CO129-382 - Public Offices - 1911 — Page 420

[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]

OPIUM.

CONFIDENTIAL.

[5086]

C O 7235

[February 11.

Pro 6 MAR

SECTION 1.

No. 1.

Sir,

Mr. Coales to Foreign Office.--(Received February 11.)

4, Avenue Road, Wolverhampton, February 9, 1911.

I HAVE the honour to submit some notes on the progress of the opium campaign in the Chinese provinces of Kansu and Hsin Chiang made during my recent journey across Asia.

I have, &c.

OLIVER R. COATES, 1st Assistant.

Enclosure in No. 1.

Notes on the Progress of the Opium Campaign in North-west Kansu and the Hsin Chiang.

THE last notes I sent to Sir A. Hosie dealt with the Hsining prefecture and neighbouring districts of Kansu. From Hsining I crossed the Nan Shan to Kanchou and then followed the main road as far as Anhsi Chou, whence I crossed the desert to Hami. With the exception of a small district at the foot of the Nan Shan, where I saw the poppy in bloom, the opium harvest had been collected long before my arrival, so I had little opportunity of personal observation.

It is no exaggeration to say that in the three districts comprising this part of Kansu, Kanchou-fu, Su Chou, and Anhsi Chou the prohibitions against opium had remained almost a dead letter. Not only had no measures been taken against the traffic in and consumption of opium, but the area under poppy appears to have been little reduced, and in Kauchou there was an actual increase.

Of the three districts the officials in Kanchou appear to have been the most negligent. As we descended the lower slopes of the Nan Shan range to the prefectural city we passed through two or three small walled towns in agricultural country partly dependent on the rains and partly irrigated. Here at one town, Hung Shui, in particular I found the best lands, that is those near the river, almost entirely given up to the cultivation of the poppy. Unlike the white poppy of southern Kansu, the plant, which was in full bloom, had bright scarlet blossoms, while the capsules were smaller. Round Kanchou itself I found the dry plants still standing in many places, while fields showing the characteristic double furrow used in poppy cultivation were to be seen everywhere. The priest at the Roman Catholic Mission here confirmed what I had heard elsewhere that the area under poppy in this prefecture was larger in 1910 than in previous years. In Liangchou-fu and Su Chou he thought there had been a slight decrease, the plant being rarely seen near the main road. Chinese also said there harl been a reduction at Su Chou, 40 per cent. of the former area being one of the estimates given. The magistrate whom I saw dilated strongly on the difficulty of stopping cultivation in outlying districts, but the plant seems to have been also grown along the main road, for in one small oasis I found poppy sticks heaped in abundance for winter fuel. In these districts, where cultivation is restricted to small and definite areas, supervision ought to be easier than elsewhere.

I

At Anhsi Chou I was told the soil is poor and saline and opium little grown. believe this is correct. The more remote oasis of Tun-huang, where opium was formerly grown in large quantities, I was unable to visit, as it is distant several days journey from the main road.

In Kanchou there was no restriction on the sale or consumption of opium. Shops openly advertised its sale, while even in one of the Shansi banks I found opium pipes and lamps set out for the use of visitors. Smoking was, in fact, commonly practised throughout north-west Kausu. In Su Chou and Anhsi Chou a large trade in opium is illicitly carried on with the new dominion, where importation is prohibited."

[1897 7-1]

The

B

418

Page 420Page 421