible Authorities to arrest and punish the guilty parties and furthermore that the difficulties in the way of the sup- pression of illicit cargo have been rendered almost insurmountable by H.M.Minister's own sanction to the issuing of "Permits to Ship" by the Chinese Maritime Customs despite strong protest by the Shipping Companies

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