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often and suddenly exchanged for indolent laxity.
It has been represented, that advantage is taken of the laws against opium, Occasional abuse of
by extortionate underlings and worthless vagrants, to benefit themselves. Is it the laws, no argu-
not known, then, that where the Government enacts a law there is necessarily ment against them,
an infraction of that law? And though the law should sometimes be relaxed and
become ineffectual, yet surely it should not on that account be abolished ; any
more than we would altogether cease to eat because of diseased stoppage of the
throat. When have not prostitution, gambling, treason, robbery, and such like
infractions of the laws, afforded occasions for extortionate underlings and worth
less vagrants to benefit themselves, and by falsehood and bribery to amass
wealth ? Of these there have been frequent instances ; and as any instance is
discovered, punishment is inflicted. But none surely would contend that the
law, because in such instances rendered ineffectual, should therefore be
abrogated ! The laws that forbid the people to do wrong may be likened to the
dykes which prevent the overflowing of water. If any one, then, urging that
the dykes are very old, and therefore useless, should have them thrown down,
what words could express the consequences of the impetuous rush and all-
destroying overflow! Yet the provincials, when discussing the subject of opium,
being perplexed and bewildered by it, think that a prohibition which does not
utterly prohibit, is better than one which does not effectually prevent, the
importation of the drug. Day and night I have meditated on this, and can in
truth see no wisdom in the opinion.
It is said that the opium should be admitted, subject to a duty, the Impropriety ofsanc-
importers being required to give it into the hands of the Hong merchants, in tioning the trade by
barter only for merchandize, without being allowed to sell it for money. And evying a u )-
this is proposed as a means of preventing money secretly oozing out of the
country. But the English, by whom opium is sold, have been driven out to
Lintin so long since as the first year of Taoukwang (1821), when the then
Governor of Kwangtung and Kwangse discovered and punished the warehousers
of opium : so long have they been expelled, nor have they ever since imported
it into Macao. Having once suppressed the trade and driven them away, shall
we now again call upon them and invite them to return ? This would be,
indeed, a derogation from the true dignity of Government. As to the proposi
tion to give tea in exchange, and entirely to prohibit the exportation of even
foreign silver, I apprehend that, if the tea should not be found sufficient, money
will still be given in exchange for the drug. Besides, if it is in our power to
prevent the exportation of dollars, why not also to prevent the importation of
opium ? And if we can but prevent the importation of opium, the exportation
of dollars will then cease of itself, and the two offences will both at once be
stopped. Moreover, is it not better, by continuing the old enactments, to find
even a partial remedy for the evil, than by a change of the laws to increase the
importation still further ? As to levying a duty on opium, the thing sounds so
awkwardly, and reads so unbeseemingly, that such a duty ought surely not to
be levied.
Again, it is said that the prohibitions against the planting of the poppy by impolicy of sane-
natives should be relaxed ; and that the direct consequences will be daily tioning the growth
diminution of the profits of foreigners, and in course of time, the entire ces- ?f the P°PPy- JFhe
sation of the trade without the aid of prohibitions. Is it, then, forgotten that JSf^T stopped
it is natural to the common people to prize things heard of only by the ear, by it.
and to undervalue those which are before their eyes,—to pass by those things
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which are near at hand, and to seek after those which are afar off,—and, though
they have a thing in their own land, yet to esteem more highly such as comes
to them from beyond the seas? Thus, in Keangsoo, Chekeang, Fuhkeen, and
Kwangtung, they will not quietly he guided by the laws of the Empire, but
must needs make use of foreign money: and this foreign money, though of an
inferior standard, is nevertheless exchanged by them at a higher rate than the
native sycee silver, which is pure. And although money is cast in China after
exactly the same pattern, under the names of Keangsoo pieces, Fuhkeen pieces,
and native or Canton pieces, yet this money has not been able to gain currency
among the people. Thus, also, the silk and cotton goods of China are not
sufficient in quantity; and yet the broadcloths, and camlets, and cotton goods,
of the barbarians from beyond the pale of the Empire are in constant request.
Taking men generally, the minds of all are equally unenlightened in this
respect, so that all men prize what is strange, and undervalue whatever is in
ordinary use.
The outgoing of From Fuhkeen, Kwangtung, Chekeang, Shantung, Yunnan, and Kweichow,
money not hindered memorials have been presented by the Censors and other officers, requesting
thereby. that prohibitions should be enacted against the cultivation of the poppy, and
against the preparation of opium ; but while nominally prohibited, the culti
vation of it has not been really stopped in those places. Of any of those
provinces, except Yunnan, I do not presume to speak ; but of that portion
of the country I have it in my power to say, that the poppy is culti
vated all over the hills and the open campaign, and that the quantity of
opium annually produced there cannot be less than several thousand chests.
And yet we do not see any diminution in the quantity of silver exported, as
compared with any previous period ; while, on the other hand, the lack of the
metal in Yunnan is double in degree what it formerly was. To what cause is
this to be ascribed ? To what but that the consumers of the drug are very
many, and that those who are choice and dainty, with regard to its quality,
prefer always the foreign article ?
And the cultivation Those of your Majesty's advisers who compare the drug to the dried leaf
of grain, &c, will 0f the tobacco plant are in error. The tobacco leaf does not destroy the
be injured by it. human constitution. The profit too arising from the sale of tobacco is small,
while that arising from opium is large. Besides, tobacco may be cultivated on
bare and barren ground, while the poppy needs a rich and fertile soil. If all
the rich and fertile ground be used for planting the poppy, and if the people,
hoping for a large profit therefrom, madly engage in its cultivation, where will
flax and the mulberry tree be cultivated, or wheat and rye be planted ? To
draw off in this way the waters of the great fountain, requisite for the pro
duction of food and raiment, and to lavish them upon the root whence calamity
and disaster spring forth, is an error which may be compared to that of a
physician, who, when treating a mere external disease, should drive it inwards
to the heart and centre of the body. It may in such a case be found impossible
even to preserve life. And shall the fine fields of Kwangtung, that produce
