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course of action.
3. The duty on native opium which formerly
ranged from 60 to 90 taels hes now been raised to
115 teels. On Indian opium which is twice as strong
us the native Article the duty is 110 taola, a much
lighter duty in comparison to that levied on the
native opium.
What the Chinese Government fears
therefore, le that this cheapress of Indien opium
will, combined with ita extra strength, aggravate the
vice of oplum cmoking, and on defeat the policy of
prohibition. The Chinese Government accordingly re-
quest the British Government to consent to doubling
the import duty upon Indien opium by raising it to
250 tacle a picul. In doing this, the Chinese Gov-
ernment is not actuated by any desire of increasing
1ts revenue, but simply by the hope of bringing
about a diminution in the number of opium smokers.
A large quantity of prepared opium is al
ready produced in Hong Kong and finds its way into
the interior of China. The amount of this prepared
4.
opium is sure to be greatly increased by the sup-
pression
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