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Much had already been done; ten Chinese provinces were closed, or about to be closed, to the trade, owing to the suppression of the growth of opium.
It should also be noticed that the whole of the stocks now accumulated in Shanghai amounted to only one-third of the annual intake of China a few years ago. It was obvious, therefore, that there was already a great improvement.
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The deputation demanded that the opium stocks in Shanghai should be dispersed to destinations which were not stated, but which were to be other than China. Though these stocks were not very large when compared to China's former consumption, there were, nevertheless, great practical difficulties in disposing of a block of opium such as this. There was, for instance, the difference between the various sorts of opium, between Bengal opium and Malwa opium. Even in India the market was different for each sort of opium. Opium could not be treated as a single article.
We had, however, already so reduced the amount of Bengal opium grown that the supply was barely equal to the demand for it in India itself and for the outside markets other than Chinese. This proved that the Government of India had no desire to encourage the export of opium to China.
Malwa opium was grown in the native States, and we had not the same control over it as over Bengal opiun. Also, the opium grown in Persia and Turkey was a strong rival of Malwa opium. The Government of India had pointed out to the native States concerned that, if the market was glutted with Malwa opium, no help was to be expected from the Government of India.
On the general question, while appreciating the feelings that made the deputation desire a more rapid disuse of opium in China, he pointed out that, if China accomplished the task of suppressing the opium habit within the proposed term of ten years, she Reformers would have accomplished a feat unparalleled in the history of the world.
in our own country did not venture to suggest a ten years' limit for some of our national vices. Therefore, a year more or less added to the time required to end the opium trade should not be looked upon as a matter of paramount importance.
In passing, he would observe that he did not think that a complete prohibition of the importation of opium into China at once would be a very great help to the Chinese, for people who wished to get opium would go on getting it by some degree of cultivation.
He asked the deputation whether it was wise or worth while, whether it was necessary to introduce what might be serious complications into the progress of this reform, so long as steady progress was being made? While he had personal sympathy with the object of the deputation, he could not agree entirely with them in the meaus that they proposed for attaining it.
Sir E. Grey said that he was in complete agreement with Lord Crewe as to the policy to be followed, and he had nothing different to say, but he might supplement in one or two ways what Lord Crewe had said. Also, he would touch upon the question of the indemnity, as this question had been raised.
He had seen General Chang, and had been much impressed by his earnestness. But he had felt obliged to say one thing to General Chang, and that was that, when he gave addresses on the subject of the opium trade, he should dwell to some extent upon the help given by the Indian Government to China. This was a point that was apt to be overlooked when the subject was discussed.
He wished to recall the point of view of 1906, when the British Government first approached the subject with a view to the reduction of the trade. Lord Morley's scheme was received by those earnestly interested as a real offer to hold out a helping hand. There were some cynics who slighted the efforts of China, but China had certainly proved since then that she was in earnest. Sir E. Grey described the scheme, which was to bring the trade to an end in 1916. When the Indian Govern- ment had made this bargain they might have considered themselves entitled to hold to it, but as China did so well the Indian Government went further, and agreed to the closure of province by province. Finally, the Indian Government had agreed to send no more opium to China. If one supposed that the present deputation were a deputation who had called upon Lord Crewe and Sir E. Grey in 1906, and that it had then been possible to prophesy that in 1913 the trade would be reduced to its present dimensions, the only outstanding question being that of the 20,000 chests in Shanghai, and that in 1906 a request had been made for one or two years beyond 1913 for the extinction of the trade, he thought that the deputation would have agreed, and considered that they had made a very good bargain.
Therefore, while he quite appreciated the object of the deputation, he thought
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that if one looked at the situation in the right perspective one received a different impression.
He thought that it was open to doubt whether the accumulated stocks were really an obstruction to China. He understood that what China really appreciated was the progressive reduction that we had secured for her.
Some time ago the Chinese Government had offered to buy the stocks, and that would no doubt have been a solution, but they had since withdrawn their offer. One alternative would be for the British Government to buy the stocks. But while China herself was still producing every year three times as much opium as was contained in these stocks he did not think that we could reasonably go to Parliament to ask for a grant to buy the stocks. Of course, if all production of opium in China ceased the situation would be altered, and we could not send any more opium into China then.
As to the indemnity, there was great misunderstanding. The British Government had not been wise in their generation. They had drawn up large claims against China, but had reduced them before presenting them to her. The United States, on the other hand, had presented very large claims, and had waited till a good deal had been paid by China, and then had waived the rest. This, of course, had given the United States a good dramatic position, but it reminded one of the landlord who did not reduce his rents when surrounding landlords reduced theirs, and then acquired a reputation for generosity by giving rebates on his rents while the other landlords gave none. He thought that the real position as to the indemnity should be better known. Mr. Theodore Taylor, while expressing the thanks of the deputation for the reception given them, said that they were not satisfied, and he urged very strongly that the British Government should reconsider their position.
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