their three crops every year, be given up for the cultivation of this noxious
weed,—those fields in comparison with which the unequal soil of all other parts
of the Empire is not even to be mentioned ?
The corruption and To sum up the matter, the wide-spreading and baneful influence of opium,
^n^are the chief wnen regarded simply as injurious to property, is of inferior importance ; but
objections against when regarded as hurtful to the people, it demands most anxious consideration :
opium. for in the people lies the very foundation of the empire. Property, it is true, is
that on which the subsistence of the people depends. Yet a deficiency of it
may be supplied, and an impoverished people improved ; whereas it is beyond
the power of any artificial means to save a people enervated by luxury. In the
history of Formosa we find the following passage : " Opium was first produced
in Kaoutsinne, which by some is said to be the same as Kalapa (or Batavia).
The natives of this place were at the first sprightly and active, and being good
soldiers, were always successful in battle. But the people called Hung-maou
(Red-haired) came thither, and having manufactured opium, seduced some of
the natives into the habit of smoking it ; from these the mania for it rapidly
spread throughout the whole nation ; bo that, in process of time, the natives
became feeble and enervated, submitted to the foreign rule, and ultimately were
And this is the completely subjugated." Now the English are of the race of foreigners called
object of its mipor- Hung-maou. In introducing opium into this country, their purpose has been
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to weaken and enfeeble the Central Empire. If not early aroused to a sense of
our danger, we shall find ourselves, ere long, on the last step towards ruin.
The repeated instances, within a few years, of the barbarians in question
having assumed an attitude of outrageous disobedience ; and the stealthy
entrance of their ships into the provinces of Fuhkeen, Chekeang, Keangnan,
and Shantung, and even to Teentsin,—to what motive are these to be attri
buted ? I am truly unable to answer the inquiry. But, reverently perusing
the sacred instructions of your Majesty's all-wise progenitor, surnamed the
Benevolent [Kanghe], I find the following remark by him, dated the 10th
month of the 55th year of his reign (1717) :—" There is cause for apprehension,
lest, in centuries or millenniums to come. China may be endangered by collision
with the various nations of the West, who come hither from beyond the seas."
I look upwards and admiringly contemplate the gracious consideration of that
all-wise progenitor, in taking thought for the concerns of barbarians beyond the
empire, and giving the distant future a place in his divine and all -pervading
foresight. And now, within a period of two centuries, we actually see the
commencement of that danger which he apprehended. Though it is not prac
ticable to put a sudden and entire stop to their commercial intercourse ; yet the
danger should be duly considered and provided against ; the ports of the several
provinces should be guarded with all strictness ; and some chastisement should
be administered, as a warning and foretaste of what may be anticipated.
Under date of the 23rd year of Keaking (1818), your Majesty's benevolent Policy to be adopted
predecessor, surnamed the Profound, directing the Governor of Canton to adopt towards them,
measures to controul and restrain the barbarians, addressed him in the following
terms : " The empire, in ruling and restraining the barbarians beyond its
boundaries, gives to them always fixed rules and regulations. Upon those who
are obedient, it lavishes its rich favours ; but to the rebellious and disobedient
it displays its terrors. Respecting the English trade at Canton, and the
anchorage grounds of their merchant-ships and of their naval convoys, regula
tions have long since been made. If the people aforesaid, will not obey these
regulations, and will persist in opposition to the prohibitory enactments, the
first step to be taken is, to impress earnestly upon them the plain commands
of Government■, and to display before them alike both the favours and the
terrors of the empire, in order to eradicate from their minds all their covetous
and ambitious schemes. If, notwithstanding, they dare to continue in violent
and outrageous opposition, and presume to pass over the allotted bounds,
forbearance must then cease, and a thundering fire from our cannon must be
opened upon them, to make them quake before the terror of our arms. In
short, the principle on which the ' far-travelled strangers are to be cherished ' is
this : always, in the first instance, to employ reason as the weapon whereby to
conquer them ; and on no account to assume a violent and vehement deport
ment towards them ; but when ultimately it becomes necessary to resort to
military force, then, on the other hand, never to ■ employ it in a weak and
indecisive manner, lest those towards whom it is exercised should see therein
no cause for fear or dread." How clear and luminous are these admonitions,
well fitted to become a rule to all generations !
Since your Majesty's accession to the throne, the maxim of your illustrious Ruin caused in the
house, that ' horsemanship and archery are the foundations of its existence,' anny fey °Plunu
has ever been carefully remembered. And hence the Governors, the Lieutenant-
Governors, the Commanders of their Forces, and their subordinates, have again
and again been directed to pay the strictest attention to the discipline andexercise
of the troops, and of the naval forces ; and have been urged and required to
create by their exertions strong and powerful legions. With admiration I
contemplate my sacred Sovereign's anxious care for imparting a military as well
as a civil education, prompted as this anxiety is by the desire to establish on a
firm basis the foundations of the empire, and to hold in awe the barbarians on
every side. But while the stream of importation of opium is not turned aside,
it is impossible to attain any certainty that none within the camp do ever
secretly inhale the drug. And if the camp be once contaminated by it, the
baneful influence will work its way, and the habit will be contracted beyond the
power of reform. When the periodical times of desire for it come round, how
can the victims—their legs tottering, their hands trembling, their eyes flowing
with child-like tears—be able in any way to attend to their proper exercises ?
Or how can such men form strong and powerful legions ? Under these circum-
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tances, the military will become alike unfit to advance to the fight, or in a
setreat to defend their posts. Of this there is clear proof in the instance of the
. campaign against the Yaou rebels, in the 12th year of our Sovereign's reign
^ (1832). In the army sent to Leenchow, on that occasion, great numbers of
the soldiers were opium-smokers ; so that although their numerical force was
large, there was hardly any strength to be found among them.
Impossibility of It is said, indeed, that when repealing the prohibitions, the people only are
stopping this, ex- to be allowed to deal in and smoke the drug ; and that none of the officers, the
ceptby utter prohi- scnoiars> and the military, are to be allowed this liberty. But this is bad
