[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government]
OPIUM.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[9773]
No. 1.
C. O.
525
RESP
[March 21.7K IC
SECTION 2.
Consul-General O'Brien-Butler to Sir Eduard Grey.-(Received March 21.)
(No. 4. Confidential.) Sir,
Yünnan-fu, February 9, 1910. I HAVE the honour to forward to you herewith a copy of an opium report for December quarter, 1909, which I have sent to His Majesty's Minister at Peking.
I have, &c.
P. E. O'BRIEN-BUTLER.
Enclosure in No. 1.
Consul-General O'Brien-Butler to Sir J. Jordan,
(No. 9. Confidential.) Sir,
Yunnan-fu, February 8, 1910. THE hopes of the inhabitants of this province that the new Governor-General, Li Ching-hsi, would relax the stringent regulations against opium cultivation were doomed to disappointment. His Excellency has let it be known that, while considering that his predecessor, Hsi-liang, was over-hasty in such drastic measures as he adopted to abolish the production and use of the drug, he regrets that he cannot do anything to alter them.
Whatever doubts the officials may have had as to the Governor-General's attitude with regard to opium must have been set at rest by his depriving the magistrate of Ping-i of his office and his button as a punishment for his habitual disregard of the anti-opium regulations and for his more or less open connivance at opium smuggling across the border from Kweichow.
About the beginning of October the magistrate of Ch'inpei (about 90 miles to the south-west of Yunnan-fu) seized some 20,000 oz. of opium (about 60 cwt.) smuggled from Kweichow, and burnt it at his district city. It is reported that the importer committed suicide to escape further punishment than the loss of his drug.
The magistrate of Amichow (on the railway between Yünnan-fu and Mêngtzũ) is reported to be particularly active in suppressing opium smoking. His police visit all the houses of the department city every night, in order to catch persons smoking opium and to discover opium-smoking implements.
On the 2nd November 17,379 pipes and 29,949 Chinese ounces of opium (about 16 cwt. 37 lb.) were publicly burnt on the execution ground outside the south gate of this city.
Several missionaries whom I have consulted on the subject are unanimous in assuring me that in the course of their travels in this province they have not seen a single field planted with poppy. I understand, however, from Chinese that a small quantity of opium is still grown on patches of land hidden away in the mountains, far from highways and not nearer than ten or twelve days' journey from the provincial capital.
It appears to be an open secret that the Governor-General, formerly a heavy smoker-his daily dose being over a Chinese ounce (14 oz. avordupois)-has not been able to conquer his craving for the drug. He has only succeeded, so far, in reducing the quantity he consumes to about one-fifth of a Chinese ounce, which amount he smokes secretly every night.
I have, &c.
P. E. O'BRIEN-BUTLER.
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