}
185
Morphia they regarded as a still more injurious arti-
cle than opium, and although some of the Powers had not
yet given their adhesion to the 11th Article of the British
Commercial Treaty of 1902, they asked His Majesty's Govern-
ment to assent to the immediate enforcement of the Article.
The morphia which comes to China is almost entirely, they
stated, of British and French manufacture and the other
Powers are not interested in the question.
The financial side of the question does not, so far
as I can gather, seam to have received careful considera-
tion. In my despatch No.391 of the 30th September last I
estimated, from statistics supplied to me by Mr. Hosie, ther
Acting Commercial Attache to this Legation, that the total
revenue collected upon native opium amounts to about six
million seven hundred and sixty eight thousand seven hun-
dred and fifty pounds sterling, but in reply to an inquiry
which I addressed to them on the point, the Ministers in-
formed me that Tacls twelve million (£1,750,000) is the
actual sun which reaches the Central Government.
They
anticipated little difficulty in making good this loss
from other sources, spoke hopefully of the financial posi-
tion of the country, and altogether appeared to regard
this
}