(This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Governmfet 306
38099
[October 29 OCT 07
CHINA TRADE.
J
CONFIDENTIAL..
[33088]
No. 1.
SECTION 2.
(No. 14.) Sir,
Consul-General Wilkinson to Sir Edward Grey,(Received October 5.)
Yunnan-fu, August 17, 1907.
I HAVE the honour to inclose copy of a report which I have made to His Majesty's Minister at Peking on anti-opium Regulations in Yunnan Province and their observance
I have, &c. (Signed)
W. H. WILKINSON,
(No. 18.) Sir,
Inclosure 1 in No. 1.
Consul-General Wilkinson to Sir J. Jordan.
Yunnan-fu, August 14, 1907. ON my return from local leave I learnt, by your Circular of the 11th March, that the members resident in the provinces of Yünnan and Kueichow of the China Inland Mission had been asked to send in to me reports as to the progress of the anti-opium
movement.
I waited in vain for several weeks before the first of the promised reports reached me. So far I have only received five of them, one from Yunnan-fu, two from Ping-yi, and two from Ch'ü-ching. Others (though of this I am not sanguine) may later on arrive; but I feel that I ought not to longer delay my own report. I have accordingly the honour to forward the five returns in question, together with a Memorandum by myself.
I have, &c.
(Signed)
W. H. WILKINSON.
Inclosure 2 iu No. 1.
Memorandum respecting Anti-Opium Regulations in Yünnan Province and their
Observance.
WHEN the ten proposals for carrying into effect the prohibition of opium (of which a translation accompanied Sir John Jordan's Circular of the 1st December, 1906) reached Yunnan-fu, notifications embodying them were duly issued by the Provincial Government. Otherwise, with one exception, it would not appear that any attention whatever was paid to them. The exception was the inspection of opium shops and dens (Articles 4 and 5) with a view to their suppression within a given time. The Home Magistrate of Yunnan city, after issuing in conjunction with the Police Department a notification on the 1st day of the 3rd moon (13th April) sent runners to each establish- ment, giving notice that it would have to close by the end of the 6th moon (8th August).
So things remained up to the time of the arrival from Szechuan of the present Governor-General, Hsi-liang, in May. Even he does not appear to have done much more than dismiss some too notorious smokers in his yamôn, until he received the Imperial Edict of the 25th June, ordering once for all the putting into force of the prohibition of the cultivation, sale, and consumption of opium." The semi-official "Yunnan Gazette" ("Tien-nan Chao-pao") for the 26th July contains a circular from the Financial Commissioner (as head of the provincial Civil Service) embodying a very sharp reprimand from his Excellency, which is dated the 8th June, but very evidently antedated.
Hsi Chih-t'ai commences by reminding his Council that several Edicts had been received commanding the officials to set an example and abandon the vice within six
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