This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.
# CHINA TRADE.
## CONFIDENTIAL.
$922)
No. 1.
[March 7.]
## SECTION 1.
185
Consul-General Wilkinson to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received March 7.)
(No. 2.)
Yünnan-fu, January 10, 1908.
Sir,
WITH reference to my despatch No. 14 of the 17th August last, I have the honour to inclose copy of an abstract, submitted to His Majesty's Minister at Peking, of the Opium Reports of the China Inland missionaries in Yünnan and Kueichow received at this Consulate-General during the quarter ended the 31st December, 1907.
I have, &c. (Signed) W. H. WILKINSON.
are-
## Inclosure in No. 1.
Memorandum respecting Opium Reports by Members of the China Inland Mission, December Quarter 1907.
THE only reports received at this Consulate-General for the period under review
(a) Yunnan Province-
1. Yunnan-fu: Rev. J. Graham, September 30, December 26.
2. Ch'uching: Rev. H. A. C. Allen, October 2.
3. Pingyi: Rev. W. J. Hanna, October 1, December
(b) Kueiyang Province-
1. Kueiyang: Rev. G. Cecil-Smith, October 2, December 4.
2. Anshun: Rev. B. C. Waters,
3. Tushan: Rev. D. F. Pike,
October 29.
Of the above reports only one, Mr. Allen's, was dated; the dates of the rest are those of covering letters or of postmarks. As regards the reports from Tushan, these were sent in the first instance to Canton "without covering letter, date, or signature." The former reached Mr. Mansfield on the 19th September; the latter, from internal evidence, cannot have been written later than the 4th November. It was apparently received at Canton about the 15th November.
The general impression left by these reports is that at Yüunan-fu, and also, but to a less extent, at Kueiyang-the two provincial capitals-a genuine effort is being made to stamp out opium smoking and poppy growing. Elsewhere, although Proclamations are from time to time issued, very little attention is paid to them, even by the officials themselves.
At Yüunan-fu, I may add, the Governor-General, who took upon himself to reduce the cultivators' time of grace from ten years to three, has now ordered the Home Magistrate to pull up all poppies found growing in the K'unyang district. This will increase the existing dissatisfaction at his Excellency's arbitrary government, as the farmers say that it is now too late to start an alternative winter crop.
1. Proclamations.
Yunnan-fu.
(a.) July 19, 1907: Poppy cultivation to cease after three years.
(b) August 9 (by the Home Prefect and Magistrate): Opium dens to be closed by August 18. (This was carried into effect.)
[2889 y-1]
B