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motor to Pei Piao. He also went in for other ventures and left without a settlement. Opium and soldiers are responsible for our miserable plight, still the people plant hoping to recover their losses. Central Jehol. Owing to war we have not been able to travel, hence can only give general statements received from our native workers. Poppy is being very extensively grown, the present admin- istration are not forbidding it. The magistrate told me yesterday, they dare not prohibit it owing to the poverty of the people. The opium harvest will be small owing to lack of rain. The Kuo Min Chun General when here entirely prohibited the growing of opium under the penalty of land confiscation. He had to flee before the planting season. Poppy is sown even in the gardens of the capital so the farmers outside have full liberty. The militarists will fatten as usual when harvest time comes.
KANSU
A local
Reports are scarce, civil war has interferred with postal services, and missionaries have been restricted in their itineration. Secretary at the capital summarises the opium situation:
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Opium is being freely grown throughout the province except the Mohammedan section in the West.
In the north Liang Chou-fu and other sections more is being grown than ever, All the best watered land is used for opium.
In the hill sections such as Kaolun, Anting, Kinhsien, and others, failure of early rain prevented poppy planting. 11'est Kaman, Sining Fu, our Mohamunedan General Ma has entirely forbidden the growing of opium for 13 years. It is however freely sold in shops and extensively smoked. this is owing to Government interests in the capital.
Kansu-Tibetan Border, Tit. Planting this season is as great as in previous years. We have however just come under a new Government regime (the Kuo Min Chun, Marshal Feng), and definite reforms are being planned.
In the 1924-25 season it was estimated that the province produced $20,000,000 in opium and land taxes in order to maintain the army of Single Asiens 80,000 soldiers. Poppy land was taxed to $15 a mon
such as Ninganfu and Minchow raised opium taxes of $140,000 to $160,000 and others varied with production.
Kansu has been for years one of the largest opium producing pro- vinces. Opium is cheap and in general use by all classes.
Since the control of this province and the adjoining province of Suiyuan by the officials of the Christian General, the old trade of opium export along the railway has been restricted, in fact unless the present civil war changes the control of these provinces, both opium cultivation and traffic will speedily end.
KIANGSI
Great difficulty has been experienced in getting foreign reports from this province. The Anti-Opium Association Branch since it ac- complished the removal of Tuchun Ts'ai in 1924 appears to have vanished. How much their efforts were anti-opium or political is open
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to question, however they succeeded in quashing completely the well- organised provincial monopoly which brought in enormous revenues to the Tuchun. Since 1924 the personal use of opium has increased and in several sections of the province it is reported that to to 20 per cent of the people smoke. Opium dens are numerous in all the large cities. Less opium is cultivated because importation from Yunnan and Kueichow is simpler,
The importation of opium must be enormous if smoking is increas ing. In 1924 in three months the military monopoly transported and disposed of almost 1,000,000 ounces, and in a single sien such as Kian Hsien 200,000 ounces was sold monthly.
Since the abandonment of the military monopoly, a system of free trade seems to prevail, with taxation on lamps and dens.
KIANGSU
It is difficult to make a decision as to the attitude of this province. As in many other places reports are not uniform. We have those from provincial districts which indicate that the Governor's officials are taking active steps to stop the traffic, and then we have a petition from the Shanghai Chinese National Anti-Opium Association protesting against a suggested monopoly by which the sum of $40,000, 000 may be raised annually and of which $15,000,000 will be allotted to the military.
The Civil Governor recently issued a proclamation declaring that: "The Central Government insisted on opium suppression, but as this order if immediately enforced would cause undue suffering to opium smokers, he would begin the suppression by taxing all opium smokers. Hithertoo only opium dens had been taxed, but now all private smokers were to be treated similarly. The wealthier smokers were to pay $3 a month, others $2 and the poorer classes $1. As a large percentage of officials, both civil and military, smoke opium, it is doubtful whether a trifle of $3 a month will cause a single one to desist, whilst the taxes will be very welcome.
"In January 1925 a notorious opium trafficker in Nanking was caught by the military police with 8,184 ounces of opium and shot, not because of the opium, but his unofficial transaction.
"If General Sun is honestly endeavouring to control opium through a centralized monopoly, and thereby eradicating the underworld traffic, it will be an experiment worth watching. But if the object is taxation for military purposes, it is reprehensible.
Nau Tung Char Cumbine, Traffic this year is more active than in the previous two years. The opium comes from Szechuan, Kuangchow, Tsingtao and abroad. It is landed at Lu Sze the port of Nan Tung Chow, and conveyed by motor car under escort of troops. The opium is stored at the Hua Hai Bank which is nicknamed the "Opium Bank".
The yearly disposal is estimated by the investigator of the provincial Educational Association at 40,000 cases, with a profit of $1,000 a case. This may be overestimated, but the Chinese press reported one consign- ment of over 500 cases which returned a profit of $500,000.
The Combine has 800 selling houses. The president of the Combine
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