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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Truth about Opium - Being a Refutation of the Fallacies of the Anti-Opium - Society and a Defence of the Indo-China Opium Trade - -Author: William H. Brereton - -Release Date: October 26, 2013 [EBook #44043] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TRUTH ABOUT OPIUM *** - - - - -Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive/American -Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - - THE TRUTH ABOUT OPIUM. - - - BEING A - - _REFUTATION OF THE FALLACIES - OF THE ANTI-OPIUM SOCIETY AND A DEFENCE - OF THE INDO-CHINA OPIUM TRADE_. - - - BY WILLIAM H. BRERETON, - LATE OF HONG KONG. - - - "_Let truth and falsehood grapple; who ever knew truth put to the worse - in a free and open encounter?_"--JOHN MILTON. - - - _SECOND EDITION._ - - - LONDON: - W. H. ALLEN & CO., 13 WATERLOO PLACE. - PUBLISHERS TO THE INDIA OFFICE. - - 1883. - - (_All rights reserved._) - - - - - LONDON: - PRINTED BY W. H. ALLEN AND CO., 13 WATERLOO PLACE. - - - - -PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. - - -In the preface to my first edition I expressed a hope that these lectures, -however imperfect, would prove in some degree instrumental towards -breaking up the Anti-Opium confederacy, and I have the satisfaction of -knowing that my anticipations have not been altogether disappointed. The -lectures were well received by the public and the press, and struck the -Anti-Opium Society and its versatile Secretary, the Rev. Mr. Storrs -Turner, with such consternation that, in the language of people in -difficulties, "business was discontinued until further notice." Mr. Storrs -Turner,--the motive power which kept the Anti-Opium machine working,--who -had hitherto been so active, aggressive, and demonstrative--a very -Mercutio in volubility and fertility of resource,--became suddenly silent, -mute as the harp on Tara's walls. He who once was resonant as the lion, -like Bottom the Weaver, moderated his tone, and roared from thenceforth -"gently as any sucking dove." Until the delivery of my lectures, no lark -at early morn was half so lively or jubilant. Letters to the newspapers, -articles in magazines, improvised lectures and speeches, flew from him -like chaff from the winnowing-machine. Heaven help the unlucky individual -who had the temerity to differ from him on the opium question, for Mr. -Storrs Turner would, as the phrase goes, "come down upon him sharp." - -This kind of light skirmishing suited him exactly; it kept alive public -interest in the Anti-Opium delusion, and no doubt brought grist to the -mill, without committing him to anything in particular, or calling for any -extraordinary draft upon his imagination or resources. He had only to -reiterate loud enough the cuckoo cry that his deluded followers had so -long recognised as the pæan of victory. But when my lectures were -delivered, and it was announced that they would be published, "a change -came o'er the spirit of his dream." Having for so many years had -practically all the field to himself, it had never occurred to him that -another and more competent witness from China, where all these imaginary -evils from opium smoking were alleged to be taking place,--who had had -better opportunities of learning the truth about opium than he could -possibly have had, and who had turned those opportunities to good -account,--should appear and refute his fallacies. This was a _dénouement_ -that neither he nor his Society was prepared for, and dismay and silence -prevailed in consequence in the enemy's camp. - - And the tents were all silent,--the banners unflown,-- - The lances unlifted,--the trumpet unblown. - -My lectures were delivered in February, 1882. The Rev. Mr. Storrs Turner -attended them and corresponded with me upon the subject. In those lectures -I criticized his book and pointed out its misleading features and -inaccuracies; but, recognizing the force of Sir John Falstaff's maxim, -that "the better part of valour is discretion," he never attempted to -controvert my case, nor justify himself or the Anti-Opium Society, who for -so many years had made such noise in the world. It was only in October, -1882,--eight months after my lectures had been delivered,--after an -article appeared in the _London and China Telegraph_, commenting on the -collapse of the Anti-Opium Society,--that Mr. Storrs Turner, like -Munchausen's remarkable hunting-horn, gave utterance to a few feeble -notes, to the effect that his Society was still alive; for he well knew -that all that I had stated in those lectures I could prove to the -hilt,--aye, ten times over. - -But if Mr. Storrs Turner has declined the contest, an acolyte of his, Mr. -B. Broomhall,--who appears to be the Secretary of the Inland China -Mission, and one of the "Executive Committee" of the Anti-Opium -Society,--comes upon the scene like King Hamlet's ghost, declaring that he -"could a tale unfold, whose lightest breath would harrow up your souls, -freeze the hot blood, and make each particular hair to stand on end." -Plagiarising, if not pirating, my title, with a colourable addition of the -word "Smoking," he produces, in November 1882, a compilation entitled "The -Truth about Opium-_Smoking_," rather a thick pamphlet, made up of excerpts -from all the writings and speeches, good, bad, and indifferent, that have -been published and delivered within the last thirty years on the -Anti-Opium side of the question, with some critical matter of his own, -from all of which it appears most conclusively that he, Mr. B. Broomhall, -is perfectly innocent of the subject he undertakes to enlighten the world -upon. I think I see through this gentleman and his objects pretty well. -With respect to the authors of these writings and speeches, I may say at -once that I hold them in as much respect as Mr. B. Broomhall does himself. -Some of them are very eminent men, who, apart from this opium delusion, -are ornaments to their country, and all, I have no doubt, are men of -spotless honour and integrity; but what, after all, does that prove? Why, -simply the _bona fides_ of these gentlemen, which no one ever questioned, -and nothing more;--that in writing those pamphlets and articles they -honestly believed they were giving utterance to facts and recording -circumstances which were true, and which it was for the good of society -should be widely known. The good and just man is as liable to be deceived -as he who is less perfect,--indeed, more so, for his very amiability and -guilelessness of heart allay suspicion and make him an easier prey to the -designing and unscrupulous. Not one of those gentlemen, save Sir -Rutherford Alcock, and one or two others, whose opinions are coincident, -in fact, with my own, have had any actual personal knowledge of the facts -they write about, and such a statement as the following might well be -printed in the front of each of their books or writings, viz.: "I have -read certain books and articles in newspapers, and heard speeches upon the -opium question, which I believe to be true, and on such assumption the -following pages are my views upon the subject." To prove to my readers the -utterly unreliable and deceptive character of Mr. Broomhall's compilation, -it is only necessary to refer to one passage, which will be found at page -122, where it is gravely put forward THAT THE INDIAN MUTINY WAS BROUGHT -ABOUT BY THE INDO-CHINA OPIUM TRADE! After that, Tenterden Steeple and the -Goodwin Sands will hardly seem so disconnected as has been hitherto -commonly supposed. But then the book is illustrated; there are the -pictures copied from the _Graphic_. There is the poppy, and there is the -opium pipe. Of course Mr. B. Broomhall knows all about opium smoking,--or -the illustrations would not be there. Mr. Crummles, with his "splendid tub -and real pump," could not have done better. - -As to Mr. B. Broomhall's remarks respecting my book I have very little to -say; there is nothing in them. Like Mr. Storrs Turner, he has found it a -poser, and has said very little respecting it. When your opponent gets the -worst of an argument, if he does not honestly acknowledge his -discomfiture, he generally follows one of two courses--either he loses his -temper and takes to scolding, or he suddenly discovers something -wonderfully funny in your arguments which no one else was able to detect. -Mr. B. Broomhall eschews the former, but adopts the latter course. He -selects a paragraph or two, and says, "That is ludicrous," but he never -condescends to enlighten his readers as to where the fun lies, or in what -the drollery consists. - -But, although Mr. B. Broomhall makes light of my book, he has thought -proper to imitate its title. He evidently thought there was nothing -ludicrous in _that_. This was very "smart," but smartness is a quality not -much appreciated on this side of the Atlantic. As my book had dealt a -heavy blow to the Anti-Opium Society, and a cheap edition might prove -still more damaging, an opposition book, with a similar title, might so -confuse the public as to be mistaken for mine. Imitation has been said to -be the sincerest flattery, but I dislike adulation even when administered -by the Anti-Opium Society. This gentleman and his compilation bring very -forcibly to my mind the profound Mr. Pott, of the _Eatanswill Gazette_, -who, having written a series of recondite articles on _Chinese -Metaphysics_, brought his lucubrations to the notice of his friend, Mr. -Pickwick. That gentleman ventured to remark that the subject seemed an -abstruse one. "Very true," returned Mr. Pott, with a smile of intellectual -superiority, "but I crammed for it--I read up the subject in the -_Encyclopædia Britannica_. I looked for metaphysics under the letter M, -and for China under the letter C, and combined the information." This -seems to be the sort of process by which Mr. B. Broomhall has arrived at -his knowledge on the opium question, and with similar results. I do not -wish to be too hard upon this gentleman, who, after all, may have been -only a cat's-paw in the matter--for it must not be forgotten that there is -Mr. Storrs Turner in the background; but he himself, on reflection, must, -I think, admit that it was going a little too far to introduce into his -compilation a parody--which some might call a vulgar parody--on one of the -verses of Bishop Heber's very beautiful and world-renowned Missionary -Hymn. I will not give my readers the "elegant extract," but they can find -it for themselves at page 117. - -I have in this edition amplified the matter and given extracts from the -Reports of Mr. William Donald Spence, Her Majesty's Consul at Ichang, and -Mr. E. Colborne Baber's _Travels and Researches in Western China_, which -throw a flood of light upon the opium question. I have also quoted from a -very valuable work of Don Sinibaldo de Mas, an accomplished Chinese -scholar, formerly Spanish Minister to the Court of Peking, published in -Paris in 1858, which in itself is a complete vindication of the opium -policy of Her Majesty's Government in India and China, and an able -refutation of the unfounded views of the Anti-Opium Society; and I believe -this edition of _The Truth about Opium_ will be found a very complete -defence of the Indo-China opium trade. - -_30th January 1883._ - - - - -PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. - - -The following lectures were given in pursuance of a determination I came -to some six years ago in Hong Kong, viz. that if I lived to return to -England I should take some steps, either by public lectures or by the -publication of a book, to expose the mischievous fallacies disseminated by -the "Anglo-Oriental Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade." About -that time nearly every mail brought out newspapers to China containing -reports of meetings held in England condemnatory of the Indo-China opium -trade, at which resolutions were made containing the grossest -mis-statements and exaggerations as to opium-smoking, and also the most -unfounded charges against all parties engaged in the opium trade, showing -clearly, to my mind, that not one of the speakers at those meetings really -understood the subject he spoke about so fluently. I have now, happily, -been able to carry out my intention. Unfortunately, I was deprived of the -opportunity of delivering these lectures in Exeter Hall, which was not -only more central than St. James's Hall, but where I could have selected a -more convenient hour for the purpose than the only time the Secretary of -the latter Company could place at my disposal, the reason being that the -Committee of Exeter Hall refused to allow me its use for the purpose of -refuting the false and untenable allegations of the Anti-Opium Society, an -act of intolerance which I think I am justified in exposing. I trust, -however, that any drawback on this account will be compensated for by the -publication of the lectures. I am well aware that this volume has many -imperfections, but there is one respect in which I cannot reproach myself -with having erred, and that is, in having overstepped the bounds of truth. -I have the satisfaction of knowing that all I have stated in the lectures -is substantially true and correct, and with such a consciousness I -entertain a confident hope that they will prove in a humble way -instrumental towards breaking up the Anti-Opium confederacy, the objects -of which are as undeserving of support as they have proved mischievous in -their tendency. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - -LECTURE I. - -Objects of the Lectures.--Lectures based upon principle and not upon -grounds of expediency.--Lecturer's knowledge of the Opium question derived -from actual acquaintance with the facts, acquired during nearly fifteen -years' residence in Hong Kong.--Opium smoking as practised by the Chinese -perfectly innocuous, beneficial rather than injurious.--Opinion of Dr. -Ayres.--Charges made by the Anti-Opium Society and its supporters false -and unfounded.--Alleged knowledge of the members and supporters of the -Anti-Opium Society founded on hearsay evidence of the worst and most -untrustworthy character.--Lecturer not acting in the interests of the -British merchants in China, nor of any other party or person.--Has no -personal interest in the Opium question, and is actuated only by a desire -to dispel the false and mischievous delusions spread abroad in England by -the Anti-Opium Society.--British and other foreign residents in China hold -opposite views to those disseminated by the Anti-Opium people.--British -merchants as a body have no interest in the trade.--China a great Empire -as large as Europe, with a much greater population.--Country and people of -China described.--Impossible to demoralize and debase such a people.--Opium -smoking a general custom throughout the eighteen provinces of China.-- -Reasons for the prolonged existence of the Anti-Opium Society.--False -charges of the Anti-Opium Society respecting the Indo-China Opium trade -more fully formulated.--Petition to the House of Commons of the Protestant -Missionaries at Peking.--Refusal to sign it of the Rev. F. Galpin.--If -half those charges were true the British residents in China would be the -first to raise their voices against the Opium trade.--Official Yellow -Book published by Sir Robert Hart, the Inspector-General of Chinese -Customs, negatives the allegations of the members of the Anti-Opium -Society and the Protestant Missionaries.--Roman Catholic Missionaries make -no complaint against the Indo-China Opium trade.--Allegations of the -Anti-Opium Society that British trade with China has suffered from the -alleged forcing of Opium upon China untrue.--Friendly relations between -the British merchants in China and the Chinese people.--Englishmen more -esteemed by the Chinese than any other nation.--Hong Kong described.-- -Government of China described.--Hong Kong the head-quarters of the -Indo-China Opium trade, Chinese residing there have better means of -procuring the drug than elsewhere--no sufferers from Opium smoking found -there.--Exposure by Dr. Ayres, the Colonial Surgeon of Hong Kong, of the -fallacy that Opium smoking, although indulged in for years, cannot be -dropped without injury to the system.--Fallacy of comparing the Chinese -with the savages of Central Africa by the Secretary of the Anti-Opium -Society exposed.--Archdeacon Gray, a resident for twenty years at Canton, -silent, in his recent work on China and her people, as to the alleged -iniquity of the Indo-China Opium trade.--Character of the Chinese as -described by various authors.--Chinese a frugal and abstemious people.-- -Opium smoking less injurious than beer or tobacco.--Charges of the -Anti-Opium Society based upon fallacies; those fallacies detailed.-- -Alleged objections of the Chinese to receive the Gospel on account of the -Indo-China Opium trade the merest subterfuge, and utterly absurd and -untenable.--The opinion of the late John Crawfurd, Esq., F.R.S., formerly -Governor of the Straits Settlements.--His Dictionary of the Indian Islands -and Adjacent countries. - - Pages 1-49 - - -LECTURE II. - -Hearsay testimony upon which charges of the Anti-Opium Society founded -explained.--Chinese a polite people and treat Missionaries courteously, -but despise Christianity, and will not tell Missionaries the truth about -Opium.--Respectable Chinese would become an object of scorn and disgrace -to their fellow-countrymen if they embraced Christianity.--Professing -Chinese Christians in most cases impostors.--Heathen Chinese as a rule -more trustworthy than so-called Christian converts.--Missionary clergymen -in China have not the confidence of the Chinese people, and draw their -information as to Opium smoking from polluted sources.--Difference between -Missionary clergymen in China and the clergymen of all denominations in -England as regards knowledge of the people they live amongst.--Missionaries -in China wholly responsible for the imposture prevailing in England as to -Opium smoking in China.--Although the Chinese are a spirit-drinking -people, they never drink to excess.--Drunkenness unknown amongst -Chinese.--Chinese-American treaty a sham as regards Opium.--Sir J. H. -Pease, M.P., duped by the "bogus" clause as to Opium.--His speech on the -Opium question in 1881.--Chinese smoke Opium wherever they go.--As much -Opium imported into China now as before the sham treaty.--Opium a luxury -which only the well-to-do can freely indulge in.--Explanation of the means -by which unfounded statements respecting Opium are propagated.--Apologue -by way of example.--Proof of the state of things explained by the apologue -furnished by the Rev. Storrs Turner and Dr. Ayres.--First fallacy, that -the poppy is not indigenous to China, but has been recently introduced -there, presumably by British agency, and the second fallacy, that Opium -smoking in China is now and always has been confined to a small -per-centage of the population, but which, owing to the importation into -the country of Indian Opium, is rapidly increasing, refuted and the truth -fully stated.--Testimony of Mr. W. Donald Spence and Mr. E. Colborne -Baber, and Sir Rutherford Alcock. - - Pages 50-100 - - -LECTURE III. - -Third and fifth fallacies upon which the members of the Anti-Opium Society -and its supporters are misled.--Opium eating and Opium smoking contrasted -with spirit drinking.--Valuable curative properties of Opium.--Spirit -drinking produces organic and incurable diseases, is a fruitful cause of -insanity, and leads to ruin and destruction.--The like effects admittedly -not due to Opium.--Opium eating and Opium smoking totally distinct.-- -Whatever the effects of Opium eating, Opium smoking perfectly innocuous.-- -Anti-Opium advocates cunningly try to mix the two together.--Disingenuous -conduct in this respect of the Rev. Storrs Turner--Mr. Turner so great an -enthusiast as not to be able to see the difference.--Testimony of Dr. -Eatwell as to the use of Opium.--Difference between Opium eating and -Opium smoking explained in the case of tobacco smoking.--Tobacco taken -internally a deadly poison, harmless when smoked.--Medical testimony as to -the poisonous quality of tobacco and its alkaloid, nicotine.--Opium a -valuable medicine, without any known substitute.--Anti-Tobacco Smoking -Society, once formed the same as the Anti-Opium Society, put down by the -common sense of the community, the like fate awaits the Anti-Opium -Society.--Testimony of Dr. Sir George Birdwood, Surgeon-General Moore, Sir -Benjamin Brodie, Dr. Ayres, and W. Brend, M.R.C.S., as to Opium.--Small -quantity of Indian Opium imported into China.--Enormous amount of spirits -consumed in the United Kingdom.--Anti-Opium Society blind to the latter, -energetic as to the former a purely sentimental grievance.--Fallacy of -Anti-Opium Society that supply creates demand refuted and exposed.-- -Remaining fallacies refuted.--Effects of suppression of Indo-China Opium -trade.--Missionaries detested in China.--Indian Opium welcomed.--Saying of -Prince Kung.--Treaty of Tientsin explained and defended.--Erroneous -notions of the Protestant Missionaries as to that treaty.--Abused by -Missionaries, yet the treaty the Missionaries only charter.--Testimony of -H. N. Lay and Lawrence Olyphant.--Spurious copy of De Quincey's -"Confessions of an Opium Eater," published by Anti-Opium people.-- -Testimony of Don Sinibaldo de Mas, formerly Spanish Minister in China, a -powerful defence of the Indo-China Opium trade.--Policy of the Indian -Government as regards Opium wisest and best.--Alleged proposal of Lord -Lawrence to alter that policy.--Fallacy involved in such proposal -exposed.--Abrogation of Indo-Opium trade injurious if not destructive to -the spread of the Gospel in China.--False charge of smuggling by British -merchants in China exposed and refuted.--Un-English policy of the -Anti-Opium Society exposed.--Recapitulation.--Benevolence of the British -public.--Necessity for seeing that it is not diverted into worthless -channels.--Anti-Opium Society, mischievous, presenting a melancholy record -of energies wasted, talents misapplied, wealth uselessly squandered, -charity perverted, and philanthropy run mad.--Society should be dissolved -and its funds transferred to Missionaries.--Missionaries should not mix up -Christianity and Opium.--Missionaries defended and encouraged. - - Pages 101-174 - - -APPENDIX. - -Official Letter of Francis Bulkeley Johnson, Esq., of the firm of Jardine, -Matheson & Co., of Hong Kong and China, Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber -of Commerce, to Charles Magniac, Esq., M.P., the President of the London -Chamber of Commerce, respecting the charge of smuggling against the -British merchants in China, and giving particulars of the Indo-China Opium -trade. - - Pages 177-183 - - - - -THE TRUTH ABOUT OPIUM. - - - - -LECTURE I. - - -The object of these lectures is to tell you what I know about opium -smoking in China--a very important subject, involving the retention or -loss of more than seven millions sterling to the revenue of India, and -what is far more precious, the character and reputation of this great -country. With respect to the former, I would simply observe that I do not -intend to deal with the question on mere grounds of expediency, strong as -such grounds unquestionably are, for, if I believed that one-half of what -is asserted by the "ANGLO-ORIENTAL SOCIETY FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF THE -OPIUM TRADE," as to the alleged baneful effects of opium smoking upon the -Chinese, were true, I should be the first to raise my humble voice against -the traffic, even though it involved the loss, not of seven millions -sterling, but of seventy times seven. But it is because I know that these -statements and all the grave charges made by the supporters of that -society, and repeated from day to day, against the Government of India and -the Government of this country, and also against the British merchants of -China, to be not only gross exaggerations but absolutely untrue--mere -shadowy figments, phantasies, and delusions--that I come forward to draw -aside the curtain, and show you that behind these charges there is no -substance. Were my knowledge of the opium question derived merely from -books and pamphlets, articles in the newspapers, and ordinary gossip, I -would not venture to trespass upon your time and attention, because in -that respect you have at your disposal the same means of information as I -have myself. But I come before you with considerable personal experience, -and special knowledge of the subject, having lived and practised as a -solicitor for nearly fifteen years in Hong Kong, where I had daily -experience, not only of the custom and effects of opium smoking, but also -of the trade in opium in both its crude and prepared state. I had there -the honour of being solicitor to the leading British and other foreign -firms, as well as to the Chinese, from the wealthy merchant to the humble -coolie; so that during the whole of that period down to the present time I -have had intimate relations in China with foreigners and natives, -especially with those engaged in the opium trade. Under these -circumstances I had daily intercourse with the people from whom the best -and most trustworthy information on the subject of opium and opium smoking -could be obtained, and my experience is that opium smoking, as practised -by the Chinese, is perfectly innocuous. This is a fact so patent that it -forces itself upon the attention of every intelligent resident in China -who has given ordinary attention to the subject. The whole question at -issue is involved in this one point, for if I show you that opium smoking -in China is as harmless, if, indeed, not more so, as beer drinking in -England, as I promise you I shall do most conclusively, then _cadit -quæstio_, there is nothing further in dispute; the Indo-Chinese opium -trade will then stand out--as I say it does--free from objection upon -moral, political, and social grounds, and the occupation of the Anti-Opium -agitators, like Othello's, will be gone. It is true that the opponents of -the Indo-Chinese opium trade interlard their case with political matters -wholly beside the question; this they do to make that question look a -bigger one than it really is, so as to throw dust in the eyes of the -public and impose upon weak minds. For instance, they drag in the -miscalled "Opium War" and ring the changes upon it. That war, whether -justifiable or not, cannot affect the points at issue. It is an -accomplished fact, and it is idle now to introduce it into the present -opium question. And though I shall be obliged to go pretty fully into the -whole controversy, I ask you to keep your minds steadily fixed upon the -real question, which is briefly this: Is opium smoking, as practised in -China, detrimental to health and morals, and if so, does the Indo-Chinese -opium trade contribute to these results? - -I may now at the outset assure you that I do not give expression to my -views in the interests of the merchants of China, whether native or -foreign, or on behalf of any party whatsoever; nor do I come before you -with any personal object, because neither directly nor indirectly have I -any pecuniary or personal concern in the opium question, nor, indeed, in -any commercial matter in Hong Kong or China. I simply find that unfounded -delusions have taken possession of the public mind upon the subject, which -have had most mischievous consequences, and are still working much evil. -These I wish to dispel, if I can. Furthermore, I have delivered and -published these lectures at my own cost, unaided by any other person, so, -I think, under these circumstances, that I have some right to be regarded -as an impartial witness. - -I am aware of no subject, involving only simple matters of fact, and -outside the region of party politics, upon which so much discussion has -been expended, and about which such widely different opinions are -prevalent, as this opium question. On the one side, it is said that, for -selfish purposes, we have forced and are still forcing opium upon the -people of China; that the Indian Government, with the acquiescence and -support of the Imperial Government, cultivates the drug for the purpose of -adding seven or eight millions sterling to its revenue, and, with full -knowledge of its alleged baneful consequences to the natives of China, -exports it to that country. A further charge, moreover, is brought against -the British merchants, that they participate in this trade for gain, or, -as it is put by the Rev. Mr. Storrs Turner, formerly a missionary -clergyman at Hong Kong, but now and for many years the active and -energetic Secretary of the Anti-Opium Society, to enable them to make -"princely fortunes." That is the favourite expression of Mr. Turner, who -finds, no doubt, that it takes with certain small sections of the public, -readier to believe evil of their own countrymen than of the people of -other countries, under the belief, perhaps, that in doing so they best -display the purity and disinterestedness of their conduct. - -The Anti-Opium Society and its supporters assert as an incontestable fact -that opium smoking is fatal, not only to the body but to the soul; -meaning, I suppose, that the custom is destructive to the physical, and -demoralising to the moral nature of its votaries, and that the opium -traffic is regarded by the people of China with such horror that it -prevents the natives from receiving the Gospel from those who help to -supply them with this drug, viz., the British people. It is alleged that -the use of opium demoralises the Chinese, that it ruins and saps the -manhood of the whole nation, with a host of concomitant evils, to which I -shall by and by refer more particularly, the whole involving the utmost -turpitude, the greatest guilt and the worst depravity on the part of -England and the English Government, and still more especially on that of -the Indian Government and the British merchants in China. Here I may -observe, in passing, that if the objection to opium on the part of the -Chinese is so strong, it is rather remarkable that they should not only -greedily purchase all the Indian opium we can send them, but cultivate the -drug to an enormous extent in their own country. The Anti-Opium Society -and its supporters further say that opium culture and opium smoking are of -comparatively recent origin in China; and although they do not directly -allege that we have introduced those practices, there is throughout all -their writings and speeches "a fond desire, a pleasing hope" that the -readers or hearers of their books and speeches will form that opinion for -themselves. I should tell you that those who hold directly contrary views -consist of all the British residents in China, with the exception of some -of the Protestant missionaries (of whom I desire to speak with respect), -comprising the British merchants, their numerous assistants (an educated -and most intelligent body), professional men, traders of all classes, and -also all the other foreign merchants and residents in the country--German, -American, and others, for there are many nationalities to be met with in -China, who with the British form one harmonious community. - -Take all these men, differing in nationality and religious persuasions as -they do, and I venture to say that you will not find one per cent. of them -who will not tell you that the views put forward by these missionaries and -the Anti-Opium Society are utterly preposterous, false, and unreal--who -will not declare that opium smoking in China is a harmless if not an -absolutely beneficial practice; that it produces no decadence in mind or -body, and that the allegations as to its demoralising effects are simply -untrue. Those who have taken a special interest in the subject know that -the poppy is indigenous to China, as it is to the rest of Asia, that opium -smoking is and has been a universal custom throughout China, probably for -more than a thousand years; that this custom is not confined to a few, but -is general amongst the adult male population; limited only, in fact, by -the means of procuring the drug. That is my experience also; it is -corroborated by others, and therefore I may assert it as a fact. I have -used the adjective "Protestant" because, although there are a great number -of Roman Catholic and some Greek missionaries in China, no complaint -against the opium trade has ever to my knowledge been made by one of these -missionaries. - -Now, why is this belief so prevalent? Because those foreign residents -daily mix with the Chinese, know their habits and customs, hear them talk, -sell to them, and buy from them, and being aware, as they all are, of the -controversy going on here about opium, and the strenuous efforts that are -being made in this country to prevent the Indian Government from allowing -opium to be imported into China, they take a greater interest in the -subject, and examine the question more carefully than they otherwise -might. They, I say, being on the ground and knowing the very people who -smoke opium and who have smoked it for years, without injury or decay to -their bodily or mental health, have irresistibly come to the same -conclusion as I have. For myself, I may say that I have taken a very great -interest in the subject, particularly during the past five or six years. I -have tried in vain to find out those pitiable victims of opium smoking who -have been so much spoken of in books, in newspapers, and on public -platforms. Day after day I have gone through the most populous parts of -Hong Kong, which is a large city, having about one hundred and fifty -thousand Chinese inhabitants--in both the wealthiest and poorest quarters. -I have daily had in my office Chinese of all classes, seeing them, -speaking to them, interrogating them upon different subjects, and I have -never found amongst them any of these miserable victims to opium smoking. -On the contrary, more acute, knowing, and intelligent people than these -very opium smokers I have rarely met with. - -Now, Hong Kong may be said to be, and is, in fact, the headquarters in -China of the opium trade. It is there that all the opium coming from India -and Persia is first brought. It is, in fact, the entrepôt or depôt from -which all other parts of China are supplied with the drug. Furthermore, it -is the port whence "prepared opium," the condition in which the drug is -smoked, is mostly manufactured and exported to the Chinese in all other -parts of the world, for wherever he goes, the Chinaman, if he can afford -it, must have his opium-pipe. Moreover, the Chinese of Hong Kong get much -better wages and make larger profits in their trades and businesses than -they could obtain in their own country; and can, therefore, better afford -to enjoy the luxury of the pipe than their own countrymen in China. So -that if opium smoking produced the evil consequences alleged, Hong Kong is -unquestionably the place where those consequences would be found in their -fullest force. They are not to be found there in the slightest degree. One -fact is worth a thousand theories, and this I give you as one which I -challenge Mr. Storrs Turner or any other advocate of the Anti-Opium -Society to disprove. I will now show you how I am corroborated. I have a -witness on the subject whose testimony is simply irrefragable. Dr. Philip -B. C. Ayres, the learned and efficient Colonial Surgeon, and Inspector of -Hospitals of Hong Kong, confirms my statement in the strongest possible -manner. That gentleman has held the important office