"London & thing Relegraph
213ch.
ditto
13306.
HONG KONG AND THE OPIUM MONOPOLY. (To the Editor of the London and China Telegraph.) SIR, I was very glad to sto, un your list is the Lonton and China Telegraph, an extract from the North China Herald, by which it is autounced that the Chinese Imperial taxes on jopium are to be collected at Hong Kong; in fact, that they are trying to establish the rumpoly there. A'his is certainly a move in the right direction, for it indicates the time rapidly nearing when the island now held by us will be handed over to its original owners. Very few, I venture to think, will question the desir lability of such a change. Great Britain nowadays, as is proved (to their own satisfaction) by philanthropists, does a great wrong in keeping possession of any territory outside her own particular islands, and measures are being taken to denude her of all such. China for the Chinese ought to be our cry, and the sooner Hong Kong is handed over the better it will be for unfortunate Eng- land, which groans from a sense of acting immorally, which is justly considered in this very moral age as most debasing. After this establishment of the Clineso Customs at Hong Kong there will be but a short step to taking possession, or at any rate repre- senting that the colony is held by Great Britain from her Suze- rain (a popular term), and that the taxes really constitute a tribute. Of course, the handing over will have to be arranged in a systematic and orderly manner, for there are still, unfor tanately, some persons who cannot see the necessity for giving everything up. But those misguided individuals must acknow- ledge the error of their ways when they come to consider the great success of such a policy, as evidenced in the progress of Hong Kong, and after a short time, when they are accustomed to paying taxes to Chinese officials, will quietly fall into the new order of things. It is not likely we shall think of object- ing if an official sends in a report of the respect paid to him as a representative of the Suzerain, as was done from Macao, for it will be in accordance with what appears on the face of facts ' as they are, and cannot but meet with universal approbation, ha We are, indeed, improving, and shortly will be able to pose as regenerators of the world at large, and by our example show that we, at any rate, are not so degenerate as to glory in the doings of the so-called heroes of a bygove and barbarous age.— I am, &c.,
A. CHINAPHIL. London, Feb. 16.
PEKING AND TIENTSIN, The North China Herald correspondent writes as follows:- The Opium Syndicate seems to be settled, and the necessary parties will establish themselves at Hong Kong. The new re gulations may probably come into force with the new year. India's sanction has apparently been obtained to an increase in the duty. The arrangement may work well; it is at least to be put upou its trial for a time. It has been strongly recommended by one or more of the Canton merchants, and so we are going to have repeated at Hong Kong what existed in the early days of the century at Cantou-an Opinm Hong. How fortnae and circumstances change in the course of time! This will save much trouble to the Custome at the various ports, and will do away with the entire barrier system, the lekin and port duty being collected together at Hong Kong, The Imperial revenues will thus be very materially increased, the power of the central authorities at Peking augmented, and the Pro- vincial Treasurer's correspondingly weakened-at least 8 far as the squeezing from the foreign drug is concerned, Although the present increase is not great and need not the Chinese have militate against the Indian article, the firm purpose of increasing it at no distant day. They hope to improve China financially by the use of the increased fund which will flow directly into their exchequer, at present, aud afterwards to find ways and means of putting an end to the traffic-for this is the settled conviction even of those states- men who are favourable to the present Syndicate. This action of the Chinese Government, therefore, ueed not affect the agita- tion of the question at home, It simply gives the Chinese a larger income without at all stimulating the consumption; nay, by subaucing its price, rendering it more prohibitive and putting! it beyond the reach of the poor, who can ill afford to waste their alender means on this ruinous vice. It also does away with the smuggling in the south, which has caused so much ill-feeling be- tween Hong Kong, the Chinese revenue cruisers, and the pirates or smugglers. All this will now become a thing of the past.
Sir Thomas Wade is at Tientsin, and, it is said, is occupied with the completion of the Chefoo convention. What goes on no one knows for certain, except that the Chinese officials do not seem to recoguise the fact that, eg. Tls. 50 a picul on opium would bring into the State Treasury more revenue than a levy of Tis. 100, and, as an additional benefit, stay or dietinish smuggling. It is not improbable that a queation will some day arise about Persian opium. Persia has no diplomatic relations with China, and about 10,000 chests of Persian drug are yearly imported into China under the same duties and taxes as the British Indian product. The Viceroy gave a dinner to their Excellencies Sir Thomas Wade and Mousear Boncée on Dec. 13 at the China Mer- chants' offices. Monsieur Bourée has since left for Peking, and i Sir Thomas is leaving in a day or two. The Viceroy also takes bis departure to Pao-ting Fu for the winter.
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