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At Ch'u-ching-fu: Oppression of the people and illegal exactions by police and yamên runners.
At Ping-i-hsien: Opium dens closed nominally.
2. Attitude of Local Officials and Gentry.
At Yünnan-fu: My missionary informant states that they are reported to be breaking away from the habit, but my own information from other sources is different.
At Chu-ching-fu: They are "going to break off the habit.
At Ping-i-hsien: They are indifferent to the spirit of the Proclamations.
3. Restriction of Area under Cultivation.
At Yünnan-fu: There are reports to hand that opium crops have been uprooted in the neighbourhood.
At Kueiyang (Kueichou): There has been little or no reduction in poppy cultivation in the district.
At Ping-i-hsien: One-third of old poppy ground has been planted with other crops; and no ground has been newly planted with poppy.
4. Restrictions on Smokers.
At Yunnan-fu: A register is kept and forwarded to the local authorities of those who have ceased to smoke opium.
At Ch'u-ching-fu and Ping-i-hsien: No action has been taken.
5. Closing of Opium Dens and Shops.
At Yünnan-fu: The dens have been closed, but some still remain open in the surrounding villages. No opium or opium appliances are to be seen in the restaurants.
At Ch'u-ching-fu: Permission has been granted to shops and restaurants to sell opium until the end of the Chinese year (21st January, 1909).
At Ping-i-hsien: The dens have been closed, but only nominally.
At Kueiyang: The dens have been closed, but a good deal of secret smoking is carried on in them. The den-keepers are punished on detection, but this seems to have no effect.
6. Inspection of Opium Shops.
At Yünnan-fu: Some inspection has been made, but opium can still be bought without a licence.
At Ping-i-hsien: Opium is sold openly on the streets. The sale was restricted for one day, when the Magistrate expected an official inspection visit.
7. Use of Medicines to Cure Opium Habit.
At Yunnan-fu: Foreign anti-opium drugs are sold at Shanghai prices. Native preparations are dispensed gratis to the labouring classes. Anti-opium remedies are offered for sale in the shops.
At Ch'u-ching-fu: Native remedies only are used. An anti-opium bureau has been opened and money freely spent, but only one or two persons have broken off the habit.
At Ping-i-hsien: An opium refuge has been opened in charge of two opium-smoking officials. No one has broken off the habit, and the desire to do so is on the wane. The Magistrate allows opium smoking in his yamên.
8. The above information has been supplied by missionaries at Yunnan-fu, Ch'u-ching-fu (North-East Yünnan), Ping-i-hsien (North-East Yünnan), and Kueiyang (capital of the Province of Kueichou).
8
Visit to Anti-Opium Dispensaries and Refuges at Yünnan-fu.
On the 29th July I paid a visit to the principal official anti-opium dispensary and refuge in the city under the charge of Taotai Kuo. Unfortunately, the visit was not expected, but as short notice had been given it was possible to see through two or three devices calculated to deceive as to the importance of the work being done. The place was clean and the two store-rooms containing anti-opium remedies were neat, each being in charge of an intelligent assistant. The remedies were classified under two heads: (1) foreign and (2) native. The former came from Japan and Shanghai, but neither the Taotai nor his staff knew their composition. The native remedies appeared to be extremely complicated on account of the number of ingredients. The remedy most in evidence was concocted of native drugs and contained 2 per cent. of opium. The drugs were boiled down into two tubs, poured into kettles, and served in cups gratis on demand. Five kettles and twenty cups were displayed on a table covered with a clean, white cloth in the court-yard. Three of the kettles were brand new, and so were half of the cups. I offered the remark that there appeared to be no demand for the medicine, and was informed that 300 patients had been treated gratis the day before.
The refuge is in the same building, and consisted of a large and a small room. The large room was empty, but the Taotai stated that between sixty and seventy patients had been discharged cured the day before. In the small room were three lads of whom the eldest was 19 years old. In reply to my questions, they spoke highly of the kindness and attention of the Taotai, who was by my side, and said that the opium craving was already leaving them. One lad told me that he had smoked opium for two years, and another for six months. None of these three lads gave the appearance of being opium sots, and I could not refrain from thinking that these three lads were not genuine cases but had been brought in on account of my visit.
From the official bureau I proceeded to the dispensary and refuge opened by the gentry. The general air of the place was depressing, and I saw no signs of any patients. The native remedy, alluded to above, had been made up into balls and was offered for sale at cost price, but I saw no business being done. The buildings are in charge of three gentry, and there is a staff comprising drugsellers, accountant, caretakers, &c. The total monthly expenses were, I was informed, nearly 1,000 taels.
General Summary.
From conversation with respectable Chinese and from my own observations, I gather that the people say that it is impossible for them to give up opium smoking in the short space of time allowed to them (the 21st January, 1909), and that the gentry are of the same opinion. Underlying this is, undoubtedly, the haunting fear that the abolition of opium will ruin the province, as opium forms 70 per cent. (over 90 per cent., according to independent Chinese estimates given to me) of the exports, and that there is nothing to replace it as a staple export. Generally speaking, the Governor-General is in earnest in his efforts to suppress opium smoking and opium cultivation, but official and popular opinion are against him.
(Signed) E. C. WILTON.
Inclosure 3 in No. 1.
Proclamation of the Chief Bureau for the Prohibition of Opium Smoking.
IN obedience to the orders received for the prevention of opium-smoking several Proclamations have been issued clearly stating that all smokers would be given three additional months in which to break themselves of the habit. The time limit was intentionally curtailed, and all smoking must now cease with the 6th moon.
If after the issue of this Proclamation any one elects to disobey, he will be severely punished. The sale and purchase of the drug must stop, and the opium lamps must not be lit.
Yünnan-fu, April 24, 1908.
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