6
are not troubled by pecuniary considerations would seem to be making no effort to abandon the vice; on the contrary, some of the richer families boast that they The breaking-off of have laid in enough opium to last them for fifty years to come. the opium habit is not such a difficult or lengthy affair as is generally supposed, three weeks or a month being as a rule sufficient to effect a cure, even in bad cases. At Hotsin I met a man who had been accustomed to smoke 4 ounces a day, an exceptionally large amount; the average smoker seldom exceeds a tenth of that quantity, say 4 or 5 mace. He was, however, completely cured, and had not touched the drug for several years.
The method of treatment adopted in most of these refuges is as follows:-
For the first five days the patient is given doses of morphia, equivalent to the amount of opium he has been in the habit of consuming; after that the dose is decreased daily by a tenth until none is given at all, and at the same time the patient is nourished on good food, and is further strengthened by means of ordinary tonic medicines. The difficulty lies in the fact that the victim has usually taken to the drug in the first instance to gain relief from some disease, and on his abandoning the habit the malady reappears. Dyspepsia, for instance, is responsible for a good deal of opium smoking, and is very prevalent in Shansi owing to the way the people have of bolting large quantities of half-cooked food.
Enquiries as to the popular sentiment with regard to anti-opium measures generally elicited the reply that the people were on the whole glad that they were being obliged to give up the habit; they could not help realising its pernicious effects, but lacked the moral courage to abandon the drug of their own initiative. There is, however, a section of the community, chiefly of the student class and gentry, who are rather inclined to regard the action of the State as an unnecessary interference with the liberty of the individual, and would prefer to be left in peace to the enjoyment of their pipe.
The enormous increase in the marketable value of opium in Shansi has had the effect of widening the area under cultivation in the adjoining province, and a missionary writing from Meihsien on the Wei River in Shensi states that the poppy is now grown to such an extent in the Wei Valley that the farmers have actually had to import wheat for their own consumption. from other parts of the province, a very unusual state of affairs. It is believed that the prohibition will be extended to Shensi in 1910, so the people are making the most of the opportunities.
In Honan less opium has been grown this year than last, especially near the main roads, and none was visible from the railway, but I am told that a considerable amount is still being cultivated in various parts of the province.
The energetic action that has been taken in Shansi is worthy of the highest praise, and it only remains to be seen whether the results are to be permanent or not. The regulations governing the election of representatives in the new scheme of constitutional government expressly exclude all opium smokers from holding office, so it is to be hoped that a safeguard against any reintroduction of the poppy will be afforded by the presence of a body of men in the councils of the capital whose desire for the welfare of the provinco is unhampered by considerations of a personal
nature.
In conclusion, I would like to express my gratitude to the Protestant missionaries of Shansi, from whom I always received the greatest hospitality and assistance, and to whom I am indebted for much of the information contained in this report.
J. F. BRENAN.
J
[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government/
271 c214 AUG C.
[July 20.]
CHINA TRADE.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[27367]
No. 1.
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received July 20.)
SECTION 2.
(No. 228.) Sir,
Peking, June 24, 1909. WITH reference to your despatch No. 70 of the 10th March relative to the action of the Provincial Government at Canton in placing restrictions upon the sale of raw opium, I have the honour to enclose copy of a despatch from the acting British consul-general at Canton respecting a fresh complaint received from Messrs. David Sassoon and Co. about certain new regulations sanctioned by the Canton Government for the control of the sale and purcliase of raw opium, together with a copy of the reply which I have addressed to Mr. Fox.
I would take this opportunity of pointing out that in your despatch No. 70 of the 10th March, as well as in the letter addressed by the Foreign Office to the Colonial and India Offices on the 11th February, mention is made of the rules issued by the Provincial Government of Canton in 1906. As a matter of fact, these rules were dated the 4th September, 1908, and were issued for the purpose of putting into effect the regulations of 1906 promulgated by the Imperial Government.
I find that no copy of my note to Prince Ch'ing referred to by Mr. Fox was forwarded to the Foreign Office, and I beg, therefore, to enclose a copy of my note and also of Prince Ch'ing's reply for convenience of reference.
Mr. Fox's despatch No. 51 of the 29th September, 1908, was transmitted in my despatch No. 464 of the 21st October,
I have, &c.
Inclosure 1 iu No. 1.
Acting Consul-General Fox to Sir J. Jordan.
J. N. JORDAN.
(No. 58.) Sir,
Canton, May 28, 1909. REFERRING to my despatch No. 51 of the 29th September, 1008, and to subsequent reports on the subject of the regulation of the sale of raw opium in this province, I have the honour to report that I have been again approached by Messrs. David Sassoon and Co., on behalf of the opium merchants in Hong Kong, with a complaint that the Canton Government are about to enforce certain regulations for the control of the sale and purchase of raw opium, which will have the effect of creating a monopoly in favour of certain licensed dealers and thereby seriously affecting the treaty rights of British merchants engaged in the raw opium trade.
I enclose for your inspection copy and translation of—
(a.) A proclamation recently issued by the Canton Opium Prohibition Bureau ; (b.) A form of licence to be taken out by all dealers in raw opium; and (c) A set of regulations which were to come into force on the 19th instant governing the sale and purchase of raw opium.
As you are aware, the regulations of the 4th September, 1908, with which the present rules are to all intents and purposes identical, have not been enforced in Canton, and only partially enforced in certain parts of the province. Their suspension is, I believe, in great measure due to the representations which were made to the Viceroy by this consulate-general on behalf of the Hong Kong opium merchants.
The objectionable features in the new regulations, from the point of view of British importers, are the restrictions placed on the opening of any new shops and the limitation of the quantity that may he purchased at one time.
In view of the opinion expressed by His Majesty's Government in the corre- spondence enclosed in your despatch No. 28 of the 11th May, that the terms of the original rules, issued by the Canton Government in September 1908, do not constitute a violation of British treaty rights, I hesitate to enter a protest against the enforcement
[2363 u-2
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B
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