)ltlon- casuistry. It is equal to the popular proverb, " shut a woman's ears before you
steal her ear-rings"—an absurdity. The officers, with all the scholars and
the military, do not amount in number to more than one-tenth of the whole
population of the empire ; and the other nine-tenths are all the common people.
The great majority of those who at present smoke opium are the relatives and
dependents of the officers of Government, whose example has extended the
practice to the mercantile classes, and has gradually contaminated the inferior
officers, the military, and the scholars. Those who do not smoke are the
common people of the villages and hamlets. If, then, the officers, the scholars,
and the military, alone, be prohibited smoking opium, while all the people are
permitted to deal in and smoke it, this will be to give a full license to those
of the people who already indulge in it, and to induce those who have never yet
indulged in the habit to do so. And if it is even now to be feared that some
will continue smokers in spite of all prohibitions, is it to be hoped that any will
refrain when they are actually induced by the Government to indulge in it ?
Besides, if the people be at liberty to smoke opium, how shall the officers,
the scholars, and the military be prevented ? What ! of the officers, the
scholars, and the military, are there any that are born in civil or military
situations, or that are born scholars, or soldiers? All certainly are raised up
from the level of the common people. To take an instance : let a vacancy
occur in a body of soldiers ; it must necessarily be filled up by recruits from
among the people. But the great majority of recruits are men of no character
or respectability, and, if while they were among the common people they were
smokers of opium, by what bands of law shall they be restrained when they
become soldiers, after the habit has been already contracted, and has so taken
hold of them that it is beyond their power to break it off? Such a policy was
that referred to by Mencius, when he spoke of "entrapping the people." And
if the officers, the scholars, and the military, smoke the drug in the quiet of
their own families, by what means is this to be discovered or prevented ?
Should an officer be unable to restrain himself, shall then his clerks, his
followers, his domestic servants, have it in their power to make his failing their
play-thing, and by the knowledge of his secret to hold his situation at their
disposal ? We dread falsehood and bribery, and yet we would thus widen the
door to admit them. We are anxious to prevent the amassing of wealth by
unlawful means, and yet by this policy we would ourselves increase opportu
nities for doing so. A father, in such a case, would no longer be able to
reprove his son, an elder brother to restrain his junior, nor a master to rule his
own household. Will not this policy, then, be every way calculated to stir up
strife ? Or if happily the thing should not run to this extreme, the conse
quences will yet be equally bad : secret enticement and mutual connivance will
ensue, until the very commonness of the practice shall render it no longer a
subject of surprise. From this I conclude, that to permit the people to deal in
the drug and smoke it, at the same time that the officers, the scholars, and the
military, are to be prohibited the use of it, will be found to be fraught with
difficulties.
Present state of At the present moment, throughout the empire, the minds of men are in
morals among the imminent danger; the more foolish, being seduced by teachers of false
people at the lowest doctrines, are sunk in vain superstitions and cannot be aroused; and the more
eb intelligent, being intoxicated by opium, are carried away as by a whirlpool, and
are beyond recovery. Most thoughtfully have 1 sought for some plan by
which to arouse and awaken all, but in vain. While, however, the empire
preserves and maintains its laws, the plain and honest rustic will see what he
has to fear, and will be deterred from evil ; and the man of intelligence and
cultivated habits will learn what is wrong in himself, and will refrain from it.
And thus, though the laws be declared by some to be but waste paper, yet
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these their unseen effects will be of no trifling nature. If, on the other hand,
the prohibitions be suddenly repealed, and the action which was a crime be no
longer counted such by the government, how shall the dull clown and the mean
among the people know that the action is still in itself wrong ? In open day,
and with unblushing front, they will continue to use opium till they shall be
come so accustomed to it, that eventually they will find it as indispensable as
their daily meat and drink, and will inhale the noxious drug with perfect
indifference. When shame shall thus be entirely destroyed, and fear removed
wholly out of the way, the evil consequences that will result to morality and to
the minds of men, will assuredly be neither few nor unimportant. As your
Majesty's Minister, I know that the laws of the empire, being in their existing
state well fitted to effect their end, will not for any slight cause be changed.
But the proposal to alter the law on this subject having been made and dis
cussed in the provinces, the instant effect has been, that crafty thieves and
villains have on all hands begun to raise their heads and open their eyes,
gazing about, and pointing the finger, under the notion that, when once these
prohibitions are repealed, thenceforth and for ever they may regard themselves
free from every restraint, and from every cause of fear.
Though possessing very poor abilities, I have nevertheless had the happi- Conclusion,
ness to enjoy the favour of your sacred Majesty, and have, within a space of Measures recom-
but few years, been raised through the several grades of the Censorate, and the menaea-
Presidency of various courts in the metropolis, to the high elevation of a seat
in the Inner Council. I have been copiously embued with the rich dew of
favours ; yet have been unable to offer the feeblest token of gratitude ; but if
there is aught within the compass of my knowledge, I dare not to pass it by
unnoticed. I feel it my duty to request that your Majesty's commands may be
proclaimed to the Governors and Lieutenant-Governors of all the provinces,
requiring them to direct the local officers to redouble their efforts for the
enforcement of the existing prohibition [against opium] ; and to impress on
eveiy one, in the plainest and strictest manner, that all who are already con
taminated by the vile habit must return and become new men,—that if any
continue to walk in their former courses, strangers to repentance and to
reformation, they shall assuredly be subjected to the full penalty of the law,
and shall not meet with the least indulgence,—and that on any found guilty of
storing up or selling opium to the amount of 1,000 catties or upwards, the most
severe punishment shall be inflicted. Thus happily the minds of men may be
impressed with fear, and the report thereof, spreading over the seas (among
foreigners), may even there produce reformation. Submitting to my Sovereign
my feeble and obscure views, I prostrate implore your sacred Majesty to cast a
glance on this my respectful memorial.



Inclosure 6 in No. 90.

Memorial from the Sub-Censor, Heu-Kew, against the admission of Opium.

October, 1836.
HEU-KEW, Sub-Censor over the Military Department, kneeling, Preamble,
presents this memorial, to point out the increasing craftiness exercised by'
foreigners from beyond the seas, in their pursuit of gain, and the daily
diminution of the resources of the empire ; on which subjects he respectfully
offers his views, and requests that the Imperial pleasure may be declared to the
Ministers of the Court, commanding them maturely to consider what means
shall be adopted to stay the gradual efflux of money, and to enrich the national
resources.
Our dynasty has cherished and nurtured the people in peace and prosperity Present scarcity and
for two centuries. Within the four seas, wealth and opulence hava reigned : increased value of
and the Central Empire has been enabled from her own resources to supply her Sllver-
own necessities. Westward, to the new territory of Turkestan, and southward,
to Yunnan and Kwangtung, there is not a place whither her merchants may not
go ; nor a spot where her treasures of silver do not circulate. In the reign of
Keenlung the treasury was full and abounding, and even the cottage of the
peasant enjoyed plenty. But whereas a tael of pure silver then always passed
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for 1000 of the standard coin, an equal amount of fine silver now costs from
1400 to 1 500 of the same coin. And this fine silver is daily lessening in quan
tity, and the price still rising from day to day, so that for want of it the officers
of Government and the people are both alike crippled. Some, in discussing
this subject, represent that the change arises from the daily multiplication of
births, in consequence of which money is daily more distributed, so that every
day renders it in a greater degree inadequate. They forget that, if distributed
True cause of this over China alone, it may after distribution be re-gathered. But the true cause
—its exportation, why silver has of late daily diminished in quantity is, that, having been clandes
tinely carried out beyond the seas, it has been impossible to gather it in again
from the places of its distribution.
Which is occasioned According to the information that I have obtained, the sale of opium is the
Sybythe°piUm chief medium through which money is drained off, and carried beyond the seas.
In the first year of Keaking, the opium sold by foreigners in Kwangtung did
not exceed a few hundred chests. The number has now increased to upwards
of 20,000 chests. These include three distinct kinds, the "black-earth," the
"white-skinned," and the "red-skinned." The price of each chest is from
800 to 900 dollars for the best, and from 500 to 600 for the inferior quality.
This applies to what is sold in the province of Kwangtung. With regard to the
other provinces, the vessels of which carry on illicit traffic with the receiving
ships at Lintin,it is difficult to obtain any full and complete statement respecting
them. i \. ■
Annual loss to the The amount annually lost to the country is about ten and some odd mil-
country, lions of money. The money thus lost was, at first, the foreign money where
with foreigners had previously purchased goods ; now it is entirely the fine silver
of the inner land, cast into a different form at Macao. Formerly the foreigners
imported money, to purchase the merchandize of the country ; but now it has
all been carried back. In the first instance it was their practice to recast■ the
' ' ' foreign money, fearing lest any discovery should be made of their transactions ;
but now they openly carry away sycee silver. The ships which, as they bring
commodities of all kinds, anchor at Whampoa, used formerly to have opium
concealed in their holds. But in the first year of Taoukwang (1821), owing to
a petition from one Ye Hangshoo, investigation was made, and the Hong
merchants have always since then been required to sign bonds, that no foreign
vessel which enters the port of Canton has any opium on board ; and from that
period, the opium-receiving ships have all anchored at Lintin, only going in the
4th or 5th month of every year (May or June) to the anchorage of Kapshwuy
Moon, and in the 9th month (October) returning to Lintin. In the 13th year
(1833), the foreigners discovered that the anchorage of Kumsing Moon affords
more perfect security ; and since then they have removed their anchorage from
Kapshwuy Moon to Kumsing Moon. The latter place is near to the villages
Kepa and Tangkea, pertaining to the district of Heangshan ; and the anchorage
of the ships there, inexpedient as it is for the people resident in those villages, is
not the less convenient for such traitorous natives as are in combination with the
foreigners.
Ways in which sil- One method employed to take away money from the country is this : to
rer is exported. make out false names of ships that have been to China some years before, ships
of which the captains do not exist, and the parties concerned in which are dead;
and then to represent, that, at a time stated, such-an-one had deposited such an
amount of money in the hands of so-and-so, and that the applicant now wishes
to carry it away, on behalf of the party named. The Hong merchants make
artful petitions of this kind for the foreigners, and thus obtain permission for
them to carry away money. Another method is, to have money put in the same
packages with merchandize.
The officers guilty It is since the suppression of the pirates in the reign of Keaking that
of remissness. opium has gradually blazed up into notice. At first the annual sale of it did not
exceed in value a few millions ; but of late it has risen to nearly twenty mil
lions ; and the increase and accumulation of the amount, from day to day and
from month to month, is more than can be told. How can it be otherwise than
that the silver of China is lessened, and rendered insufficient, even daily ! But
that it lias gone to this length, is altogether attributable to the conduct of the
great officers of the above-named province, in times past—to their sloth and
remissness, their fearfulness and timidity, their anxiety to show themselves
liberal and indulgent,—by which they have been led to neglect obedience to the
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prohibitory enactments, and to fail in the strict enforcement of the precautionary
regulations.
Our empire is wise and good in all its laws and statutes. Regulations have How shall the ex-
been enacted, in regard to the opening and working of mines, with a view to their portation of silver
entire preservation, because this silver, possessed in China, is not to be found be stayed*
native elsewhere. If, then, the exhaustible stores of this empire be taken, to fill
up an abyss of barbarian nations that never can be filled, unless measures be
speedily adopted to prevent it, our loss will, within ten years, amount to thou
sands of millions, and where will be the end of this continual out-pouring ?
Some reasoners on the subject say, " Cut off" entirely commercial intercourse, Not by stoppage to
and sacrifice one million of duties to retain in the country twenty millions of trade-
money : the loss will be small, the gain great." They forget that the various
countries of the west have had commercial intercourse here for many years ; and
that in one day to put an entire stop to it would not only be derogatory to the
high dignity of the Celestial Empire, but would also, we may fear, be productive
of any but good results. Others say, " Repeal the prohibitions against opium, Nor by admission
let it be given in exchange for merchandize, and let a duty be levied upon it. of opium.
Thus our money will be saved from waste, and the customs duties will be ren
dered more abundant, so that a double advantage will be gained." These forget,
that, since—even while the law tends to prohibit the drug, the fine silver is
nevertheless drawn off, and opium abundantly imported—there is room to doubt
whether merchandize will always be taken in exchange for the drug, when the
sale of it shall be made public, and may be carried on with open eyes and
unblushing boldness, and when the importation of it will consequently be greatly
increased. A case in point is that of the ships bringing foreign rice to Canton : in
consequence of a representation to the throne, these ships are freed from the tax
called " measurement charge," only being required to take return cargoes of
merchandize ; and now the Spanish and other rice-laden ships have made it a
practice to take their returns in specie. From this we may see, that, whenever
the prohibition of opium shall be repealed, an increase in the clandestine
drawing off of silver will be an inevitable consequence.
Moreover, if the sale of the drug be not prohibited, neither can men be Arguments against
prevented from inhaling it. And if only the officers of government and the opium, on ground of
military be prohibited, these being all taken from the scholars and common morality and policy,
people, what ground will be found for any such partial prohibition to rest upon ?
Besides, having a clear conviction that the thing is highly injurious to men, to
permit it, notwithstanding, to pervade the empire—nay, even to lay on it a
duty—is conduct quite incompatible with the uninjured dignity of the great
and illustrious Celestial Empire. In my humble view of the case, the exporta
tion of sycee silver to foreign regions, and the importation of opium, are both
rightly interdicted. But local officers, having received the interdicts, have not
strenuously enforced them, and hence the one coming in has produced the
out-going of the other. If in place of reprehending their failure strenu
ously to enforce them, these prohibitions be even now repealed, this will
be indeed to encourage the vicious among the people, and to remove all fault
from the local officers. But how, when once this prohibition of opium is with
drawn, shall the interdict against the exportation of sycee silver be rendered
strict ? It cannot be so ; for we shall then ourselves have removed the barriers.
It were better that, instead of altering and changing the laws and enactments,
and utterly breaking down the barrier raised by them, the old established regu
lations should be diligently maintained, and correction be severely employed.
Now between the inner land and the outer seas, a wide separation exists. It is practicable to
The traitorous natives who sell the opium cannot alone, in person, carry on the F^ent the impor-
traffic with the foreign ships. To purchase wholesale, there are brokers. To l0n 0 °Plum-
arrange all transactions, there are the Hong merchants. To give orders to be
carried to the receiving ships, that from them the drug may be obtained, there
are resident barbarians. And to ply to and fro for its conveyance, there are
boats called 'fast crabs.' From the great Ladrone Island, at the entrance of
the inner seas, to Kumsing Moon, there are all along various naval stations ;
and to bring in foreign vessels there are pilots appointed ; so that it cannot be
a difficult thing to keep a constant watch upon the ships. And even though
from Fuhkeen and Chekeang, from the ports of Shanghae and Teentsin, vessels
should repair directly to the receiving ships to trade with them, yet, situated as
their anchorage is, in the inner seas, what is there to prevent such vessels from
being observed and seized ? And yet, of late years, there has been, only a
 176

solitary instance, namely during the late governor Loo's administration, when
Teen Poo, magistrate of the district of Heangshan, in conjunction with the
naval force, captured one single boat laden with opium. With this exception,
we have seen but little of seizures. The reason is, that the men who are
appointed to observe and watch for offenders receive presents to pass over all
things, and observe nothing.
By first punishing From times of old it has been a maxim, in reference to ruling barbarians,
the natives ; to deal closely with what is within, but to deal i-n general with that which is
without,—first to govern one's self, and then only to govern others. We must
then, in the first place, establish strict regulations for the punishment of
offences ; and afterwards we may turn to the traitorous natives who sell the
drug, the Hong merchants who arrange the transactions, the brokers who
purchase wholesale, the boat-people who convey the drug, and the naval officers
who receive bribes ; and, having with the utmost strictness discovered and
apprehended these offenders, we must inflict on them the severest punishments
of the law. In this way, the inhabitants of the inner land may be awed and
purified.
And then bringing^ The resident barbarians dwell separately in the foreign factories. In the
the foreigners to ]?ho (Creek) factory is one named Jardine, and who is nick-named the Iron-
'ucoun ■ headed old rat; also one named Innes: in the Paoushun factory, is one named
Dent ; also one named Framjee, and one named Merwanjee : in the Fungtae
factory is one named Dadabhoy : in the Kwangyuen (American) factory is one
named Gordon : in the Maying (Imperial) factory is one named Whiteman : in
the Spanish factory is one named Turner : and besides these are. I apprehend,
many others. The treatment of those within having been rendered severe, we
may next turn to these resident foreigners, examine and apprehend them, and
keep them in arrest ; then acquaint them with the established regulations, and
compel them, within a limited period, to cause all the receiving ships anchored
at Lintin to return to their country :—they should be required also to write a
letter to the king of their country, telling him that opium is a poison which has
pervaded the inner land, to the material injury of the people ; that the Celestial
Empire has inflicted on all the traitorous natives who sold it the severest
penalties ; that with regard to themselves, the resident foreigners, the govern
ment taking into consideration that they are barbarians and aliens, forbears to
pass sentence of death on them; but that if the opium receiving ships will derist
from coming to China, they shall be indulgently released and permitted to con
tinue their commercial intercourse as usual ; whereas, if they will again build
receiving vessels, and bring them hither to entice the natives, the commercial
intercourse granted them in teas, silks, &c, shall assuredly be altogether inter
dicted, and on the resident foreigners of the said nation the laws shall be
executed capitally. If commands be issued of this plain and energetic character,
in language strong, and in sense becoming, though their nature be the most
abject—that of a dog or a sheep, yet, having a care for their own fives, they will
not fail to seek the gain, and to flee the danger.
On the latter point, Some think this mode of proceeding too severe, and fear lest it should
there need be no give rise to a contest on our frontiers. Again and again I have revolved this
scruple. subject in my mind, and reconsidered how that, while in their own country no
opium is smoked, the barbarians yet seek to poison therewith the people of the
Central flowery land ; and that while they bring to us no foreign silver, they yet
would take away our native coin ; and I have therefore regarded them as
undeserving that a single careful or anxious thought should be entertained on
their behalf. Of late, the foreign vessels have presumed to make their way into
every place, and to cruise about in the inner seas. Is it likely that in this they
have no evil design of spying out our real strength or weakness ? If now they
be left thus to go on from step to step, and their conduct be wholly passed over,
the wealth of the land must daily waste away and be diminished. And if when
our people are worn out, and our wealth rendered insufficient, any difficulty
should then, even by the slighest chance, as one in ten thousand, turn up, how,
I would ask, shall it be warded off? Rather than to be utterly overthrown
hereafter, it is better to exercise consideration and forethought now, while yet
our possession of the right gives us such energy and strength, that those bar
barians will not dare to slight and contemn our government ; nor (it may be
hoped) have any longer the means of exercising their petty arts and devices.
Conclusion. Regarding this as a subject of importance, I have given it the most attentive
investigation : and having formed my own views thereon, it is befitting that I
 177

should delineate and clearly state them. To determine as to their correctness,
orotherwise, it is my duty to request that your Majesty's pleasure may be
declared to the Ministers of the Court, requiring them with full purpose of heart
to take into consideration these views. Laying them before your sacred Majesty,
I prostrate implore my Sovereign to cast a glance upon them. A respectful
memorial.

Supplementary Statement.
FURTHERMORE, in regard to the residence of the foreign barbarians at Illegalities of fo-
Macao, the prohibitory enactments are very full and clear. But I have heard feigners,
that it has of late been usual for the barbarians to sit in large native sedans,
and to hire natives to carry them : also to hire native females for purposes of
prostitution, who are called * ta-fan.' Moreover, their merchant ships are not
allowed by the regulations to discharge their cargoes clandestinely at Macao ;
but of late it has become customary for only those ships to make their anchor
age at Whampoa, which have return cargoes of merchandize to take away ;
while the others never enter the port, nor announce their arrival. These last
send their finer and lighter goods, on board the boats called 'fast crabs,' from
Kumsing Moon and other places, for sale. The coarser and heavier goods,
they unlawfully send in cargo boats direct to the Stadt-house (in Chinese Std')
at Macao ; after which they call upon the Hong merchants to hire chop-boats to
convey them to the provincial city, and exchange them for other goods,—thus
not only evading the measurement charge and duties, but also avoiding
examination on the part of the native authorities.
But the extreme case is this :—at Macao, on the outside of the gate called Their violence,
the Ditch-gate, are very numerous graves of the natives. In the second month
of the present year, the foreigners made a wide road there, levelling entirely
the graves. The Sub-Prefect stationed at the place reported this to his
superiors ; and, at his request, a deputy- was sent to visit the spot in concert
with him, and to reprehend the foreigners. These, however, would not make
acknowledgment of their offence ; and when the officers sent men to repair the
tombs, they even led on their barbarian slaves, and beat the native police and
people. Afterwards a linguist was sent to admonish them authoritatively ; and
then only they sent an address to the officer, seeking to conciliate him. Such
outrageous, overbearing, and lawless conduct arises wholly from this, that the
local officers thinking forbearance to be the most quiet policy, seek only to
obtain present freedom from disturbance, and hence give occasion for being
treated with slight and contempt.
Macao is within the jurisdiction of the district Heangshan, and on all sides Practicability of
of it there are naval stations. For all its daily necessaries, it is compelled to checking these ille-
look up to us. The compradors employed by the foreigners there, are natives ^j*1** and thls
to whom permits are granted by the Government. Should, therefore, the least vt0 ence"
insubordination be shown by the foreigners, there would be no difficulty in
immediately having their lives in our hands. I have been told that a former
magistrate of that district, named Pang Choo, on account of the pride and
profligacy of these barbarians, removed from among them all the native dealers
and merchants, and allowed no commercial intercourse on the part of natives
with them ; till the barbarians, trembling with fear, were at once brought to
order. This is yet in the recollection of the gentry of Heangshan. Since a
district magistrate could effect thus much, would the barbarians dare even to
move, if the great officers of the country would make a display of their power?
Another instance occurs to me. The barbarians at Canton built a quay, outside
the city, a work which went on for months without any hindrance being made
to it. But when your Majesty's Minister Choo Kweiching was sent thither as
Lieutenant-Governor, he went to the spot, set down his sedan there, and com
manded the instant destruction of the work ; and the barbarians subdued by his
unostentatious firmness, dared not even to utter a word. Again, the year before
last, when Lord Napier brought ships of war up to Whampoa, your Majesty's
Minister Loo Kwan, the Governor, stationed the naval forces so as to present a
close unbroken line of defence ; and the barbarians were at once filled with
dismay, repented their error, and requested a permit to leave the port. We see
from these instances that the barbarians have never yet failed to succumb.
Now, to make ostentatious show of terrors is, it is true, calculated to ruin ImPortanceofdoinp:
2 A 8°-
 178

affairs, but to pass faults over in silence is, on the other hand, calculated to
nourish depravity. If the old regulations be not rendered conspicuous, and the
prohibitions be not strictly enforced, these barbarians will end with doing
whatever they please, imagining that there is no limit to forbearance. The
barbarians, pluming themselves on their great wealth, extensively practise
bribery and corruption, and have many traitorous natives for their agents, and
many of the police in combination with them. Hence, if a talented, intelligent,
and determined officer were, in the first place, to punish severely the Chinese
traitors, we may hope that he would thus be able at once to overwhelm the
spirit of the barbarians.
This further exposition of my feeble and obscure views, it behoves me to
add to my previous representation, and, prostrate, lay it before your sacred
Majesty, hoping that my Sovereign will cast a glance thereon. A respectful
memorial.



Inclosure 7 in No. 90.

Imperial Edict in reply to the two preceding documents.

THE Councillor Choo Tsun has presented a memorial, requesting that the
severity of the prohibitory enactments against opium may be increased. The
Sub-Censor Heu-Kew also has laid before Us a respectful representation of his
views : and, in a supplementary statement, a recommendation to punish severely
Chinese traitors.
Careful considera- Opium, coming from the distant regions of barbarians, has pervaded
tion requisite. the country with its baneful influence, and has been made a subject of very
severe prohibitory enactments. But, of late, there has been a diversity of
opinion in regard to it, some requesting a change in the policy hitherto adopted,
and others recommending the continuance of the severe prohibitions. It is
highly important to consider the subject carefully in all its bearings, surveying
at once the whole field of action, so that such measures may be adopted as shall
continue for ever in force, free from all failure.
Strict investigation Let Tang and his colleagues anxiously and carefully consult together upon
to be made. the recommendation to search for, and with utmost strictness, apprehend all
those traitorous natives who sell the drug, the Hong merchants who arrange the
transactions in it, the brokers who purchase it by wholesale, the boatmen who are
engaged in transporting it, and the naval militia who receive bribes ; and having
determined on the steps to be taken in order to stop up the source of the evil,
let them present a true and faithful report. Let them also carefully ascertain
and report, whether the circumstances stated by Heu-Kew in his supplementary
document, in reference to the foreigners from beyond the seas be true or not,
whether such things as are mentioned therein have or have not taken place.
Copies of the several documents are to be herewith sent to those officers for
perusal ; and this edict is to be made known to Tang and Ke, who are to enjoin
it also on Wan, the Superintendent of Maritime Customs. Respect this



Inclosure 8 in No. 90.

Report in reference to the circulation of dollars in China.

August, 1836.
Preamble. REPORT, made by the Commissioners of Finance and of Justice in the
province Kwangtung, to the heads of the Provincial Government, requesting that
their Excellencies, when replying to His Majesty, will recommend that the use
of foreign money be still sanctioned, as being suitable to the position of foreign
affairs here: but that all exchanges for, or clandestine exportation of, sycee
silver be disallowed.
Necessity of retain- Foreign money is brought from the lands of the distant barbarians, and is
ing the foreign mo- essentially necessary to the mercantile classes trading in all the provinces along
ney in the eastern tne coast, who for their daily supplies of food and other necessaries, are
 179

dependent on the facility of exchanging this money, and on its general circula- southern pro-
tion. It is not, therefore, to be dispensed with for a single moment. Its vmces-
circulation, however, is confined to the provinc es Keangnan, Chekeang, Fuhkeen,
and Kwangtung, or, if it do occasionally exten d, in the course of trade, to adjoin
ing districts (for this is a circumstance not wholly to be avoided), yet it cannot
circulate much further inland than a few hundred miles. As to the provinces
lying northwards, the two provinces of "The Lakes" (Hoonan and Hoopih),
Szechuen, Yunnan, and Kweichow, this money does not at present circulate in
any of them: and if perchance a few specimens reach those places, they are
prized merely as curiosities ; or, if it be attempted to force them on the market,
they can be exchanged only at a discount, and even then with difficulty. How
can it be supposed, therefore, that this money will immediately spread itself into
universal circulation ?
Having taken this general view of the subject, we will turn to the repre- Doubts expressed
sentation made by the Censor Shin Yung. In the representation, he expresses by Shin Yung are
his apprehension that the low standard of foreign money must render it difficult t0 be met
to be exchanged for sycee silver at a fair and regular rate ; and on that account
he requests that the inhibition of the money may be made a subject of considera
tion. This recommendation is doubtless the result of anxious attention to the
policy of Government, and serious regard for the interests of the people. But
arguments are not wanting in favour of the circulation of money, so far as
regards the eastern and southern provinces.
The places where foreign ships anchor are also the places where foreign By showing that die
money is scattered abroad. The supplies of provisions furnished to them com- money is necessary
prise minute and multifarious details ; their expenses include numerous items of To the inha-
avery varied character; and many small sums are paid by them, as the hire of ltants 0 '
labour, or the price of articles. Not a day passes without money being used for
one or other of these purposes. It becomes, then, a matter of necessity that
they should bring foreign money with them, to meet these various expenses; and
hence it happens that the market prices are regulated by dollars, it being found
highly convenient to value goods by them. The people among themselves, also,
gladly fall in with such an arrangement, finding it to be advantageous. From
which it is clear that the inhabitants of the coast cannot well be deprived of the
foreign money.
Again, native merchants, trading by sea along the coast, when they travel, 2. To traders t
carry their money with them. If these have to carry the governmental [copper] tne coast-
coin, the expense of so doing will be a heavy tax upon their small transactions;
and if they carry gold or silver to sea with them, they have reason to fear lest they
be found guilty of contravening the prohibitions of government. It is therefore
impossible for them to do otherwise than carry foreign money with them, it being
necessary that they should have such money in order to make purchases. And
hence it is evident that the native mercantile classes along the coast cannot
dispense with the use of foreign money.
Further, as to the foreigners, they import foreign money into Canton as a 3. To foreign mer-
medium in which to pay the prices of commodities purchased by them. The cliants "» China,
amount of such importations is variable and uncertain; and whatever balance
they may have remaining is either employed, on perceiving an advantageous state
of the market, in making additional purchases, or is spent in a more abundant
and luxurious supply of the daily necessaries of life. For in the love of much
money, and of good prices, the flowery people and barbarians are altogether like-
minded. We see, then, lastly, that the foreign merchants of other countries are
likewise unable to dispense with the use of foreign money.
We are informed that there are silver mines in England, and America, and And that no injury
Spain. Although the pattern after which the money of each country is made differs, dsej°fr^ aPPrehei»-
yet the degree of purity is nearly the same with all, being above ninety per cent. iation. 1 8 circu"
touch, as compared with the sycee silver of China. We see, then, that though
they be left to follow their own methods, yet the foreigners do not draw their
materials from this country. And in commercial intercourse, so long as each
holds its due place, the foreign money is the same as though it were issued from
the mint of the palace itself. Our empire is separated from the foreigners by
ten thousand miles of sea, over which they cross to present things of value and
to offer tribute ; and for their doing this, established regulations exist. Since,
then, to present themselves here, and to make offerings has been so long their
practice, that time has rendered it equal to an ancient rule that they should so do,
2 A2
 180

—what cause can there be for apprehension of any consequences that may arise
from permitting them to bring such things as will be most advantageous and pro
fitable to them ? It is most truly said in His Sacred Majesty's Edict, that the
circulation of the foreign money in the east and south is not a thing merely of
yesterday. The right mode of acting is, to establish rules and limits, so as to
bring upon the same level the wishes both of our own people and of those from
afar. But were the foreign money permitted to be circulated even in all the
provinces, it would not be productive of the slightest injury to China.
The varying weight The great objection to the use of foreign money is this, that with it no
and standard of fo- regard is paid to the weight of metal, or the degree of purity. In Canton, this
reign money alone Was formerly the case, also. But at a later period, as a precaution against fraud,
objectionable. foreign money began to be stamped and chopped, to mark the degree of purity,
and to be weighed, in order to ascertain the quantity of metal. The money so
stamped is in general circulation in the markets, where it goes by the name of
" broken pieces ;" and when it is exchanged for sycee silver, about three or four
taels per cent- are added to make amends for inferiority in touch. But in Kean-
gnan and Chekeang no money is in circulation but such as is bright, with a new
smooth face. At present the " broken pieces" of Canton, when paid in
exchange for new-faced money, pay a premium of no less than six or seven taels
per cent. And crafty dealers, having many clever devices for obtaining gain,
raise the price still higher, whenever the supply of this new-faced money is insuf
ficient. Of the manner in which the money circulates in Keangnan and
Chekeang, at the present time, we are ignorant.
Hence, payments, Should the Imperial pleasure be declared in favour of the circulation of
larT^houw'be^v ^ore*6n monev» ft ought to be required, in all the provinces, that the money be
weight, and the va- paid by weight, and that prices be no longer rated by the number of dollars; that
lue of dollar silver foreign money, when exchanged for sycee silver, whether such money be in
k1°UlbeialWa^St bf Droken pieces> or in whole bright-faced coin, shall always pay a premium per
sycee silver * ° cen^- *o m&ke up the difference of purity between it and sycee silver; and that
foreign money shall never be allowed, on the contrary, to bear a premium, when
given in exchange for sycee silver. With regard to native counterfeits and
adulterated pieces of money, the shroffs in the market-places are so expert in
discovering and picking out such, that is quite unnecessary to think for the
people on this point, or to make any rules or restrictions with reference to it.
Precautions to be The purity and weight of the silver being in this manner rendered subject
taken that sycee sil- to trial, the crafty deceitful character of the foreigners will have no room for
ver be not export . exercismg itself in petty arts. But the importance of the Custom-House
restrictions is such as to call, in a still greater degree, for prohibitions,—pro
hibitions, namely, of the exportation of sycee silver. It is our duty to request,
that, in all future commercial dealings with foreign merchants, no persons be
permitted to mix up sycee silver in the payment of any balances due to such
foreign merchants, or to sell any sycee silver to them for their every-day use ;
that voluntary engagements to this effect be filed by all the Hong merchants,
both the senior merchants and the others ; that, if any of these infringe this
regulation, they be rendered liable to severe punishment by fine or trans
portation ; and that if any shopkeeper, or any other of the people, transgress
it, such transgressor be made liable to a punishment one degree more severe.
The officers and men in charge of custom-houses and passes, as well as those in
command of naval vessels at sea, should be required to keep guard in constant
succession, the latter always cruising about. When the foreign ships are
returning from hence, officers and men should be bound to search faithfully ;
and in case of their discovering and making seizure of any sycee silver, and
sending the offenders to meet their trial, they should be rewarded by a gift of
all the silver so seized. Should any dare to protect and wilfully connive at any
transgression of the law, and should such connivance be discovered by the
transgressor being elsewhere apprehended, inquiry ought to be made as to the
places through which the trangressor had passed, and the officers and men at
those places ought to be dealt with most severely. If regulations be made of
this clear and determined nature, all will then be convinced that the purpose
is to uphold them.
Conclusion, f The luxuriance and splendour of this Central nation are such, that its own
native treasures are exhaustless, and it values not things of foreign and distant
extraction. The would-be-clever arts of the outermost barbarians it reckons as
 181

nothing and of no worth. These arts can, therefore, be productive of no
detriment to the policy of the Government, while to the people they appear not
unattended by some advantage. It is our duty, therefore, to request that your
Excellencies will implore His Majesty, of his heavenly favour, to sanction the
continuance of foreign money in circulation in the sea-board provinces, its
circulation being suitable to the position of foreign affairs, and convenient
for the people. As in duty bound, we have consulted together, and lay before
your Excellencies the result, awaiting your decision as to the correctness or
incorrectness thereof, preparatory to a full memorial to the Emperor.
(Signed) J. ROBERT MORRISON,
Chinese Secretary and Interpreter.




No. 91.

Captain Elliot to Viscount Palmerston.—(Received July 17, 1837.)

My Lord, Macao, February 7, 1837.
THE Inclosure No. 1, which I have now the honour to transmit, is an
edict from the heads of the Provincial Government, issued on the 28th October
last, directing inquiries to be made respecting certain foreign merchants reputed
to be traders in opium.
The Inclosure No. 2, is an edict from the same source, requiring the
departure of certain foreign merchants within half a month.
Of the persons thus ordered to leave the country, the following gentlemen
are British Subjects.
Messrs. Jardine, Turner, Framjee, }
Dent, Whiteman. Merwanjee, > Parsees.
Innes, Dadabhoy. )
The Inclosure No. 3, is an edict, dated 13th December last, extending the
limits previously fixed for the departure of these gentlemen. If these instru
ments had not been accompanied by very earnest and repeated injunctions upon
the part of the Hong merchants, to the parties whose names are specified, it
would have been reasonable to consider them to be the more ordinary, and
empty proclamation of purposeless command, which the Provincial Government
is either pleased or obliged to put forward, from time to time.
I need not press upon your Lordship's attention, the excessive degree of
alarm and mischief which would be created amongst the merchants and manu
facturers in England, connected with the trade, if they should learn that their
agents in this distant part of the world, with balances to remit, and large stocks
on hand, and on the passage, were suddenly driven forth from the country.
For my part, I have no belief that any such measure will be attempted.
But your Lordship will observe it is menaced, and the posture of other circum
stances in relation to it, is certainly very peculiar.
• In determining upon the course which events may render needful upon
this particular subject, it became me to give the fullest weight to the con
sideration, that many of the parties in England, interested in this commerce,
might sink under the panic which such tidings would occasion; and that they
would be productive not merely of great private distress, but of considerable
public inconvenience.
Indeed, amongst other reasons for addressing this despatch to your
Lordship, I have felt that the persons in England whose capital is newly
embarked in this trade, are not likely, as the Company were, to take any accurate
estimate of the force of these menaces. It appears to be probable, then, that
His Majesty's Government may be applied to by alarmed individuals, upon .his
subject, and that it may be convenient to possess official means or assuring them,
there is no great cause to believe such proceedings will be attempted. And at all
events, that every proper effort will be made on the spot to prevent them.
When your Lordship's despatch, of June 15, 1836, arrived, the edict of 13th
December (Inclosure No. 3,) had not reached our hands, and at that period the
last information we had of the intentions of this Government, was the edict of
 132

the 23rd November, commanding the merchants to leave the country in half a
month.
At that conjuncture it seemed to me, that if I should succeed in placing
myself conciliatorily and unsuspiciously in communication with the Government,
I should stand in a position enabling me to interpose very efficaciously in this
matter, at any moment of real difficulty which might present itself. To the
merchants this interposition would be advantageous, because it would place
me, in my official station, between them and an exceedingly critical state of
circumstances; to His Majesty's Government, because it would either prevent
grave inconveniences, or at all events justify measures for their prompt and
complete redress, by the record of my previous formal remonstrances, and
protests, to the Chinese Authorities.
Very shortly after my assumption of this office, the edict of the 13th
December last appeared. And I have abstained from taking any steps in this
matter, till the period of the extended time shall be at hand ; neither shall I
move, then, unless it be elear that the Provincial Government still persists in
its intentions. Your Lordship, I hope, will consider I am right in refraining
from any unnecessary interference upon such a subject.
If a mere temporary visit to Macao would be sufficient on this occasion, it
must be admitted that such was the usual custom of the Company's servants;
and I dare say the gentlemen adverted to, would not find it inconvenient at the
inactive season of the year fixed for their departure, to meet the wishes of the
Local Government to that extent. If this, however, should not be enough, and
the Provisional Authorities be indeed sincerely determined to attempt the
dismissal of the merchants from this country, my interposition will become
indispensable. And your Lordship may rely on my measured, but firmest
opposition to an intolerably injurious aggression of this practical nature.
But situated as I am, I cannot think there will be much difficulty in
satisfactorily averting serious disputes upon this subject,
I shall avail myself of any favourable occasion which these edicts may
present, to attempt some further advantageous modifications in the mode of
official intercurse between the Provincial Government and ourselves.
I have, &c,
(Signed) CHARLES ELLIOT,
Chief Superintendent.