I have mentioned for -about ten years. Previous to taking up his appointment at Hong Kong he had -been on the Medical Staff of India, where he had made opium and opium -eating--for the drug is not smoked in India--a special study. In Hong Kong -he has had abundant opportunities of studying the effects of opium smoking -and making himself thoroughly acquainted with the wonderful drug, such -opportunities, indeed, as few other medical men have ever had. It is part -of his daily duties to inspect the Civil Hospital of Hong Kong,--a -splendid institution open to all nationalities, and conducted by able -medical men,--the Gaol, the Chinese Hospital, called the Tung Wah, which -is under exclusive Chinese management, and all other medical institutions -in the Colony. Thus a wide field of observation is presented to him. I may -add here that Dr. Ayres is the only European physician who has succeeded -in removing the prejudice among the better class of the Chinese against -European doctors and in obtaining a large native practice. This fact -speaks volumes as to his general abilities as well as to his professional -attainments and his means of acquainting himself with the social life of -the Chinese. In his annual Report presented to the Government of Hong Kong -for the year 1881, a copy of which, I believe, is now, or ought to be, in -the pigeon-holes of the Colonial Office in Downing Street, there is the -following passage:-- - - I have come to the conclusion that opium smoking _is a luxury of a - very harmless description_, and that the only trouble arising from its - indulgence is a waste of money that should be applied to necessaries. - Eight mace is equivalent to an ounce and twenty-nine grains, a - quantity of opium sufficient to poison a hundred men, smoked by one - man in a day, and this he has been doing for twenty years: that is to - say, he has consumed in smoke in that time about one thousand pounds - sterling, and for this indulgence he has to deny himself and his - family many absolute necessaries. The list of admissions contains - thirty-five opium smokers, and the amount smoked between them daily - was eighty-four mace and a half, or seven dollars worth of opium. The - result of my observations this year is only to confirm all I said on - the subject of opium smoking in my report for 1880. - -Again, Dr. Ayres has published from time to time in the "_Friend of -China_," the organ of the Anti-Opium Society, various interesting papers -on medical subjects. This is what he says in an article which will be -found at length at p. 217 of vol. 3 of that journal:-- - - My opinion of it is that it [opium smoking] may become a habit, _but - that that habit is not necessarily an increasing one_. Nine out of - twelve men smoke a certain number of pipes a day, just as a tobacco - smoker would, or as a wine or beer drinker might drink his two or - three glasses a day, without desiring more. _I think the excessive - opium smoker is in a greater minority than the excessive spirit - drinker or tobacco smoker._ In my experience, the habit does no - physical harm in moderation.... I do not wish to defend the practice - of opium smoking, but in the face of the rash opinions and exaggerated - statements in respect of this vice, it is only right to record that no - China resident believes in the terrible frequency of the dull, - sodden-witted, debilitated opium smoker met with in print, nor have I - found many Europeans who believe they ever get the better of their - opium-smoking compradores in matters of business. - -Let Mr. Storrs Turner refute this, if he can. If he cannot, what becomes -of his book[1] published in 1876, which may be called the gospel of the -Anti-Opium Society, with which I shall make you better acquainted by and -by. And what should become of the Anti-Opium Society itself, which has -wasted on its chimerical projects hundreds of thousands of pounds--the -contributions of the benevolent British public, which might have been -spent in alleviating the misery and distress in this vast metropolis, or -been otherwise usefully applied. - -The Government of Hong Kong, for the purposes of revenue, has farmed out -the privilege or monopoly of preparing this opium and selling it within -the colony, and I dare say you will be surprised to hear that the amount -paid by the present opium monopolist for the privilege amounts to about -forty thousand pounds sterling a year. To elucidate this, I should tell -you, that opium as imported from India, Persia, and other places is in a -crude or unprepared state. In this condition it is made up in hard round -balls, each about the size of a Dutch cheese, but darker in colour. To -render it fit for smoking it has to be stripped of its outer covering, -shredded, and boiled with water until it becomes a semi-fluid glutinous -substance resembling treacle in colour and consistence. In this state it -is known as "prepared opium." As such it is put up into small tins or -canisters, hermetically sealed, so that it can be exported to any part of -the world. Now, I have been the professional adviser of the opium farmer -for at least ten years, and from him and his assistants I have had -excellent opportunities of learning the truth about opium. I have thus -been able to get behind the scenes, and so have had such opportunities of -acquainting myself with the subject as few other Europeans have possessed. -I knew the late opium farmer, whom I might call a personal friend, -intimately from the time of my first arrival in China. When I call him the -opium farmer I mean the ostensible one, for the opium monopoly has always, -in fact, been held by a syndicate. My friend was the principal in whose -name the license was made out, and who dealt with the wholesale merchants, -carried on all arrangements with the Government of the Colony, and -chiefly managed the prepared opium business. I knew him so intimately and -had so many professional dealings with him, irrespective of opium, that I -had constant opportunities of becoming acquainted with all the mysteries -of the opium trade. Now the conclusion to which my own personal experience -has led me I have told you of before, and I have never met anyone who has -lived in China, save the missionaries, whose experience differed from -mine. I have tried to find the victims of the so-called dreadful drug, but -I have never yet succeeded. - -Many people in this country, I dare say, owing to the false and -exaggerated stories which have been disseminated by the advocates of the -Anti-Opium Society, think that if they went to Hong Kong they would see -swarms of wretched creatures, wan and wasted, leaning upon crutches, the -victims of opium smoking. If they went to the colony they would be greatly -disappointed, for no such people are to be met with. On the contrary, all -the Chinese they would see there are strong, healthy, intelligent-looking -people, and, mark my words, well able to take care of themselves. I don't -suppose there were five per cent. of my Chinese clients who did not, to a -greater or less extent, smoke opium. I have known numbers, certainly not -less than five or six hundred persons in all, who have smoked opium from -their earliest days--young men, middle-aged men, and men of advanced -years, who have been opium smokers all their lives, some of them probably -excessive smokers, but I have never observed any symptoms of decay in one -of them. I recall to mind one old man in particular, whom I remember for -more than fifteen years; he is now alive and well; when I last saw him, -about two years ago, he was looking as healthy and strong as he was ten -years before. He is not only in good bodily health, but of most -extraordinary intellectual vigour, one of the most crafty old gentlemen, -indeed, that I have ever met; no keener man of business you could find, or -one who would try harder to get the better of you if he could. The only -signs of opium smoking about him are his discoloured teeth, by which an -excessive smoker can always be detected, for immoderate opium smoking has -the same effect, though in a less degree, as the similar use of tobacco, -the excessive smoking of which, as I shall by and by show you, is the more -injurious practice of the two. The Chinese, as a rule, have extremely -white teeth--the effect, perhaps, of their simple diet, and their -generally abstemious habits. They are proud of their teeth, which they -brush two or three times a day, so that there is no difficulty in -distinguishing heavy smokers from those who smoke in moderation. It is -easy to compare the one with the other, and I may state that although the -former be not often met with, he will be found to be not a whit inferior -to the other in wit or sharpness. The old gentleman I have referred to, -like many others of his countrymen, will settle himself down of an -evening, when the business of the day is over, and enjoy his opium pipe -for two or three hours at a stretch, yet, notwithstanding this terrible -excess, as the Anti-Opium people would say, he continues strong and well. -Nay, more, he has two sons of middle age, healthy, active men, who indulge -in the pipe quite as regularly as their aged father. I have known many -others like these men, but have never seen or heard of any weakness or -decay arising from the practice. - -Now, I have told you that the British merchants in China hold the same -views as I do upon the opium question. But it may be said that the -merchants are interested persons, and in point of fact Mr. Storrs Turner -says as much in his book. And, of course, he would have it inferred that -what _they_ allege or think on the subject should not have any weight, -because they are the very persons in whose interest this so-called -iniquitous traffic is being carried on, and that, therefore, they would -not say anything likely to dry up their fountain of profit. I only wish -for the sake of my fellow-countrymen that all these declarations about -princely fortunes were true. Hills look green afar off, but when you -approach them they are often found as arid as the desert; and, -unfortunately, like Macbeth's air-drawn dagger, these splendid visions are -not "sensible to feeling as to sight," but simply _princely fortunes_ of -the mind "proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain." Mr. Turner mentions -in his book one eminent firm in particular, the oldest and probably the -greatest in China or the far East, a firm respected throughout the whole -mercantile world, whose public spirit, boundless charity, and general -benevolence are proverbial, whom he stigmatizes as "opium merchants," and -who are, of course, making the imaginary "princely fortune" by opium. Now -if that gentleman had taken the least trouble to inquire before he -launched his book upon the world, he would have found that the firm he -refers to in such terms had had little or nothing to do with opium for at -least twenty years. That is not, perhaps, a matter of much importance. If -he had taken the trouble to make further inquiry, he could have had no -difficulty in ascertaining, what I tell him now as a fact, and one within -my own personal knowledge, that the only merchants in China who are making -large profits out of opium are just two or three firms, who, by the -undulations and fluctuations inseparable from commerce, have got the bulk -of the trade into their hands, and that all the other British merchants -throughout China, and all the foreign merchants, Germans, Americans, and -others, have really little or nothing to do with the opium trade at all. -Of course, merchants now and then will have to execute orders for opium -for a constituent who may require a chest or two of the drug, but that is -only in the course of business, and is not attended with any profit to -speak of. And I am perfectly sure that if it were possible to put a stop -to this opium traffic, which is said to be the source of so much profit to -many, that, saving the two or three firms I have mentioned, the -suppression of the trade would make no difference to the other firms. This -gross blunder of Mr. Storrs Turner is characteristic of the general -inaccuracy of his book. Before casting odium upon an eminent firm common -decency, if not prudence, to say nothing of good taste, should have -induced him to make careful inquiries upon the subject. This, it is clear, -he has not done, and, as if to make matters worse, although his book -appeared so long ago as 1876, in an article published in the "Nineteenth -Century" for February 1882, he has again gratuitously referred to this -firm in terms as unjustifiable as they are absolutely unfounded. He -couples the firm with another house now dissolved, and says, "they were -legally smugglers, but the sin sat lightly upon their consciences." Very -pretty this for a minister of the Gospel and the Secretary of the -Anglo-Oriental Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade. The -statement, even if true, was wholly unnecessary for the professed object -of the writer, and why he made it is best known to himself. This is the -gentleman by whose persistent efforts those fallacious and mischievous -views upon the opium question have during the past eight years been -mainly forced upon the public, and to whom the prolonged existence of that -most mischievous organization, the Anti-Opium Society, is due. He is the -Frankenstein who has created the monster that has deceived and scared so -many excellent people. I will show you that this monster is but a poor -bogey after all, with just as much form and substance as that with which -Mrs. Shelley affrights her readers in her clever romance. On the other -hand, do not let it be thought, as I believe has been said by some -enthusiasts, that it is owing to the British merchants in China having -discovered that opium is an unclean thing, and to their having washed -their hands of all participation in the traffic, that the trade has fallen -into the hands of a few, who of course would, by parity of reasoning, be -set down as very unscrupulous people. That is a fallacy, and, what is -more, it is an untruth. I do not believe there is a British firm, or a -firm of any other nationality, in China, which would not, if the -opportunity presented itself, become to-morrow "opium merchants," as Mr. -Turner expresses it, if they thought the trade would prove a source of -profit, because they hold, with me, that the opium traffic is a perfectly -proper and legitimate one, quite as much so as traffic in tobacco, wine, -or beer; and a thousand times less objectionable than the trade in ardent -spirits. - -Before proceeding further, it is important that I should bring to your -notice some particulars about China and its people. It is actually -necessary to do so, to enable you to grasp the facts and see your way well -before you. Although the opium question ought to be a simple one, yet, -owing to the sophistries and misrepresentations of the Anti-Opium Society, -and in particular of its Secretary and living spirit, Mr. Storrs Turner, a -wide field is opened to us across which it will be necessary to lead you -to chase the phantom off the plain. The public here are very apt to think -of China as if it were a country like Italy, France, or England. They -never dream for a moment of the immense empire which China actually is. -Perhaps if they did, and could take in the whole situation, they would be -slower to believe the extraordinary stories which are spread about our -_forcing_ opium upon the Chinese, and, by doing so, demoralizing the -nation. We forget, as we grow old, much that we have learned in our youth, -especially geography, and I daresay many a schoolboy could enlighten -myself and others upon that particular branch of education. China, it -must be remembered, is a country which cannot be compared with France, -Spain, or England, for it is a vast empire, as large as Europe, with a -population some fifty or sixty millions greater. Now, what a stupendous -feat to be able to storm, as it were, that enormous empire, and for a -handful of British merchants to succeed in forcing opium upon, and, by -doing so, debasing the whole of this wonderful people. Yet this is what is -alleged by the anti-opium philanthropists and by Mr. Storrs Turner, who is -their priest and prophet, and so his enthusiastic disciples believe, to -whom I would merely say,--"Great is thy faith." These plain facts are not -brought forward by the Anti-opium people. The public are addressed and -pleas are put forward for their support on the ground that we are dealing -with a country of the like extent as our own, inhabited by a primitive -semi-civilized people. No greater fallacy, no more downright untruth could -be put forward. The Chinese are not only a civilized but an educated -people. Until quite recently there were more people in the British -Islands, in proportion to their population, who could neither read nor -write than in China. - -It must be borne in mind that the empire of China comprises eighteen -provinces, quite large enough to form eighteen separate kingdoms. I am -speaking now of China Proper, and am leaving out Thibet, Mongolia, and -Manchuria, immense countries to the West, North-West, and North of China, -and also the vast possessions of China in Central Asia, all forming part -of that great empire. Many of these eighteen provinces are larger than -Great Britain; one of them is equal in extent to France. Although there is -in one sense a language common to the whole country, yet not only has each -province a dialect of its own, different from that of the others, but it -has, so to speak, innumerable sub-dialects. Dialect, perhaps, is hardly -the correct word; it is more than a dialect, for not only each province, -but each district or county, has a dialect, differing so essentially from -each other that the people of one province, or one district, can, in most -instances, no more make themselves colloquially understood by those of -another than a Frenchman could make himself intelligible to an Englishman, -if neither knew the language of the other. You will often find people -living in villages not more than fifteen or twenty miles apart who cannot -converse with one another. I have seen in my own office a man belonging to -the province of Kwang-tung, in the south of China, unable to speak in -Chinese to a native of the adjoining province of Fuh-kien. In this case -the native villages of these two were not more than ten miles apart, and -the only medium of conversation was the barbarous jargon in which -Europeans and Chinese carry on their dealings, called "pidgin English"--a -species of broken English of the most ridiculous kind. Now, when you take -into account that each province differs in language from each other--for -that is really what the case practically comes to--that they have separate -dialects in each province, and also, to a certain extent, different -customs and certain prejudices, I ask you, does it not appear a gigantic, -if not an impossible, task for England, a small and distant country, to be -able to demoralize, debase, and corrupt the people of each of these -eighteen provinces? Yet that is really the allegation of the Anti-Opium -Society against their own country, this small and distant England! - -I have said that there are customs peculiar to each of these provinces, -but there are others common to all; one of them is opium smoking; another, -I am sorry to say, is hatred and contempt of foreigners. They one and all -agree in regarding foreigners as an inferior race, whose customs, -language, and religion they despise. Among the common people every -foreigner, of whatsoever nationality, is called "Fan-Qui," or "foreign -devil." The designation of foreigners amongst the better classes of people -is "outer barbarian." No better instance could I give you than this to -show the strong prejudice held by the whole nation against foreigners. -"Fan-Qui" is still the term used by the lower orders to denote foreigners, -even in the British colony of Hong Kong. To remedy this state of things, -at the time of the making of the Treaty of Tientsin in 1858 (which is the -existing treaty between the two nations), Lord Elgin, the author of the -treaty, had very properly a stipulation inserted that the term "outer -barbarian" should no longer be applied to British subjects. Now, when you -take into account that not only are these three hundred and sixty millions -of people spread over an enormous empire, having a prejudice common to all -parts alike against foreigners, as well as their own prejudices against -each other, forming eighteen separate provinces or kingdoms, speaking -different languages, is it reasonable to suppose that they would, so to -speak, simultaneously adopt the practice of opium smoking when introduced -by the despised foreigner? If these people still despise our customs, as -they do our religion, as they do everything, in fact, belonging to us, how -can it be said that we are forcing this foreign drug upon them to their -destruction? - -I have already mentioned that the custom of opium smoking is common to all -the people of these eighteen provinces. Whether they live in the valleys -or on the hills they smoke opium. Now Mr. Turner is a great enemy of opium -smoking; he is its determined opponent, and I do not think I wrong him--I -certainly do not mean to do so--when I describe him as a person strongly -prejudiced against the practice. The best, the wisest, and ablest among us -have prejudices, and it is casting no stigma upon that gentleman to say -that he has his. When I make you better acquainted with his book, which I -shall soon do, you will, I think, agree with me on this point. When people -have those strong prepossessions they are prone not to judge facts fairly; -they see things, in short, through a false medium. That which to an -ordinary person appears plain and clear enough, to one under the influence -of prejudice stands out in different colours, and is passed over as untrue -or misleading; sometimes, however, the plain truth will leak out, in spite -of prejudice. It is laid down by legal text writers that truth is natural -to the human mind, that the first impulse of a man if interrogated upon a -point is to tell the truth, and that it is only when he has had time to -consider, that he is inclined to swerve from it. Now in this book of Mr. -Turner's, at p. 13, he confirms my statement. This is what he says. I need -not read to you the previous part, because the context does not alter the -sense of my quotation. He is arguing against the allegation of pro-opium -people that opium has a beneficial result in counteracting the effects of -malaria and ague, and he says:-- - - These curious arguments are two. First, that the universal - predilection of the Chinese for opium is owing to the malarious - character of the country; secondly, that the use of opium is a - wholesome corrective to the unwholesome, even putrid, food which the - Chinese consume. The reply to the first is that the country over which - opium is smoked is in area about the size of Europe, and includes, - perhaps, an equal variety of sites, soils, and climates, great plains - level as our own fen district, and mountainous regions like the - Highlands of Scotland. Ague is almost unknown in many of the - provinces--_yet everywhere, in all climates and all soils, in every - variety of condition and circumstance throughout that vast empire, the - Chinese smoke opium_. - -Now that is the testimony of the Rev. Storrs Turner, the most strenuous -and, as I believe, the ablest advocate against the Indo-China opium trade. -But then he adds:-- - - But nowhere do they all smoke opium. The smokers are but a per-centage - greater or smaller in any place. - -Well, nobody ever said they all did smoke opium. Females, as a rule, do -not smoke, and children don't smoke. It is only the grown men, and those -who can afford to buy the drug, who smoke it. China, for its extent and -its vast and industrious population, is still a poor country. Although its -natural resources are considerable, the great bulk of the people are in -poor circumstances. It is only those above the very poor who can afford to -smoke opium occasionally, and only well-to-do people who are able to do so -habitually. Opium smoking is, in fact, a luxury in which, every Chinaman -who can afford it indulges more or less, just as English people who have -sufficient means drink tea, wine, and beer, or smoke tobacco. The effects -of opium smoking are no more injurious than are those articles, in daily -use in England, nor is its use more enslaving. On the contrary, from my -own observation, I feel persuaded that those who habitually drink wine or -spirits are far more liable to abuse and become enslaved to the habit than -the smoker of opium. This, as you are now aware, is confirmed by the great -authority of Dr. Ayres. Yet Mr. Storrs Turner, in the face of that most -damaging admission, and his disciples would have the British public -believe that by supplying the Chinese with a small quantity of opium, -which is used and grown largely in almost every province, district, and -village of China, we are demoralizing and degrading the whole people. Now, -if this practice of opium smoking has existed, and does exist, throughout -these eighteen provinces, over this large and mighty empire, as Mr. Storrs -Turner admits, can it be urged for a moment that England has had anything -to do with it more than that Englishmen, in common with other foreigners, -have imported for the last forty or forty-five years a quantity of the -drug very much less than that actually grown in China itself? I say she -has not. I say that opium smoking has existed for a thousand years or -more, and that its use by the natives of China is simply limited by the -extent of their purchasing power. But how is it that such divergent -opinions can exist between Englishmen living in China and certain -Englishmen here at home? My answer is, that the former, the English -residents in China, derive their knowledge on the subject from actual -experience formed from personal intercourse with the natives, from seeing -with their own eyes, and hearing with their own ears; whilst people in -England obtain their information from hearsay only. Hearsay testimony is -their sole guide; and, as I shall show you by and by, this hearsay -evidence is of the worst and most unreliable kind. But still the question -remains why this should be so; why is it that among the educated and -intelligent people of England, in an age when newspapers are universal, -and books of travel cheap and plentiful, that such an extraordinary -difference of opinion should exist? I will now give you the explanation of -these opposite views. - -The first is this:--China is ten thousand miles away. If that country were -as near to us as the Continent of Europe, to which it is equal in extent, -the people of England, including all these Anti-Opium advocates, would be -of the same mind as their countrymen in China. The field of the imposture -would then be so close to us that the delusion could no longer be -sustained--if, indeed, under such circumstances it could ever have -existence--it would be seen through at once. If it were sought to prove -that we were corrupting and demoralizing the whole of the natives of the -Continent by selling them spirits, beer, or opium, and if the persons who -did so were to pity, patronize, and caress those people as if they were an -inferior race, and but semi-civilized, as the anti-opium people do with -the Chinese,--the persons who attempted to act in such an extraordinary -manner would be scoffed at as visionaries, if not downright fools; yet the -parallel is complete. Indeed, taking into account the existing prejudices -of the Chinese against foreigners, the sound sense of the people of China -and their frugal and abstemious habits, there should be less difficulty in -effecting such wonderful results in Europe than in China. Perhaps, -however, the best illustration of this is that afforded by the present -agitation here in England, under the leadership of Sir Wilfrid Lawson -against the liquor traffic. The evils of intemperance, unlike those -alleged against opium smoking, are real evils, and are admitted to be so -by all. Everyone is agreed upon this point; yet a large portion of our -revenue, amounting to some twenty-six millions sterling, is derived from -taxes upon spirits, wine, and beer, the abuse of which produces these -evils. Sir Wilfrid Lawson is as determined a foe to the Indo-China opium -trade as he is to the liquor traffic. Why does he not apply the same rule -to the one as to the other? Why does he ask the Government to forego the -eight millions derived from opium in India, and not demand the abrogation -of these spirit, wine, and beer duties which are derived from so wicked a -source here in England? He and his Anti-Opium friends would, if they -could, prohibit the cultivation and exportation of opium in India, why do -not he and his fellow teetotallers call upon the country to prohibit the -manufacture of alcoholic liquors? Some few months ago an Anti-Opium -meeting took place at, I think, Newcastle, attended by Sir Wilfrid Lawson. -In the course of a facetious speech the Honourable Baronet, becoming -serious, made quite light of this ridiculously small sum of eight millions -sterling derived from the opium trade, and declared that he who did not -believe that a substitute for it could be found was a "moral -atheist"--whatever that may mean. Why does he not call upon the Government -to forego the sum of twenty-six millions derived from alcohol, which is -not more to England, if indeed so much, as the eight millions are to -India, and declare that any person who said we could not find a substitute -was a "moral atheist"? I answer thus: because the one concerns matters -here at home with which he and the rest of the public are well acquainted, -whilst the other relates to affairs ten thousand miles away, about which -he and they know little or nothing. Sir Wilfrid and his followers very -well know that if they advocated the abolition of the duties on spirits, -wine, and beer, they would be simply scoffed at by the public as fools and -visionaries, and that, on the other hand, if they required all our -distilleries and breweries and all public-houses to be closed, they would -be treated as downright lunatics; but it is quite different as regards -India and China. With matters in those countries these enthusiastic -gentlemen can and do disport themselves very much as they please, -oblivious to the plainest facts. - -The second is this:--There is, here in England, that powerful association, -"_The Anglo-Oriental Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade_," -whose sole object is to attain the end which its name imports, the -abolition of the Indo-China opium trade, on the alleged ground that it is -demoralizing and ruining the natives of China. That Society, I deeply -regret to say, is supported by some of the most influential people in -England--noblemen, archbishops, and other dignitaries of the Church, -clergymen of all denominations, people justly and deservedly commanding -the respect of their fellows--but who, on this opium question, simply know -little or nothing, who implicitly believe all that is told to them by the -agents of that Society, but otherwise have no knowledge of the facts. When -it is taken into account that this body has immense funds at its command, -that it has the support of a large part of what is known as the "religious -world," and that the Society has branches and agencies ramified throughout -the whole country, the reader will not fail to perceive how this -extraordinary hallucination, these false and unfounded delusions -respecting opium smoking, have got possession of the public mind. In -former times we have had associations formed for the purpose of carrying -out great public objects and of disseminating knowledge necessary for the -country to comprehend those objects; but you will find that for the most -part these societies have dealt with acknowledged and existing facts. For -instance, there was the "Anti-Corn Law League." The purposes of that -league were understood by everyone; the main facts were admitted because -they existed here in England and were patent to all. It was only a matter -of opinion between two great political parties whether they should be -dealt with in one particular way or not. That league was formed for a -great national object; but the Anti-Opium Society of which I am speaking -has been got up to carry out the opinions of a few individuals, most -respectable, I admit, but at the same time most enthusiastic--I may say, -indeed, fanatical--holding views the most incorrect and delusive upon a -subject with which they are most imperfectly acquainted. - -Meantime, this Society, through its ubiquitous and indefatigable -Secretary, who may be called the "Head Centre" of the confederacy, and its -other agents, is for ever on the alert. Let any gentleman who has bad -experience of opium smoking, whether in India or China, write to the -newspapers; let him read a paper at a meeting of any of our scientific -bodies disputing the alleged facts of the opium-phobists, and he is marked -out as a prey. Sir Rutherford Alcock, whose high character, thorough -knowledge of China, and great abilities are well known, with a view of -putting the opium question before the public in a correct and proper -light, published an able and, indeed, unanswerable article in the -"Nineteenth Century" for December 1881 ("Opium and Common Sense"), when -Mr. Storrs Turner plunged into print with a counter article in the number -for February 1882 of the same Review ("Opium and England's Duty"), to -which I have already alluded. This article purports to be an answer to the -former one, but it is nothing of the kind, for it is a mere _rechauffé_ of -his book, and wholly fails in its alleged purpose. Again Sir Rutherford -Alcock, with the same laudable object, early in 1882, read an able and -interesting paper on the opium question before the Society of Arts. It was -listened to by many scientific gentlemen and others. Sir Rutherford knows -the truth about opium, and he told it in his paper. The Rev. Storrs Turner -was there; he knew the damaging revelations which Sir Rutherford Alcock -had made, and so much afraid was he of the effects of the fusillade, that -to rally his dismayed followers he improvised a meeting of his most -devoted disciples two or three days afterwards at the Aquarium. I venture -to say there was not a pro-opium advocate present at his meeting I do not -think the meeting was ever advertised--I certainly saw no advertisement of -it in the newspapers--and Mr. Turner, on that occasion, exhorted his -followers to hold fast to the true faith, refuting in the way, no doubt -most satisfactory to himself and his audience, the facts, figures, and -arguments of Sir Rutherford. So it is with articles and letters in the -newspapers. Many gentlemen well-informed upon the opium question have -published letters dealing with this question on the pro-opium side; -whereupon Mr. Turner and other anti-opium advocates at once pounce down -upon them, and repeat the same old stale exploded stories about -demoralization and what not. But latterly, and since the first edition of -these lectures was published, Mr. Turner has preferred to carry on the -anti-opium agitation more quietly, for I think I have thrown cold water -upon the zeal of him and his friends. His plan now is to get together in -private conclave a few medical gentlemen and others whose opinions he has -first made sure of; certain resolutions are then produced ready cut and -dry, which are