O
20
cultivation of and traffic in opium in these States, which I and the Sawbwas and Assistant Superintendents and local officials concerned consider will not cause danger of serious unrest or disturbance.
Opium cultivation is not allowed in the Hsipaw and Tawngpeng States.
It is carried on only in the North Hsenwi, South Hsenwi and Manglun States, The latter State is geographically divided into west, or cis-Salween, and east, or trans-Salween.
In these States a tax has been imposed on Kachins at 5 rupees per garden, and 5 rupees for each labourer hired to work on his garden. The rates for Shans and Chinese are double these rates.
The reasons for the difference in rates is said to be that Kachins are said to be not such good cultivators, and also to spend much more in nat sacrifices on sowing I suspect that the greater and garnering crops, therefore their profits are less. difficulty of collecting revenue from Kachins and their less amenability to law were not left out of consideration.
These taxes were considered to be very high, but as a matter of fact form a very small proportion of the profits.
The people have been told that Government viewed opium cultivation with disfavour, and that Government would take in hand the total suppression of opium cultivation. Of course the whole value of any such warning was removed from the moment of recognition of cultivation by imposition of a tax, and the people's reliance in the firmness of Government's attitude on the question, and on the immutability of its word, have suffered a blow, which adds to our difficulties, increasing the probable amount of resistance that may be offered, in the hope that Government will weaken and give way.
its mind up If Government then starts to tackle opium suppression, it must make to see the matter right through, or we shall further lose prestige, and add to the difficulty of general Government.
7. It is proposed to confine cultivation to the trans-Salween tracts only, that is, to the trans-Salween jurisdiction of the Kokang Myosa, and to East Manglun.
In the former area opium cultivation is too universal for any sudden change to be possible.
In the latter area not only is cultivation extensive, but the administrative hold we have hitherto established over East Manglun is so fragile, and the undesirability of going near the unadministered Wa States that border on East Manglun has hitherto been considered so great, that an opium suppression policy in East Manglun would at present be impracticable. It would first be necessary to consolidate our hold there and settle many outstanding disputes, and this would require the employment of troops or military police on a scale not contemplated in these recommendations.
8. It is necessary to make provision for existing habitual resident consumers of all races.
The cutting off the supply to an habitual consumer means severe internal pain, chronic diarrhea and often death.
It will therefore be necessary to prepare a register of habitual consumers and to see that all persons concerned are warned to apply to the Assistant Superinten- dent concerned to be entered on the register. This will take a long time for issue of notices, and for the Assistant Superintendent to make enquiries as to the propriety of admitting the applicant to the register, and the amount that he shall be allowed to consume. No residents of the Northern Shan States would be allowed to be entered on the register once made, unless it were a new Chinese resident or temporary resident or traveller.
Thus the list of names should get beautifully less, until near a vanishing point. 9. It is necessary to provide opium for the registered consumers. For this purpose a condition of the permission to cultivate opium trans-Salween will be to provide the amount of opium up to the whole surplus crop, that may be required by the Superintendent, for issue to consumers. The Kokang opinm would probably suffice for the North Hsenwi registered consumers, and the East Manglun crop for the West Manglun and South Hsenwi consumers.
The trans-Salween producers would be allowed to retain a certain amount of their crop, based on an estimate of minimum requirements for their own consumption as habitual consumers.
As our register grew smaller so would our demand on them, and they too would he required to reduce their cultivation to the vanishing point. As this has been effected in the past practically all over China, in land as harren as theirs, it may be assumed that other crops are possible and would suffice. The time granted the
21
Kokang people to adjust themselves and to us to get East Manglun into order should thus suifice. Maize will grow everywhere where opium will, and I am contemplating the issue of wheat, gram, oats and potato seed in Kokang for trial.
10. To provide for the distribution of opium to consumers, it will be necessary Cto institute shops, at various places in North Hsenwi, South Hsenwi and West Manglun States to be determined. The trans-Salween opium will be taken over and issued to licensed dealers in these shops, at rates which will have to be fixed with reference to the probable average market price, at the beginning of each season, for the whole season,
11. It is considered that a year's notice should be given of the enforcement of opium cultivation, namely, that notices should issue as soon as possible, that in the cis-Salween tracts, opium crops wherever found would be destroyed beginning from the 1st May, 1921, and that all caravans would be liable to search, either incoming or outgoing, and opium found be seized and confiscated. (This measure we are already bound to carry out under article 11 of the 1886 Convention with China, already referred to, but it remains as a matter of fact, a dead letter.) Notice of these steps would also have to be given to China.
In the meantime notices should issue forbidding clearing of any new areas for cultivation, and forbidding any persons to take up cultivation in the cis-Salween areas, who had not cultivated before.
12. It is considered the effect of these measures might be to cause a small amount of emigration to trans-Salween tracts, and possibly a greater amount of emigration to China, according as China carries out effective suppression also or not.
There cannot be much emigration to trans-Salween tracts owing to barren land. lack of water and food, and high prices, not to East Manglun, owing to unsettled conditions there, and as the soil also will not support more than another 5 or 10 per cent. of population.
Any emigration to China of people who are determined to make their living out of opium, may be looked on with comparative equanimity.
13. If China also effectively suppresses opium, there would be no emigration. Admittedly the cultivation of opium in Yunnan is increasing in out-of-the-way places. Mr. Gaudoin saw a lot recently in Mongmao State, and the consul himself informed him that he and Mr. Leonard (Assistant Superintendent, Sinlum) had seen opium openly sold in Mongmao bazaar. The price of opium has fallen in the last 18 months from nearly 300 to 70 rupees a viss, which proves China is cultivating. I have read in the newspapers that the Shanghai papers state that in certain provinces the officials are actually ordering the cultivation of opium in order to get revenue, and have assessed deinands of fifty thousand dellars or more on future crops in their provinces. On the other hand, the Taoyin at the recent Nawngma meeting enquired from me what was to be our policy, now the war was ended, as to opium. I informed him I had been preparing a report on what measures were practicable for the suppression of cultivation in my charge, and that I was making enquiries, and that my sympathies were all for suppression in the interests of our people. He looked and expressed great satisfaction. The cynical might say that that would be with the prospect of a profit- able market for Yunnanese opium by smuggling, &c. I have impugned the honesty and lack of principle of Chinese officials over other matters; I do not as regards the Yunnan officials, in this matter, at least as yet. The Taoyin was also in favour of excising opium from eligibility for claims for compensation in Frontier cases.
I agreed in this latter suggestion, and suggested it to Government in my report on the meeting. No orders have been received on this point yet. It would also tend to help in the suppression of opium traffic, quite materially.
I believe the Chinese authorities are doing a little to suppress opium cultivation in Yunnan, but not enough. I have pointed out the above facts as to the extension of cultivation in Yunnan to the consul, and asked him if he can procure me an official statement of Yunnanese policy as to opium suppression, in view of the steps it was hoped to take in our territory. To this also I have as yet received no answer.
14. I admit that, if our only reason for suppressing opium cultivation and traffic were to keep our treaty, and that we lost by it, we would have cause to suspend any suppression measures, and to require more definite action by China before we took further steps.
But the cause would not be enough. It is obvious that China still does officially Yunnan-for prohibit opium cultivation-when I say China I should rather say eultivation is covert and not open, and if officially permitted, the prices would be far lower than they are now. It is within not very ancient memory that opium has been
G [5201 -1]
121
: