[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
[B]
C. 0.
10930
CHINA TRADE.
[March 9.]
MS
CONFIDENTIAL.
REGS 26 MAR 07.
SECTION 1.
497
(7676]
(No. 39.) Sir,
No. 1.
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.--(Received March 9.)
Peking, January 22, 1907. I HAVE the honour to inclose copy of a despatch from His Majesty's Consul- General at Shanghae, reporting the steps which are being taken at that port for the enforcement of the Opium Regulations. I have taken advantage of the offer which the Director of the China luland Mission made through Sir Pelham Warren, and have forwarded to him a list of questions, with request that they might be sent on to the different missionaries who are in a position to give information on the subject. This seemed the only means of obtaining a knowledge of the condition of poppy cultivation at places in the interior to which Consuls have no access.
So far the anti-opium crusade seems to have been largely confined to the north, where, as may be seen from the accompanying newspaper extracts, it is being conducted with great energy under the direction of his Excellency the Viceroy Yuan." In Peking itself there has, I am told, been a considerable falling off in the number of smokers, and measures are being taken for the closure of opium dens within the prescribed limit of time.
The part which British public opinion has played in encouraging the Chinese movement deserves to be noticed. I have already reported that it was in India that his Excellency Tong Shoa-yi gained the conviction that the question could be brought within the sphere of practical politics, and Duke Tsai Tse, the Head of the recent travelling Commission to Europe and America, told me a few days ago that he was deeply impressed by conversations which he had while in England with Members of the British House of Commons. He was surprised to find that the prospective loss of revenue was regarded with comparative equanimity, and when he returned to Peking he reported the result of his observations to the Throne. If England could sacrifice her revenue, and China failed to follow her example, she would, he said, stand discredited before the world.
Several representatives of the British Anti-Opium Society have been holding meetings in Southern China. One member of this deputation, Mr. Cheok Hong Cheong, is an interesting personality who made an impression upon his fellow-countrymen. He left Canton for Australia forty-three years ago as a mere lad, and this was his first visit to his native country. The Memorandum of which I have the honour to inclose a copy gives an account of anti-opium legislation in Australia and of his experience on his recent tour in China, and may be found of some interest.
I have, &c. (Signed) J. N. JORDAN.
P.S.-I am sending a copy of this despatch to the Government of India.
Inclosure 1 in No. 1.
J. N. J.
(No. 192.) Sir,
Consul-General Sir P. Warren to Sir J. Jordan.
Shanghae, December 31, 1906.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge receipt of your Confidential Circular of the 1st instant, inclosing Regulations issued by the Chinese Government on the subject of the suppression of the growth and use of opium, and calling for reports from time to time on the subject.
I inclose herewith copy and translation of a Proclamation issued by the Taotai in Shanghae city and suburbs, ordering the closing of all opium shops in six months from its date.
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