passed with acclamation and inserted in the newspapers. -This sort of thing deceives nobody but the infatuated dupes of the -Anti-Opium Society, for whose edification they are principally intended; -just as the American orator, though speaking to empty benches in Congress, -made what his constituents at Bunkum considered a capital speech. - -All these anti-opium articles, speeches, and resolutions are based upon -the same model. They assume certain statements as existing and -acknowledged facts which have never been proved to be such, and then -proceed to draw deductions from those alleged facts. This style of -argument can scarcely be praised for its fairness; it certainly places -those who hold contrary views, and who object to employing similar -tactics, at a disadvantage. This is especially remarkable in Mr. Storrs -Turner's article in the "Nineteenth Century." There the writer, taking all -his facts for granted, plunges at once _in medias res_, and proceeds to -enlighten his readers with all the confidence of the pedagogue who, strong -in his axioms and postulates, explains to his admiring pupils the -mysteries of the "Asses' Bridge." The English people have hitherto had -little or no knowledge of the opium question, save what they hear through -the Anti-Opium Society, in whose teaching some of them put faith, if only -for the reason that they are mostly clergymen and others of high -character. And here I may observe that, supposing the pro-opium advocates, -or perhaps I should more correctly say the general public, had a counter -society to disseminate their opinions, that they had organised a committee -with command of ample funds, and had officers to carry out their views, -this Anglo-Oriental Society would be strangled in three months; for -fiction, however speciously represented, cannot hold its own against fact. -There is an old saying that "what is everybody's business is nobody's -business," and so it has been with the pro-opium side of the question. The -foreign merchants in China, as a body, have no interest in the Indo-China -opium trade. They would not care if the trade were to be suppressed -to-morrow, and therefore they take no active part in opposing the -Anti-Opium Society. The general public also take little or no interest in -the matter, and it is really only those who are actuated by a sense of -duty, or who, like myself, have followed the question, and who, from -practical acquaintance and a thorough research into all its bearings, take -more than ordinary interest in the subject, who think of refuting the -monstrous misrepresentations of the anti-opium people. Therefore it is -that the other side have had practically the whole field to themselves. -Upon the like conditions any imposture could for a time be successfully -carried on. The days of the anti-opium agitation are, however, happily -drawing to a close. A flood of light from various sources has within the -past year been thrown upon the subject. The unwholesome mists of -ignorance, prejudice, and fanaticism are clearing away, and the truth -about opium is becoming visible at last. And here I would observe that in -using the word "imposture" I do not mean to impugn the motives of any of -the good and benevolent people who support this Society. I speak of the -thing, not of those who have created or are supporting it. - -I have before slightly touched upon the charges brought against the -British Government and the British nation respecting opium. I will -formulate them more particularly now; as the subject cannot, I think, be -thoroughly understood unless I do so. I have read Mr. Storrs Turner's book -and his reply to Sir R. Alcock, very carefully; I have read anti-opium -speeches delivered in London, Manchester, Leeds, and London upon the -subject; they all come to the same thing--one is a repetition of the -other. As I understand the matter, this is what the charges of the -Anti-Opium Society amount to. It is alleged that opium smoking, once -commenced, cannot be laid aside, that it poisons the blood, reduces the -nervous and muscular powers, so that strong men under the use of opium -speedily become debilitated and unfit for labour; that opium smoking -paralyses the mind as well as the body, and produces imbecility, or at -least mental weakness; that it so demoralises the people using it, that it -converts honest and industrious men from being useful members of society -into lazy, dishonest scoundrels; that it saps the manhood and preys like a -cankerworm upon the vitals of the Chinese people, injuring the -commonwealth and threatening even the existence of the nation if the -custom of opium smoking be not stopped, which, it is alleged, can be -effected only by the supply of opium from India being discontinued. It is -urged, in fact, that the sale of Indian opium to the Chinese is a crime -not only against the people of China but against humanity; that much, if -not all, of the misery and crime prevalent throughout China are due, -either directly or indirectly, to the use of opium; and for all these -fearful results England is held responsible. It is further said, that the -sale of British opium to the Chinese interferes with legitimate commerce, -creating, it is alleged, so much bitterness in the native mind against the -English nation, that the Chinese refuse to buy our goods. And, above all, -it is contended that the Indo-China opium trade impedes the progress of -Christianity, the Chinese refusing to accept the Gospel from a people who -have such terrible crimes to answer for as the introduction of Indian -opium into China. Since the days of Judge Jeffereys never was there such a -terrible indictment, nor one so utterly unfounded as happily it is. In -fact, all the objections that in old times were made against negro slavery -have been brought forward against this harmless and perfectly justifiable -Indo-China opium trade. Indeed Mr. Storrs Turner, in his article in the -"Nineteenth Century," coolly places the two in the same category, and -modestly proposes that the revenue from opium should be discontinued, and -that England should compensate the Indian Government for the loss, just as -she did the slave owners. It is astonishing how liberal your political -philanthropist can be in the disposal of other people's money. Well, I had -always thought that the Government of India, for the past sixty years at -least, had been actuated by one great and prominent object--the -amelioration, the happiness, and prosperity of the teaming millions -committed to its care, and I think so still. I have always believed that -the Imperial Government, no matter which party was from time to time in -power, had the prosperity, honour, and dignity of their country at heart, -and were influenced by a sincere desire towards all the world to be just -and fear not, and to diffuse as much happiness as possible amongst our own -people, and all other nations and races with whom we became associated all -over the world, and I remain of that opinion still. Some fifty years ago -we washed the stain of slavery from our hands, performing that great act -of justice from a pure sense of duty, without any outside pressure, and -also without shedding a drop of blood. This act was unique, for at the -time slavery existed in every country, and had so existed for thousands of -years. We know that, thirty years later, a similar achievement cost a -kindred nation a long and bloody war, and an aggregate money expenditure -far exceeding our own national debt--the growth of centuries. That feat of -ours showed what the mind and heart of this great nation then were, and I -do not believe that we have since degenerated. Since then we have spent -many millions of money in sweeping slavery from the seas and in -endeavouring to put an end to that accursed evil throughout the world. In -doing this our pecuniary loss has been the least of our sacrifices. We -have spent more than money. We have lost in the struggle the lives of some -of the best and noblest of England's sons. These are acts worthy of a -great nation; compared with them the objects of the Anti-Opium Society -sink into utter insignificance. The sublime and the ridiculous could not -be brought more vividly face to face. - -For the last fifty years there has been one feeling predominant in the -minds of the people of England, and that is a manly, generous anxiety to -protect the weak against the strong all over the world. Yet these foul and -untenable charges against England are now spread broadcast by this -Society, whose only warrant for doing so are the statements made to them -by a handful of fanatical missionary clergymen, whose unfounded and -fantastic views are accepted as so much dogma which it would be heresy to -doubt. Why, if we were guilty of but half the wickedness attributed to us, -it would not require this Anti-Opium Society to cry it down; the nation -would rise as one man to crush it for ever. There is not a British -merchant in China who would not raise his voice against it, aye, though he -was making that princely fortune which Mr. Turner refers to in his book; -for let me assure you that your fellow-countrymen in China, who are but -sojourners in that land, as they all hope to end their days at home, have -as warm a love for their country and as keen a sense of their country's -honour and dignity as any set of Englishmen residing here at home, however -high their station and great their wealth. - -To prove to you, if indeed further proof is necessary, that I have not -overstated the case as regards the extreme views of the missionaries and -the Anti-Opium Society, I will give you their latest production. It comes -from the fountain-head, and takes the form of a petition of "the Ministers -of the Gospel in China" to the House of Commons. This petition was -prepared by the Missionaries of Peking, and is a gem in its way. It would -never do to put the reader off with a mere extract, so I give it _in -extenso_. It was drawn up and sent round for signature during the past -summer, and appeared in the Shanghai and Hong Kong newspapers. This is the -document:-- - - _To the Honourable_ - THE BRITISH HOUSE OF COMMONS. - - The petition of the undersigned Missionaries of the Gospel in China - humbly sheweth: - - That the opium traffic is a great evil to China, and that the baneful - effects of opium smoking cannot be easily overrated. It enslaves its - victim, squanders his substance, destroys his health, weakens his - mental powers, lessens his self-esteem, deadens his conscience, unfits - him for his duties, and leads to his steady descent, morally, - socially, and physically. - - That by the insertion in the British Treaty with China of the clause - legalizing the trade in opium, and also by the direct connection of - the British Government in India with the production of opium for the - market, Great Britain is in no small degree rendered responsible for - the dire evil opium is working in this country. - - That the use of the drug is spreading rapidly in China, and that, - therefore, the possibility of coping successfully with the evil is - becoming more hopeless every day. In 1834 the foreign import was - twelve thousand chests; in 1850 it was thirty-four thousand chests; in - 1870 it was ninety-five thousand chests; in 1880 it was ninety-seven - thousand chests. _To this must be added the native growth, which, in - the last decade, has increased enormously, and now at least equals, - and according to some authorities doubles, the foreign import._ - - That while the clause legalizing the opium traffic remains in the - British Treaty, the Chinese Government do not feel free to deal with - the evil with the energy and thoroughness the case demands, and - declare their inability to check it effectively. - - That the opium traffic is the source of much misunderstanding, - suspicion, and dislike on the part of the Chinese towards foreigners, - and especially towards the English. - - That the opium trade, by the ill name it has given to foreign - commerce, and by the heavy drain of silver it occasions, amounting, at - present, to about thirteen million pounds sterling annually, has - greatly retarded trade in foreign manufactures, and general commerce - must continue to suffer while the traffic lasts. - - That the connection of the British Government with the trade in this - pernicious drug excites a prejudice against us as Christian - missionaries, and seriously hinders our work. It strikes the people as - a glaring inconsistency, that while the British nation offers them - the beneficent teaching of the Gospel, it should at the same time - bring to their shores, in enormous quantities, a drug which degrades - and ruins them. - - That the traffic in opium is wholly indefensible on moral grounds, and - that the direct connection of a Christian Government with such a trade - is deeply to be deplored. - - That any doubt as to whether China is able to put a stop to opium - production, and the practice of opium smoking in and throughout her - dominions should not prevent your Honourable House from performing - what is plainly a moral duty. - - Your petitioners, therefore, humbly pray that your Honourable House - will early consider this question with the utmost care, take measures - to remove from the British Treaty with China the clause legalizing the - opium trade, and restrict the growth of the poppy in India within the - narrowest possible limits. - - Your Honourable House will thus leave China free to deal with the - gigantic evil which is eating out her strength, and creates hindrance - to legitimate commerce and the spread of the Christian religion in - this country. - - We also implore your Honourable House so to legislate as to prevent - opium from becoming as great a scourge to the native races of India - and Burmah as it is to the Chinese; for our knowledge of the evil done - to the Chinese leads us to feel the most justifiable alarm at the - thought that other races should be brought to suffer like them from - the curse of opium. - - We believe that, in so doing, your Honourable House will receive the - blessing of those that are ready to perish, the praise of all good - men, and the approval of Almighty God. - - And your petitioners will ever pray. - -The thoughts that occurred to me after reading this petition were -these:--First it struck me that the missionaries, like the unfortunate -Bourbons, "had learnt nothing and forgotten nothing." I thought next of -the wonderful solicitude shown by these missionaries for the mercantile -interest. "By the ill name the opium trade has given to foreign commerce," -they say, "the trade in foreign manufactures and general commerce has been -retarded, and must continue to suffer while the opium traffic lasts." -Well, it is remarkable that this complaint is not made by the people whose -interests are alleged to have so suffered, but by missionary clergymen, -who ought to know little or nothing upon the subject; they are not -merchants, and associate very little with mercantile men, either native or -foreign, and certainly, if they minded their own business, could not -possibly have that knowledge of mercantile affairs with which they appear -to be so familiar. The persons who ought to know whether foreign -manufactures or foreign trade have fallen off owing to the opium traffic, -are the foreign merchants resident in China, whose especial duty it is to -look after those interests, yet these gentlemen, strange to say, have made -no complaint of the kind. Those merchants are directly concerned in -foreign manufactures and general commerce either as principals or as -agents for absent principals in England and elsewhere; they, in fact, -exclusively manage foreign trade in China. There is a chamber of commerce -in Hong Kong and another in Shanghai, whose members are all keen men of -business, actively alive to their own and their constituents' interests, -and in constant communication with similar mercantile bodies at home; -moreover, there are excellent daily papers published in both these places, -where such grievances, if they existed, could be freely ventilated; yet -the missionaries of the Gospel in Peking would have the House of Commons -and the world believe that the foreign merchants in China, who are always -wide-awake, are blind to their own interests and slumbering at their -posts. Now why have not these merchants ever complained that commerce has -suffered from the opium traffic? Why, simply because there is no -foundation in fact for such complaint. I am afraid that with the -missionaries who make this most unfounded statement the "wish was father -to the thought." Every man ought to know his own business best, and you -will generally find that when a stranger professes great interest in your -affairs, and presses upon you gratuitous advice upon the subject, he is -not really actuated by a desire to promote your interests, but has some -other and totally different object in view. So it is with these missionary -gentlemen at Peking. There is just one other point connected with this -remarkable Petition to which I would call attention. Evidently feeling the -ground slipping from under their feet, the framers, adding another string -to their bow, extend their sympathies beyond China, and take British -Burmah under their patronage. Indeed, it seems to me that these missionary -clergymen of Peking would, if they could, not only supersede the Viceroy -of India in his management of the Indian Empire, but even Her Majesty the -Queen and her immediate Government. - -I should here, however, in justice to the entire missionary body, say, -that _all_ of them are not so deluded as their brethren at Peking. There -is one bright, particular star, at least, which shines through the -Egyptian darkness that enshrouds the rest. The Reverend F. Galpin, of the -English Methodist Free Church, is a respected missionary clergyman at -Ningpo, an important port on the east coast of China. He, unlike most of -his brethren at other places in that country, when asked to sign this -curious petition, very properly declined to do so. All honour to Mr. -Galpin. He was not afflicted with the midsummer madness of his brethren at -Peking. Were all the Protestant missionaries in China like him, we should -not have heard of these absurd and monstrous stories respecting the -Indo-China opium trade, and there would, perhaps, be larger and better -results from the missionary's labours. This is the manly, sensible, and -dignified reply of Mr. Galpin:-- - - The REV. J. EDKINS and others, Peking. - - SIR,--I beg to acknowledge receipt of a copy of your circular, dated - June 24th, with form of petition to the British House of Commons - against the importation of Indian opium, and also to express my - sympathy with the spirit and motives that have suggested the petition; - but, at the same time, I must also express disapproval of the proposed - petition, and disbelief of many of the statements contained therein. - - Looking at Christianity in the broad and true sense, as a great - regenerating force breathing its beneficent spirit upon and promoting - the welfare of all, of course the excessive use or abuse of opium, and - every other thing, is a serious hindrance to its happy progress. _But - this is a very different position from that of supposing that the - present apparent slow progress of mission-work in China is to be - attributed to the importation of Indian opium._ China is a world in - itself, and the influence of Christian missions has hitherto reached - but a handful of the people, for there are many serious obstacles to - its progress besides opium. - - Then, again, I beg to express my hearty dissent from the idea - presented in the petition, that the Chinese people or Government are - really anxious to remove the abuse of opium. The remedy has always - been, as it is now, in their own hands. - - Neither do I believe that if the importation of Indian opium ceased at - once, the Chinese Government would set about destroying a very - fruitful means of revenue. On the contrary, I feel sure that the - growth of Chinese opium would be increased forthwith. - - I therefore beg to return the petition in its present form, with the - suggestion that Christian missionaries had better direct their - attention to, and use their influence upon, Chinese. - - Yours truly, - F. GALPIN, - _English Methodist Free Church_. - - Ningpo, 15th July. - -No doubt these most estimable and respectable but infatuated gentlemen -suppose that their petition will have some weight with the Legislature. I -believe and hope it will, but not exactly of the kind expected; for I -shall be surprised indeed, if it be not treated as it deserves, _i.e._ as -a downright contempt of the House of Commons; for it seems to me to be an -insult to the common sense not only of the House in its collective -capacity, but of every individual member. In saying this I am far from -attributing to these missionary clergymen a wilful intention to state what -they knew to be untrue, nor to insult or mislead the Legislature, for I am -assured that one and all of them would be incapable of so doing. I am sure -they thoroughly believe every word they have stated to be true; but then -it must be remembered that the effect upon the public mind and the injury -done to society by the publication of fallacious and untrue statements, -are in no way lessened because their authors suppose those statements to -be, in fact, true and correct. - -I have shown you that Mr. Turner admits that opium smoking is common all -over China. But, he says, the Chinese do not all smoke. In his book he -affirms that it is only in recent years that opium has been grown in -China. This is the passage, it occurs at page 2:--"Indigenous in Asia, the -first abode of the human species, the poppy has long been cultivated in -Egypt, Turkey, Persia, and _recently_ in China and Manchuria. It is well -known in our gardens, grows wild in some parts of England, and is -cultivated in Surrey for the supply of poppy heads to the London market. -From the time of Hippocrates to the present day _it has been the -physician's invaluable ally in his struggles against disease and death_." - -This is about the most remarkable statement I have ever read. The greater -includes the less, and if the poppy is indigenous to Asia it is, of -course, indigenous also to China and Manchuria, which with the other -dominions of China comprise fully one-fourth of the entire Asiatic -continent. This, indeed, Mr. Storrs Turner does not deny in terms, but it -is plain he wished his readers to believe that the poppy was _not_ -indigenous to those countries, and was only recently introduced there. The -passage involves that sort of fallacy which Lord Palmerston termed "a -distinction without a difference." As to the poppy being indigenous to the -whole of Asia and notably to the most fertile parts of it, _e.g._ China -and Manchuria, there can be no doubt, and therefore no difference, but -the distinction is that it is only of late years that it has been -_cultivated_ in those countries. The poppy may grow wild over a continent, -but be cultivated only in a part. I will show you by-and-by, upon -excellent authority and by the strongest grounds for inference, that the -poppy is not only indigenous to China, but has been cultivated there for -various purposes other than for medical ones and for smoking, certainly -for two thousand, and probably for four or five thousand years. An -ordinary reader, especially one not familiar with the geography of Asia, -would conclude from this passage in Mr. Turner's book that China and -Manchuria were not in Asia at all, but that of late years the poppy had -been introduced into those countries from that continent. Thus much for -the Gospel of the Anti-opiumists. - -I now confront Mr. Storrs Turner with another book, which everyone must -admit is of greater authority than his. It is a book published towards the -close of 1881 by a high official of the Chinese Government, then Mr. but -now Sir Robert Hart, G.C.M.G., the Inspector-General of Chinese Customs, a -man who knows China and the Chinese better, perhaps, than any living -European. That gentleman tells a very different tale about opium to what -the Anti-Opium Society has hitherto regaled the world with. This book is -an official one, issued from the Statistical Department of the -Inspector-General of Chinese Customs at Shanghai for the use and guidance -of the Chinese Government. It stands upon a very different footing to the -volume published by Mr. Turner, the paid secretary and strenuous advocate -of the Anti-Opium Society. Sir Robert Hart has entire control over the -revenue of China as far as regards foreign trade. At every treaty port -open to foreign vessels there is a foreign Commissioner of Customs, and -Sir Robert Hart is the supreme head of these commissioners. He is a man -deservedly trusted and respected by the Chinese Government; a man of -learning and talents, and I need hardly add of the very highest character, -and, I believe, he is one of the most accomplished Chinese scholars that -could be found. He says that opium has been grown in China from a remote -period, and was smoked there before a particle of foreign opium ever came -into the country. This is the passage from his--the now famous -yellow-book:-- - - In addition to the foreign drug there is also the native product. - Reliable statistics cannot be obtained respecting the total quantity - produced. Ichang, the port nearest to Szechwan, the province which is - generally believed to be the chief producer and chief consumer of - native opium, estimates the total production of native opium at - twenty-five thousand chests annually; while another port, Ningpo, far - away on the coast, estimates it at two hundred and sixty-five - thousand. Treating all such replies as merely so many guesses, there - are, it is to be remarked, two statements which may be taken as facts - in this connection: the one is that, so far as we know to-day, the - native opium produced does not exceed the foreign import in quantity; - _and the other that native opium was known, produced, and used long - before any Europeans began the sale of the foreign drug along the - coast_. - -So much for Mr. Storrs Turner's bold assertion that it is only recently -that opium has been cultivated in China; the obvious inference which he -wished the reader to draw from it being that it was the importation of the -Indian drug into China that induced the natives to plant opium there. Now, -with respect to that most unfounded charge of the Chinese disliking the -English for introducing opium into their country, and British commerce -declining in consequence, I assure you that all that is simply moonshine. -These statements are not merely false assumptions, they are simply untrue. -No one who has had any experience of China and its people, does not know -perfectly well, that of the whole foreign trade with China the British do -at least four-fifths; not only have we the lion's share of the trade, but -it is an unquestionable fact that of all the nations who have made -treaties and had dealings with China, the British are and have been for -many years the most respected by the Chinese people. It is, I say, an -indisputable fact, that notwithstanding all our past troubles about -smuggling and our wars with China, which Mr. Turner is so fond of dilating -upon, that at this day, by high and low, rich and poor, from the mandarin -to the humble coolie, England is held in higher regard than any other -nation. If trade with China has in any way declined, the fact is traceable -to other and different causes, which it is not my province to enter upon. - -Now, why are England and Englishmen thought so well of by the Chinese? It -is simply because the British merchants and British people in China have -acted towards the Chinese, with whom they have been brought into contact, -with honour and rectitude--because in their intercourse with the natives -they have been kind, considerate, and obliging--because, instead of -resenting the old rude and overbearing manners of the Chinese officials -and others, they have returned good for evil, and shown by their -conciliatory bearing, and gentlemanly and straightforward conduct, that -the British people are not the barbarians they had been taught to believe. -By such means the British residents in China have gone far to break down -the barrier of prejudice towards foreigners behind which the people of -that country had hedged themselves, thus preparing the way for the labours -of the missionaries and making, in fact, missionary work possible. If -further proof were wanting that the British are held in high estimation by -the people and the Government of China, it will be found in the fact, that -our own countryman, Sir Robert Hart, who before entering the service of -the Chinese Government had been in the diplomatic service of his own -country, now occupies the high and honourable position of -Inspector-General of Chinese Customs, and is, I may add, the trusted -counsellor of the Government of China. - -It is not very long since the Governor of Canton paid a visit to the -Governor of Hong Kong; such an act of courtesy to Her Majesty's -representative on the part of so great a Chinese magnate was until then, I -believe, unprecedented. The constant exclamation of the great mandarin as -he was being driven through the streets of Hong Kong was--"What a -wonderful place! What a wonderful place!" in allusion to the fine -buildings, the wide and clean streets,--a strong contrast to those of -Canton--and the dense and busy population around him. And yet more -recently, that is during the summer of 1882, a greater personage still -paid an official visit to the Hon. W. H. Marsh, who during the absence of -Sir George Bowen, the Governor, worthily administers the affairs of the -colony--I refer to the present viceroy of the provinces of Kwantung and -Kwangsi, commonly called the "two Kwangs," an official only next in -importance to His Excellency Li Hung Chang, the Governor of Petchili. Do -you think we should have such a state of things if we were demoralizing -and ruining the people of China, as is alleged by the Anti-Opium Society, -or if, indeed, the Chinese people or Government had any real grievance -against us. - -Upon this point I cannot refrain from mentioning an incident that occurred -soon after I arrived in China. A respectable Chinaman asked me to prepare -his will. He gave me for the purpose, written instructions in Chinese -characters, which I had translated. On reading the translation I found his -instructions very clearly drawn up, but what was gratifying to me, and -what is pertinent to my subject, was the following passage, with which he -commenced them:--"Having," said he, "under the just and merciful laws -administered by the English Government of Hong Kong, amassed in commerce -considerable wealth, I now, feeling myself in failing health, wish to make -a distribution of the same." There are thousands like that Chinaman in -Hong Kong, and also in Shanghai, and in all the treaty ports of China. In -speaking as this man did, he was only giving expression to the feelings of -all his countrymen who have had dealings with the English in China. Are -such feelings on the part of these Chinese consistent with the -consciousness that we are enriching ourselves by ruining the health and -morals of their countrymen, as is most wrongfully put forward by the -Anti-Opium Society and its allies the Protestant missionaries? No; they -bespeak perfect confidence, respect, and gratitude towards us; for -oppressed and plundered as the Chinese have been by their own officials, -there is no other people on the face of the earth who more thoroughly -appreciate justice and equity in the administration of public affairs; -thus it is that they respect the British rule, which they have found by -experience to be the embodiment of both. - -There are very few, perhaps, in this country who know what Hong Kong -really is. It is now a flourishing and beautiful city, standing upon a -site which, but the other day, was a barren rock. Commerce with its -civilising influence has transformed it into a "thing of beauty," "an -emerald gem of the _eastern_ world." Forty years ago, the English -Government sent out a commissioner to report upon the capabilities of the -place for a town or settlement. He sent home word that there was just room -there for _one_ house. He little dreamt that upon that barren inhospitable -spot within a few years would be realised the poet's dream when he -wrote:-- - - Oh, had we some bright little isle of our own - In a blue summer ocean far off alone, - Where a leaf never dies, midst the still blooming bowers, - And the bee banquets on through a whole year of flowers. - -He little thought that on that very site there would soon be many -thousands of houses, some of them palatial buildings, including many -Christian churches and some heathen temples, for liberty of conscience -reigns there supreme; with a Chinese population of over one hundred and -fifty thousand. These people are all doing well. Some of them are wealthy -merchants; many of them are shop-keepers; others are artificers; and a -very large number of them are labourers or coolies. There is no pauperism -in the colony. The people there are all well-to-do, or able to live -comfortably, and, what is more, they are all happy and contented. A -comparatively small body of police preserves the peace of the colony; for, -thanks to a succession of wise and able governors, local crime has been -reduced to a minimum; serious offences are very rare amongst the regular -inhabitants. It is the criminal classes from the mainland which really -give trouble, for Hong Kong labours under the disadvantage of being close -to two large cities on the Pearl River--Canton and Fatchan, notorious for -piratical and other criminal classes. You might send a child from one end -of the town to the other without fear of molestation. Indeed, the natives -themselves are the very best police; for, take the Chinese all round, they -are the most orderly and law-abiding people in the world. They respect the -British Government as much as the British people do themselves. They bring -their families to Hong Kong, settle down there, and make themselves -perfectly at home, finding more security and happiness there than they -ever could attain in their own country; because in Hong Kong there is and -has always been perfect equality before the law for every man, -irrespective of race, colour, or nationality. The life and property of -every man there is secure. This is not the case in China. - -These are the fruits of commerce which brings peace and plenty in its -train, which sweeps aside the dust of ignorance, fanaticism, and -superstition--which has reclaimed the deserts of Australia and North -America, and spread flourishing cities there, where law and order, truth -and justice, peace and happiness, religion and piety are established. -These are the achievements of British merchants who have won for our -Sovereign the Imperial diadem she wears, and made their country the -mistress of the world. These are the people who have done all this, and -better still, made the name of England honoured and respected throughout -the whole world, and sent the Gospel into every land. Yet those very men -Mr. Storrs Turner and other anti-opium fanatics would cover with obloquy, -because, forsooth, some British merchants have been concerned in this -perfectly justifiable Indo-Chinese opium trade. - -Mr. Turner in his book speaks of the Chinese Government as a paternal -Government, which, the moment it finds any practices on foot injurious to -the people, at