CO129-363 - Public Offices & Others - 1909 — Page 242

36

deal of opium smoking, and is very prevalent in Shansi owing to the way the people have of belting large quantities of half-cooked food.

Enquiries as to the popular sentiment with regard to the 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 It is believed that the prohibition will province--a very unusual state of affairs. be extended to Shensi in 1910, so the people are making the most of their 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 province 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.

Peking, June 26, 1903.

Inclosure 3 in No. 1.

Report of a Journey into the Opium Districts of South-West Yunnan, with an Account of the Annual Fair at Tali-fu.

Object of Journey.-On the 22nd April, 1909, I left Tengyueh to make a flying tour round the districts in the neighbourhood of Tengyueh, the territory under the jurisdiction of the I-IIsi Taotai, which is estimated to produce 45 per cent, of the total opium crops of the province of Yunnan. The routes taken by myself and two Chinese assistants passed through the tracts which in the past have proved most favourable to the growth of the poppy.

Routes. Leaving Tengyaeh in a due easterly direction, I followed the main road for three days, then branched off on to a bridle path leading south-east in the direction of Shunning-fu; thence 1 turned north and reached Tali-fu by way of Meng-hua Ting, returning to my post through Yung-chang-fu. The consulate writer accompanied me as far as Shunning-fu, then proceeded to Yunchou, and took a more easterly road to Tali-fu. The third route lay to the south of Tengyueh, through territory administered by the Shan sawbwas.

Description of Country.-The track by which I travelled lay across a plateau from 5,000 to 6,000 feet above the level of the sea, with frequent rises and falls, some of the passes being at an altitude of over 8,000 feet, whilst the Salwen Valley is but 2,200 feet above the sea. In dry weather the firm, sandy path made walking or riding very pleasant, but in the heavy rains which overtook us on several days the steep slopes were almost impassable, and we were obliged to struggle up and down in straw sandals, whilst the rules found great difficulty in keeping their feet, and made slow progress. Our small party did double stages over practically the whole route, and it was therefore impossible to carry tents or heavy kit of any description. As a

C

37

The

result we were dependent for a rude welter on the occasional mud huts by the way, and were often obliged to carry our own food and fodder. The nights are cold and inhospitable in these mountain regions, and, after a march from dawn till dark, there was a comfort in the wood fire built on the floor that made one forget the dirt, the crowding humanity, and the smoke that stung our unaccustomed eyes. The country is wonderfully beautiful: a succession of fir-clad uplands with great mountain ranges stretching beyond them, far below the Shweli, the Salwen, and Mekong, the Red River, the Hsia-kuan River, and the Yangpi that go whirling through their deep beds, one flanked by tropical jungle, the next by steep rocky gorges, whilst the Hsia-kuan can be seen for miles winding between grassy slopes, a white and foaming torrent descending 1,600 feet over rocks and boulders, in one day's march. tropical sun is tempered by the mountain breezes, and the country was full of familiar northern flowers growing in vigorous profusion; the hillsides were bright with rhododendrons, red and white, with azaleas of many colours and long sprays of clematis, whilst roses and meadow-sweet grew in luxuriance in the sheltered valleys. The country is unlike the east and south and north of China in that its mountains are covered with forests and its streams run clear over their rocky beds, whilst for days at a stretch there is little sign of human habitation, save in the well-cultivated and populous valleys. Such people as we met between the towns were, however, friendly and willingly offered their rough hospitality; their faces, their homes, and the unbound feet of their women mark the people as tribesmen with a slight mingling of Chinese blood. In the Menghua district and along the northern route many of them are of pure Lolo race, though the handsome, clean-cut faces of the Szechuanese Lolos are seldom seen. All, however, who have the slightest tinge of Chinese blood claim to belong to the "family of Hau," and there is little wonder that they cling to the traditions and name which represent, on the one hand, all power and wealth whilst treating with a relentless contempt the "barbarian" of the hills.

OPIUM.

Opium Centres.In dealing with the production of opium this circuit may be divided into two distinct spheres, the first comprising the districts under the direct control of the Chinese territorial officials, the second consisting of the frontier regions under the rule of the Shan sawbwas, including the fertile, low-lying valleys, and the Kachin Hills, for which the sawbwas are nominally responsible. It was generally admitted that the Shan valleys were still under opium crops this season, and I therefore decided to send a Chinese assistant to get any possible information in this direction, whilst proceeding myself to the east of the circuit where the Taotai claimed that the preventive work had been successfully carried out. My route was chosen through the greatest producing areas of the district and timed just before the opium

harvest.

Destruction of Opium Crops in Chinese Sphere.-Speaking generally the work of prevention inaugurated by his Excellency Hsi Liang, governor-general at Yunnan-fu, has been carried out in the Chinese sphere with vigour and success. It was naturally impossible to penetrate into the remoter regions during the short period at my disposal, but, by careful enquiry and by watching the local markets for the drug, it has been possible to gain a fair estimate of the conditions of the present season. From the high passes of these districts can be obtained a broad view of the surrounding country, and the unmistakable colour of the poppy crops may be In the course detected from a considerable distance when they exist to any extent.

of my journey, however, I did not see a single field of poppy, and the only evidence of cultivation was in the straggling flowers, which were freely scattered over the fields and were evidently the few survivors after the crops had been uprooted by order of the officials. The consulate writer reports similar conditions in the country lying between Yunchou and Menghua Ting. I have also reliable information from Mr. Coggin Brown, of the Geological Survey of India, and from other English sources, that, in the country to the north-west and north-east of Tali-fu (under the jurisdiction of the sub-prefects of Yunlung Chou and Pinchuan Chou), the main crops have been vigorously destroyed, though a little cultivation is reported in the remoter districts, which are difficult of access for the preventive officers.

Local Riots. During December and the early part of this year the prefects and junior officers of the circuit were constantly under orders from the Viceroy, first to exhort the people to devote their land to other crops, then to destroy the crops if their earlier orders have been disobeyed. In many cases the latter course was necessary,

L

[2494 p-1]

241

sc Ture