§ SIR H. COTTON (Nottingham, E)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether any proposals have been made by the Government of China regarding the future importation of Indian opium; and, if so, whether he is in a position to state their purport and indicate the tenor of the action of His Majesty's Government thereon.
§ THE SECRETAEY of STATE FOR INDIA (Mr. MORLEY, Montrose Burghs)The reply to the first part of the Question is in the affirmative. The proposals were stated with substantial accuracy in the telegram from Pekin in The Times of 25th December. They have 703 been put forward as a basis for discussion. His Majesty's Government intends to enter upon this as soon as the views of the Government of India have been received. A despatch is on its way.