once takes steps to put them down. I tell you, as a fact, -that a more corrupt Government,[2] so far at least as the Judges and high -Mandarins downwards are concerned, never existed in the whole world. There -is no such thing as justice to be had without paying for it; if it is not -a misnomer to say so, for this so-called justice is bought and sold every -day. Corruption pervades the whole official class. I could detail facts as -to the punishment of the innocent and the escape of the guilty, which came -under my own observation, that would make one's flesh creep. This is why -the Chinese of Hong Kong respect so much the British Government, whose -rule is just and equitable. - -Now there is another point which I wish more particularly to impress upon -you, it is this: Anyone hearing of the alleged dreadful effects upon the -Chinese of opium smoking, and our wicked conduct in forcing the drug upon -them, and making them buy it whether they wish to do so or not, would -think that these Chinese were a simple, unsophisticated people, something -like the natives of Madagascar,--a people lately rescued from barbarism by -missionaries; that they were a weak race, without mental stamina or -strength of mind--a soft simple, easily-persuaded race. These are some -more of the erroneous views which the Anti-Opium Society tries to impress -upon the public mind, and which its Secretary, Mr. Storrs Turner, in -particular, artfully endeavours to inculcate. To prove that this is so, I -have only to read you a passage from his work. But before doing so, let me -assure you that there is not a more astute, active-minded, and knowing -race of people under the sun than the Chinese. For craft and subtlety I -will back one of them against any European. At page 3 you will read:-- - - More opium is consumed in China than in all the rest of the world, and - nearly the whole of the opium imported into China is shipped from - Calcutta and Bombay. The East and the West, England, India, and China, - act and re-act upon each other through the medium of poppy-juice. - Simple mention of the relations which these three great countries bear - to the drug is enough to show that a very grave question is involved - in the trade. England is the grower, manufacturer, and seller; India - furnishes the farm and the factory; China is buyer and consumer. The - question which obviously arises is this, Is it morally justifiable and - politically expedient for the English nation to continue the - production and sale of a drug so deleterious to its consumers? Before, - however, we enter upon a consideration of this question, we must - explain how it has come to pass that the British nation has got into - this unseemly position. Otherwise, the fact that the British - Government is actually implicated in such a trade may well appear - incredible. If, for instance, any minister could be shameless enough - to suggest that England should embark on a vast scale into the - business of distillers, and with national funds, by servants of - Government, under inspection and control of Parliament, _produce and - export annually ten or twenty millions' worth of gin and whisky to - intoxicate the populous tribes of Central Africa, he would be greeted - by a general outcry of indignation. Yet the very thing which we scout - as an imagination, we consent to as a reality._ We are maintaining our - Indian Empire by our profits as wholesale dealers in an article which, - to say the best of it, is as bad as gin. - -Now, is that a fair parallel? Is it honest or just to place the civilized, -wise, and educated Chinese in the same category with the barbarous natives -of Central Africa? This, I assure you is but a fair specimen of the -misleading character of Mr. Turner's book and an example of the teaching -by which people are made the dupes of the Anti-Opium Society. This is the -language which Mr. Storrs Turner applies to his country and countrymen to -gratify himself and his fanatical followers. China, though a heathen, is a -civilized nation. The civilization of the Chinese does not date from -yesterday. When England was inhabited by painted savages, China was a -civilized and flourishing Empire. When ancient Greece was struggling into -existence, China was a settled nation, with a religion and with laws and -literature dating back to a period lost in the mist of ages. When -Alexander, miscalled the Great, fancied he had conquered the world, and -sighed that there was no other country to subdue, the mighty Empire of -China, with its teeming millions, and a civilization far superior, taken -altogether, to any that he had yet known, was a flourishing nation, and -happily far away from the assaults of him and his conquering force. Five -thousand years ago, as the Rev. Dr. Legge, the Professor of Chinese at -Oxford, tells us, the Chinese believed in one God and had, in fact, a -theology and a system of ethics known now as Confucianism, certainly -superior to that of Greece or Rome. They had then and still have a written -language of their own, in which the works of their sages and philosophers -are recorded. There are books extant in that language for more than three -thousand years ago. In a learned and very interesting book, written by Dr. -Legge, entitled "The Religions of China," it is shown that the Chinese, -not only of to-day, but of five thousand years ago, were a great nation. -Was it then, I again ask, honest or fair of the Rev. Storrs Turner, who is -himself no mean Chinese scholar, to mislead his readers by making use of -so forced and inapplicable a comparison? Can there, in fact, be any -analogy whatever between the Indo-China opium trade, even supposing that -the smoking of the drug were as deleterious to the system as is alleged, -and sending whisky from England to the savages of Central Africa? No man -could have known better than Mr. Turner that his simile was false and -misleading, for he has lived in China for many years. An ordinary person -reading that gentleman's book would swallow this simile as one precisely -in point, and end by feeling horrified at the iniquities we were -perpetrating in China, which is, no doubt, the exact result that he looked -for. I recently met a lady with whom I had been in correspondence for some -time on professional business. In the course of conversation we happened -to speak about opium, and the moment the subject was mentioned she turned -up her eyes in horror and declared that she was ashamed of her country for -the wrong it was inflicting upon the natives of China. Mr. Turner's -wonderful parallel between the civilized Chinese and the African savages -had plainly produced its desired effect upon her. I very soon, however, -undeceived her on the point, as I have since had the pleasure of doing -with many others labouring under the like delusions. I am sorry to say -that it is with the gentler sex that our Anti-Opium fanatics make their -most profitable converts. I honour those ladies for their fond delusion, -which shows that their hearts are better than their heads; that their good -intentions run in advance of them, and make them ready victims. Well, -well, I trust their charity will soon be diverted into worthier channels. -Unfortunately, the minds of many in England have become imbued with the -same erroneous belief, which is entirely owing to the mischievous teaching -of the Anti-Opium Society, and to the powerful machinery that this Society -has available for disseminating its doctrines. I am sorry, indeed, to have -to allude thus to Mr. Storrs Turner and his book, for I respect him as a -clergyman, a scholar, and a gentleman; but I cannot avoid doing so, for -certain it is that if you mean to refute Mahomedanism you cannot spare -Mahomed or the Alkoran. - -I have already told you something as to the character of the Chinese -generally. I will now mention from authority some more specific -characteristics of these people, because it is really important that you -should thoroughly understand what manner of men these Chinese are, for -that is a matter going to the root of the whole question. If I show you, -as I believe I shall be able to do most conclusively, that the Chinese are -as intelligent and as well able to take care of themselves as we are, with -far more craft and subtlety than we possess, you will, I think, be slow to -believe that they are silly enough to allow us to poison them with opium, -as it is alleged we are doing. A stranger mixture of good and evil could -hardly be met with than you will find in the Chinese--crafty, -over-reaching, mendacious beyond belief, double-dealing, distrustful, and -suspicious even of their own relations and personal friends; -self-opinionated, vain, conceited, arrogant, hypocritical, and deceitful. -That is the character that I give you of them; but it is the worst side of -their nature, for they have many redeeming qualities. I will now place -before you their character from another and a more competent authority. -The Venble. John Gray, D.D., was, until recently, for about twenty-five -years, Archdeacon of Hong Kong, but during the greater part, if not the -whole of that time, he was the respected and faithful incumbent of the -English Church at Canton, where he resided. Now Dr. Gray, who is still in -the prime of life, is a learned and able man; a keen observer of human -nature; a sound, solid, sensible Churchman, and so highly esteemed for his -excellent qualities, that I do not think any Englishman who ever lived in -China has left a more honoured name behind him than he has. He mixed a -great deal amongst the Chinese as well as amongst his own countrymen. He -also travelled much in China, and there really could not be found a more -competent authority as to the character of the Chinese people; and indeed -as to all matters connected with China. In 1878 he published a valuable -and trustworthy book.[3] It is not the production of a person who has -merely made a flying visit to China; but it is the work of an old and -sagacious English resident in that country, a profound thinker and -observer, of a man who has studied deeply and made himself thoroughly -acquainted with his subject. He says, at p. 15, vol. i.:-- - - Of the moral character of the people, who have multiplied until they - are "as the sands upon the sea-shore," it is very difficult to speak - justly. The moral character of the Chinese is a book written in - strange letters, which are more complex and difficult for one of - another race, religion, and language to decipher than their own - singularly compounded word-symbols. In the same individual virtues and - vices apparently incompatible are placed side by side--meekness, - gentleness, docility, industry, contentment, cheerfulness, obedience - to superiors, dutifulness to parents, and reverence to the aged, are, - in one and the same person, the companions of insincerity, lying, - flattery, treachery, cruelty, jealousy, ingratitude, and distrust of - others. - -This is the character which an English clergyman and scholar gives of the -Chinese. Dr. Gray was not a missionary, and it is to the missionary -clergymen generally that the extraordinary and delusive statements -respecting opium which I am combating are due; the reason for which I -shall by and by give you. I hold these missionary gentlemen in the very -highest respect. In their missionary labours they have my complete -sympathy, and no person can possibly value them as such more than I do, -nor be more ready than I am to bear testimony to the ability, piety, -industry, and energy which they have always displayed. But they are not -infallible, and when they forsake or neglect their sacred functions, and -enter the arena of politics; when they cast aside the surplice and enter -the lists as political gladiators, they are liable to meet with opponents -who will accept their challenge and controvert their views, and have no -right to complain if they now and then receive hard knocks in the -encounter. They are enthusiastic in their sacred calling; but that fact, -whilst it does them honour, shows that their extraordinary assertions as -to the opium trade should be received with caution, if not distrust. They -are the men who are responsible for the unfounded views which have got -abroad on this question. - -Now, is it not significant that Dr. Gray, whom the people of Canton -esteemed and respected more than any European who has lived amongst them, -except, perhaps, the late Sir Brooke Robertson (who was more Chinese than -the Chinese themselves), should have said nothing against opium in that -valuable and exhaustive work of his? Is it not passing strange that this -shrewd observer of men and manners, this intelligent English clergyman, -who has passed all these years at Canton, which, next to Hong Kong is the -great emporium of opium in the south of China, should be silent upon the -alleged iniquities that his countrymen are committing in that country? Dr. -Gray is a patriotic English gentleman. Can you suppose for a moment, that -if we were demoralizing and ruining the people of the great city of -Canton, and above all, that we were impeding the progress of the Gospel in -China, that his voice would not be heard thundering against the iniquity? -Dr. Gray is an earnest and eloquent preacher as well as an accomplished -writer; yet his voice has been silent on this alleged national crime. Is -it to be thought that, if there were any truth in the outcry spread abroad -by Mr. Storrs Turner and the Anti-Opium Society, he would have omitted to -have enlarged upon the wickedness of the opium trade when writing this -book upon China and the manners and customs of the Chinese? Is it not -remarkable that he has said not a word about that wickedness, and that all -these alleged evils arising from the trade are only conspicuous in his -book by their absence? And here I would ask, is not the silence of Dr. -Gray on this important opium question, under all the circumstances, just -as eloquent a protest against the anti-opium agitation, as if he had given -a whole chapter in his book denouncing the imposture? - -But to return to the character of the Chinese. Dr. Wells Williams, a -missionary clergyman of the highest character, who, being a missionary, I -need hardly say, does not hold the views that I do, has written another -admirable book upon China.[4] In it he has described the Chinese character -very fully. He first tells us, at page 2 of the second volume, what one, -Tien Kishi--a popular essayist--thinks of foreigners. - - "I felicitate myself," he says, "that I was born in China, and - constantly think how different it would have been with me if I had - been born beyond the seas in some remote part of the earth, where the - people, far removed from the converting maxims of the ancient kings - and ignorant of the domestic relations, are clothed with the leaves of - plants, eat wood, dwell in the wilderness, and live in the holes of - the earth. Though born in the world in such a condition, I should not - have been different from the beasts of the field. But now, happily, I - have been born in the 'Middle Kingdom.' I have a house to live in, - have food and drink and elegant furniture, have clothing and caps and - infinite blessings--truly the highest felicity is mine." - -That is still the opinion of every Chinaman respecting foreigners, save -those at Hong Kong, Shanghai, and the other treaty ports of China who, -having intermixed with foreigners, have found that their preconceived -notions respecting them were untrue, but they are but a handful, a drop in -the ocean; yet these are the people who, it is said, at our bidding and -instigation, are ruining their prospects and their health by smoking our -opium. Dr. Williams further says of them, at page 96 of the same volume:-- - - More ineradicable than the sins of the flesh is the falsity of the - Chinese and its attendant sin of base ingratitude. Their disregard of - truth has, perhaps, done more to lower their character in the eyes of - Christendom than any other fault. They feel no shame at being detected - in a lie, though they have not gone quite so far as to know when they - do lie, nor do they fear any punishment from the gods for it. Every - resident among them and all travellers declaim against their - mendacity. - -I shall give you by-and-by instances--actual facts known to myself, to -prove that every word Dr. Williams has said is true; and further, that the -Chinese will indulge in falsehood, not merely for gain or to carry out -some corrupt purpose, but for the mere pleasure of romancing, or to -gratify and oblige a friend. Dr. Williams then goes on to moralize, and -admits that the Chinese have a great many virtues as well as a great many -very foul vices. Unquestionably they have a great many virtues, aye, and -virtues of sterling character, and amongst these are commercial honour and -probity. For commercial instincts and habits I place them next to the -British. In their affection for their parents, their attachment to the -family homestead, their veneration for the aged and the virtuous, they -surpass every other nation. These are not the class of men to allow -themselves to be befooled with opium. Another virtue they possess, and it -is one very pertinent to the subject of this lecture, is abstemiousness; -they are positively the most frugal, self-denying, and abstemious people -on the face of the earth. - -Not only are the Chinese abstemious in their use of opium, but also as -regards alcoholic liquors. It is not, I think, generally known that there -is a species of spirit manufactured, and extensively used throughout -China, commonly called by foreigners "sam-shu." It is very cheap, and -there is no duty upon it in Hong Kong, nor is there any, I believe, in -their own country. I suppose a pint bottle of it can be bought for a -penny. It is a sort of whisky distilled from rice. The Chinese use it -habitually, especially after meals, and I do not think there is a single -foreign resident of Hong Kong, or any of the Treaty Ports, who does not -know this fact. The practice in China is, for the servants of Europeans to -go early to market each morning and bring home the provisions and other -household necessaries required for the day's use. I have seen, in the case -of my own servants, the bottle of sam-shu brought home morning after -morning as regularly as their ordinary daily food. Yet I never saw one of -my servants drunk or under the influence of liquor. What is more than -that, although sam-shu is so very cheap and plentiful, and is used -throughout the whole of Hong Kong, I never saw a Chinaman drunk, nor ever -knew of one being brought up before the magistrate for intemperance. I -cannot say the same thing of my own countrymen. Does not that form the -strongest possible evidence that the Chinese are an extremely steady and -abstemious race? Yet these are the people whom Mr. Storrs Turner would put -in the same category as the savages of Africa? Well, then, is it likely -that a people so abstemious in respect of spirit drinking would indulge -to excess in opium, especially if the drug has the intoxicating and -destructive qualities ascribed to it by the missionaries? - -The Chinese, I have also said, are a very frugal people. Six dollars, or -about twenty-four shillings of our money, per month are considered -splendid wages by a coolie. On two dollars a month he can live -comfortably. He sends, perhaps, every month, one or two dollars to his -parents or wife in his native village; for generally a Chinaman, be he -never so poor, has a wife, it being there a duty, if not an article of -religion, for the males, to marry young. The remainder they hoard for a -rainy day. Now, I say again, if the Chinese are such abstemious and frugal -people, and that they are so is unquestionable, does not the same rule -apply to opium as to spirits? The truth of the matter is, that it is a -very inconsiderable number of those who smoke opium who indulge in it to -any considerable extent--probably about one in five thousand. When a -Chinaman's day's work is over, and he feels fatigued or weary, he will, if -he can afford it, take a whiff or two of the opium pipe, seldom more. If a -friend drops in he will offer him a pipe, just as we would invite a friend -to have a glass of sherry or a cigar. This use of the opium pipe does good -rather than harm. Those who indulge in it take their meals and sleep none -the worse. The use of the pipe, indeed, wiles them from spirit drinking -and other vicious habits. My own belief is that opium smoking exercises a -beneficial influence upon those who habitually practise it, far more so -than the indulgence in tobacco, which is simply a poisonous weed, having -no curative properties whatever. I have seen here in England many a youth -tremble and become completely unhinged by excessive smoking, so terrible -is the effect of the unwholesome narcotic on the nervous system when it is -indulged in to excess; indeed I have heard it often said that excessive -indulgence in tobacco frequently produces softening of the brain: such a -result has never proceeded from opium smoking. - -I have stated in my programme of these lectures that the views put forward -by the "Anglo-Oriental Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade" -were based upon fallacies and false assumptions, which account for the -many converts the advocates of that Society have made. I have now to tell -you what these fallacies and false assumptions are. In fact, these explain -pretty clearly how it has come to pass that so many otherwise sensible, -good, and benevolent people have been led astray on the opium question. - -The first of these fallacies is, _that the poppy is not indigenous to -China, but has been recently introduced there, presumably by British -agency_. The truth being that the poppy is indigenous to China, as it -admittedly is to Asia generally, and has been used in China for various -purposes for thousands of years. - -The second is, _that opium smoking in China is now and always has been -confined to a small per-centage of the population, but which, owing to the -introduction into the country of Indian opium, is rapidly increasing_. The -fact being that the custom is, and for many centuries has been, general -among the male adults throughout China, its use being limited only by the -ability to procure the drug. - -The third is, _that opium smoking is injurious to the system, more so than -spirit drinking_. The truth being that the former is not only harmless but -beneficial to the system, unless when practised to an inordinate extent, -which is wholly exceptional; whilst spirit drinking ruins the health, -degrades the character, incites its victims to acts of violence, and -destroys the prospects of everyone who indulges to excess in the practice. - -The fourth is, _that the supply of opium regulates the demand, and not the -demand the supply_. When I come to consider this in detail, I think I -shall rather surprise you by the statements in support of this -extraordinary theory put forward by Mr. Storrs Turner in this wonderful -book of his. The use of so utterly untenable a proposition shows to what -extremes fanatical enthusiasts will resort in support of the hobby they -are riding to death; how desperate men, when advocating a hopeless cause, -will grasp at shadows to support their theories. When such persons wish a -certain state of things to be true and existing, they never stop to -scrutinize the arguments they use in support of them. If Mr. Storrs Turner -had not opium on the brain to an alarming extent, and was writing by the -light of reason and common sense, he would no more dream of putting -forward such a theory than he would entertain the faintest hope of finding -any person silly enough to believe in the doctrine. - -The fifth fallacy is, _that opium smoking and opium eating are equally -hurtful_. The fact being that there is the widest difference in the world -between the two practices, as I shall hereafter conclusively prove to you. -Upon this point, I may tell you, that Mr. Storrs Turner, in the appendix -to his book, gives numerous extracts from evidence taken on various -occasions as to opium _eating_, which has no relevancy to opium smoking; -not that I am even disposed to admit that even opium eating in moderation -is a baneful practice, the medical evidence on the subject being at -present very conflicting. And here I may appropriately say, that although -an overdose of opium may cause death, the mere _smoking_ of the drug in -any quantity will not do so. No case of poisoning by opium smoking has -ever been reported or heard of; such a thing, in fact, is a physical -impossibility. I daresay this may surprise some people, but it is, -nevertheless, an irrefragable fact. - -The sixth is, _that all, or nearly all, who smoke opium are either -inordinate smokers or are necessarily in the way of becoming so, and that -once the custom has been commenced it cannot be dropped; but the victim to -it is compelled to go on smoking the drug to his ultimate destruction_. -That, I shall show you, upon the best evidence, is altogether untrue, -thousands of Chinese having been to my knowledge habitual and occasional -opium smokers, who showed no ill effects whatever from the practice, -which, by the way, is far more easily discontinued than the use of -alcoholic liquors. - -The seventh is, _that the Chinese Government is, or ever was, anxious to -put a stop to the custom, or even to check the use, of opium amongst the -people of China_. This is one of the most ridiculous and unfounded notions -that ever entered the mind of man. There is a saying that "none are so -blind as those who will not see," and here, I shall show you, is the -strongest proof of the adage. - -The eighth is, _that the British merchants in China are making large -fortunes by opium_. The fact being that the Indo-China trade is profitable -to a very few merchants only, whilst the British merchants as a body have -no interest in the trade whatever. This is a pet fallacy of Mr. Storrs -Turner, and he has shown throughout his book, and notably in his article -in the "Nineteenth Century," a determination to make the most of it. He -has evidently persuaded himself that some large English firms have made -enormous fortunes by the drug, and he seems to have made up his mind never -to forgive the enormity. - -The ninth is, _that the discontinuance of the supply of opium from British -India would stop, or effectually check, the practice of opium smoking in -China_. The fact being that the suppression of the present Indo-China -opium trade, if indeed it were possible to suppress it, would have -precisely the contrary effect. I shall prove to you clearly, that if the -Indo-China opium trade, as at present carried on, were put an end to, such -an impetus would be given to the importation of opium into China as would -enormously add to the consumption of the drug, and that then British and -other merchants who have now no dealings in opium, would in such case -become largely engaged in the trade; whilst opium smuggling, the cause of -so much strife and unpleasantness in past times, would again become -general upon the coast of China. - -The tenth is, _that the opposition of Chinese officials to the -introduction of opium into China arose from moral causes_. The fact being, -as every sane man acquainted with China knows, that the true reason for -such opposition was a desire to protect and promote the culture of native -opium to keep out the foreign drug, and thus prevent the bullion payable -for the latter from leaving the country. - -Last, but by no means least, is the fallacy and fond delusion, _that the -introduction of Indian opium into China has arrested and is impeding the -progress of Christianity in that country, and that if the trade were -discontinued, the Chinese, or large numbers of them, would embrace the -Gospel_. The fact being, that opium smoking has had nothing whatever to do -with the propagation of Christianity in China, any more than rice or -Manchester goods, as I confidently undertake to show you when I come to -deal more fully with this outrageous fallacy. I will only now observe that -it is a remarkable fact, that while China is covered with a network of -Roman Catholic missionaries, some of whom I had the pleasure of knowing -quite intimately, I have never heard of a similar complaint having been -made by any of them, but, on the contrary, have always known them to speak -triumphantly of their great success in their missionary labours; but then -it must be remembered that these Roman Catholic missionaries, greatly to -their credit, throw their whole soul into their work, and devote their -whole time to their missionary labours, never mixing in politics or -interfering with matters of State. These are the figments which have got -hold of the Anti-Opium mind, from which has sprung the monstrosity put -forward by the Anti-Opium Society. I shall, in future lectures, return to -these fallacies, and dispose of each in turn. - -I will close this lecture by giving you the testimony of a very high and -entirely impartial authority as to the innocuous effects of opium, which -strongly confirms all that I have already stated. The late John Crawfurd, -F.R.S., was a _savant_ of high reputation in England, throughout the East, -and, I believe, in Europe. He was the contemporary and intimate friend of -the late Sir Benjamin Brodie, the eminent surgeon. Mr. Crawfurd had, -previous to 1856, been Governor of the three settlements of Singapore, -Penang, and Malacca. He resided for a great number of years in the far -East, studying there the country and people; he visited Siam, Java, -Borneo, and the Phillipine Islands, making himself thoroughly acquainted -with those places, the Malay peninsula, and various other countries in the -Indian Ocean and China Sea. In 1820 he published, in London, "A History of -the Indian Archipelago" (then comparatively but seldom visited by, and -less known to, Europeans), a work, I understand, of considerable merit. -Thirty-six years afterwards, that is, in the year 1856, having during the -interval spent seven years in travelling through India and otherwise -making himself perfectly acquainted with his subject, he published "A -Dictionary of the Indian Islands and Adjacent Countries." The book was -brought out in London by the well-known firm of Bradbury and Evans, and I -have it now before me. It was lent to me by a friend since the first -edition of these lectures was published. It is an interesting and valuable -volume, affording abundant evidence of the learning, research, vast -information and talents, and the studious and energetic character of the -writer. The book was published many years before this wonderful -confederation "The Anglo-Oriental Society for the Suppression of the Opium -Trade" sprang into existence, and, indeed, before there was any -considerable controversy upon the opium question. The opinions of this -eminent man on the subject of opium should, therefore, be viewed as wholly -unbiassed, for it is certain that he had no selfish ends to gratify. -Turning to the word "Opium" at page 313, we find the following:-- - - Opium is at present largely consumed in the Malayan Islands, in China, - in the Indo-Chinese countries, and in a few parts of Hindustan, much - in the same way in which wine, ardent spirits, malt liquor, and cider - are consumed in Europe. Its deleterious character has been much - insisted on, but generally, by parties _who have had no experience of - its effects_. Like any other narcotic or stimulant, the habitual use - of it is amenable to abuse, and as being more seductive than other - stimulants, perhaps more so; but this is certainly the utmost that can - be safely charged to it. Thousands consume it without any pernicious - result, as thousands do wine and spirits, without any evil - consequence. I know of no person of long experience and competent - judgment who has not come to this common-sense conclusion. Dr. Oxley, - a physician and a naturalist of eminence, and who has had a longer - experience than any other man of Singapore, where there is the highest - rate of consumption of the drug, gives the following opinion:--"The - inordinate use, or rather abuse, of the drug most decidedly does bring - on early decrepitude, loss of appetite, and a morbid state of all the - secretions; but I have seen a man who had used the drug for fifty - years in moderation, without any evil effects; and one man I recollect - in Malacca who had so used it was upwards of eighty. Several in the - habit of smoking it have assured me that, in moderation, it neither - impaired the functions nor shortened life; at the same time fully - admitting the deleterious effects of too much." There is not a word of - this that would not be equally true of the use and abuse of ardent - spirit, wine, and, perhaps, even tobacco. The historian of Sumatra, - whose experience and good sense cannot be questioned, came early to - the very same conclusion. The superior curative virtues of opium over - any other stimulant are undeniable, and the question of its - superiority over ardent spirits appears to me to have been for ever - set at rest by the high authority of my friend Sir Benjamin Brodie. - "The effect of opium, when taken into the stomach," says this - distinguished philosopher, "is not to stimulate but to soothe the - nervous system. It may be otherwise in some instances, but these are - rare exceptions to the general rule. The opium eater is, in a passive - state, satisfied with his own dreamy condition while under the - influence of the drug. He is useless but not mischievous. It is quite - otherwise with alcoholic liquors."