This Document is the Property of
His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
691
CHINA TRADE.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[December 9.]
SECTION 10
47603
[43008]
No. 1.
(No. 517.) Sir,
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.--(Received December 9.)
Rect 29 DEC 08
Peking, November 14, 1908.
IN continuation of my despatch No. 285 of the 24th June last I have the honour to transmit to you herewith a further General Report on Opium, which has been prepared by Sir Alexander Hosie, Acting Commercial Attaché to this Legation, who is specially qualified to deal with the question, and whose views are entitled to carry great weight.
The periodical reports which reach this Legation on the subject, and on which this series of General Reports is largely based, are often of a conflicting nature, and the oral testimony of travellers and missionaries, many of them men of wide experience and honestly anxious to arrive at the truth, differs so widely as to make one diffident about expressing any decided opinion.
But the general impression, which I derive from a study of all the available evidence, is that, considering the magnitude of the task, the success which has so far attended the movement is as great as could reasonably be expected,
I have, &c.
(Signed) J. N. JORDAN.
Inclosure in No. 1.
Third General Report on Opium.
IT is doubtful whether any question has ever stirred the Chinese Empire so profoundly as that of opium suppression. It affects all classes; Imperial Decrees, Proclamations, and the native press have carried the fiat throughout the length and breadth of the land; and public opinion, backed by a young but growing patriotism, is gradually but surely branding opium smoking as an evil that must be eradicated. Two years have elapsed since the issue of the Anti-Opium Decree and the promulgation of the Anti-Opium Regulations, and, although reports recently received from the provinces are somewhat conflicting in regard to the execution of the measures well-devised for suppression, there can be no doubt that, in spite of the absence of an organized uniform scheme for accomplishing the task, much is being done, and, in some cases, perhaps too much is being attempted in too short a time with the machinery available for the purpose. Many instances of apathy, due frequently to the fact that local officials are themselves smokers, are reported; but it must be remembered that the Viceroy or Governor of a province is dependent on his subordinates for the carrying out of his instructions, and, because one official fails in his duty, it would be rash to jump to the conclusion that all officials in that province are equally apathetic. The converse, of course, holds good; but there is sufficient evidence to show that progress is being made especially in curtailment of production, and, although some of the reports, justifiably it may be, attribute diminished cultivation to uncertainty and fear of increased taxation rather than to official activity, yet that very uncertainty and fear must be due to the measures initiated by the Government, and are therefore the indirect result of Governmental action. Taxation has not as yet been heavy enough to account for any sensible curtailment, for the higher prices now realized by native opium make it, in spite of increased taxation, a more profitable crop than ever; but the enhanced value of native opium, coupled with a lowering of the prices of food-stuffs in the chief centres of production, indicate a shortage in supply due in some places to unfavourable weather during the lancing of the capsules, but in general to decreased cultivation.
That the Central Government continues to be sincere and zealous in its crusade is beyond question. Following on the Imperial Decree of the 7th April, 1908, appointing
[2050 2-1]
:
>
This Document is the Property
His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
691
CHINA TRADE.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[December 9.]
SECTION 10
47603
[43008]
No. 1.
Rec
ربگر
(No. 517.) Sir,
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.--(Received December 9.) Rect 29 DEC 08
Peking, November 14, 1908. IN continuation of my despatch No. 285 of the 24th June last I have the honour to transmit to you herewith a further General Report on Opium, which has been prepared by Sir Alexander Hosie, Acting Commercial Attaché to this Legation, who is specially qualified to deal with the question, and whose views are entitled to carry great weight.
The periodical reports which reach this Legation on the subject, and on which this series of General Reports is largely based, are often of a conflicting nature, and the oral testimony of travellers and missionaries, many of them men of wide experience and honestly anxious to arrive at the truth, differs so widely as to make one diffident about expressing any decided opinion.
But the general impression, which I derive from a study of all the available evidence, is that, considering the magnitude of the task, the success which has so far attended the movement is as great as could reasonably be expected,
I have, &c.
(Signed) J. N. JORDAN.
Inclosure in No. 1.
Third General Report on Opium.
any
IT is doubtful whether any question has ever stirred the Chinese Empire so profoundly as that of opium suppession. It affects all classes; Imperial Decrees, Proclamations, and the native press have carried the fiat throughout the length and breadth of the land; and public opinion, backed by a young but growing patriotism, is gradually but surely branding opium smoking as an evil that must be eradicated. Two years have elapsed since the issue of the Anti-Opium Decree and the promul- gation of the Anti-Opium Regulations, and, although reports recently received from the provinces are somewhat conflicting in regard to the execution of the measures well- devised for suppression, there can be no doubt that, in spite of the absence of organized uniform scheme for accomplishing the task, much is being done, and, in some cases, perhaps too much is being attempted in too short a time with the machinery available for the purpose. Many instances of apathy, due frequently to the fact that local officials are themselves smokers, are reported; but it must be remembered that the Viceroy or Governor of a province is dependent on his subordinates for the carrying out of his instructions, and, because one official fails in his duty, it would be rash to jump to the conclusion that all officials in that province are equally apathetic. The converse, of course, holds good; but there is sufficient evidence to show that progress is being made especially in curtailment of production, and, although some of the reports, justifiably it may be, attribute diminished cultivation to uncertainty and fear of increased taxation rather than to official activity, yet that very uncertainty and fear must be due to the measures initiated by the Government, and are therefore the indirect result of Governmental action. Taxation has not as yet been heavy enough to account for any sensible curtailment, for the higher prices now realized by native opium make it, in spite of increased taxation, a more profitable crop than ever; but the enhanced value of native opium, coupled with a lowering of the prices of food-stuffs in the chief centres of production, indicate a shortage in supply due in some places to unfavourable weather during the lancing of the capsules, but in general to decreased cultivation.
That the Central Government continues to be sincere and zealous in its crusade is beyond question. Following on the Imperial Decree of the 7th April, 1908, appointing
[2050 2-1]
B
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