CO129-405 - Public Offices - 1913 — Page 216

AS

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after which they become liable to penal servitude; those above sixty will be allowed eight weeks to abandon the habit under pain of imprisonment and a maximum fine of 300 dollars. The "Shanghai Republican" of the 17th December reiterated that the Minister of the Interior was enforcing the new criminal laws relating to opin under direct orders of the President. These laws are included in the new criminal code for China, section 21, articles 266–275 (31st March, 1912). They provide penalties for the preparation, sale, and smoking of opium, with varying degrees of imprisonment and fines from 100 dollars to 1,000 dollars, together with loss of all civil rights in some cases. The district attorney of Wu Hsien has announced his intention of prosecuting opium smokers after the 31st December. Circular instructions from the Governor of Kiangsu have been published in the "Official Gazette," fixing the end of the year as the date for the entire suppression of opium smoking. The magistrate of Tung T'ai has issued a proclamation under the governor's orders that opium smoking would be suppressed by the 31st December. Smokers' licences were cancelled, and the prepared opium shops enjoined to change their business forthwith. In his orders the governor stated that the provinces of Kiangsu, Hunan, and Aubui had drawn up rules and fixed a time limit for the suppression of opium. The dates were given as the middle of the year for Hunan and the 31st December for Kiangsu and Anhui. office has announced that after the 25th December no purchases whatsoever of opium At Nanking, the head police will be allowed; raw and prepared opium shops must close their doors, and cease trading in opium, under penalty of severe punishment for offenders. His Majesty's consul at Nanking reports that he has received information that the orders prohibiting the import and sale of Indian opium are in force throughout the greater part of the province. He adds that the zeal which the Chinese authorities are showing in keeping Indian opium out of their districts is considerably greater than that displayed by them in suppressing the cultivation of the poppy. The Governor of Kiangsu, in a written reply to the cousul on the 25th November, admitted that in certain instances the repressive measures taken by the district officials appeared to be open to objection. His Majesty's consul-general at Shanghai reports that the Chinese opium dealers at Soochow, who had asked for leniency on the ground of unsold stocks and uncompleted contracts with the foreign importers, have met with a refusal from the Cabinet at Peking; the dealers were ordered to send their stocks for sale at Shanghai. At Chiakiang, the civil magistrate has issued a proclamation declaring the opening of opium divans, and the manufacture, possession, sale, and importation of opium smoking implements to be punishable offences under the provisional criminal code. His Majesty's consul at Hangchow reported on the 3rd December that he had trustworthy information that the Governor of Chekiang had endeavoured to persuade the anti- opium zealots to respect the treaty, and to take advantages of the clauses in the opium agreement to suppress opium growing in the province. The governor appeared to be against the present attitude, and would ask the Central Government for definite instructions, and abide thereby. At Kiukiang, an official placard was placed at the entrance of the opium sales establishment notifying the suspension of the issue of licences for selling opium on the 14th December. At Hankow, a special proclamation has been issued by the Opium Suppression Bureau, requiring that all raw and prepared opium be listed and stored in an official godown under penalty of destruction by fire. No raw opium would be allowed to be imported, no matter whether under the Customs' seal or not. Offenders would be heavily fined in accordance with the telegraphic instructions of the Vice-President and the regulations drawn up by the Provincial Assembly. On the 19th December His Majesty's consul-general at Hankow reported by telegraph that the native dealers were afraid to furnish evidence, but that Chinese newspapers had reprinted various regulations which confirmed the practical prohibition of the import of Indian opium after the 23rd December. I instructed him by telegraph to enter a strong protest with the Vice-President, both orally and in writing, against the prohibition of import of Indian opium as a gross infringement of the opium agreement of 1911. On the 21st December the consul-general reported that the Opium Suppression Bureau had written to the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, stating that all dealers had agreed to close their establishments before the 24th December, and either to export their stocks of Indian opium, or to hand them over to the Government sales' department, which would dispose of them gradually during the next six months, after which the balance would be destroyed. The Bureau requested the Chamber of Commerce to ask the consuls to advise foreign firms and banks to export promptly all the Indian opium held by them as security for advances. On the 18th December His Majesty's consul-general at Shanghai reported by telegraph that twenty chests of malwa had been returned from Hankow to Shanghai, and that thirty additional chests were on

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the way. His Majesty's consul at Wuhu reports that he had protested to the Governor of Anhui against the forcible closing of all opium shops and the compulsion on the wholesale merchants to discontinue business. The governor, in his reply on the 7th December, declared that the action on the part of the native dealers had been voluntary, and that their repudiation of outstanding contracts for over 200 chests of Indian opium would be arranged with native and not with foreign opium merchants at Shanghai. His Majesty's consul explains that the so-called voluntary action on the part of the native dealers was induced by the head of the Opium Suppression Bureau. The latter had summoned them on the 24th November, and given warning that, although he could not order them to close their business, he could and would post men at the entrance of their establishments to arrest any one on whom purchased opium was found,

The practical effect of these infringements of the opium agreement will be to shut out Indian opium effectually from consumption. The recent presidential order will in all probability have no effect in checking the anti-opium campaign in the provinces.

I have, &c.

J. N. JORDAN.

(Translation.)

Enclosure in No. 1.

Extract from the "Gazette" of December 25, 1912.

PRESIDENTIAL ORDER,

OPIUM is a danger to our race, and, inasmuch as the late Manchu dynasty imposed a term for the effective putting into operation of all manner of prohibition on the cultivation, on the import, and on the smoking of the drug, now that popular reforms are being brought about, how is it possible to allow the people to remain lying for ever at the bottom of this terrible pit? I have already issued hortatory orders, specially commanding all the civil authorities of the country to issue clear proclama- tions calling on the people to use every effort to rid themselves of this baueful habit, and, in the event of non-compliance, commanding them to inflict such punishment as the laws provide. During the past few months the various civil authorities have been making such plans and putting into effect such measures as seemed suitable, but it is much to be feared that the most carnest exhortations have been received with contempt and indifference. It is necessary that the prohibitory orders should be effectually promulgated in order to ensure some progress" being made, and I therefore hereby order the administrative heads of the various provinces to comply strictly with my previous orders, and enforce them seriously. The British Government and Parliament some time since expressed their willingness to give every help in effectively suppressing opium, and, in consultation with us, drew up a scheme for putting an end to the importation of Indian opium, and the opium agreement subsequently drawn up last year between China and Great Britain clearly laid down that, if any province could produce conclusive proof of success in suppressing cultivation and in suppressing the importation of opium from neighbouring provinces, the Wai-chiao Pu were to make an examination in conjunction with a delegate of the British Minister, in accordance with the reports from such provinces, and prevail on him to prohibit the import of Indian opium into such province. This shows that the question whether or not the import of Indian opium may be stopped depends entirely on whether or not native opium has been suppressed, while, of the means of suppressing native opium, the most important is the effective suppression of the cultivation. If this is done, then there will be no infringement of the provisions of the opium agreement.

All the administrative heads of the various provinces shall, on receiving this order, once again order all the local officials under their jurisdiction to effectively suppress opium honestly and cleanly, and in accordance with the treaties, and they shall further forward an accurate monthly report of the progress of the anti-opium campaign to the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and the Interior for purposes of examination.

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