--"Psychological Inquiries," p. 248. - - It may be worth while to show what is really the relative consumption - in those countries in which its use is alleged to be most pernicious. - In the British Settlement of Singapore, owing to the high rate of - wages, and the prevalence of a Chinese population, the consumption is - at the rate of about three hundred and thirty grains, or adult doses, - a year for each person. In Java, where the Chinese do not compose - above one in a hundred of the population, and where wages are - comparatively low, it does not exceed forty grains. Even in China - itself, where the consumption is supposed to be so large, it is no - more than one hundred and forty grains, chiefly _owing to the poverty - of the people, to whom it is for the most part inaccessible_. It must - not be forgotten, that some of the deleterious qualities of opium are - considerably abated, in all the countries in question, by the manner - in which it is prepared for use, _which consists in reducing it to a - kind of morphine and inhaling its fumes in this state_. Moreover, - everywhere consumption is restricted by heavy taxation. The opium of - India pays, in the first instance, a tax which amounts to three - millions sterling. The same opium in Singapore, with a population of - sixty thousand, pays another impost of thirty thousand pounds; and, in - Java, with a population of ten millions, one of eight hundred thousand - pounds. _Not the use, then, but the abuse, of opium is prejudicial to - health_; but in this respect it does not materially differ from wine, - distilled spirits, malt liquor, or hemp juice. There may be shades of - difference in the abuse of all these commodities, but they are not - easily determined, and, perhaps, hardly worth attempting to - appreciate. There is nothing mysterious about the intoxication - produced by ordinary stimulants, because we are familiar with it; but - it is otherwise with that resulting from opium, to which we are - strangers. We have generally only our imaginations to guide us with - the last, and we associate it with deeds of desperation and murder; - _the disposition to commit which, were the drug ever had recourse to - on such occasions, which it never is, it would surely allay and not - stimulate_. - - - - -LECTURE II. - - -I closed my first lecture with a list of fallacies, upon which the -objections to the Indo-China opium trade, and the charges brought against -England in relation to that trade, are founded, stating that I should -return to them and dispose of each separately. I also said in the earlier -part of my lecture, that the extraordinary hallucinations which had taken -hold of the public mind, with respect to opium smoking in China, arose, -amongst other causes, from the fact that the public had formed their -opinions from hearsay evidence, and that of the very worst and most -untrustworthy kind. I say untrustworthy because hearsay evidence, although -in general inadmissible in our law courts, may be in some cases very good -and reliable evidence. As this point goes to the root of all these -fallacies and false assertions, and the delusions based upon them, I wish -to show you why hearsay evidence is, in this case, of the worst and most -unreliable kind. In the first instance, I would refer you to the general -character of the Chinese for mendacity and deceit, admitted by all writers -upon the subject of China and the Chinese, and supported by the general -opinion of Europeans who have dwelt amongst them. Now, I am far from -saying that every Chinaman is necessarily a liar, or habitually tells -untruths for corrupt purposes. The point is, rather, that the Chinese do -not understand truth in the sense that we do. The evidence of Chinese -witnesses in courts of justice is notorious for its untrustworthy -character. The judges are not generally contented with the direct and -cross-examination to which witnesses are ordinarily subjected by counsel, -but frequently themselves put them under a searching examination, and -generally require more evidence in the case of Chinese than they would -if Europeans were alone concerned. - -From my acquaintance of the Chinese I can say that they are a very -good-natured people, especially when good-nature does not cost them much; -but they are also a very vindictive people, as, I suppose, most heathen -nations are. I have known cases where, to gratify private malice, or to -obtain some object, the reason for which would be hard for us to -appreciate, a Chinaman has got up a charge without foundation in fact, but -supported by false witnesses, who were so well drilled and had so -thoroughly rehearsed their parts that it was hard to doubt, and almost -impossible to disprove, the accusation. By such means innocent men have -been condemned and sentenced to severe punishments, or been unjustly -compelled to pay large sums of money. I have, on the other hand, known -cases which, according to the evidence brought before me, appeared -perfectly clear and good in law; but on taking each witness quietly into -my own office, and going through his evidence, the whole fabric would -tumble down like a pack of cards; so that, although my client's case might -still be intrinsically good, the witnesses he brought in support of it -knew nothing about it beyond what they had heard from others. It would -turn out that they had been told this by one person, that by another, and -so on, throughout the series of witnesses, not one of them would have any -actual knowledge of the alleged facts. In cases like these there would -probably be no corrupt motive whatever. - -While upon this point I may allude to another peculiar phase in the -Chinese character. They are so addicted to falsehood that they will -embellish truth, even in cases where they have the facts on their own -side. On such occasions they like to add to their story a fringe of -falsehood, thinking, perhaps, that by doing so, they will make the truth -stand out in brighter colours and appear more favourable in the eyes of -the Court and the Jury. Another Chinese peculiarity is the following:--If -you put leading questions to a Chinaman upon any particular subject, that -is to say, if you interrogate him upon a point, and by your mode of doing -so induce him to think that you are desirous of getting one particular -kind of answer, he gives you that answer accordingly, out of mere -good-nature. In these instances his imagination is wonderfully fertile. -The moment he finds his replies afford pleasure, and that there is an -object in view, he will give his questioner as much information of this -kind as he likes. Not only is this the case with the common people, -corresponding to the working or the labouring classes here, but the habit -really pervades the highest ranks of Chinese society. It is mentioned in -Dr. Williams's work, how the Chinese as a people think it no shame in -being detected in a falsehood. It is very hard to understand, especially -for an Englishman, such moral obtuseness. We are so accustomed to consider -truth in the first place, and to look upon perjury and falsehood with -abhorrence, that it may seem almost like romancing to gravely assure you -of these facts. - -If I relate a few short anecdotes which are absolutely true, and in which -I was personally concerned, I may put the matter more clearly before you. -A Chinese merchant, now in Hong Kong, once instructed me to prosecute a -claim against a ship-master for short delivery of cargo, and from the -documents he gave me, and the witnesses he produced, I had no hesitation -in pronouncing his case a good one, although I knew the man was -untruthful. When we came into court, knowing my client's proclivities, my -only fear was that he would not be content with simply telling the truth, -but would so embellish it with falsehood that the judge would not believe -his story. I therefore not only cautioned him myself in "pidgin English," -but instructed my Chinese clerk and interpreter to do so also. My last -words to him on going into court were, "Now mind you talkee true. Suppose -you talkee true you win your case. Suppose you talkee lie you losee." The -man went into the witness-box, and I am bound to say that on that occasion -he did tell the truth, and nothing but the truth, but I could plainly see -by his manner and bearing that the task was a most irksome one. When he -left the box, after cross-examination, I felt greatly relieved. The -defendant, who, I am glad to say, was not an Englishman, although he -commanded a British ship, told falsehood after falsehood. There could be -no doubt about this, and the judge, Mr. Snowden, the present Puisne Judge -of Hong Kong, at last ordered him to leave the box, and gave judgment for -my client. Notwithstanding this satisfactory result, I saw that the -plaintiff was still dissatisfied. I left the court and he followed me -out. He still seemed discontented, and had the air of an injured man. When -we got clear of the court he actually assailed me for having closed his -mouth and deprived him of the luxury of telling untruths. "What for," said -he, "you say my no talkee lie? that man have talkee plenty lie." I -replied, "Oh, that man have losee; you have won." But with anger in his -countenance, he walked sullenly away. - -Now I will tell you another--and a totally different case. The judge on -this occasion was the late Sir John Smale, Chief Justice of Hong Kong. It -was an action brought by a Chinese merchant, carrying on business in -Cochin China, against his agent in Hong Kong, a countryman of his, who had -not accounted for goods consigned to him for sale. The plaintiff put his -case in my hands. When it came into court the defendant was supported by -witnesses who seemed to have no connection whatever with the -subject-matter of the suit. They, however, swore most recklessly. In -cross-examination one of the witnesses completely broke down. The Chief -Justice then stopped the case, and characterized the defendant's conduct -"as the grossest attempt at fraud he had ever met with since he had come -to China," and, under the special powers he possessed, sent the false -witness to gaol for six weeks. The person so punished for perjury proved -to be what we would call a Master of Arts. He was, in fact, an expectant -mandarin, ranking very high in China. I should tell you that in that -country there is no regular hereditary nobility, nor any aristocracy save -the mandarin or official class. The fact is, and in view of Mr. Storrs -Turner's comparison of the Chinese with the savages of Central Africa, I -may here mention it, that in China--where these simple, innocent -"aborigines," as it suits the anti-opium advocates to treat them, -flourish--education is the sole criterion of rank and precedence. They -have a competitive system there, which is undoubtedly the oldest in the -world. This man, as I said, was a Master of Arts, and would, in regular -course, have been appointed to an important official post and taken rank -as a mandarin. He was, I believe, at the time of his sentence, one of the -regular examiners at the competitive examinations of young men seeking for -employment in the Civil Service of the Empire. When the case ended, I -dismissed it from my mind. But, to my great surprise, six or seven of the -leading Chinamen of Hong Kong waited upon me on the following day, and -implored of me to get this man out of gaol. They declared that the whole -Chinese community of Hong Kong felt degraded at having one of their -superior order, a learned Master of Arts, consigned to a foreign prison. -They assured me that this was the greatest indignity that could have been -offered to the Chinese people. I replied that the fact of the prisoner -being a man of education only aggravated his offence, that he had -deliberately perjured himself in order to cheat my client, and that the -foreign community considered his punishment far too lenient, for had he -been a foreigner he would have got a far more severe punishment. But they -could not see the matter in that light, and went away dissatisfied. They -afterwards presented a petition to the Governor, praying for the man's -release, but without success. My object in narrating this to you is to -show the utter contempt which the Chinese, not only of the lower orders, -but of the better class, have for the truth. I could supplement these -cases by many others, all showing that the Chinese do not regard the -difference between truth and falsehood in the sense that we do. - -To illustrate more clearly what I have told you, I will read to you a -short passage from a leading article in the "China Mail," a daily -newspaper published in Hong Kong. The date of the paper is the 3rd of -October 1881. The editor is a gentleman who has been out there for twenty -years; he is a man of considerable ability and knows the Chinese character -perfectly, and I may also mention that he is a near relative of Mr. Storrs -Turner. This is what he says:-- - - The question of the reliability of Chinese witnesses is one which is - continually presenting itself to all who have anything to do with - judicial proceedings in this colony, and as jurors are usually saddled - with the responsibility of deciding how far such evidence is to be - credited in most serious cases, the subject is one which appeals to a - large body of residents. An eminent local authority, some time since, - gave it as his opinion that he did not think a Chinese witness could - give accurate evidence, even if the precise truth would best suit his - purpose. This is doubtless true to some extent, and it bears directly - on one phase of the discussion, viz. that of reliableness, so far as - strict accuracy of detail is concerned. But a witness may be regarded - as the witness of truth although he fails in that extremely precise or - accurate narration of facts and details which goes so far to - strengthen truthful testimony. What is meant here by reliability of - witnesses, however, is their desire to tell what they _believe_ to be - the truth. It has been somewhere said, by one of authority on Chinese - matters, that it is not particularly surprising that the Chinese, as a - people, are so widely known as economisers of the truth, when their - system of government is carefully considered. For a Chinaman, life - assumes so many phases, in which a good round lie becomes a valuable - commodity, that the only surprise remaining is, that he is ever known - to tell the truth. - -That is exactly what I have already said. It would occupy too much time to -read the rest of the article, which is ably written, but the portion I -have quoted tends to show the unreliability of Chinese witnesses, even in -a solemn Court of Justice. - -Now, I think, I have shown you that our Celestial friends present rather -an unpromising raw material from which to extract the truth. Yet these are -the men from whom the missionaries derive their information as to those -wonderful consequences from opium smoking which, the more greedily -swallowed, are the more liberally supplied, thus affording an illustration -of Mr. Storrs Turner's extraordinary theory of supply and demand, of which -I shall have to speak more by and by. Having exhibited to you the well of -truth from which credible evidence is sought to be obtained, I have now to -turn to the other side of the question and describe the character and -competence of those who draw their facts from that source, and from whom -the general public have mainly derived their knowledge of opium and opium -smoking. - -As regards the missionaries, I have stated already that I hold them in the -very highest respect, and they are well deserving of it, and, indeed, of -the consideration of the whole community. Were I to state anything to -their prejudice or disadvantage, further than what I assert as to their -fallacious views and unjustifiable conduct on the opium question, I should -certainly be speaking without warrant; for a more respectable, -hard-working, or conscientious body of gentlemen it would be difficult to -find. Perhaps they are the hardest worked and worst paid class of any -foreigners in China. They have a work to perform, the difficulty of which -is but partially understood in this country; that is, the task of -converting to Christianity these heathen people, who think Confucianism -and the other religions engrafted upon it which they follow, and which -seem to suit their temperament, immeasurably superior to ours; who point -to our prophets and sages as men of yesterday, and look with comparative -contempt upon our literature, laws, and customs. The real difficulty of -the situation lies in these facts; believe me, that it is as absurd as it -is untrue to say that opium has had anything to do with the slow progress -of Christianity in China. Missionary clergymen in China are really not the -best men to get at the facts of the opium question. If a foreigner, here -in England, were to ask me in which quarter he would be likely to obtain -the best information regarding the manners and customs of the English -people, I should certainly advise him to get introductions to some of our -working clergy of all denominations, because they are the people's trusted -friends and advisers, sharing in their joys and sympathizing in their -sorrows, their wants and necessities. They are educated and matter-of-fact -men, just the class of persons to afford sound and accurate information as -to the country and people. This, I believe, will be generally admitted. -The same rule would not apply to our missionary clergymen in China; for -they, unlike our clergy at home, are not the trusted friends and advisers -of the Chinese people, and, knowing really very little of the inner life -of the people, cannot be said to sympathize in their wants and -necessities. No doubt there have been some admirable books written on -China by missionary clergymen, such as the "Middle Kingdom," from which I -have already quoted, and Dr. Doolittle's work; but everyone who has lived -long in China takes all their statements on every point affecting their -missionary labours, and upon many other matters also, _cum grano_. So far -as the manners and customs of the Chinese can be understood from their -outdoor life, literature, and laws, they are competent judges enough; but -as they are not admitted into Chinese society, and do not possess the -confidence of the people, they cannot be accepted as authorities on the -inner social life of the natives, so far as regards opium-smoking. They -have not at all the same status as regards the Chinese that English -clergymen have in respect to their own countrymen here in England; and if -a friend were to put such a question to me respecting China and the -Chinese, the last people I would refer him to for information would be the -missionary clergymen. These missionary gentlemen, if they were at home in -England, would, no doubt, have their livings and vicarages, and would take -their place with the regular clergy of the country. But in China things -are totally different. There the people not only despise them, but laugh -at the creed they are trying to teach. The simplicity of the Gospel is too -cold for them. Teeming with the marvellous as their own religions do, no -other creed seems acceptable to them that does not deal in startling -miracles and offer a continuous supply of supernatural feats. Anyone who -reads Dr. Legge's book, on the religions of China, will see this at once. -The Chinese have an accepted belief three or four thousand years older -than Christianity, and they are well aware of the fact. Despising -Europeans, as they do, and looking upon themselves as a superior race, it -is not likely that the Chinese will take missionary clergymen into their -confidence, or afford them any trustworthy information about private or -personal matters. In short, there is no cordiality between the Chinese and -the missionaries. - -Still our Chinese friends are a very polite people, and no doubt they are -and will continue to be outwardly very civil to missionaries, and, -although they may consider them impudent intruders, will give courteous -answers to their questions; but it does not follow that they will give -_true_ answers. A respectable Chinaman, such as a merchant, a shopkeeper, -or an artizan, would consider himself disgraced among his own community if -it were known that he had embraced Christianity, or even entertained the -thought of doing so. I do not think that, long as I was in China, I had a -single regular Chinese client who was a Christian. All my native -clients--merchants, shopkeepers, clerks, artizans, and coolies, and I have -had professional dealings with thousands of them--were heathens. In very -rare instances Chinese professing Christianity will be found holding -respectable positions; but, I regret to say, I do not believe that any of -such people are sincere. I had myself a clerk in my office for about -twelve years; he was a young man educated at St. Paul's College, in Hong -Kong. The College is now closed, but when in existence the pupils there -got an excellent education, and were also well clothed and fed. They were -not only taught Chinese, as is the case in Chinese schools, but also to -read and speak English well. When he went to the school he was not more -than seven or eight years old, and left it probably when he was fourteen -or fifteen. He was an excellent clerk, a highly intelligent young fellow, -and wrote and spoke English well. Now, if ever there were a case where a -lad might be expected to be a sincere convert this was the one. He had -been strictly brought up as a Christian, went to church, and read the -Bible regularly, and, indeed, was far more kindly treated in the College -than English lads are in many schools in this country. Even that boy was -not a sincere convert. - -When about eighteen years of age he got married, as is the custom with the -youth of China. On informing me of his intention, he asked me to procure -from the Superintendent of Police the privilege of having "fire crackers" -at his wedding, a heathen custom, supposed to drive away evil spirits. I -reminded him that I had always believed him a Christian; when he said, -"Oh! it's a Chinese custom." However, I got him the privilege. But instead -of being solemnized in the church, which he had been in the habit of -attending when a pupil in St. Paul's College, according to the rites of -the Church of England, his marriage ceremony was celebrated in Chinese -fashion, a primitive proceeding, and certainly heathen in its form. He -never went near the church at all. A few days afterwards I remarked to him -that he had not been married in the church. He laughed, and said, "that as -he and his wife were Chinese they could only be married according to -Chinese custom." - -Let me give another story in point. I knew a man in Hong Kong who, owing -to the difficulty of finding suitable natives who understood English, was -for a long time the only Chinese on the jury list. He spoke English fairly -well. He was educated at a school presided over by the late Rev. Dr. -Morrison, the learned sinologue, who had lived in Hong Kong before my -time. His school was an excellent one, and had turned out some very good -scholars. I have seen this man go into the jury-box, and often too, into -the witness-box, and take the Bible in his hand and kiss it -ostentatiously. I used to think he was a sincere Christian, and was glad -to see so respectable a Chinaman (for he held a responsible position in a -bank) acknowledge in public that he was a Christian. But that man, I -afterwards discovered from the best possible authority, was at heart a -heathen; he always had idols, or, as we call them, "Josses," in his house. -He also was a Christian in name, and nothing more. - -There was another man educated in Dr. Morrison's school. Dr. Legge knew -him very well, and was a sort of patron of his. I suppose it is pretty -well known that polygamy is a custom in China, and that it is quite an -exception for a Chinese in any decent position there not to have three, -four, or more wives; the more he has the greater his consequence among his -countrymen. This man, as a matter of fact, had three wives, and when his -so-called first wife died, he was in a great fright lest Dr. Legge should -discover that he had two more wives, for it is customary that the other -wives should attend the funeral of the first as mourners. Now these are -the sort of converts, for the most part, to be met with in China. As a -rule, they are far less honest and more untruthful than their heathen -countrymen, and many Europeans in consequence will not take converts into -their service. In proof of this statement I will here give you an extract -from a very able article which appeared in the "Hong Kong Daily Press," an -old and well conducted newspaper, of the 31st October 1882. This is it:-- - - They [the missionaries] secure some adherence to the Christian - religion, no doubt, but what is the value of the Christianity? It - possesses, so far as we have been able to judge, neither stamina nor - backbone. Foreigners at Hong Kong, and at the Treaty Ports, fight shy - of Christian servants, a very general impression existing that they - are less reliable than their heathen fellows; and with regard to the - Christians in their own villages and towns, there is always a - suspicion of interested motives. - -Are these Chinese converts the class of the Chinese from which truth is to -be gleaned? Is the testimony of such people of the slightest value? Yet -these are the persons from whom the missionaries derive their knowledge of -opium smoking and its alleged baneful effects. I venture to say that among -all the so-called Christian converts in China you will not find five per -cent. who are really sincere--all the rest profess Christianity to obtain -some personal advantage. These so-called converts are generally people -from the humblest classes, because, as I have mentioned, people of the -better class, such as merchants, shopkeepers, and tradesmen, not only -consider their own religion superior to the Christian's creed, but they -would be ashamed to adopt Christianity, as they would thus be disgraced -and make themselves appear ridiculous in the eyes of their neighbours; -and they are a people peculiarly sensitive to ridicule. I will not say -that there are not some true converts to be found among Chinese -congregations; if there are none, the missionary clergymen are certainly -not to blame, for they are indefatigable in their exertions to make -converts, proving also by their blameless lives the sincerity of their -professions. As I have said, the difficulty attending their efforts is -enormous. It must be remembered that in China we are not teaching -Christianity to the poor African, or the semi-civilised native of -Madagascar or the Fiji Islands; but that we are dealing with civilized -men, who consider their own country and literature, customs and religion, -far superior to those of England or of any other country in the world. The -Chinese are so convinced of this, that the very coolies in the streets -consider themselves the superiors of the foreign ladies and gentlemen that -pass, or whom, perhaps, they are carrying in their sedan chairs. - -I hold the missionaries altogether responsible for the hallucination that -has taken possession of the public mind on the opium question. With the -Bible they revere in their hands, they think the Chinese should eagerly -embrace the doctrine it inculcates, and, unable to account for their -failure, they readily accept the subterfuge offered by certain Chinese for -not accepting Christianity or attending to their teaching. They feel that -it is, or may be, expected of them in this country, that they should have -large congregations of native proselytes, such as, I believe, the -missionaries have in Madagascar, and in like places, forgetting that no -parallel can be drawn between such races and the Chinese. The Protestant -missionary clergymen in China are, not unnaturally, anxious to account for -their supposed failure in that large and heathen country. They would not -be human if they were not. The better class of Chinese, as I have said, -will not listen to a missionary, or argue with him. They do not want to -hear lectures on Christianity, and grow impatient at any disparaging -remark about their own religion. They simply say, "We have a religion that -is better than yours, and we mean to stick to it." The missionaries, -however, think they ought to have better success. They are, no doubt, -indefatigable in their labours, and as they do not meet with the results -that ought, they consider, to follow from their labours, and as their -sanguine minds cling to any semblance of excuse for their shortcomings, -they accept the stale and miserable subterfuge, to the use of which their -converts are prompted by the Mandarins, that the Indo-China opium trade is -vicious, and that before Christianity is accepted by the country, the -trade in question must be abolished. This transparent evasion of the -Chinese appears to me to bear too strong a family likeness to the famous -"confidence trick," with which the police reports now and then make us -acquainted, to be entertained for a moment. - -The Chinese, knowing the weakness of the missionaries, play upon it; and -one of the best instances I can give you that they are successful is -this:--They tell them that the Chinese Government objects to the opium -trade upon moral grounds; but it never occurs to the missionaries to -retort and say, "If so, why does your Government not prevent the -cultivation of opium throughout China? In the provinces of Yunnan and -Szechuen, and all over the Empire, indeed, enormous crops of opium are -raised every year; why does not your Government, knowing, as you say, that -the effects of opium are so fatal, put a stop to the growth of the -deleterious drug?" This question would prove rather a difficult one to -answer, though the Mandarins, skilful casuists as they are, would no doubt -invent some specious one which might impose upon their interrogators. The -mental vision of our missionary friends is so limited to one side only of -the question, that even here they might be taken in by the astute natives. -It is only of late that the Chinese Government has taken up the moral -objection, and the reason, I believe, it has done so is because it has -found out the weak side of the missionaries, probably through _The Friend -of China_, published at Shanghai. - -When it is taken into account that of late years the average quantity of -Indian opium imported into China is about one hundred thousand chests, -each of which, for all practical purposes, may be called a hundredweight, -and that the price of each of these chests landed in China is about seven -hundred dollars, and that the whole works up to something like sixteen -millions sterling, the strong objection of the Mandarin classes to allow -such a large amount of specie to leave the country becomes intelligible. -Rapacious plunderers as they are, they see their prey escaping them before -their very eyes, and are powerless to snatch it back. These sixteen -millions, they think, would be all fair game for "squeezing" if we could -only keep them at home. For although China is an immense empire, with -great natural resources, it is still a poor country as regards the -precious metals. No doubt an economist would tell these Mandarins: "It is -true we sell you all this opium, but then we give you back again all the -money you pay for it, with a great deal more besides, for the purchase of -your tea and silk." But a Mandarin would only laugh at such an argument. -"Ah," he would say, "you must have tea and silk in any case; you can't do -without them. We want to get hold of your silver and give you none of ours -in return." That is the true cause, or one of the true causes, of the -objection of the Government of China to the importation into that country -of Indian opium. - -The missionaries, or at all events the greater number of them, have -adopted the view, that if they could only put a stop to the importation of -Indian opium into China the evangelization of the country would be a -question of time only; and in one sense, indeed, this would be true; but -the time would not be near, but very distant. The Chinese have a keen -sense of humour, and if the British would allow themselves to be cajoled -by the specious arguments with which the religious world here is -constantly regaled about the opium question, so far as to put a stop to -the traffic, such a feeling of contempt for English common sense, and in -consequence for the religion of Englishmen, would ensue, that the spread -of the Gospel in China would be greatly retarded indeed. The truth about -opium is so clear to those who trust to the evidence of their senses, and -who look at facts from a plain common sense point of view, that they -cannot for a moment see that there is any connection whatever between -opium and Christianity. It seems to me that those gentlemen who adopt the -anti-opium doctrine, and scatter it abroad, are only comparable to the -monomaniac, who, sane upon every subject but one, is thoroughly daft upon -that. No better example of this can I give you than by referring to a -speech made by a gentleman deservedly respected by the community, whom I -have always considered as one of the hardest-headed men sitting in the -House of Commons, possessing sound common sense upon all subjects save -that of opium. I refer to Sir J. W. Pease, the Member for South Durham. -In the year 1881 the usual anti-opium debate came on in the House of -Commons. Sir J. W. Pease delivered a speech on the occasion denunciatory -of the Indo-China trade, in the course of which he referred to the treaty -recently made between China and America, one of the clauses of which -provides that American ships shall not import opium into China, and that -no Chinaman shall be allowed to import opium into America, where there is -a large Chinese population, especially in San Francisco. The treaty -relates to other matters, and this clause is, so to speak, interpolated -into it, for a purpose I shall now explain. It was intended to appear as a -sort of _quid pro quo_, for whilst America, in fact, gave up nothing, -though she affected to do so, she obtained some commercial advantages by -the treaty. This is the clause:-- - - The Governments of China and of the United States mutually agree and - undertake that Chinese subjects shall not be permitted to import opium - into any of the ports of the United States; and citizens of the United - States shall not be permitted to import opium into any of the open - ports of China. This absolute prohibition, which extends to vessels - owned by the citizens or subjects of either Power, to foreign vessels - employed by them or to vessels owned by the citizens or subjects of - either Power, and employed by other persons for transportation of - opium, shall be enforced by appropriate legislation on the part of - China and the United States, and the benefits of the favoured claims - in existing treaties shall not be claimed by the citizens or subjects - of either Power as against the provisions of this article. - -I happened to be weather-bound in Rome when I first read, in a Hong Kong -paper, that amusing and deceptive treaty, which was made in 1880. Knowing -thoroughly the situation, and all the facts connected with the Indo-China -opium trade, I undertake to assure you that so far, at least, as regards -this opium clause, that treaty was simply a farce. With the single -exception of a line of mail packet steamers between Hong Kong and San -Francisco, America has few or no steamers trading in the China seas. She -has protected her mercantile marine so well that she has now very little -occasion for exercising her protection. She has no vessels trading between -India and China, and never has had any, and, as a matter of fact, no -American ships carry one ounce of opium between India or China, or to the -port of Hong Kong, or have carried it for many years, if, indeed, any -American vessel has ever done so. Nor is there, indeed, at present the -slightest probability that her ships will ever convey opium between India -and China. America, in fact, might, with as much self-denial, have -undertaken not to carry coals to Newcastle as Indian opium to China. There -are regular lines of British steamers plying between the ports of Bombay, -Calcutta, and Hong Kong, by which all Indian opium for the China trade is -carried direct to its destination. - -I declare that anything more absurd, deceptive, and dishonest never formed -the subject of an international treaty. The whole affair was so utterly -false and misleading that the first thing I did after reading the treaty -was to cut it out from the newspaper and forward it, with an explanatory -letter, to the "Times," the usual refuge of the aggrieved Briton. This -deceptive clause was intended simply to mislead the simple, benevolent, -good-natured John Bull, already, as the framers of the treaty no doubt -supposed, half-crazed on the anti-opium movement. A better specimen of -American smartness and Chinese astuteness could hardly be conceived than -this crafty and fallacious clause. America has no opium to sell or import, -and can, therefore, afford to be extremely generous on the point. It is -just possible, however, that at a future day opium may be produced in the -South-Western States, in which case the American Government--I will not -say the American people, for I hold _them_ in great respect--will -endeavour to wriggle out of this precious treaty, just as they are now -trying to do as regards the Panama convention with this country, when