5
the country people. At White Deer Bridge it is true that, returning with an escort of a dozen men, two shots were fired at us when barely half a mile from the village occupied at that moment by two magistrates and 300 soldiers. But this attention was rather an expression of lawless defiance than a feeling of personal animosity.
I travelled accompanied by four Chinese delegates-one from the Wai-chiao Pu, one from the Ministry of the Interior, and two deputed by the tutu. Except for a difference of opinion as to the advisability of the visit to the Pai-lu-ch'iao region our relations were friendly and in full accord. The magistrates and local officials were always ready to afford assistance and my relations with them were excellent, in spite of the unpleasant nature of my task. I was informed, on good authority, and I can readily believe that the tutu had issued most peremptory circular orders immediately before my arrival that, if poppy were found in any district, not only would the magistrate be summarily dismissed but a punishment of fifteen years' imprisonment would be added,
The two principal objects of my tour were to observe, firstly, whether the poppy was being cultivated, and, secondly, to ascertain whether native opium was being imported into the province. The results of personal observation and enquiries show that a very appreciable quantity was sown at the end of last year, almost entirely north of the Yang-tsze. The greater part of this appears to have been destroyed about March last, and the province practically cleared of poppy in April and May. I have heard that a small amount may have been harvested in remote corners but there is no evidence on this point.
In regard to the second point, the import of native opium is forbidden and the prohibition is strictly enforced. A fair amount, exactly how much cannot be stated, is being smuggled in by steamer from the lower Yang-tsze and overland across the Honan frontier. Three or four seizures are daily made at Wuhu of packages of from 5 to female 10 lbs. each secreted in the luggage or the person of native passengers; smugglers are largely utilised. I have no reason to think that the responsible provincial officials are conniving at the illicit ale or import of native opium.
The production of Anhui opium was estimated in 1909 at 3,000 piculs representing an area under cultivation of 27,000 acres. In the districts through which I passed wheat, rye, barley, and rape have replaced the poppy. I was informed on the authority of a magistrate that alcohol is now being consumed instead of opium in the Huai River
E. C. WILTON.
districts.
Peking, May 26, 1913.
Enclosure 2 in No. 1.
Report on Journey in Hunan.
UNDER instructions from His Majesty's Minister I have travelled for forty days in Hunan with a view to obtaining evidence of the diminution of poppy culti- vation in the province under the terms of article 4 of the Opium Agreement of 1911. The period during which the poppy plant is recognisable is of such short duration that one officer could not have covered the area under examination within the time, and Mr. Louis King, with two Chinese representatives, undertook the examination of the eastern belt of the province between the Hsiang River and the Kiangsi border. My own route followed the southern and western frontiers, and, although it was impossible to visit every producing centre of a province equal in extent to England and Wales in one season, it will be seen from the accompanying map that the two parties covered an extensive and representative area. Sir Somerville Head accompanied me as far as Paoching, whence he returned to Changsha by the Tze River route, and Mr. C. M. Tippetts, of the 24th Regiment, was with me throughout the journey, as were also the two Chinese delegates appointed by the Wai-chiao Pu in Peking and by the Governor of Hunan.
The general direction of the routes was outlined by Mr. Wilton from information received from His Majesty's consul at Changsha as to the poppy-planting which had taken place during the present season. Slight deviations were suggested by the local news which reached us during the journey, but the routes indicated for us undoubtedly included every centre of importance. I had hoped to include Yung-shun-fu and Sang-chih (in the north-west corner of the province) in my itinerary. On my arrival at Shen-chou-fu, however, I ascertained that the campaign of destruction had been carried on in those districts with a determination and success no less marked than was the case
• Not reproduced
in the western districts. I therefore decided that the further extension of the tour would not justify the additional expense, especially in view of the fact that it would be impossible to complete it before the poppy harvest was over,
The main roads in Hunan are known to have been freed from poppy cultivation during the past few years, and I took the precaution therefore of travelling by small roads and hill tracks to which suspicion still attached. During the early days of the journey the officials attempted, on one pretext or another, to prevent our passage into the wilder regions, many of which had not been previously visited by foreigners. I insisted on the necessity for entire freedom of movement, and throughout the tour the route was only communicated to the Chinese from day to day, whilst frequent visits to the surrounding hill-tops enabled us to watch conditions over a wide area, and precluded the possibility of a poppy-free track being prepared in advance for our inspection.
The party cannot claim to have made an exhaustive investigation of every district, but I think it may fairly be claimed that the examination has been as inclusive as was possible during the maturity of the crops, and that reliable information has been obtained as to the present cultivation and trade in opium throughout the entire province.
The rich agricultural districts in the centre of the province have been free of opium for several years, and there is nothing of importance to report as to conditions between Changsha and Paoching. Mr. King's route lay through a populous, regularly- administered area, in which precise information was obtainable, and he is able to report the eastern district entirely free of poppy cultivation. Sir Somerville Head also states that no poppy was growing along the valley of the Tze River between Paoching and Changsha.
The route which I followed passed through the country known as the Caves of the Yaos and the Confines of the Miaos, where there are no large towns, and where the country is thinly populated and loosely administered by the Chinese.
It is only possible, therefore, to outline the impression conveyed to my mind by personal observations of the conditions. I saw no poppy, and I believe that the crops have now been entirely destroyed in the area through which I passed.
During the spring of the present year it was claimed by the provincial authorities of Hunan that the cultivation and import of native opium had been effectively suppressed, and that the province was therefore entitled to be placed on the Prohibition List for Indian Opium, under the terms of article 3 of the Agreement of 1911. The Central Government evidently attached the greatest importance to the production of the necessary evidence in support of their claim, and, on the departure of the party of investigation from Peking, the Governor was directed to have every plant destroyed before there was any possibility of its discovery. The Changsha papers ingenuously noted his Excellency's reply that, on the one hand, all poppy had been already com- pletely eradicated, whilst, on the other hand, he was issuing the most urgent instructions for the destruction of the remaining crops. I learnt that messages from the Governor had been received by every official through whose district we passed, reminding them that their own careers would depend on the result of the investigation, and urging them to slay all who offered resistance. We had sufficient evidence that these instructions had been literally obeyed.
The number of executions in the eastern area appears to have been insignificant. The campaign in the south-west also was carried out without loss of life, partly owing to the fact that it was entrusted to an opium delegate of unusual capability and tact, and partly to the fact that the people, and especially the Yao tribesmen, are spiritless and poor.
Along the western border, however, conditions were very different. The Miaos and the half-breed Chinese are a fine race, full of character and independence, and strong and prosperous in spite of the fact that their homes are confined to the mountain country. They have grown opium for many years, and found it a most valuable asset. Nothing but actual force could possibly have cleared their districts.
The authorities themselves claimed that 200 farmers had lost their lives in the Chien-chou prefecture alone in the attempt to defend their crops from destruction, and we had independent news of skirmishes and loss of life in almost every district along the Kueichow border. Near Shen-chou-fu popular feeling was running high in consequence of the massacre of an entire family including the women and children. In a neigh- bouring district sixty-seven farmers, who had offered a successful resistance to the soldiers, were surrounded in a temple which was burned over their heads, and from which none escaped alive.
Whilst the severity of the treatment meted out to offenders is regrettable, there
C [2965 4-1]
16