ཡ ཨཝིཝཱ-- ཐཱས = ray£wlwirar"Lt
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"I have made enquires about the customs of the opium office. All weighing of opium must be done at the office at a charge of 8 cash per ounce-5 cash paid by the buyer and 3 cash by seller. The underlings scrape the basin for their share, except in the case of big bayers, who bribe them to keep the scale as high as possible. The Besides the price of opium may be decided privately or at the office as convenient. scale money there is a small tax of 8 cash per ounce on all opium sold for local use and 300 taels a mule-load for all opium exported to Shensi or beyond.
"When here you asked me what time I thought would be needed to stop all growth. The general verdict among the Chinese is for immediate and final suppression. They say to grow a little means to grow a lot and to favour a few is unfair to the many. Everyone seems unanimous in the opinion that with early and drastic measures there will not be one blade next year. If the eighth-month opium is allowed to be sown the danger is great and the evil should be suppressed before that time. To beat the first man who is caught sowing would be sufficient and the places where eighth- month opium is sown are well known. One more thing to hasten the end, and a great step in the eye of the Chinese, is the closing of the opium office. That is almost essential to success. The Chinese think the officials are not really in earnest so long as they make protit themselves out of the drug."
Mr. George Andrew, of the China Inland Mission at Lanchou, has furnished me with the following notes dated the 7th July, 1910, on opium growing in Kansu :-
"In past years large quantities have been grown in Lanchou district, on the east and south-east, on the Hsi-an road. In the Ti-tao Valley. Along the Wei Valley, especially at Kung-ch'ang Fu. In the Ping-fan Valley. In the Liang Chou district. Also in the Ning-hsia district. Near Tsin Chou.
Comparatively little has been grown in the Si-ning Valley.
"This year in the spring-I went to Ning-hsia. From there to Liang Chou. And then returned to Lauchou.
"In each district strongly worded proclamations prohibiting opium growing were issued.
"At Ning-hsia Fu the Ning-so magistrate went out personally to see that the proclamations were obeyed. He was beaten by the villagers, and fled to the Manchu city for refuge. The leader of the assailants was caught and executed.
"The Ning-hsia magistrate [ prefect also went out into the surrounding district to investigate.
"However, the opium is still growing some distance away from the city. And, 100 li away, the farmers pulled down a bridge over a river in order to prevent the officials coming into their neighbourhood. I cannot tell what percentage of the usual crop is being grown, It must be a small one, for I did not see any along the Ning-hsia valley. Near Chung-wei Hsien, however, at Sa-po-ti ("Foot of the Sandhills”), I saw a small quantity. Also at Chang-liu-shui ("Long-flowing Water") I saw number of small fields growing it.
a
"At, and east of and north of Liang-chou Fu I did not see any opium growing. And the farmers, in spite of strongly But there is some growing in the east district. worded proclamations and occasional demonstrations of horse soldiers, refuse to destroy kill it. Bands of their wives have gone to the magistrate's yamên, saying, “You may us, but we will grow opium."
Before the yamêns of the intendant of circuit, prefect, and magistrate wooden cages were placed in which to put refractory farmers, but whether they have been used or not I cannot say.
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However, I should think that 75 per cent. less opium is being grown this year compared with last year.
"At Ping-fan I did not see any growing, and feel certain that 75 per cent. less opium is being cultivated there.
"Near Lanchou, in the face of the stringent proclamations issued by the Viceroy and other high provincial officials, the farmers sowed opium just as usual. In the spring the officials insisted on its being uprooted, and in order to further this work the At Chin-chia-ai, 60 li prefect and the magistrate went out along the Hsi-an road.
One of the leaders has from the city, the prefect was badly beaten by the farmers. been executed for this offence.
"A large quantity of the poppy was pulled up. But on going along that road in June I found that, 20 li away from the city, there were two fields of opium; 30 to 40 li from the city nearly all the opium growing near the road, and which could be seen
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from it, had been plucked up. But a number of other fields had not been touched. From 50 to 70 ti, I would say that 70 per cent. of the opium had been uprooted. Beyond that a large quantity remains. I am told that only one-tenth has been plucked up.
"We saw the poppy growing in a few fields on the north side of the Yellow River, 30 and 40 li from the city.
And, just near the city, away from the road, a little opium is still growing. "The officials are now calling on the village elders to guarantee that opium shall not be grown near their villages in future.
L
On the whole I am surprised and gladdened that the officials have been able to stop the poppy growth to the extent they have, as seen in my journey from Lanchou to Ning-hsia, Liang Chou, and return.
"I saw in a day's journey from Lanchou along the Hsi-an road from fifty to seventy times more poppy growing than I did in all the journey round Ning-hsia, &c.
"Here the officials have made a beginning, and though the work has not been done thoroughly, yet one trusts that more will be done in the following years.
'Among other drawbacks is this one: where officials and where official underlings smoke, there is an added temptation to deal with this matter in a lax way."
Dr. D. A. Gordon Hardling, also of the China Inland Mission at Ch'in Chou, writing on the 19th July, 1910, says :—
"I was sorry to miss you when you passed through recently, but on my return from the country a few days after your visit I found your letter of the 27th June awaiting me. I was not sure of catching you in Lanchou, so am sending this letter to Hsi-an, and have waited the return of my two colporteurs, so as to be able to send you the latest news.
As far as I have seen and heard, the poppy has practically gone from Tsinchow (Ch'in Chou), Tsin-an (Ch'in-an), Tsin-shui (Ching-shui), Hsi-ho, and Li Hsien, though I have seen a little on the borders of Tsin-an, Tsin-shui, and Hsi-ho.
In regard to the last named place, the district official and the kong-chang chih-fu went to one market-place on the border to have the opium pulled up, but could not proceed, as the people had gathered determined to beat them, and sent a message to the officials that they would willingly uproot their growing plants if the people of the next district would do the same. The cause of this growing on the borders of districts is that the yamên underlings, having been bribed, deceive the magistrate, and, should he appear in person to examine, declare the land in question to be in the neighbouring district.
"At Cheng Hsien, the growing of the poppy has never been prohibited, with the result that the whole district is covered. At Huei Hsien (Hui Hsien) it has been pulled up in the immediate neighbourhood of the city, whilst beyond a radius of, say, 10 liit is freely grown as in former years.
LL
These places cover the whole of south-east Kansu, as there is none grown in the hilly parts of Chieh Chou, Uen-hsien (Weu Hsien), and Liang-tang Hsien.
"In the spring of this year a great deal was growing in all the afore-mentioned places, with the exception of Hsi-ho Hsien, so that you will see that it has been very largely uprooted.
"My personal opinion, and the general opinion of the Chinese themselves, is that it is quite possible to get rid of the opium if it is done right away at one sweep, Any dilly-dally policy will only lead to à constaut repetition of the objection raised on the Cheng Hsien and Hsi-ho border districts, and no doubt terminate in riot and bloodshed.
add that whilst I was on this last visit to Hsi-ho the district magistrate forbade the sale of opium, though it is needless to say the sale has been carried on illicitly.
may
"The Lanchou officials have just asked the local official for the taxes on the opium- sown land at the rate of one-fifth of the old rate.
"The old tax was 6,000 taels. This year, of course, he could not collect of the farmers, so he has called in the opium merchants, and they will pay this 1,200 taels.”
The letters quoted above go to show that, while in some districts in the province of Kansu, energetic steps have been taken to diminish poppy cultivation, in others official instructions have been disregarded, officials engaged in the work of suppression have been resisted and beaten, and in several districts there has been considerable increase of production.
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