the -possibility that gave rise to it is likely to become a reality. The -stipulation that Chinese subjects should not be permitted to import opium -into any of the ports of the United States is of course absolute nonsense. -If the American Government had really intended to prohibit opium from -being imported from China, or elsewhere, into their country they should -not have confined the prohibition to Chinese subjects, but have extended -it to all nationalities; in fact, to have made opium, save for medical -purposes, contraband. To explain this point more clearly, you will -remember what I have mentioned before, that the exclusive right to -manufacture crude opium into the form used for smoking, called in China -"prepared opium," is farmed out. The present farmer pays the Government of -Hong Kong two hundred and five thousand dollars, or forty thousand pounds -a year for the monopoly. The reason why he pays so large a sum for this -privilege is because of the facilities it affords him for exporting it to -other places, and not merely to get the exclusive right of preparing and -selling the drug in Hong Kong, for if that were all the benefit to be -derived from the monopoly he would not give so large a rent for it. The -greater source of profit arises from the circumstance that the Chinese -must have the beloved stimulant wherever they roam. If you go to -Australia, the Philippine Islands, the Straits, Borneo, or the town of -Saigon in French Cochin China, or wherever else dollars are to be made, -you will find Chinese in abundance. Go to the South Seas, go to the -Sandwich or the Fiji Islands, you will discover the Chinese happy and -prosperous, and you will always see in their houses the opium pipe. The -advantage of having the exclusive privilege in Hong Kong of preparing and -selling opium consists in this, that it is the terminus of an American -line of steamers which ply between that port and San Francisco. It is also -the port from which British lines of steamers run to Australia, Tasmania, -and New Zealand. These packets always take with them consignments of -prepared opium ready for smoking, because at these places there are large -and well-to-do Chinese communities who can afford to indulge in the -national luxury of opium smoking. I have already told you that I was for -about ten years solicitor for that opium firm, and I happen to know a -great deal about the prepared opium trade through that medium. The Chinese -in California, where there is an immense number of those people, do not -consume less, I should say, in the course of a year than one hundred -thousand pounds worth of prepared opium. As is the case in Hong Kong, the -Chinese have better means to buy the drug there than they would have at -home. They get high wages, keep shops, are excellent tradesmen, and can -live and make money where a European would starve. They are all, in fact, -well-to-do, and wherever a Chinaman has the money he must have his opium -pipe. Therefore the privilege of supplying the Chinese in California, -Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania, and in the South Sea Islands, where -are large China colonies, is enjoyed by the opium farmer of Hong Kong, -because he has the means of shipping the drug by steamers direct to those -places, thus out-distancing all other competitors. This trade, -notwithstanding that wonderful treaty, is still going on, and not one -ounce of opium less than was shipped before its ratification is now being -carried to San Francisco, and in American bottoms too, for the treaty only -says that no _Chinaman_ shall import opium into America; there is no -prohibition against Americans or Europeans doing so. What the opium farmer -now does, if indeed he has not always done so, is to get an American or -other merchant in Hong Kong to ship the drug for him in his own name, -handing him, the opium farmer, the bill of lading. The opium is -accordingly shipped in the name of Brown, Jones, or Robinson, and on its -arrival at San Francisco the opium farmer's consignee takes possession of -it, and it is distributed by him among his countrymen in that flourishing -city. - -If Sir J. W. Pease were not an enthusiast, ready to swallow without -hesitation everything which seems to tell against the opium traffic, and -to disbelieve everything said or written on the other side of the -question, he would have seen through all this as a matter of course. This -is what he said about the treaty in the speech I have referred to, having -first delivered a philippic on the enormities and terrible wickedness of -the traffic:-- - - Only last year a treaty was entered into between the United States and - China, and one of the articles of that treaty distinctly stated that - the opium trade was forbidden, and that no American ship should become - an opium trader--a fact which showed that the Chinese authorities were - honest in their expressed desire to put an end to the trade. - -Sir J. W. Pease is the most confiding of men; to my mind the treaty should -be construed in a very different sense. Sometimes, when we want to convey -our sentiments to another, we do so indirectly. There is a very well -understood method of attaining that object. Instead of opening your mind -to Mr. Jones, who is the object of your intended edification, you will in -Mr. Jones's presence address your remarks to Mr. Brown; but in reality, -although you are speaking to the latter, you are speaking at the former. -Now the whole object of this precious article of the treaty was to play a -similar piece of finesse. Both nations well understood what they were -about; they were simply trying to hoodwink and make fools of John Bull by -putting into the treaty this false and hypocritical clause, which, as -between themselves, each party well knew meant nothing to the other. Here -is Sir J. W. Pease, a sensible and astute man of business, with his eyes -open, yet, blinded by his good nature and anti-opium prejudice, falling -into the trap set for him, and allowing himself to be deceived by this -transparent piece of humbug, and quoting in the House of Commons this -"bogus" treaty as evidence that the Indo-China opium trade is so infamous -that the American Government intended, so far as they were concerned, to -put a stop to it, and that the Chinese Government wish to abolish it on -moral grounds. I give you this as an example of the lengths to which -otherwise sensible gentlemen will go when smitten with opium-phobia, and -how oblivious they become under such circumstances to actual facts. -Imagine how his Excellency Li Hung Chang, that very able Chinese -statesman, and those smart American diplomatists who have thus posed as -anti-opium philanthropists, must have enjoyed the fun of being able to so -completely bamboozle an English member of Sir J. W. Pease's reputation! - -Now, although I have exposed this Americo-Chinese juggle, I am far from -meaning to cast the slightest imputation upon Sir J. W. Pease, whose -personal character I in common with the whole country hold in the very -highest respect. I am well assured that in bringing forward his motion in -the House of Commons he was actuated by a sense of duty, and the very -purest motives, and that in referring to the treaty in question he fully -believed in its _bona fides_; upon this point I am at one with his warmest -admirers. No one deservedly stands higher as a philanthropist and -Christian gentleman, and, save as regards this opium delusion, no man has -ever made a nobler use of an ample fortune than he. - -I may speak in the same terms of the venerable and universally-respected -nobleman who is the president of the Anti-Opium Society, whose whole life -has been devoted to the welfare of his fellow men, especially those who -stood most in need of his help. I referred in the first edition of this -lecture to a Most Reverend Prelate, honoured and beloved both by his own -countrymen, and, I believe, the whole Christian world, who is also, I -deeply deplore, a believer in the anti-opium delusion, but in doing so -nothing was farther from my intentions than to lay aside for a moment the -respect that was due to him as a man and a high dignitary of the church. I -revere and honour him and admire his great and noble qualities as much as -any man living. Born and brought up as I have been in the Church of -England, and sincerely attached to its doctrine and teaching, having near -and dear relatives, too, ministers of that church, the last thing I would -be capable of doing is to harbour an unkind thought, or utter a -disrespectful word, against any of her clergy, much less one of her most -honoured prelates. These three good and upright men are, I am sorry to -say, but types of a great many other most estimable people, many of them -ornaments to their country, who through the purity and overflowing -goodness of their hearts, have been dragged into the vortex of delusion -set afloat by the Anti-Opium Society--who allow themselves to be cajoled -and victimised--led by the nose, in fact, by anti-opium fanatics, who, -cunning as the madman and perfectly regardless of the means they resort to -in the prosecution of what they consider right, bring to their aid the -zeal of the missionary and the power for mischief which superior education -and mis-directed talents confer. This is what rouses one's indignation and -compels me to pursue the unpleasant task of discrediting and otherwise -painfully referring to men whom, apart from this wretched opium delusion, -I honour and respect. - -Upon this point I cannot refrain from referring to a gentleman of high -standing, who had formerly been in China, and really ought to have known -better. That gentleman went so far as to write a letter to the "Times," in -which he said that out of one hundred missionaries in China there was not -one who would receive a convert into his church until he had made a vow -against opium smoking. Bearing in mind that all these so-called converts -made by these one hundred missionaries belong for the most part to the -very poor, if not to the dregs of the people, I should think no missionary -clergyman would find much difficulty in obtaining such a pledge. He has -only to ask and to have. If a clergyman in a very poor neighbourhood in -the East End of London proposed to his congregation that they should -promise never to drink champagne, he would receive such a pledge without -difficulty from one and all; but if any kind person were afterwards to -give them a banquet of roast beef and plum-pudding, with plenty of -champagne to wash those good things down, I am afraid their vow would be -found to be very elastic. - -So it is with the congregations of these missionary clergymen; there is -not an individual amongst them who would refuse to enjoy the opium pipe if -he got the chance, however much they might declaim against the practice to -please the missionary. Opium, as the missionaries must well know, is a -luxury that can only be indulged in by those who have the means of paying -for it. Now, while twopence or threepence may appear to us a very -insignificant sum, such will not be the opinion of a very poor person. -Threepence will purchase a loaf of bread. So it is with the Chinese, -especially those residing in their own territory. There is only one class -of coin current in China. It is known by Europeans as "cash." Ten should -equal a cent, or a halfpenny, but owing to the inferiority of the metal -they are made of, twelve or thirteen usually go to make one cent of -English money, so that ten cents, or fivepence of our money, would be -about one hundred and thirty cash. A poor Chinaman possessing that sum -would think that he had got hold of quite a pocketful of money, and so it -would prove, so far as regards a little rice or salt fish, which forms -part of most Chinamen's daily food; but were he so foolish as to indulge -in opium, a few whiffs of the pipe would soon swallow up the whole. And -then there arises the difficulty of getting the cash, so that it is really -only people having command of a fair amount of money who can afford to -indulge, habitually at all events, in the luxury of the pipe. - -Now with respect to the alleged evil effects of opium smoking, you will -constantly hear stories from missionary sources of wretched people, the -slaves of the opium pipe, crawling to the medical officers of missionary -hospitals, who are to a certain extent missionaries themselves, and asking -to be cured of the terrible consequences of their indulgence in opium -smoking. The medical officer at each of these missionary institutions, a -victim himself, in most cases, to the delusions set afloat, accepts their -story, pities the men, and takes them into the hospital; and, believing -that if they do not get a moderate indulgence in opium smoking they will -pine away and die, the good, easy man, full of kindness and simplicity, -gives them a liberal allowance, which his patients are delighted to get. -Knowing the bent of mind of the confiding doctor, they fill him with all -kinds of falsehoods as to the evils attendant upon opium smoking in -general, which he swallows without a particle of doubt. The truth, -however, is that those men who go with such tales to the medical -missionary are in most, if not all, cases simply impostors, generally -broken-down thieves, sneaks, and scoundrels--the very scum of the people. -No longer having energy even to steal, they are driven off by their old -associates, to starve or die in a gaol. These men are the craftiest, the -meanest, and the most unscrupulous on the face of the globe. They well -know all that the missionaries think about opium smoking, and, like the -accommodating Mr. Jingle, they have a hundred stories of the same kind -ready to pour into the ears of their kind-hearted benefactors, who become -in turn their victims. Much merriment, I have no doubt, these scamps -indulge in amongst themselves at the good doctor's expense; for the -Chinese are not deficient in humour, and have a keen sense of the -ludicrous. These people crawl to one of the hospitals; the doctor is -delighted with their stories, for they confirm all he has written home or -published, perhaps in _The Friend of China_. He communicates with the -missionary; their stories are sent home, and the patients get for three or -four weeks excellent food and comforts, including plenty of opium, before -they are turned out as cured. The lepers have been cleansed and made -whole, but only to enable them to prey once more upon the industrious -community. I may here observe that there are no missionary hospitals in -Hong Kong, and so we never hear of those wonderful stories happening in -that place, yet, if such stories were true, it is there that the strongest -corroboration of them should be found, for, although there is no -missionary hospital in the colony, there is the large and well-managed -civil hospital, as also the Chinese Tung-Wah Hospital, both of which are -subject to the inspection of Dr. Ayres. - -Such are the tales, and such the authors who have caused much of this -clamour about opium smoking. There is scarcely a particle of truth in any -one of those stories. No man can indulge in opium to such an extent as to -harm himself unless he possesses a fair income, and if such a person -became ill from over-indulgence, he would not go to a foreign hospital, -but would send for a doctor to treat him at his own house. It is only the -broken-down pauper, thief, or beggar, who, in his last extremity, seeks -admission to the hospital. - -Dr. Ayres was the first to expose this imposture. On arriving at Hong Kong -he found it had been the custom there to allow such of the prisoners in -the gaol as were heavy smokers a modicum of prepared opium daily,--it -having been supposed by his predecessors that without it such prisoners -would pine away and die. Dr. Ayres, however, knew better; and he at once -put an end to the custom. He would not allow one grain of opium or other -stimulant to be given to any prisoner, however advanced a smoker he might -be. The result was that the hitherto pampered prisoners moaned and -groaned, pretending, no doubt, to be very ill; but after a little time -they got quite well. The Doctor has published his experiences on this -subject in the _Friend of China_. - -These persons know what pleases the missionaries, and so they detail to -them all kinds of horrible stories respecting opium smoking, which, as I -have before stated, are pure inventions. Trust a Chinaman to invent a -plausible tale when it suits his purpose to do so. The missionaries do not -smoke opium themselves, and have, therefore, no means of refuting the -falsehoods thus related to them, or of testing their accuracy. They simply -believe all these stories, and send them on to head-quarters in London, to -be retailed by eloquent tongues at Exeter Hall and elsewhere. I have no -doubt that every mail brings home numbers of apparently highly -authenticated tales of this kind, every one of which is baseless. Thanks -to the modern excursion agents, and to the present facilities for -travelling, gentlemen can easily take a trip to China, and if any of them -happen to have opium on the brain, they will take letters of introduction -to missionary clergymen. On their arrival at Hong Kong they will perhaps -be shown over the Tung-Wah hospital, where they see a number of wretched -objects labouring under all kinds of diseases; they will go away fully -impressed with the belief that all the patients shown to them are victims -of opium smoking. They are then taken to an opium shop, or as the -missionaries like to call it, an "opium den"--though why an opium-smoking -shop should be so termed, and a dram shop in London called a "gin palace," -I cannot understand--and are there shown half a dozen dirty-looking men, -mostly thieves and blackguards, all smoking opium, and as they are quiet -and motionless, they come to the conclusion that they are all in a dying -state, having but a few days more to live. If they knew the facts, they -would find perhaps that the very men they were commiserating were just -then quietly planning a burglary or some piratical expedition for that -very night. These kind of travellers go out to China with preconceived -notions, and are quite prepared to believe anything and everything, -however absurd or monstrous, about opium smoking. They will spend two days -at Hong Kong, three at Canton, two or three at Shanghai. They will take -copious notes at these places, omitting nothing, however incredible or -absurd, that is told them, and return home with a full conviction that -they have "done China," when in reality they have only done themselves, -and that, too, most completely. If they have the _cacoethes scribendi_ -strong upon them, they will probably write a book upon the subject; and so -the miserable delusion is kept up. - - 'Tis pleasant, sure, to see one's name in print; - A book's a book, although there's nothing in't. - -Mr. Turner, in his volume, gives what he calls "a little apologue," with -the object of showing how the Indian Government injures China by supplying -it with opium. If you will allow me, I will give you a short one, too. Let -us suppose a young gentleman, well brought up, and a member of that -excellent institution, the "Young Men's Christian Association," where he -has heard the most eloquent speeches on the wickedness of this country in -permitting the Indo-Chinese opium trade, and thus encouraging opium -smoking--for your anti-opium agitator thinks it the height of virtue and -propriety to drag his country through the mire on every occasion that -presents itself. Let us call him Mr. Howard; it is a good name, and was -once owned by a most benevolent man. He makes up his mind to go out to -China and to see for himself the whole iniquity; for, despite his strong -faith in his clerical mentors at Exeter Hall, he can hardly believe that -his own countrymen could really be the perpetrators of such dreadful -wickedness as he has been told. He takes a letter of introduction to a -missionary gentleman at Hong Kong, and another to a mercantile firm there. -He expects, on his arrival, to see the streets crowded with the -wretched-looking victims of the opium-pipe, crawling onwards towards their -graves, whilst the merchant who is making his princely fortune by this -terrible opium trade drives by in his curricle, looking complacently at -his victims, just as a slave-owner of old might be expected to have gazed -at his gangs of serfs wending their way to their scene of toil. Not seeing -any but active, healthy-looking people, he concludes that the miserable -creatures he is looking out for are in hospital, or lying up in their own -houses. He calls upon Messrs. Thompson and Co., the mercantile firm to -which he is accredited, and is well received by one of the partners, who -invites him to stop at his house during his stay in Hong Kong--for our -fellow-countrymen in China are the most hospitable people in the world. -Mr. Howard declines, as he intends putting up at Mr. Jenkins's, his -missionary friend. The great subject on his mind is opium, so he comes to -the point at once, and asks, "Is there much opium smoked in the colony?" -"Oh, plenty," answers Mr. Thompson; "two or three thousand chests arrive -here every week." "Do you sell much?" Mr. Howard asks. "No; we haven't -done anything in it these many years," is the response. "Do many people -smoke?" continues Howard, following up his subject. "Oh, yes: every -Chinaman smokes." "But where are all the people who are suffering from -opium smoking?" again asks the inquirer, determined to get at the facts. -"Ha, ha, ha!" laughs Mr. Thompson, but that gentleman is writing letters -for the mail, and has not much time at his disposal. "Here, Compradore," -he says, addressing a Chinese who has been settling an account with one of -the assistants, "this gentleman wants to know all about opium smoking." -The Compradore is the agent who conducts mercantile transactions between -the foreign firms and the Chinese; he resides on his master's premises, -and is usually an intelligent and keen man of business, and, I may also -add, an inveterate opium smoker. The two try to make themselves -understood. Mr. Howard repeats the same questions to the Compradore that -he had just put to Mr. Thompson, and receives similar replies. -Disappointed and surprised, Howard calls with his letter of introduction -upon the missionary, to whom he tells what he has heard from Messrs. -Thompson & Co. "Ah," says the missionary, "they wouldn't give you any -information there; they are in the opium trade themselves." But Mr. Howard -tells him that Thompson had assured him that they had not been in the -trade for years. "Ah," returns the missionary, "you must not believe what -_he_ says. His firm is making a princely fortune by opium." "But where are -the smokers?" asks Howard. "Oh, I will show them to you." He then calls -Achun his "boy." "This gentleman," he says to the latter, "wants to know -about opium smoking. Take him to the Tung-Wah and to an opium shop, you -savee?" "Yes, my savee" (meaning "I understand"), returns Achun, who is, -of course, a devout convert, but who, notwithstanding, often in private -indulges in the iniquity of the pipe. On they go to the Tung-Wah, which is -the Chinese hospital before referred to, where he is shown some -ghastly-looking men, all either smoking the "vile drug" or having opium -pipes beside them. Two or three are shivering with ague; another is in the -last stage of dropsy; another is in consumption, and so on. They are all -pitiable-looking objects, wasted, dirty, and ragged. Poor Mr. Howard -shrinks away in horror. "Are all these men dying from opium smoking?" he -asks of his guide. "Yes, ebely one; two, tlee more day dey all die. Oh! -velly bad! olla men dat smokee dat ting die," says the person questioned, -well knowing that what he has said is false, and that the poor creatures -before him are only honest, decent coolies in the last stages of disease, -who until they entered the hospital may never have had an opium pipe in -their mouths. "Their poverty and not their will consented." They had been -admitted but a few days before to the Tung-Wah, where the Chinese doctor -in charge had prescribed for them opium smoking as a remedy for their -sickness and a relief for their pains. Poor Mr. Howard leaves the hospital -bitterly reflecting upon the wickedness of the world and of his own -countrymen in particular. As for Mr. Thompson, he is set down for a false -deceitful man, a disgrace to his country, who should be made an example -of. He and his guide then proceed to the opium shop. I shall, however, -proceed there before them, and describe the place and its occupants. -Opposite to the entrance door are two well-dressed men, their clothes -quite new, their heads well shaven, and having attached to them long and -splendid queues. These men are lying on their sides, vis-à-vis, with their -heads slightly raised, smoking away. If it were not for their villainous -countenances they might pass for respectable shopkeepers. They are two -thieves, who have just committed a burglary in a European house, from -which they carried off three or four hundred pounds' worth of jewellery, -and they are now indulging in their favourite luxury on the proceeds. They -have also exchanged their rags for new clothes, got shaved and trimmed, as -Mr. Howard sees them. Now, wherever an extreme opium smoker is met, he -will in general be found to be one of the criminal classes. In this shop -there are three other men smoking. They are stalwart fellows, but -dirty-looking, as they have just finished coaling a steamer, and are -begrimed with coal dust. As the daily expenses of a steamer are -considerable, it is a great object with sea captains to get their vessels -coaled as quickly as possible, so that they may not be delayed in port. -The men employed upon this work are usually paid by the job, and probably -each will receive half-a-dollar for his share. They work with -extraordinary vigour, and by the time they have finished they are often -much distressed, and are inclined to lie down; their hearts, perhaps, are -beating irregularly, and their whole frame unhinged. Being flush of money, -for half-a-dollar, or two shillings, is quite a round sum for them, they -have decided to go to the opium shop, and, by having a quiet whiff or two, -bring the action of their hearts into rhythm, and restore themselves to -their ordinary state. These poor coolies are honest fellows enough. They -work hard, and are peaceful, unoffending creatures. Hundreds of them are -to be seen hard at work every day in Hong Kong. - -The interior of the opium shop is as described when Mr. Howard enters with -the missionary's servant. The moment the two well-dressed thieves see -them, their guilty consciences make them conclude that the one is a -European, and the other a Chinese detective in search of them. They close -their eyes and pretend to be in profound slumber. They are really in -deadly fear of apprehension, for escape seems impossible. Mr. Howard asks -his guide who they are. "Oh, dese plaupa good men numba one; dey come dis -side to smokee. To-day dey smokee one pipe; to-mollow dey come and smokee -two, tlee pipe; next dey five, six; den dey get sik and die. Oh, opium -pipe veely bad; dat pipe kill plenty men." "You say they are good, -respectable men?" says Mr. Howard. "Yes, good plaupa men; numba one Chinee -genlman." "Oh, is not this a terrible thing?" says Mr. Howard, compressing -his lips, breathing heavily, and vowing to bear witness, on his return to -London, to all the villainy he fancies he has seen. The three men begrimed -with coal-dust, although they appear only to be semi-conscious, are in -reality taking the measure of Mr. Howard, and enjoying a quiet laugh at -his expense. One exclaims, referring to his chimney-pot hat, "Ah ya! what -a funny thing that Fan-Qui has got on his head!" The other replies, "It's -to keep the sun away." "How funny!" retorts the first speaker, "we wear -hats to keep our heads warm; they wear hats to keep their heads cool." -"Oh," returns the other speaker, "the Fan-Qui have such soft heads that if -they did not keep the sun off the little brains they have would melt away; -and they would die, or become idiots."[5] Mr. Howard, seeing them in their -dirty condition, concludes that they are some of the wretched victims of -opium smoking, in the last stage of disease, and leaves with his -conductor, pitying them from the depths of his heart; his pity, however, -is as nothing compared to the contempt with which these supposed victims -to the opium pipe regard him and his chimney-pot hat. As he leaves he asks -his guide, "Does the keeper of the opium shop expect a gratuity?" "Oh," -returns the other, "supposee you pay him one dolla, he say, tankee you." -Mr. Howard accordingly gives a dollar to the man, who looks more surprised -than grateful, and he leaves the shop, satisfied that he has at last seen -the true effects of opium smoking in China. He returns to the missionary, -to whom he relates the horrors he has seen, makes copious notes of them, -and vows to enlighten his countrymen at home upon the subject. As for his -guide Achun, this person loses no time in returning to the opium shop, -where he compels the keeper of it to share with him the dollar he has just -received, and, having so easily earned two shillings, he quietly reclines -on one of the couches and takes a whiff or two of the pipe, the more -enjoyable because it is forbidden fruit. Thus the benevolent British -public is befooled by these ridiculous stories about opium. - -Now as Achun is a representative character, many like him being in the -service of missionaries and other foreigners throughout China, I will give -you a further specimen of the way such persons cheat and delude their -masters. Achun, in whom Mr. Jenkins, the missionary, places implicit -confidence, has of late been much exercised as to his "vails," for Chinese -servants are quite as much alive to the perquisites of their office as -Jeames, John Thomas, or any others of our domestics here in England. -Indeed, I may safely lay it down as a rule that, like cabmen, domestic -servants will be found the same all over the world, "one touch of nature -makes the whole world kin," and no sooner have you engaged your Chinese -"boy" than his mind is at once set working as to the amount of drawbacks, -clippings, and parings over and above his wages he may safely count upon -in his new place. Achun is dissatisfied with the commission or drawback -allowed him by Chook Aloong, the shopkeeper or compradore, who supplies -Mr. Jenkins's family with provisions and other household necessaries; he -is allowed only ten per cent. of the monthly bill, and he considers that -in all fairness he should get double that amount. Thus impressed, he makes -energetic remonstrances on the subject to Chook Aloong, who is firm and -will give no more than ten per cent. Achun is equal to the occasion. Now -Mr. Jenkins and his family are simple and frugal in their dietary, but -there are some articles of food they insist upon having of the best kind, -in consequence of which their compradore sends them those articles and, -indeed, all others of unobjectionable quality. Eggs which are not -absolutely fresh, and meat, though it be game, if in the slightest degree -"up," they will have none of. Achun well knows all this, and he has -determined to have Chook Aloong displaced. Having himself a partiality for -eggs, he begins operations by daily appropriating to his own use some of -those fresh eggs and substituting stale ones in their stead. In the like -manner, instead of letting the family have the beef, mutton, and fowls -nice and fresh as they are delivered, he holds them over until the bloom -of freshness has departed. This state of affairs occasions some commotion -in the family circle. The boy is sent for and shown that the eggs are bad -and the meat "high"; he expresses great concern, and declares that he will -forthwith call upon the compradore and compel him to make good the damage -already done, and supply proper provisions in future. Mr. Jenkins, though -angry, is not implacable, and is willing to believe that some mishap has -occurred; for how could his old and trusted compradore treat him so badly? -His hopes are, however, disappointed, for again and yet again the meat is -bad, and, worse still, the eggs are--well, not fresh. The climax is -reached one morning when poor Mr. Jenkins, in breaking his egg, finds, not -the usual bright yellow yolk and spotless albumen within, but a young -chick almost fledged. Horror and disgust seize him, the old Adam -over-masters him for a moment, and, full of wrath, he roars for the boy. -Achun appears the very picture of innocence, when Mr. Jenkins, ashamed of -his outburst of wrath and now quite calm explains the _contretemps_. He -has even in the reaction regained some of his good humour. "Look here, -Achun," he says, showing the chick, "this is too bad, you know. Supposee I -wanchee egg,--can catchee him; supposee I wanchee chicken--can catchee -chicken. No wanchee egg and chicken alla same together." Achun perceives -the joke, and knowing his master's weakness, says, "Oh, ho, massa, velly -good, dat belong numba one. 