680107-1882-Opium-Smuggling-Papers-laid-before-Council- — Page 2

ÉVITHDRAWN

THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 9TH DECEMBER, 1882. 905

It is the intention of the Committee to address the London Chamber of Commerce on this subject and I shall feel greatly obliged if His Excellency the Administrator would assist the Committee to rebut the injurious statements which have been so publicly set forth against the character of the Colony by causing official returns to be made to the Chamber of any reports from the Harbour Master, or Authorities of Police, or other information in the possession of the Colonial Government bearing upon the fitting out in this Harbour of heavily armed junks for the purpose of smuggling or carrying on a naval or piratical war with the Empire of China; also, of any reports or information showing the cases in which naval battles between such junks or other vessels leaving these waters and the Revenue Cruisers of the Chinese Government have occurred during the last six years comprising the term of Sir JOHN POPE HENNESSY'S Government within sight of the Island or in its neighbourhood, and of the number of men wounded in such encounters during the same period who have been brought to these shores, or of the instances in which, so far as is known to the Colonial Authorities, smugglers or Revenue Officers have been killed in the frequent affrays which are alleged to have taken place.

The Committee have been informed that the Honourable Mr. RUSSELL as Registrar General has furnished the Colonial Government with statistical information showing the disposition and the portion probably smuggled into China of Opium landed here, and it would greatly promote the object which the Committee has in view if His Excellency the Administrator would place Mr. RUSSELL'S report, or an abstract of it sufficient for the purpose, at the disposal of the Chamber.

I have the honour to be,

Sir,

Your most obedient Servant,

Honourable F. STEWART, LL.D.,

Acting Colonial Secretary,

F. BULKELEY Johnson,

Chairman.

No. 2202.

SIR,

COLONIAL SECRETARY'S OFFICE,

HONGKONG, 16th November, 1882.

In answer to your letter of the 10th instant, relative to an Address said to have been delivered in Nottingham by Sir JoшN POPE HENNESSY before the Social Science Congress, I have the honour, by direction of His Excellency the Officer Administering the Government, to transmit to you, as requested,

Extract from a Report by the the enclosed copies of Official Returns bearing on the subject of the Address.

Coloniai Treasurer and Registrar

General, dated 24th Oct., 1882,

Letter, with enclosure, from the Harbour Master, dated 13th Nov., 1832.

Return by Capt. Supt. of Police, dated 16th Nov., 1882.

I have the honour to be,

Sir,

Your most obedient Servant.

FREDERICK STEWART,

Acting Colonial Secretary,

The Honourable F. BULKELEY JOHNSON,

Chairman,

Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce,

St.,

J'e.,

j'c.

Extract from a Report by the Colonial Treasurer and Registrar General, dated 24th October, 1882.

In 1868, Sir THOMAS WADE said that "by the contraband trade of junks frequenting Hongkong "and Macao, the Customs Revenue is defrauded in import and export duties little less than 1,000,000

taels per annum.

Revision of Tientsin Treaty China No. 5, (1871), page 460.

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The Governor states that "the Hongkong Government gets at present $205,000 per annum "from the Opium Farm, which is practically levying an ad valorem tax on it of more than 100 per cent. "to the Consumers," and that he agrees" with Sir THOMAS WADE that, by the Opium smuggling from Hongkong into China, the Government of Chira loses at least a million of taels of revenue per annum. (See H.M.'s Colonial Possessions C. 3094 of 1881.)

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Putting aside the disparity in the Estimates of the amount of smuggling, there can be no doubt but the geographical position of the Island does afford a basis of operations, and that a considerable amount does exist. The undersigned, however, ventures with all respect to point out that a compa- rison of the figures given by Sir THOMAS WADE, on page 3 of Command paper 2716, China, No. 2, (1880), shows that not more than 3.357 piculs of Opium (leaving out Macao which takes up a large quantity) can be smuggled into China from Hongkong. The revenue on that in 1876. would have been less than $300,000. In 1875, there were left at Hongkong 21,670 piculs of the whole import.

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