Sir,
34
Enclosure 1 in No. 17.
Consul Smith to Sir J. Jordan.
you
Hangehow, May 10, 1914. I HAVE the honour to transmit herewith a report on the journey which instructed me to take for the purpose of investigating into the cultivation of the opium poppy in this province (Chekiang).
A map showing roughly the route followed accompanies the report.*
I have, &c.
J. L. SMITH.
Enclosure 2 in No. 17.
Report on Opium Inspection Journey in Chekiang during April and May 1914.
THE opium inspection party consisted of Messrs. Yen Ho-ling, Hsu Te-pen. deputies representing the Central Government; Hau Wei-san, head of the Opium Eradication Bureau at Hangchow, appointed by the Civil Governor of Chekiang; and myself. Mr. Hsu Wei-san brought with him a staff of two clerks, an interpreter. and several other people. In addition, the magistrate in whose jurisdiction we might happen to be usually met and escorted us through his district, accompanied not infrequently by local police and opium officials. Numerous soldiers and police, varying from fifteen or twenty to on one occasion at least 100, also accompanied us at different stages of the journey; in addition were a large number of chair-bearers and carriers.
On one occasion, at an early stage of the journey, the procession was so large that we only made an easy journey of 20 miles, stopping for the night at 4 P.M., when a smaller party could easily have gone 10 miles further on-this we were precluded from doing owing to lack of sufficient accommodation at any reasonable distance for I then complained strongly at the size of our party, and while so many people. agreeing to stop on the particular occasion, stated that in future I would simply go on with my servants and luggage until we had covered a reasonable distance for the day, leaving my colleagues to follow or not as they pleased. The useless members of Mr. Hsu's staff were then sent back to Hangchow, and the retinue considerably reduced. Matters improved after this, and though the party was unnecessarily large throughout, we were not seriously impeded, but a smaller party could probably have made more progress.
The party travelled in chairs and on foot, nothing else being possible for most of the journey.
The inspection party assembled at Ningpo and left that place on the 10th April by Chinese gunboat for Hsiang Shan, touching at Ting Hai en route to wait for the tide. We did not inspect any of the islands in the Chusan archipelago, but Père Procacci, of the local Roman Catholic Mission, who was constantly travelling in them. told me that there was no opium to be found anywhere this year.
Leaving Hsiang Shan city, where the effective part of the journey began, on the 11th April, we crossed the peninsula to Ssu Chou-tsun. Hsiang Shan opium was formerly known as being of a particularly fine quality, though the production was not comparatively on a very large scale. Having visited some of the hills in the neighbourhood of Sau Chou-tsun, we proceeded by junk across San Men Wan to Hai Yu So, landing at one island on the way, and being able to inspect portions of numerous others near which we passed with glasses. From here we made our way, partly by main road and partly by circuitous by paths, to Taichow. Hence we proceeded to Wu Yen. and by by-roads to Ta Ching-ying. We then struck westwards, and finally reached what seems to be an old, but now disused, main road from Wenchow to Taichow at Feng Lin. There were no inns on the route, no large towns, and the few wayfarers were merely local country people going from one village to another. From Sha Tou we took boat to Wenchow, travelling by night to economise time.
The whole of this section of the journey was exceedingly mountainous, passes of 2,000 to 3.000 feet having to be crossed constantly. These enabled one to obtain excellent and extensive views of secluded cultivation on hilltops.
• Not reproduced.
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The prefectures of Taichow and Wenchow, through portions of which the above- described route passed, are those in which opium used to be most largely cultivated in former times, and missionaries at both places, who travelled largely in the surrounding country, told me that they had not seen the plant anywhere this season. The above journey occupied nine days, some 760 li (253 miles) being covered. Of this the distance by water crossing San Men Bay was 180 li (60 miles),
From Wenchow the party went by Chinese gunboat to Jui An, visiting Tung Huang Shan en route. A number of other islands were also passed, the cultivation on which I had a good opportunity of examining with glasses. I was recommended to visit Tung Huang Shan, the island being a hotbed of pirates, and being shunned by the authorities on that account.
I am told that cultivation of the poppy only began a few years ago on these islands. They are not well adapted to growing opium, and only commenced to do so when the rigour with which the drug was being put down on the mainland enabled their seclusion to be turned to profitable account.
This journey occupied the best part of two days, and a distance of some 240 li (80 miles) was covered,
From Jui An the party proceeded to Ping Yang, where it appears the magistrate has had great difficulty in suppressing opium this year. No opium was grown in the plains, but a fairly determined attempt it would seem was made to do so in the hills, where the clans are turbulent and pay little attention to the authorities. Even here, however, little field cultivation was attempted, farmers generally contenting themselves with growing a few plants for the purpose of preserving the seed.
}
Père Boisard, from whom I derived the above information, told me that the magistrate had made himself a veritable scourge of the people in the matter of suppression-not entirely from altruistic motives. During the past two months he had inflicted fines to the extent of some 50,000 dollars, of which he kept two-thirds for himself. In order to increase li profits he had been employing men to go round with opium plants and place them in the fields of unoffending farmers. Shortly afterwards they would be followed srldiers who would hate the unfortunate cultivator before the magistrate.
the fore five men had been shot for growing opium, and 100 houses in the neighbourhood were burnt down. Père Boisard had good reason for believing that the men were innocent, and that no opium had been grown in the place. The magistrate's harshness and injustice in the matter generally had made him so unpopular that gentry and people alike were working to obtain his dismissal. He had offered 2 dollars for each plant brought to him, and the day previous to my arrival country people bad brought over 1,000 to the yamên. They had, however, been sent away without any reward whatever. These reports were on Chinese information, but Père Boisard believed them to be true.
While I was with Père Boisard I heard that a man had some plants of opium which he had brought into the city. If there was cpium I wished to see it with my own eyes, and I therefore offered to purchase it. Considerable difficulty was made as it was given out among the Chinese thai an cne assisting me would be shot; finally, with the assistance of Père Brisard and through the smartness of one of my servants, I obtained ore plant and three rootlets for 20 dollars. I did not see thc man, who would give no information beyond the fact that they had been taken from some twenty plants which a man had grown (and since pull.d up) within 10 miles of Ping Yang. The plant was a stunted er zeimen, tu was fresh enough to show that it must have been grown in the neighbourhood. It the officials with me of the episode and showed them the plant when I was a couple of days from Ping Yang. An attempt to procure a guide to slow ne opium growing was quite fruitless.
Père Boisard did not think, however, that I should find anything beyond a few plants growing in different places in the whole dit el-cultivation on any larger scale had, in his opinion, counted. Acting on his suggestion, I made for Ching Ning direct from Ping Yang by a route which he gave n'e. The first day's journey an easy one through the plain-was en main roads, but I visited some hills off the track to look for opium.
On the second day we entered stiff mountain country, where we took the wrong direction and did not discover our mistake for half a day. Being unwilling to retrace our steps, and the roads being right off the main track, we tried to find another way to Ching Ning. En route the villagers, who travel little, could not direct us for more than 10 or 15 miles beyond where they lived; finally, after struggling forward for two days without getting any definite information of the route, we decided to make for Tai Shun, whence we proceeded to Ching Ning and on
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