'No wanchee egg and chicken alla same -togedda,'" continues the cunning rascal, repeating his master's words, "Oh -velly funny, velly good, massa, ho! ho! ho!" Mr. Jenkins is pleased at the -mild flattery of his boy, who has now advanced a step or two in his -estimation. "Oh, massa, dat man, Chook Aloong, velly bad man," continues -Achun when his merriment had subsided. "Him smokee too much opium pipe; he -no mind his pidgin plaupa, he smokee alla day." "Oh! ho! is that the way?" -asks the missionary, a new light dawning for the first time upon him. "And -so Chook Aloong is an opium smoker?" "Ye-s," replies Achun, prolonging the -word. "Too much opium, plenty opium. More betta you get anoda compado -sah--some good plaupa man dat no smokee." "Very well, Achun," says Mr. -Jenkins with a sigh. "It is plain I must get somebody else. Find me out -some other man, and, mind, he must not smoke opium." "Hab got, massa," -returns the boy delighted with his success. "Hab got velly good man, him -numba one good compado"; and in walks the person indicated, who has been -listening outside all the time. "This belong Sam Afoong, him do all ting -plaupa," the fact being that this very Sam Afoong is the greatest cheat in -the whole market. "Oh, you're the man," says Mr. Jenkins. "I hope you -don't use opium." "Oh no, sah," returns the other, who is in fact an -inveterate smoker, "my neba smokee; dat opium pipe velly bad. It hab kill -my fadda, my six bludda, my----." But here he is stopped by a signal from -Achun, who saw that his friend, in familiar parlance, was "laying it on -too thickly." Sam Afoong vows to supply the best of good things, and does -so, and the Jenkins family are no longer troubled with bad provisions; but -had the lady of the establishment gone through the formality of weighing -every joint of meat that her new compradore supplied, she would have found -that every pound was short of two or three ounces, for thus Sam Afoong -recouped himself for the large per-centage bestowed on Achun. - -To prove that the missionaries are deceived in the way I have described I -will refer you to a passage in Mr. Storrs Turner's own book, where even he -admits that one of his own converts, who had assured him that he never -smoked, and no doubt had pledged himself never to do so, was found -regaling himself with the iniquity. At p. 32 Mr. Turner says, "I have -caught a man smoking who had only half an hour before denied to me that he -was a smoker, and condemned the habit." Yet such are the men from whom the -missionaries derive their information about opium smoking. For further -proof of this I will quote again from Dr. Ayres' article, in _The Friend -of China_. This is what he says:-- - - At the Tung Wah Hospital the stranger may at any time see the most - dreadful and ghastly-looking objects in the last stages of scrofula - and phthisis smoking opium, who had never previously in all their - lives been able to afford the expense of a pipe a day, yet the - European visitor leaves the establishment attributing to the abuse of - opium effects which further inquiry would have satisfied him were due - to the diseases for which the patients were in hospital. From what I - have seen there, there is no doubt that the advanced consumptive - patient does experience considerable temporary relief to his difficult - breathing by smoking a pipe of opium, though it is a very poor quality - of drug that is given to patients at the Tung Wah Hospital. - -Thus, as I have shown, it has come to pass that whilst the missionary -clergymen, owing to their sacred calling and their unquestionably high -character, are accepted in England as the most reliable witnesses and -entitled to the greatest credit, they are really the men who are the very -worst informed upon the opium question which they profess to understand so -thoroughly. They are, in fact, the victims of their own delusions. But -saddest fact of all, these missionary gentlemen, with the best intentions -and in the devout belief that by carrying on this anti-opium agitation -they are helping to remove an obstacle to the dissemination of the Gospel -in China, are of necessity by so doing obliged to neglect more or less the -very Gospel work they are really so desirous to spread, leaving the -missionary field open to their Roman Catholic rivals. - -The information placed before the public here in England upon the opium -question, tainted as it is at the very fountain head, is sent forward from -hand to hand, meeting in its filtrations from China to this country with -impurity after impurity, until it reaches the form of the miserable trash -retailed at Exeter Hall, or by the agents of the Anti-Opium Society. It is -an accepted adage that "a story loses nothing by the carriage." The maxim -becomes, more strongly pointed when it is remembered that the opium tales -partake so much of the marvellous, and that the various transmitters of -those accounts are, in almost every instance, fanatical believers in the -supposed wickedness of the Indo-Chinese opium trade. I am quite sure that -out of every thousand people who believe in the anti-opium delusion, you -will not find two who have ever set their foot in China, or know anything -with respect to the alleged evils they denounce, except from the -unreliable sources I have mentioned. Such people, as a rule, are by far -the most violent and uncompromising opponents of the Indo-Chinese opium -trade. The people I describe generally speak with such an air of authority -on the question, that an ordinary person would suppose they had personally -witnessed all the evils they describe. If you ask one of them in what part -of China he has lived, or when and where he has seen the horrors he speaks -of, he will jauntily tell you, "Oh, I have heard Mr. A. or the Rev. Mr. B. -explain the whole villainy at Exeter Hall." Another will say he has read -Mr. Storrs Turner's great work upon opium smoking, with which I have -already made you somewhat acquainted. When General Choke rebuked Martin -Chuzzlewit for denying that the Queen lived in the Tower of London when -she was at the Court of St. James, Martin inquired if the speaker had ever -lived in England. "In writing I have, not otherwise," responded the -General, adding, "We air a reading people here, Sir; you will meet with -much information among us that will surprise you Sir." Just so. These -anti-opium enthusiasts have been in China in writing, and understand the -opium question upon paper only--a few months in Hong Kong or Canton, freed -from missionary influence, would soon disillusionize them. I remember -hearing a story once of a most estimable gentleman who had the misfortune -to be the defendant in an action for breach of promise. The plaintiff's -counsel, who had a fluent tongue and a fertile imagination, painted him in -such dreadful colours, and so belaboured him for his alleged heartless -conduct towards the lady that the gentleman so denounced, persuaded for -the moment that he was really guilty, rushed out of court, exclaiming, "I -never thought I was so terrible a villain before." That is just the kind -of feeling that first comes over one upon hearing of those opium-smoking -horrors; for it must not be forgotten that the indictment of the -Anti-Opium Society, and of its secretary Mr. Storrs Turner in particular, -not only includes the Imperial Government, and the Government of India, -during the past forty years, but all the British merchants connected with -the Chinese trade, and, indeed, the entire British nation. - -Before proceeding to deal with the fallacies I have enumerated, it is -necessary that I should again address a few words to you on the subject of -evidence, so as to enable you to discriminate between the value of the -various witnesses who have attempted to enlighten public opinion on the -subject before us. I dislike very much to trouble the reader with dry -professional matters, but, under the circumstances, I cannot avoid doing -so. It is a rule of law which will, I think, commend itself to the common -sense of everybody, that the evidence to be adduced on a trial should be -the best that the nature of the case is susceptible of, rather than -evidence of a subsidiary or secondary nature, unless, indeed, no better be -forthcoming. In determining matters of fact, the best witnesses would be -held to be those who have become acquainted with those facts in the course -of their ordinary employment, or in the performance of their professional -duties, rather than mere amateurs or volunteers, whose knowledge is -derived from accident or casual observation only. For illustration, let us -suppose the case of a collision at sea between two steamers, A and -B,--that previous to and at the time of the collision, besides the usual -officers and seamen in charge of A, there were on deck the steward of the -vessel and a passenger. Now, the best witnesses on board of A as to the -catastrophe would not be the two latter, although they saw the whole -occurrence, but the men who were in actual charge of the navigation of the -ship, viz. the look-out man in the bows--whose duty it would be to watch -for rocks or shoals, or any ship or vessel ahead, and to give immediate -notice to the officer of the watch and the man at the wheel of the -presence of such object;--the officer of the watch, usually stationed on -the bridge;--and the man at the wheel. Why? Because, it being the peculiar -duty of the first two men to look out for and avoid striking on rocks or -shoals, or coming into collision with any other vessel, and the duty of -the third man not only to keep a look out but to steer as directed by the -officer on the bridge, they necessarily paid more attention to, and had -their intellects better sharpened in respect to such matters than the -others, who had no such duty cast upon them. The next best witnesses would -be the other seamen during whose watch the accident occurred, their duty -being generally to attend to the management of the ship, her sails and -cordage, and obey the orders of the officer of the watch, but who, not -having immediate connection with the steering and course of the vessel, -would not be expected to have the same accurate knowledge of the -circumstances that led to and occurred up to the time of the collision as -the first three. The least valuable witnesses would be the steward and the -passenger, for the reasons already mentioned. Applying these rules to the -question now before us, it follows that the testimony of such a man as Dr. -Ayres--some of which I have given you already--and of others which I shall -lay before you, should have far greater weight and be more reliable than -that of ordinary persons having no special knowledge or experience of -opium or its effects, nor any opportunity of obtaining such knowledge, -much less any duty cast upon them to acquire it, _e.g._ missionaries and -other persons unconnected with native and foreign merchants, and having no -duties to perform which would bring them into constant intercourse with -the Chinese community. - -The first of these fallacies which have so much tended to warp the -understanding of these Anti-Opium people is this: "That the poppy is not -indigenous to China, but has been recently introduced there, presumably by -British agency." With this let us take the second fallacy, viz.: "That -opium smoking in China is now and has always been confined to a small -per-centage of the population, but which, owing to the introduction of -Indian opium, is constantly increasing." Here I would first inquire--what -is the poppy? To this question one person would say, It is the plant that -produces that deadly drug, morphia. Another would answer, It is the herb -from which laudanum is made; and a third would say, It is the plant which -supplies opium, smoked so much in China and eaten so largely in India. -These answers would all be correct enough, so far as they go; but they -would not be complete, for there are many other uses to which the poppy is -applied besides all these. That valuable plant produces not only opium, -but an oil used for lighting and for edible purposes, the Chinese using -the oil to mollify their daily rice and other food, mixing it also very -commonly with another and richer quality of oil. The seeds, when the oil -is expressed, are given to cattle, or allowed to rot and form manure. If -the oil is not expressed, the seeds can be worked up into cakes. From the -capsules medicine is made, and lastly, the stalks and leaves when burnt -produce potash. Mr. William Donald Spence, one of Her Majesty's Consuls in -China, to whose valuable "Report on the Trade of the Port of Ichang, and -the Opium-culture in the Provinces of Szechuan and Yunnan," I shall -presently introduce you, knows all this as matter of fact, and, indeed, I -am mainly indebted to him for the information I now give you. It is -admitted by Mr. Storrs Turner that the poppy is indigenous to China, and -when it is remembered that the people of that country are and have been -for thousands of years the most civilized in Asia,--that agriculture is -considered the most honourable industry in the country, as evidenced by -the annual practice of the Emperor to turn over the earth with the plough -at the beginning of Spring,--that the Chinese are skilled husbandmen, and -of most frugal and thrifty habits, it becomes a matter of irresistible -inference that those people must have known that most useful plant, the -poppy, and must have cultivated it for economic purposes long before opium -was known in Europe. Sir Robert Hart, in his Yellow Book, says "that -native opium was known, produced, and used _long before_ any Europeans -began the sale of the foreign drug along the coast." Compare that with the -misleading passage at page 2 of Mr. Storrs Turner's book, where he says -"that the poppy had long been cultivated in Egypt, Turkey, Persia, India, -and _recently_ in China and Manchuria," and ask yourselves what credit you -can give to that gentleman as a trustworthy guide on the subject of opium. -Here is Sir Robert Hart, a great Chinese authority, practically admitting -that three or four hundred years ago at the least native opium was grown -and produced in China, and Mr. Storrs Turner, in this fallacious statement -of his, trying to induce his readers to infer that the drug was only -recently produced in that Empire! The reader can choose between these -authorities for himself. Now the fact is, that in very ancient Chinese -works mention is made of the poppy. In the "History of the Later Han -Dynasty" (A.D. 25-220), the brilliant colour of the poppy blossom, of the -charms of the juice, and the strengthening qualities of the seeds of the -plant, formed the themes of Chinese poets as far back as a thousand years, -and probably much farther. The poet Yung T'aou, of the T'ang dynasty (A.D. -618-907), celebrates the beauty of the flower. The poet Soo Cheh (A.D. -1039-1112), dwells, in an ode, on the curative and invigorating effects of -the poppy seeds and juice, and another poet, Soo Sung, of the same period, -praises the beauty of the plant, which he speaks of as being grown -everywhere in China. I am not a Chinese scholar, but I have high authority -for these statements. You will thus clearly perceive that opium is a -native plant, that its various uses have for many centuries been known to -the Chinese, and that the British are in no way responsible for the -introduction of opium into China, much less for the practice of smoking -the drug. - -I have mentioned Mr. W. Donald Spence as one of Her Majesty's Consuls in -China. Now, every foreign resident in that country knows who and what -those consular gentlemen are; but I do not think the public here in -England are equally well informed upon the subject, because it is only -natural that they should confound them with the ordinary British Consuls -at the European and American ports; but that would be a very great -mistake, for the two sets of Consuls form quite distinct and separate -bodies. The Consuls at the latter ports are no doubt highly respectable -gentlemen, often indeed, men who have distinguished themselves in science -and literature, or in the army or navy, but still they are simply -commercial agents of the British Government, and no more, having little or -no diplomatic or other duties to discharge. The Consular Service of China -stands upon a totally different footing. In this country Her Majesty's -Consuls are not only commercial agents, but are trained diplomatists, -entering the service in the first instance as cadets, after passing most -difficult competitive examinations. They are always Chinese scholars, many -of them holding high rank as such. The Consuls have very important -diplomatic duties to discharge, and have also magisterial duties to -perform towards their countrymen in China, all of which demand qualities -of a high order, and which only superior education and careful training -enable them to discharge. England has acquired by treaty ex-territorial -rights, as regards her own subjects, in the ports of China thrown open to -her commerce, known as "Treaty ports," the most important of which are the -exclusive right to hear and determine all civil and criminal cases against -British subjects. These onerous and important duties are performed by Her -Majesty's Consuls at those ports. These gentlemen, indeed, have more power -in many respects than is possessed by the Queen's Ambassadors and -Ministers Plenipotentiary at the various Courts in Europe. They have, in -fact, all the powers now vested in the Judges of Her Majesty's High Court -of Judicature here in England, as well as the powers possessed by the -Judges of the Admiralty, Probate, and Bankruptcy Courts. Further, and in -addition to all these multifarious duties, they are Her Majesty's special -commercial agents at these treaty ports, with the usual jurisdiction over -British ships, their officers, and crew. It is, therefore, a matter of the -first necessity that the persons in whom such tremendous powers are placed -should not only be gentlemen of the very highest characters and assured -abilities, but men of superior education specially trained to fill these -important positions and discharge the varied and onerous duties -appertaining to them. Such are the present British Consuls in China, and -such they have been in the past. There is not, I believe, in this or any -other country, a more highly-educated, intelligent, and efficient body of -men to be found. If any proof of these high qualities is required, it will -be furnished in the fact that notwithstanding the difficult, delicate, and -onerous duties cast upon them, no instance of their abuse of these powers -has ever occurred. I certainly know of none. I am only here stating, I -assure you, what is actually true. It has, indeed, always been to me a -marvel that no complaints--no political entanglements, no troubles--have -arisen from the abnormal state of things arising out of our commercial and -political relations with China, and the extraordinary and exceptional -powers necessarily entrusted to our Consular Agents in that Empire in -consequence. We can now look back, after a quarter of a century of -experience, and congratulate ourselves that all our complicated machinery -has worked so well, that no clouds obscure the vista, and that our present -position in China is one of serenity and sunshine; that we stand upon the -very best terms with the Chinese Government from the central authority at -Peking to all its ramifications throughout the vast empire. Nothing, in -fact, blurs the landscape, save the miserable opium phantom created by our -own countrymen, the missionaries, and magnified to a monster of large -dimensions by the "Chinese jugglers," who here in England keep the -machinery of the Anti-Opium Society in motion. These happy results are due -to Her Majesty's Diplomatic and Consular Service in China, controlled by -Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in England. -And here I cannot but remind you of that distinguished veteran statesman -Sir Rutherford Alcock, formerly Her Majesty's Minister to the Court of -Peking, to whose wise and far-seeing policy much of the present happy -relations with China is due. There is not an English resident in China -who cannot bear testimony to the splendid talents and genuine patriotism -which has marked his career in that vast and interesting country. There is -no greater authority living upon Anglo-Chinese affairs than he, especially -as regards the period of the famous treaty of Tientsin, some of whose -testimony on these points I will lay before you. After a long and -honourable career he is now in England enjoying his well-earned repose, -and is, happily, a powerful living witness to the fallacies I am now -trying to efface. - -Now, one of the ablest and most accomplished men at present in the -Diplomatic and Consular Service of China is Mr. W. Donald Spence, Her -Majesty's Consul at Ichang, a port on the Yangtze, to whom I have before -shortly referred. This gentleman, in the year 1881, paid a visit to -Chungking, the commercial capital of Szechuan in Western China. Whilst -there he availed himself of the opportunity to make inquiries and -investigations into the commercial products of that immense province, and -especially into the cultivation of native opium, the extent and condition -of opium culture in Western China, and the attitude respecting it of the -Chinese Government, and on the effect of opium smoking on the people of -those provinces where it appears that habit is all but universal. It was -his especial duty to make these investigations. No better proof could be -produced as to the abilities of this gentleman than this valuable document -on the subject presented by him to Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of -State for Foreign Affairs which Mr. Spence, in his covering letter to Lord -Granville modestly styles "his Report on the Trade of the Port of Ichang -for the Year 1881." If anyone will read the whole of this Report--and it -will well repay careful perusal--he will pronounce it, I think, one of the -ablest and most admirable State papers that have ever been penned. In -giving you some extracts from it I will, therefore, ask you to treat the -author of it, not as a mere hireling, having an interest in certain -matters which it is desirable to place in a particular light, as the -agents of the Anti-Opium Society would, no doubt, have you believe, but as -the honest statement of an upright, high-minded, honourable English -gentleman, of superior talents and a cultivated mind, who values truth -above everything, who can have no other object in the matter but to do -what is honest, just, and right, and who on this question of opium smoking -tells the truth and nothing but the truth to Her Majesty's Minister. This -is what he says as to the cultivation of the poppy in Szechuan:-- - - Of all the products of Szechuan, the most important nowadays is native - opium. In September last year it was my fortune to be sent on the - public service to the commercial metropolis of Szechuan, Chungking. I - was four months in the province. In the course of that time I visited - parts of the great opium country, questioned many people regarding - opium culture, consumption, and export, and carefully noted the - observations and conclusions on these subjects come to by Mr. Colborne - Baber and Mr. E. H. Parker during their official residence there, with - a view to giving, as far as possible, exact information in my Trade - Report on a matter of great commercial, and no little political, - interest at the present moment. The cultivation of the poppy is - carried on in every district of Szechuan except those on the west - frontier, but most of all in the Prefectures of Chungking Fu and - Kweichow Fu. In all the districts of Chungking Fu, south of the - Yang-tsze, and in some of the districts of Kweichow Fu, north of that - river, it is the principal crop, and, in parts, the only winter crop - for scores upon scores of square miles. The headquarters of the trade - are at the city of Fuchow, in the first of these prefectures, and, in - a considerably less degree, at Fengtu, a district city in Kweichow Fu. - Baron Richthofen, writing in 1872, says that the poppy then was - cultivated only on hill slopes of an inferior soil, but one sees it - now on land of all kinds, both hill and valley. Baron Richthofen - himself anticipates this change when he says:--"The Government may at - some time or other reduce the very heavy restrictions, and if Szechuan - opium then should be able to command its present price at Hankow, the - consequence would be an immediate increase in the area planted with - the poppy." Since he wrote, the area given to the poppy has much - increased, though not from the cause alleged. Being a winter crop, it - does not interfere with rice, the food staple of the people, - displacing only subsidiary crops, such as wheat, beans, and the like. - When it is planted in paddy and bottom lands, which nowadays is often - the case, it is gathered in time to allow rice or some other crop to - follow. It can hardly be said of Szechuan that the cultivation of - opium seriously interferes with food supplies. The supply of rice - remains the same, and the opium produced, less the value of the crops - it replaces, is so much additional wealth to the province. - - I shall presently show that opium is a more remunerative crop than its - only possible substitutes, beans or wheat, and no per-centage of the - opium crop being due to the landlord, its cultivation has been greatly - stimulated in consequence. Of late years, however, in the districts I - have named as being in winter one vast poppy-field, owners of land - have become alive to the value to occupiers of the opium crop, and - have stipulated for a share of it in addition to their share of the - summer crop. Rents, in fact, where opium is in universal cultivation, - have practically doubled. Before leaving the subject of tenure, I may - add that, in the event of non-payment of rent from causes other than - deficient harvests, the landlord helps himself to the deposit in his - hands. In bad years remissions are willingly made by the Government to - owners of the land-tax, and by owners to occupiers of the - rent-produce. - -Now you will remember that this very province of Szechuan, where such -extensive cultivation of the poppy is carried on, is the largest and most -distant of all the provinces of China; it is one of the westernmost of the -eighteen provinces of the empire, being bordered on the west by Thibet. -Until quite recently Szechuan was about as accessible to Englishmen as -Moscow was fifty years ago, a _terra incognita_, in fact, to Europeans, so -that it cannot be pretended for one moment that the introduction into -China of Indian opium has had anything to do with the cultivation of the -drug there. Indian opium could hardly ever have found its way into the -province, which is not less than one thousand two hundred miles from the -sea. It is only since the opening of the port of Ichang in the adjoining -province of Hupeh, which took place in April 1877, that the district has -become at all accessible. But let us return to Mr. W. Donald Spence. This -is another extract from his report:-- - - The poppy is now grown on all kinds of land, hill slopes, terraced - fields, paddy and bottom lands in the valleys. Since 1872, when Baron - Richthofen visited the province, a great change has taken place in - this respect, for it appears to have been cultivated then on hill - lands only. All the country people whom I asked were agreed that opium - is most profitably grown on good land with liberal manuring. In India - it is best grown on rich soil near villages where manure can be easily - obtained, and the Szechuan cultivator has found this out for himself. - Poppy cultivation, as practised in Szechuan, is very simple. As soon - as the summer crop is reaped the land is ploughed and cleaned, roots - and weeds are heaped and burnt, and the ashes scattered over the - ground; dressings of night soil are liberally given. The seeds are - sown in December, in drills a foot and a half apart. In January, when - the plants are a few inches high, the rows are thinned and earthed up - so as to leave a free passage between each: the plants are then left - to take care of themselves, the earth round them being occasionally - stirred up and kept clear of weeds. In March and April, according to - situation, the poppy blooms. In the low grounds the white poppy is by - far the most common, but red and purple are also grown. As the - capsules form and fill, dressings of liquid manure are given. In April - and May the capsules are slit and the juice extracted. The raw juice - evaporates into the crude opium of commerce increasing in value as it - decreases in weight. - -Mr. Spence then goes on to compare the value of the wheat with the opium -crop, showing that the cultivation of the latter is just twice as -profitable as the former. Space will not allow me to give you full -extracts on this subject, but, as some portion of it is germane to this -part of my lecture, I give a short extract on the point:-- - - It must be remembered, too, that every single part of the poppy plant - has a market value. The capsules, after the juice has been extracted, - are sold to druggists, and made into medicine; oil is expressed from - the seeds, and largely used for lighting and adulterating edible oils; - the oil-cake left in the oil-press is good manure, as are also the - leaves; and the stalks are burnt for potash. Against these advantages - opium is subject to a rent, and requires, for profitable cultivation, - plenty of manure; whereas wheat, when followed by a summer crop, pays - little or no rent, and gets, in general, no manure. Into the relative - profits of opium and wheat both Mr. Baber and Mr. Parker have gone - very carefully, and their results correspond, in the main, with my own - observations. - -I will now give you a short account of opium-culture in the province of -Yunnan, a more inaccessible part of China still perhaps than Szechuan. Mr. -E. Colborne Baber, like Mr. Spence, belongs to the diplomatic service, and -is now the secretary of the British Legation at Peking. All that I have -stated as to Mr. Spence applies alike to him. He is a gentleman in whom -the most implicit confidence should be placed. In 1877 he travelled -through Western Szechuan, having, in his own words, on the morning of the -8th July in that year, passed the western gate of Ch'ung-Ch'ung "full of -the pleasurable anticipations which precede a plunge into the unknown." -Having finished his journey through Szechuan, he struck into Yunnan, -following the route of Mr. Grosvenor's mission. He has recounted his -adventures in a most valuable and interesting book, written in such a -pleasing and graphic style, that the reader, when looking at it for -reference only, is irresistibly compelled to read further. His book has -been published by the Royal Geographical Society, and is well worthy of -general perusal. It is one of the few readable books of travel to be met -with nowadays. There is very little respecting opium culture in the -volume, but what there is upon the subject is very much to the point. This -is what he says:-- - - Of the sole agricultural export, opium, we can speak with some - certainty. We were astounded at the extent of the poppy cultivation - both in Szechuan and Yunnan. We first heard of it on the boundary line - between Hupah and Szechuan, in a cottage which appears in an - illustration given in the work of Captain Blakiston, the highest - cottage on the right of the sketch. A few miles south of this spot - the most valuable variety of native opium is produced. - - In ascending the river, wherever cultivation existed we found numerous - fields of poppy. Even the sandy banks were often planted with it down - to the water's edge: but it was not until we began our land journey in - Yunnan that we fairly realised the enormous extent of its production. - With some fear of being discredited, but at the same time with a - consciousness that I am under-estimating-the production, I estimate - that the poppy-fields constitute a third of the whole cultivation of - Yunnan. - - We saw the gradual process of its growth, from the appearance of the - young spikelets above ground in January, or earlier, to the full - luxuriance of the red, white, and purple flowers, which were already - falling in May. In that month the farmers were trying the juice, but - we did not see the harvest gathered. We walked some hundreds of miles - through poppies; we breakfasted among poppies; we shot wild ducks in - the poppies. Even wretched little hovels in the mountains were - generally attended by a poppy patch. - - The ducks, called locally "opium ducks," which frequently supplied us - with a meal, do really appear, as affirmed by the natives, to stupefy - themselves by feeding on the narcotic vegetable. We could walk openly - up to within twenty yards of them, and even then they rose very - languidly. We are not, however, compelled to believe, with the - natives, that the flesh of these birds is so impregnated with laudanum - as to exercise a soporific influence on the consumer. They are found - in great numbers in the plain of Tung-ch'uan, in Northern Yunnan, and - turn out to be the _Tadorna vulpanser_. - - In the same district, and in no other, we met with the _Grus cinerea_, - an imposing bird, which is also a frequenter of opium-fields. - - The poppy appeared to us to thrive in every kind of soil, from the low - sandy borders of the Yang-tyu to the rocky heights of Western Yunnan; - but it seemed more at home, or at any rate was more abundant, in the - marshy valleys near Yung-ch'uan, at an elevation of seven thousand and - sixty feet (seven thousand one hundred and fifty feet according to - Garnier). - - I am not concerned here with the projects or prospects of the Society - for the Abolition of Opium: _if, however, they desire to give the - strongest impetus to its growth in Yunnan, let them by all means - discourage its production in India_. - -Now I have given you some very important evidence upon the two fallacies -before us; but perhaps, after all, the best testimony upon the subject is -that of Mr. Turner himself. He says, at page 13 of his book:-- - - "Everywhere, in all climates, on every soil, in every variety and - condition of circumstances throughout that vast empire, the Chinese - smoke opium, but nowhere do they all smoke. The smokers are but a - per-centage, greater or smaller in different places." - -I quite agree with him on this point. But here the question arises, where -is the drug procured which is smoked in every part of the eighteen -provinces of this vast Empire, equal in extent to Europe? Surely not from -abroad, because that great China authority, Sir Robert Hart, tells us in -his Yellow Book that all the Indian and Persian opium imported into China -is sufficient only to supply one third of one per cent. of the population -with a small portion annually of the drug. Not from India, because there -are many provinces in China--and a province there means a territory as -large as Great Britain--into which a particle of the Indian drug has -seldom or never been introduced. Whence, then, comes the great bulk of the -drug to satisfy all these smokers? Surely it must be from Chinese soil, -from the opium fields surrounding their own homes, which are to be seen in -every province of the Empire. - -Let us now return to the Yellow-book of Sir Robert Hart, to which I have -referred in the former lecture, and which seems to me to afford all the -evidence on this subject that is really wanted. It is admitted on both -sides that opium smoking is more or less prevalent throughout every -province of China, on every soil, whether in the valleys or on the hills -and mountains. Sir Robert Hart sent out a circular to the foreign -Commissioners of Customs at all the Treaty Ports in China, Hainan, and -Formosa,--two large islands lying respectively off the south and -south-east coast of China,--and the returns show that there are many -opium-smoking shops in each of these Treaty Ports, and that the gross -quantity of Indian and other foreign opium imported into China is about -one hundred thousand chests. Those returns also reveal the fact that in -almost every case foreign opium is used for mixing with the native drug, -which is of inferior quality and, there can be no doubt, invariably -adulterated; that a large amount of native opium is grown and sold; and -that the custom of opium smoking is more or less universal. Suppose we -take the case of Canton, as being a very large city. We may find, perhaps, -two or three hundred opium shops there, but the people who attend them are -not the better class of Chinese. They are exactly the same class of people -who frequent the drinking shops of London and other large cities in -England. The respectable, well-to-do people in Canton, who can afford to -keep the drug in their own houses, would not enter an opium shop any more -than a respectable person here would frequent a public-house. If a -stranger in London looked into the public-houses and saw men and women -drinking there, he would come to a false conclusion if he thought that -none but such people drank beer, spirits, or wine. We know that in almost -every private house here there is more or less liquor of all kinds kept -and consumed. The drinking shops furnish a mere indication of the amount -of alcoholic liquors drunk in a town. It is exactly the same with the -opium shops. They show the prevalence of the custom throughout the -country. If you find two hundred opium shops in Canton, and I am sure -there are not fewer there, you may be not less certain that opium is -smoked in the great majority of private and business houses in Canton. It -is the same in all the Treaty Ports. The opium-smoking shops in China may -be counted by hundreds and thousands, because China is as large as Europe, -and more populous. - -Sir Robert Hart's Report, although to a