257
→
2
completely succeeded, it is only reasonable to suppose that he would have adopted the same course as his colleagues of Hunan and Auhui, and pressed for investigation by
British officials.
The local Chinese newspapers are not in all respects reliable, but even in their most extravagant statements there is usually to be found some basis of fact. Now, during the period from the 1st January to the 30th June last frequent paragraphs have appeared in these journals noting cases where the poppy was being grown, either with the connivance of the local authorities or in defiance of the bureaux and deputies." I have compiled a list of some of these paragraphs, copy of which, in English and Chinese, I have now the honour to enclose. I add a few others, dealing with the matter of illicit traffic in native opium.
54
The conclusion that cannot well be avoided, if any credence at all is to be given to reports so circumstantial, is that the cultivation of the poppy, in at any rate the more remote and mountainous portions of Hupei, was by no means so complete last season as to justify His Majesty's Government in declaring this province to be one into which Indian opium is now no longer admissible.
I have, &c.
Enclosure 2 in No. 1.
W. H. WILKINSON.
Translations of Extracts from Hankow Native Press on the Subject of
Opium Suppression,
January 4-Hsing Kuo Hsien, Hsin T'ou P'u, and Wang Sha-pen: Poppies in abundance. Magistrate takes no notice.
January 11-Mien Yang Hsien: Poppy still grown in great quantities: opium dens ignored by magistrate and gentry.
January 24.-Li Chuan Hsien, Ch'ang Tan-pa: Poppy still grown.
February 28.-Ma Ch'eng Hsien: Poppy, now ripe; magistrate does nothing. March 3-Chu'n Hsien, Heng Shen Wan, and Shen pan T'au: Popular resistance to anti-opium measures.
March 25.-An-lu Hsien Pai Chan-shan: Abundance of poppies, many opium dens. Magistrates and police indifferent.
March 30-Kienshih Hsien (Shihnan Prefecture): Tai Wang-pa farmers resist and destroy local Government building; troops sent.
May 6-Cheki Hsien poppy grows all over the hills; soldiers sent to eradicate are bribed by the wealthy; poor farmers are arrested and their poppy destroyed; this leads to a case of arson and murder of the headborough.
May 11-Sung Tzu-Hsien: Poppy sown as usual.
Magistrate pays no attention.
May 25. Pating Hsien, Lien Ch'uan Gorge: Armed resistance of farmers, aided by brigands, to work of eradication; military from Ichang summoned.
May 30-Li Ch'uan Hsien: Several farmers, opium growers, shot down. District Council indicts magistrate for murder.
June 20.-Lai Feng Hsien, Lin Kang: Poppy growers tie up local inspector, who is rescued by military.
June 21.-Lai Feng Hsien, Hui-pei: Armed resistance to eradication.
,979039)
Translations of further Extracts from Native Press of Hankow on the Subject
of Opium.
January 6.-Shensi opium dealer brings by rail five trunks full of native opium covered by Japanese flag.
February 14-Opium dealers of Hanyang use opium dens as markets, to which many Wuchang opium smokers resort.
March 21-Huang Hai Hsien opium dealers, owing to severity of restrictions, carry ou their trade at Teh-ngan, in Kiangsi, and at Susung Hsien, in Anhui
April 1-Seizure by Hankow Customs in one of Butterfield and Swire's boats of three large packages of native opium.
April 11-Seizure on railway of 800 taels weight of native opium going north.
3
May 5-Laifeng Hsien, adjoining Lang Shun Hsien, Hunan: Over 300 smugglers forcibly endeavour to cross frontier; being resisted, destroy preventive office, beat officers, then disperse.
May 7.-P'u Che Hsien, Hsin-tien, under protection of certain rascally gentry, native opium is openly sold; inhabitants protest, and enquiry is held.
June 6.- -Ichang, Ping Shun Fu: Now that the system of rewards has been abolished and co-operation with the Maritime Customs, smugglers from Szechuan are bringing in native opium in large and small quantities.
June 16-Tien-men Hsien, Peng Chih-ho: One P'eng retails native opium, bullying and bribing.
(No. 15.) Sir,
Enclosure 3 in No. 1.
Acting Consul Handley-Derry to Mr. Alston.
WITH reference to your despatch, No. 2, of the 24th ultimo, enclosing copies of
Ichang, August 7, 1913. correspondence with the Wai-chiao Pu, relative to the placing of Kiangsi and Hupeh on the list of provinces into which Indian opium shall not be conveyed, I have the honour to inform you that there is little to add to what I reported in my No. 9, of the 10th ultimo.
There is no doubt that a determined and sustained effort has been made to stamp out the growth of poppy in all easily accessible places, and so far as I can gather from missionaries, railway men and others they have seen nothing of the poppy during the spring. The missionary has of course, kept fairly well to the beaten track, the railway man has been off the beaten track but in a region of very scant cultivation, Chinese say that on the road to Shih-nan Fu none could be seen, but that they heard that it was growing in the country road.
say
It is useless to suggest any search at this time of the year, but I would very much like to make a journey round through the prefecture of Shih-nan in the early spring of next year. It is a journey which would take nearly a month, but from what Chinese
there must be a good deal of growing going on in the more secluded spots. Of the import of native opium it is difficult to speak. None comes through the customs, but I have questioned the writer of this consulate very closely and he says he could buy smuggled opium at any time at about 5-6 tiao an ounce. The price stated my above-mentioned despatch has gone up, owing to the greater stringency caused by the closing of the official opium offices.
in
When I was at Shasi I questioned several of the merchants there as to how many smokers there were still, they said that there were now no more than 3 or 4 per cent. (Shasi population, 95,000).
I have, &c.
Enclosure 4 in No. 1.
H. F. HANDLEY-DERRY.
Memorandum communicated to Wai-chiao Pu.
IN continuation of his memorandum of the 16th July, His Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires has the honour to inform the Wai-chiao Pu that he has now received consular reports from Hankow and Ichang.
Mr. Alston is not disposed to accept the statement in the Wai-chiao Pu's memor- andum of the 3rd July, that poppy cultivation had been prohibited and extinguished and that import of the native drug from other provinces had also been forbidden.
He regrets therefore that he is unable to consent to place Hupeh forthwith on the list of provinces into which Indian opium shall not be conveyed but is ready in accordance with article 4, of the 1911, Agreement to arrange for investigations next spring on the lines of the joint inspections carried out in Shantung, Anhui, and Human this year.
Peking, August 20, 1913.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.