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of conspiracy against Yuehn King Chiu and his confederates would be a costly and difficult process. He also agrees very warmly with them in the opinion that the suppression of the traffic, after all, ought not to be thrown upon their shouklers. The traffic was begun without their knowledge, and is carried on without their consent. It involves them in great anxiety, trouble, and expense, and they are compelled, under pressure of pecuniary penalties, to assume the functions of an enquiry and detective agency, as well as those of shipowners. They are in fact the victims of the traffic and not partners in it. Nor are they the only victims. Other companies of shipowners are involved, though, as Messrs. Alfred Holt & Company do by far the largest share of the carrying trade to the Far East, they are also most concerned with that branch of the opium traffic. More is, in fact, involved than the reputation, the peace of mind, and the pockets of shipowners. This illicit traffic is regarded with abhorrence by foreign governments, and also by the Governments of British Dominions which have large Chinese populations. The suppression of the trade should, therefore, not be abandoned to private effort. The public interest and the public honour are imperilled by the continued existence of a trade which has for years past been denounced by all civilised governments, and it is only just that the State, and the State alone, should be called upon to suppress it.
Upon this point Mr. Bodkin's written opinion may be quoted. He says:
44 I am inclined to think...
that the only satisfactory way of dealing with this matter, not only out of mere justice to Messrs. Holt and other shipowners, but in order to show that this country does take active measures to prevent this traffic and to work in harmony with the regulations in foreign ports and countries, is to strengthen the law on this side. I should think (although this is a matter for the experienced Commissioners of Customs to decide) that an inquiry of a departmental character, so as to thoroughly ascertain the facts of this case, and the general aspect of the opium traffic in Liverpool, would afford the best method of grappling with this great question, and would provide material on which to consider whether such steps as recording all transactions in opium, giving access to books and documents of all firms, whether vendors or purchasers or consignees of opium, with full powers of seizure, inspection, arrest and confiscation of opium, and summary proceedings taken for punishment of offenders, are not urgently demanded by the circumstances which such an inquiry would disclose.”
Finally, it should be stated that the possibility of a successful prosecution, at any rate in the case of Meing, has been removed by his flight to America. Mesars Alfred Holt & Company had decided, in spite of the expense and difficulty, to bring a charge of conspiracy as soon as they could collect evidence sufficient not only to satisfy themselves, but also to establish proof in a Court of Law. On hearing of Meing's flight, the Head Constable of Liverpool, at their request, attempted to induce the American police to arrest the man and send him back to this country as an unde- sirable alien. Unfortunately Meing had secured a passport or certificate from the American Ambassador in London which enabled him to land safely, and the Liverpool police are of the opinion that he does not intend to return. Prosecution of a charge against him has thus been rendered impossible.
Under the circumstances, Messrs. Alfred Holt & Company suggest that the evil should be attacked at the root. So long as it is possible for the principals in England to acquire large quantities of opium for export, so long will it be possible for small parcels to be smuggled. It appears from the books of San Toy & Company that between the 20th January, 1914, and the 24th April, 1915, no less a sum than £8,640 12s. Od, was paid for opium to a firm of wholesale chemists of good repute in London. So long as opium, a dangerous and demoralising drug, can be thus sold wholesale in this country as freely as the most harmless and necessary foods, 80 long will the joint operation of laxity in the United Kingdom and severity abroad make illicit traffic easy and profitable. When the opium is once divided into small parcels and distributed among numerous carriers, the difficulty of suppression is enormously increased. Messrs. Alfred Holt & Company would therefore urge upon His Majesty's Government the necessity of altering
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