Inclosure 1 in No. 91.

Edict from the Heads of the Provincial Government, directing inquiries to be
made respecting certain foreign Merchants reputed to be traders in Opium.

TANG, Governor of Kwangtung and Kwangse, &c, Ke, Lieutenant-
Governor of Kwangtung, &c, and Wan, Superintendent of Maritime Customs,
issue their commands to the senior Hong merchants, requiring their full
acquaintance therewith.
Extracts from an We, the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and Hoppo, have, with deep
Imperial Edict. humility, received an Imperial Decree, commanding us, " in reference to the
memorial of the Sub-Censor, Heu Kew, respecting the traitorous natives who
deal in opium, the Hong merchants who arrange all transactions, the brokers
who purchase wholesale, the boat-people who convey the drug to and fro, and
the naval militia who connive, being bribed, to examine closely, and strictly
apprehend, offenders in all these points ; to deliberate on the subject with full
purpose of heart ; to endeavour strenuously to dam up the source of the evil ;
and to report on the whole subject fully and faithfully. Respect this."
And from the We also, at the same time, received a copy of the Sub-Censor Heu-KeW's
Memorial of the memorial, in which we find the following passage :—" The traitorous natives
Sub-Censor Heu
Kew. who sell the opium, cannot altogether carry on the traffic with the foreign ships
in their own persons. To purchase wholesale there are brokers : to arrange all
transactions there are the Hong merchants : to take money, and give orders to
be carried to the receiving ship, that from them the drug may be obtained, there
are resident barbarians. The resident barbarians dwell severally in the
foreign factories. In the Creek factory is one named Jardine, and who is nick
 183

named the ' 1 Iron-headed old rat ;" also one named Innes : in the Paoushun factory
is one named Dent ; also one named Framjee, and one named Merwanjee : in
the Fungtae factory is one named Dadabhoy : in the American factory is one
named Gordon : in the Imperial factory is one named Wetmore (some read
Whiteman) : in the Spanish factory is one named Turner ; and besides these I
apprehend there are many others."
Opium, we observe, is an article respecting which Imperial decrees have Measures hitherto
been repeatedly received, all commanding its prohibition, and directing, that if taken against the
any foreign trading ship presume to come hither with opium, such trading ship imPortatlon of
shall be immediately sent back, and not suffered to have any traffic with Canton. opium'
And Yuen, formerly Governor of these provinces, having taken up and investi
gated a case of four country ships, Hat and others, in which opium had been
brought into the port, respectfully received the Imperial commands to inflict
punishment. He also presented a memorial, suggesting, that on occasion of
any foreign ship entering the port, the senior merchants should be required to
examine and enter into securities for her, each in succession ; and that, in
concert with the several other security-merchants, they should be required to
examine each vessel, and then to sign a bond, purporting that the foreigners on
on board such vessel do not bring with them any opium. These voluntary
bonds given by the security-merchants, are, according to the constant practice of
the said merchants, continued for some times past, presented to the Hoppo, by
whom they are transmitted, for preservation (in the Governor's Office.)
While, however, the foreigners are thus prevented from bringing opium Its direct importa-
into the port, the receiving ships at Lintin bring the drug hither and dispose of tion prevented, but
it only the more contumeliously. But, were it not for the crafty and artful no* .t,hei,sale °f
, . * n , , J , . . ,1, . i • •. outside the port,
devices or the said merchants, and their encouragement held out to bring it,
were it not for their co-operation and connivance, their arrangement of transac
tions, that they may divide the spoil, how could the foreigners have it in their
power to exercise their petty contrivances ? It is, in the highest degree, our
bounden duty to inquire into this matter.
Forthwith, therefore, we issue these commands. On their reaching the Orders to inquire
said merchants, let them immediately ascertain if the before-named foreigners, in regard to the in-
Jardine, or the iron-headed old rat, Innes, Dent, Framjee, Merwanjee, f^aW exwacu"1
Dadabhoy, Gordon, Wetmore (or Whiteman), and Turner, do, or do not, seve
rally reside in the Creek, Paoushun, Fungtoa, American, Imperial, and
Spanish factories ; of what foreign nation they are ; in what manner they
continue stationary in this place, and store up and sell their opium ; from what
year they date the commencement of their opium transactions ; what quantity of
the drug they annually store up and dispose of ; and whether they ordinarily
insist on payment of the price of it in sycee silver? Let tham particulary inquire
on each of these points, and faithfully report to us, that we may thoroughly
investigate the subject. Should the said merchants think practically to set aside
the laws, and afford aid and co-operation, or dress the subject in false colours
and pretexts, they will find, we apprehend, their criminality too heavy for them
to bear. Let them, one and all, maturely consider and weigh this ; and, with
trembling and earnest diligence, let them obey these our special commands.
16th year of Taoukwang, 9th month, 19th day. (28th October, 1836.)
Translated from the Chinese.
(Signed) J. Robt. Morrison,
Chinese Secretary and Interpreter.



Inclosure 2 in No. 91.

Edict from the Heads of the Provincial Government, requiring the departure of
certain foreign Merchants within half a month.

TANG, Governor of Kwangtung and Kwangse, &c, Ke, Lieutenant-
Governor of Kwangtung, and Wan, Superintendent of Maritime Customs, issue
these commands to the Hong merchants, requiring their full acquaintance
therewith.
We have received from the said merchants a report, purporting to be " a A report received
Report made for our thorough investigation, in obedience to our command, to J^£t,Hon*
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ascertain the reason of the foreign merchants, Jardine and others, remaining so
long in Canton, in place of returning home according to the regulations."
Having received it, we have again taken this case under our consideration. It
is a case brought to our attention by an Imperial decree, which we have
respectfully received. The subject has been well and accurately laid open in the
statements of the original memorial. And how, in any way, can the fact of these
foreign merchants, Jardine and the others, having made their quarters in Canton
for many years, be spoken of as without a cause ?
The report inaccu- In this report, it is represented that, the receiving ships being anchored in
rate, and not to the the outer Seas, much of the smuggling carried on by traitorous dealers is con-
' ducted by means of sea-going vessels, from various parts of those seas, approaching
the receiving ships and purchasing from them. Truly, if, as here represented, all
such illegalities are committed outside, how comes it then that the instances
that have formerly occurred of seizures have continually been within the precincts
of the capital? And even assuming the truth of their present assertion, that