Enclosure No. 2
COFY
Jardine Matheson & Co., Ltd.,
Sir,
27
Shanghai,February 9th.1930.
We are in receipt of your len thy despatch dated the 22nd.
u timo which reached us on the 1st instant, the subject matter being the carriage of Opium and "Pidgin cargo" on British ships engaged
in trade on the upper reaches of the Yangtsze and setting forth H.M.Minister's view that while he would be reluctant to depart from
the principle that British Ships are immune from search except by officials of the Maritime Customs H. M. Government may be forced
to reconsider the policy of immunity and their hole attitude as
regards the searching of British ships by Chinese authorities if the
complained of abuses are not topped by drastic prevention on the part of the Shipping Copanics themselves. Your despatch concludes with the request that we will inform you that steps we & actually takin to put a stop to the carrying of opium and other unmanifested
cargo on our vessels.
We further note from the body of your despatch under reply that it is because the Chinese Maritime Customs are understaffed and hence unable to carry out the d: ties which properly pertain
the of searching for and seizing illicit shipments (of opium or otherwise) that the onus is thrown on the Shipping Companies to provide a remedy or submit to search by such organizations as Opium Suppression Bureau and other similarly constituted Chinese bodies.
In this connection it is pertinent to the issues involved to state that about June 1928 Mr. F. W. Kaze, then Commissioner of Customs at Shanghai, fur ished Opiu. Suppression Bureau parties with his official card requesting that they be permitted to search vessels for opium and frankly stated that he was not prepared to risk the lives of Custom's employees in this work as the Customs service was revenue and not preventative. Appeal to H. B.H. Consul General at Shanghai brought forth the following from the Consulate dated July 11th, 1928 addressed to us:-
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