certain extent an anti-opium one, -is in this and other respects very valuable, and forms in itself a -complete answer to the false and unfounded allegations of the Anti-Opium -Society. It is not likely that he would exaggerate the amount of opium -grown or smoked in China; the inference, indeed, would be that he, as an -official of the Chinese Government, would do just the contrary. There are -a great many other important ports in China besides the twenty ports with -which foreigners are not allowed to trade, and from which, indeed, they -are rigidly excluded; and in the interior of the country there are immense -and numerous cities and towns, large, thriving and densely populated, -where the opium pipe is used as freely as the tobacco pipe is with us. The -provinces in which opium is most grown are Szechuan and Yun-Nan, two of -the largest of the eighteen provinces constituting China proper. They are -the two great western provinces; but it is also grown in the eastern and -central provinces, in fact, more or less, all over the country. Though -there are no certain statistics, there cannot be a doubt that opium -smoking is more prevalent in the interior provinces than on the coast, -because it is there that the most opium is grown, and it is but reasonable -to infer that where opium is largely cultivated, especially in a country -like China, having no railroads, and few ordinary roads, there you will -find it to be most cheap and abundant, and therefore most consumed. Upon -this point I would refer to a most authoritative work by the late lamented -Captain Gill, R.E.,[6] whose barbarous murder the whole country deplored. -At page 235 of vol. ii. Captain Gill says:-- - - As we had such vague ideas of the distance before us we were anxious - to make an early start, but we were now in Yunnan, the province of - China in which there is more opium smoked than in any other, and in - which it is proportionately difficult to move the people in the - morning. There is a Chinese proverb to the effect that there is an - opium pipe in every house in the province of Kweichow, but one in - every room in Yunnan, which means that men and women smoke opium - universally. - -That is the report of a man who was not only a sagacious and close -observer of all that he saw in his interesting journey, but who was wholly -impartial and disinterested on the subject of opium smoking. Sir Robert -Hart does not purport to give in this book correct returns of the quantity -of opium smoked or imported, much less of the quantity grown in China. The -replies of his subordinates at the different ports, many of them seven -hundred or a thousand miles apart, all concur in speaking of the great -difficulties they had in getting any figures at all. They are, therefore, -not to be taken as absolutely trustworthy, and Sir Robert candidly admits -that they are mere approximations. Before I had seen his book I had made a -calculation of the probable number of opium smokers in China, on the -assumption that the population of China proper was three hundred and sixty -millions, and that the custom was universal, limited only by the means of -procuring the drug; and I arrived at the conclusion that there were in -China three millions of habitual smokers, and about the same number of -occasional smokers. Mr. Lennox Simpson, Commissioner at Chefoo, in reply -to Sir Robert Hart's circular, says, at page 13 of the Yellow Book: - - Much difficulty has been experienced in eliciting answers to the - various questions put to the native opium shops and others, all - viewing with suspicion any inquiries made, evidently fearing that some - prohibition is about to be put on the trade, or that their interests - are in some way to suffer. _Hence some of the figures given in the - return can scarcely be considered reliable, although every pains has - been taken to collect information._ - -These commissioners are all gentlemen of good standing and education, and -they have a great many subordinates under them, so that they possess means -of collecting information such as no foreigner, not engaged in the public -service of China, could possibly command. Mr. Francis W. White, the -Commissioner at Hankow, replied: - - Owing to the entire absence of all reliable figures, the amount of - opium put down as produced within the province and within the empire - yearly, must be taken as approximate only. I have been careful to - collect information from various sources, and this has been as - carefully compared and verified as means will allow. - -Mr. Holwell, the Commissioner at Kiukiang, wrote: - - The total quantity of unprepared native opium, said to be produced - yearly in the province of Kiangsi, I find it next to impossible to - ascertain with any degree of certainty. Native testimony differs. - -I will point out by-and-by the reason why these returns are so unreliable. -The most extraordinary of them all are the returns of Mr. E. B. Drew, the -Commissioner at Ningpo, and Mr. H. Edgar, the Commissioner at Ichang. The -former estimates the entire quantity of native opium grown and consumed in -China at two hundred and sixty-five thousand chests, the latter at only -twenty-five thousand--less than a tenth of Mr. Drew's estimate. In the -face of all these discrepancies, Sir Robert Hart takes an arbitrary -figure, and says, in effect, there is at least as much opium produced in -China itself as is imported into China. With the knowledge I have of the -Chinese and the opium trade generally, from the calculations I have made, -and by the light thrown upon the question by Sir Robert Hart's Yellow -Book, and the Reports of Messrs. Spence and Baber and others, I am induced -to come to the conclusion that two hundred and sixty-five thousand chests -is much nearer the mark than a hundred thousand chests. - -The reason the Chinese opium dealers have been so reticent in affording -information to the Commissioners of Customs at these Treaty Ports is, that -they are afraid to do so, fearing if they gave correct information, they -might in so doing furnish to the Mandarins reasons for "squeezing" them, -or for placing taxes and other restrictions on their trade; for the -Government officials in China, from the highest to the lowest, are, as I -have before said, the most corrupt, cruel, and unscrupulous body of men -in the whole world. Mr. Storrs Turner has told us that the Chinese -Government is a paternal one, exercising a fatherly care of its people, -and always exhorting them to virtue. Nothing can be more fallacious than -this. Theoretically, there is much that is good in the system of -government in China, but practically it is quite the reverse. There is -little sympathy between the supreme Government and the great body of the -people. The Emperor, his family, and immediate suite, are all Tartars, -quite another race from the Chinese, differing totally in customs, -manners, dress, and social habits. The Governors or Viceroys are pretty -much absolute sovereigns within their own provinces. Each has under him a -host of officials, commonly known as Mandarins, who are generally the most -rapacious and corrupt of men; their salaries, in most cases, are purely -nominal, for they are expected to pay themselves, which they well -understand how to do. Their system of taxation is irregular and -incomplete, and the process of squeezing is openly followed all over the -country. There is nothing a Chinese dreads so much as disclosing his -pecuniary means, or, indeed, any information that might furnish a clue to -them. If he admitted that he cultivated fifty acres of opium, or bought a -hundred pikuls of opium in a year, his means and his profits could be -arrived at by a simple process of arithmetic, and although he might feel -sure that, so far as Sir Robert Hart and the foreign Commissioners under -him were concerned, no wrong need be apprehended, yet he is so distrustful -and suspicious, that he would fear lest the facts should reach the ears of -the higher Chinese officials through the native subordinates in the -Commissioners' Offices. - -A Chinaman, therefore, will never tell the amount or value of his -property, or the profits he is making by his business. He fears being -plundered; that is the simple fact. I know a respectable man in Hong Kong, -the possessor of considerable house property there, a man who would be -called wealthy even in England. Some years ago, when at Canton, where he -had a house, a Mandarin suddenly arrested and put him into prison. What a -Chinese prison is you will find in Dr. Gray's book. It is not the place -where a paternal Government ought to house the worst of criminals, or even -a wild beast. The man had committed no crime, and had done nothing -whatever to warrant this treatment; in vain he asked what he had been -imprisoned for, and demanded to be confronted with his accusers, if there -were any. His gaolers shrugged their shoulders and gave him no answer. He -was kept there for two or three months. Ultimately he received a hint, -which he recognized as an official intimation, that unless he came down -handsomely, as the phrase is, and that speedily, he would lose his head. -He took the hint, made the best bargain he could, and ultimately had to -pay seventy thousand dollars, or about fourteen thousand pounds, for his -release. There never was any accusation brought against him. - -I knew another man, living at Swatow, who had made a great deal of money -in trade. He bought a large piece of foreshore at that place, which he -reclaimed and turned into profitable land. A military Mandarin living -there thought him a fair object for a squeeze; the same process was gone -through as in the case I have before mentioned; but this man, not having -the same wisdom as the other, held fast to his dollars. The result was -that a false charge of kidnapping, alleged to have been committed twenty -years before, was brought against him, and he was taken out and beheaded. -That is the way money is raised by the governors and their subordinates in -China. So much for Mr. Turner's benign and paternal Government. There is -no regular Income Tax in China, but there is a Property Tax levied in the -way I have mentioned. The Chinese authorities will let a man go on making -money for many years, and when they think he has accumulated sufficient -wealth for their purpose, they pounce down upon him and demand as much as -they think they can extort. That is the reason the Chinese opium dealers -are so reticent when inquiries are made concerning opium. If the -Commissioners at the Treaty Ports had got fair returns, I have no doubt -that it is not a hundred thousand pikuls of native opium that Sir Robert -Hart would have estimated as the quantity of opium grown in China, but -probably four or five times that amount. - -Here, again, I must quote from Mr. Spence's report. Nothing can possibly -show better the prevalence of opium smoking in the provinces of Szechuan -and Yunnan and Hupah, they being about equal in extent to France, Spain, -and Portugal. This is what he says on the prevalence of opium smoking in -those provinces:-- - - Before giving an estimate of the amount of opium produced in Szechuan, - I must refer, in explanation of the large figures I shall be obliged - to use, to the extraordinary prevalence of the habit of opium smoking - in Western Hupei, in Szechuan, and in Yunnan. It prevails to an extent - undreamt of in other parts of China. The Roman Catholic missionaries, - who are stationed all over Szechuan to the number of nearly one - hundred, and who, living amongst the people, have opportunities of - observation denied to travellers, estimate that one-tenth of the whole - male adult population of the province smoke opium. Mr. Parker, after - travelling all over the thickly-settled parts of the province, - estimates the proportion of smokers thus:-- - - Per cent. - Labourers and small farmers 10 - Small shopkeepers 20 - Hawkers, soldiers 30 - Merchants, gentry 80 - Officials and their staffs 90 - Actors, prostitutes, thieves, vagabonds 95 - - I agree with Mr. Parker that the proportion of smokers varies in - different classes according to their means and leisure, but I feel - sure his estimate of the per-centage amongst the labouring classes is - much too low. One of the most numerous class of labourers in China is - the coolie class, day labourers who live by picking up odd jobs, - turning their hands to any kind of unskilled work that may be offered. - Certainly more than half of them smoke. Of the labouring classes who - are not "coolies," as a whole this much may be said--they only have - money at stated intervals; and when out of a gang of forty or fifty - workmen or sailors only four or five smoke opium, it does not mean - that only ten per cent. are smokers. In all probability half of the - whole gang squandered their wages the day they got the money, and have - nothing left to buy opium or anything else until the job or voyage for - which they have been engaged is finished. - - For example, of my junk crew on my voyage to Chungking, only four - smoked opium regularly, but seven others who had spent all their wages - before we started smoked whenever I gave them a few cash. The total - abstinence of a British sailor at sea for months on end proves - nothing; it is what he will do when he has ten pounds in his pocket, - and is in a street with fifteen public-houses, that decides his - sobriety. So of workmen in the west of China, a large number smoke - opium when they have money, and do the best they can when they have - none. Whatever be the exact per-centage of the opium smokers in - Szechuan in the whole population, it is many times larger than in the - east. - -Now, after all this absolutely irrefutable testimony, many might think it -unnecessary to go further. They little know, however, how strong a hold -fanaticism takes of the human mind; they little think how difficult it is -to eradicate a fascinating LIE from the mind, once its glittering -meretricious form has got hold of it and supplanted wholesome truth. I -have, therefore, to deal not only with those whose minds are as a sheet of -white paper, but with those in whom the fallacious seeds that beget error -and fanaticism have been sown and taken firm root. I will now give you an -extract from Sir Rutherford Alcock's paper, which is deserving of careful -study:-- - - I may say here, that although most of the staple arguments and - misleading opinions on opium and its disastrous effects come from the - missionaries in China, whose good faith I do not question, there is no - stronger protest against exaggerated and sensational statements on - record than has been supplied by one of their number, the late Dr. - Medhurst, of whom it has been truly said, he was "one of the most - able, experienced, zealous missionaries in China." Opposed in - principle to the opium trade in all its aspects, his statements will - be readily accepted as unimpeachable evidence. The following remark - appears in an official paper, forwarded to the Chief Superintendent of - Trade of Hong Kong in 1855. Alluding to a speech of an American - missionary who had visited England, and was reported to have told the - British public "that the smokers of the contraband article have - increased from eight to fifteen millions, yielding an annual death - harvest of more than a million," and further characterizing the - traffic as "staining the British name in China with the deepest - disgrace," Dr. Medhurst observes, "_such statements do great harm; - they produce a fictitious and groundless excitement in the minds of - the religious and philanthropic public at home, while they steel - against all reasonable and moderate representations the minds of the - political and mercantile body abroad. The estimate given has not even - the semblance of truth; it is an outrageous exaggeration._" And yet in - a memorial presented to Lord Clarendon by two distinguished and justly - respected noblemen, the Earls of Shaftesbury and Chichester, on the - extent of the opium trade in 1855, these, and still more "outrageous - exaggerations" appear with the authority of their names. Lord - Shaftesbury officializes the estimate that twenty millions of Chinese - are opium smokers, and assumes that of this number one-tenth, that is, - two millions, die yearly, and states it as "an appalling fact." - Appalling, indeed! But what if it be a mere figment of the - imagination, and absolutely devoid, as Dr. Medhurst says, of a - semblance of truth? - -This is the way the benevolent British public have been cajoled and misled -for the last twenty years, or more, by opium-phobists. No wonder that the -Anti-Opium Society can raise fifty thousand pounds so easily, for the -British public is a benevolent one, and will subscribe its gold readily -where what they believe a proper object presents itself. Sad, indeed it -is, that in the present case its munificence represents, not merely so -much money lost, but vast sums recklessly squandered in a mischievous -agitation, that whilst it tends to sap and ruin one of the loveliest of -all virtues--that charity that endureth long and is kind--paralyses -missionary labour, prejudices the trade and revenue of our great Indian -Empire, and defames our country in the eyes of the whole world. Sad, sad -also to see that venerated nobleman, Lord Shaftesbury, after his long and -honourable career, and so many other good and eminent men, made the -victims of such miserable delusions. - -I think it is now clear, both from the testimony I have adduced, and from -Mr. Turner's own admission, that the poppy is not only indigenous to -China, but that it has been cultivated there from time immemorial, and -that opium is smoked generally throughout China, the only limit to its use -being the means of procuring the drug. - - - - -LECTURE III. - - -In my last lecture I dealt with the fallacy that the poppy is not -indigenous to China, but has recently been introduced there presumably by -British agency, and that opium smoking in China was confined to a small -percentage of the people, which had been steadily increasing since the -introduction into China of Indian opium. - -I now proceed to discuss fallacy number 3, which is, that "_opium smoking -is injurious to the system, more so than spirit drinking_." I think I -shall be able to show most clearly that exactly the reverse is the case. -With this it will be convenient to take fallacy number 5, which is a -kindred one, namely, that "_opium smoking and opium eating are equally -hurtful_." This fallacy lies at the root of the opium controversy, for it -alone has enabled the Anti-Opium agitators to give plausibility to their -teaching and to obtain some hold, as they lately had, upon the public -mind. There is, in truth, about as much difference in the two practices as -there is between drinking, say, a pint of ardent spirits and bathing the -surface of one's body with the same stimulant. Before proceeding further, -it may be stated that opium is admitted by physicians in all countries to -be an invaluable medicine, for which there is no known substitute. Mr. -Storrs Turner says that from the time of Hippocrates to the present day it -has been the physician's invaluable ally in his struggles against disease -and death. - -Pereira thus describes the drug:-- - - Opium is undoubtedly the most important and valuable remedy of the - whole Materia Medica. For other medicines we have one or more - substitutes, but for opium none,--at least in the large majority of - cases in which its peculiar and beneficial influence is required. Its - good effects are not, as is the case with some valuable medicines, - remote and contingent, but they are immediate, direct, and obvious, - and its operation is not attended with pain or discomfort. Furthermore - it is applied, and with the greatest success, to the relief of - maladies of everyday occurrence, some of which are attended with acute - human suffering. - -This is the description given of opium in Dr. Quain's _Dictionary of -Medicine_ recently published:-- - - Opium and morphia naturally stand first and still hold their place as - our most potent and reliable narcotics, all the more valuable because - almost alone in their class they are also endowed with powerful - anodyne action, in virtue of which they may relieve pain without - causing sleep. Valuable as it is in all forms of insomnia, opium is - especially indicated in typhus fever and other acute disorders, when - delirium and prolonged wakefulness seem to endanger life. The - principal drawback to opium is the digestive disturbance following its - use, and the fact that, as toleration is very rapidly established, - gradually increasing doses are needed to check the counteracting - influence of habit. - -The Anti-Opium Society and their followers allege that dram-drinking is -not only less baneful than opium-smoking, but they say that the latter -practice so injures the constitution, and has such extraordinary -attractions for those who indulge in it, that it is impossible to get rid -of the habit, and that, in effect, whilst drunkards can be reformed, opium -smokers cannot. This is absolutely untrue. The reverse is much nearer the -mark. The effect upon the system of constant spirit drinking, leaving -actual drunkenness and its consequences aside, is that it produces organic -changes in the system, by acting upon what medical men call the -"microscopic tissues," of which the whole human frame is made up; also -poisoning the blood, which then, instead of being a healthy fluid coursing -freely through the frame and invigorating the entire system, flows -sluggishly, producing organic changes in the blood vessels, inducing -various diseases according to the constitution and tendencies of the -individual. Three of the most usual diseases to which the habitual dram -drinker is subject are liver disease, fatty degeneration of the heart, and -paralysis. There is not a medical student of three months' experience who -could not, if you entered a dissecting-room, point you out a "drunkard's -liver." The moment he sees that object he knows at once that the wretched -being to whom it belonged had, by continued indulgence in alcohol, ruined -his constitution and health, and brought himself to an untimely end. There -is another serious consequence arising from habitual drinking. Not only -does the habit irreparably ruin the general health so that cure is -impossible, but it induces insanity, and I believe I am not beyond the -mark in stating that fifty per cent. at the least of the lunatics in our -various asylums throughout the country have become insane from -over-indulgence in alcohol. Dr. Pereira, in his celebrated _Materia -Medica_, states that out of one hundred and ten cases occurring in male -patients admitted into the Hanwell Lunatic Asylum in 1840, no fewer than -thirty-one were ascribed to intemperance, while thirty-four were referred -to combined causes of which intemperance was stated to be one; and yet Mr. -Turner and his disciples say that spirit drinking is a lesser vice than -opium smoking! - -I need not remind you of the consequences to others besides the actual -victims to spirit drinking, for that is unfortunately told too eloquently -and but too vividly brought before us every day in the public newspapers. -You will find that those acts of violence, those unfortunate cases that -make one shudder to read, happening daily in this country--kicking wives, -sometimes to death, beating and otherwise ill-using helpless children, -violently attacking unoffending people in the streets--all are the -results, more or less, of spirit drinking. Even the missionaries admit -that opium smoking does not produce any of these evils. As I have said -before, truth is natural to the human mind, and will reveal itself, even -where it is not directly relevant to the purpose. Mr. Turner does not -venture to dispute this in his book, and I would call your attention to -the passage. He says on page 33:-- - - Even between drunkenness and opium smoking there are perceptible - distinctions. We must allow that opium smoking is a much more pacific - and polite vice. The opium sot does not quarrel with his mate nor kick - his wife to death; he is quiet and harmless enough while the spirit of - the drug possesses him. - -That is all true so far as the fact goes, but if an insinuation is -intended that the Chinaman gets violent after the effect of the drug has -passed away, there is no foundation for it in fact. The Chinaman takes -opium just because he likes it, and knowing it will act at once as a -pleasing sedative and a harmless stimulant. A man who is working hard all -day in a tropical climate, whether at bodily or mental work, finds, -towards the close of the day, his nervous system in an unsettled state, -and looks for a stimulant, and the most harmless and most effectual one he -can find is the opium pipe. When opium and opium smoking are better -understood--and I believe the subject is now but imperfectly known by most -medical men in this country--I feel convinced that the faculty will -largely prescribe opium smoking, not merely as a substitute for dram -drinking, but as a curative agency, that in many cases will be found -invaluable. In this I am borne out by an eminent medical authority, to -whom I shall refer by-and-by. The regular and habitual opium smoker is -seldom or never found to indulge in spirits at all. Stimulants of all -kinds are so freely taken here that people never look upon them as a -poison; but in point of fact they are a terrible poison, and a very active -one, too. Another medical work of very great authority is that by Dr. -Taylor.[7] It has always received the greatest attention in courts of law; -and it is also held in the highest estimation by the medical profession. -At page 315, under the head of "Poisoning by Alcohol," he says:-- - - The stomach has been found intensely congested or inflamed, the mucous - membrane presenting in one case a bright red, and in another a dark - red-brown colour. When death has taken place rapidly, there may be a - peculiar odour of spirits in the contents; but this will not be - perceived if the quantity taken was small, or many hours have elapsed - before the inspection is made. The brain and its membranes are found - congested, and in some instances there is effusion of blood or serum - beneath the inner membrane. In a case observed by Dr. Geoghegan, in - which a pint of spirits had been taken and proved fatal in eight - hours, black extravasation was found on the mucous membrane of the - stomach; but no trace of alcohol could be detected in the contents. - The action of a strong alcoholic liquid on the mucous membrane of the - stomach so closely resembles the effect produced by arsenic and other - irritants, as easily to give rise to the suspicion of mineral irritant - poisoning. A drawing in the museum collection of Guy's Hospital - furnishes a good illustration of the local action of alcohol. The - whole of the mucous membrane of the stomach is highly corrugated and - is of a deep brownish-red colour. _Of all the liquids affecting the - brain this has the most powerful action on the stomach._ A case of - alcoholic poisoning of a child, æt. seven, referred to me by Mr. - Jackaman, coroner for Ipswich, in July 1863, will serve to show the - correctness of this remark. A girl was found at four o'clock in the - morning lying perfectly insensible on the floor. She had had access to - some brandy, which she had swallowed from a quartern measure, found - near her empty. She had spoken to her mother only ten minutes before, - so that the symptoms must have come on very rapidly. She was seen by - Mr. Adams four hours afterwards. She was then quite insensible, in a - state of profound coma, the skin cold, and covered with a clammy - perspiration. There had been slight vomiting. The child died in twelve - hours, without recovering consciousness, from the time at which she - was first found. - -So far Dr. Taylor, a most competent authority on the subject, as showing -what a poison alcohol is. Now alcohol, as I have before mentioned, effects -an organic change in the system, which opium, if smoked, or even if eaten -does not; and when spirits are indulged in to a very considerable extent, -the disease produced is absolutely incurable, because it is impossible for -any medical skill to give a man new tissues, new blood, a new stomach, or -a new liver, where the whole substance and material of all has undergone a -complete and ruinous change. Now, the case as regards opium is totally -different, because, no matter how much one may indulge in opium, whether -in eating or smoking, the effects produced are always curable. This is so -as regards opium eating; in respect to the infinitely less exciting -practice of opium _smoking_, the rule applies with very much greater -force. A man may smoke opium inordinately until, from want of appetite and -impaired digestion, he seems sinking into the grave; he is, however, only -labouring under functional derangement, which is always curable. The use -of opium in any form produces no organic change in the system whatever. -Excessive eating or smoking opium may impair the appetite and digestion, -but that will be all. I have very competent medical authority for saying -this. This fact places opium and alcohol in two entirely different -categories. The one, if eaten in moderation, is, I believe, harmless, if -not beneficial; while, as to the smoking of the drug, it is absolutely -innocuous;--but if alcohol be freely though not inordinately used, it will -prove, sooner or later, destructive to the system, acting upon the frame -as a slow poison, which must eventually end, as experience shows, in ruin -and death. De Quincey tells us in his _Confessions_ that he ate opium with -impunity for eighteen years, and that it was only after eight years -_abuse_ of opium eating that he suffered in any way from the practice. - -I will now give you another extract from Dr. Pereira's book. At page 446, -under the heading "Consequences of Habitual Drunkenness," he says:-- - - The continued use of spirituous liquors gives rise to various morbid - conditions of system, a few only of the most remarkable of which can - be here referred to. One of these is the disease known by the various - names of _delirium tremens_, _d. potatorum_, _oinomapria_, &c., and - which is characterized by delirium, tremor of the extremities, - wakefulness, and great frequency of pulse. The delirium is of a - peculiar kind. It usually consists in the imagined presence of objects - which the patient is anxious to seize or avoid. Its pathology is not - understood. It is sometimes, but not constantly, connected with or - dependent on an inflammatory condition of the brain, or its membranes. - Sometimes it is more allied to nervous fever. Opium has been found an - important agent in relieving it. Insanity is another disease produced - by the immoderate and habitual use of spirituous liquors. - -Now I do not think that, much as they have abused opium smoking, any of -the Anti-Opium writers have ever alleged insanity to be an effect or -concomitant of opium smoking. It must therefore be taken as generally -admitted that opium smoking, or even opium eating, does not produce -insanity. We have, then, this undisputed fact, viz. _that insanity and -acts of violence do not result from opium smoking, whilst they are -unquestionably produced by spirit drinking_. - -I had recently some conversation on the subject of opium with a medical -friend who has been in large practice in London, for twenty years. I had -previously spoken to him frequently on the same subject, and he has been -kind enough to give me his views in a very interesting and concise manner. -This opinion, I may tell you, is not paid for, or prepared merely to -support a particular purpose, as in the case of trials in the law courts. -It is purely spontaneous. We all know that professional men, whether -doctors, lawyers, surveyors, and others, are all more or less prone to -take the views of the party requiring their services, and they, -accordingly, will give opinions more or less coinciding with those views. -It does not, however, follow that the persons doing so are guilty of any -moral wrong, or that they write or state what they do not believe to be -true; on the contrary, they have a complete faith in the statements they -make. The natural bent of the mind is to lean towards the views urged by -one's patient or client; and thus two physicians or lawyers of the highest -standing and character will be found to hold different opinions. But this -statement with which I have been furnished stands on an entirely different -footing. There can have been no bias in the mind of the writer; it is -simply the result of study and experience. I have the most perfect -confidence in this gentleman's opinions. He is Mr. William Brend, M.R.C.S. -He says:-- - - There is no organic disease traceable to the use of opium, either - directly or indirectly, and whether used in moderate quantities or - even in great excess. In other words, _there is no special disease - associated with opium_. Functional disorder, more or less, may be, and - no doubt is, induced by the improper or unnecessary use of opium; but - this is only what may be said of any other cause of deranged health, - such as gluttony, bad air, mental anxiety.... - - However great the functional disorder produced by opium, even when - carried to great excess, may be, the whole effect passes off, and the - bodily system is restored in a little while to a state of complete - health, if the habit be discontinued. Alcohol, when taken in - moderation, unquestionably benefits a certain number of individuals, - but there are others whose systems will not tolerate the smallest - quantities; it acts upon them like a poison. But in the case of all - persons when alcohol is taken in excess disease is sooner or later - produced; that disease consists of organic changes induced in the - blood-vessels of the entire system, more especially the minute - blood-vessels called the capillaries; these become dilated, and - consequently weakened in their coats, and eventually paralyzed, so - that they cannot contract upon the blood. The result of this is - stagnation, leading to further changes still, such as fatty - degeneration of all the organs; for it must be remembered that alcohol - circulates with the blood, and thus finds its way into the remotest - tissues. The special diseases referrable to alcohol, besides this - general fatty degeneration, are the disease of the liver called - "cirrhosis," and very frequently "Bright's disease of the kidneys." - Here, then, we have a great and important difference between opium and - alcohol. The second great difference grows out of the first. It is - this:--I have said that if alcohol be taken in excess for a certain - length of time, depending to some extent upon the susceptibility of - the individual, organic change, that is disease, is inevitable; but - the saddest part of it is that it is real disease, not merely - functional disorder; so that if those who have yielded to that excess - can be persuaded to abandon alcohol entirely the mischief induced must - remain. The progress of further evil may be staved off, but the system - can never again be restored to perfect health. _The demon_ has taken a - grip which can never be entirely unloosed. Herein there is the second - great difference between the use of opium and of alcohol in excess. - - If what I have said of opium eating be true, common sense will draw - the inference that opium smoking must be comparatively innocuous, for - used in this way, a very small quantity indeed of the active - constituents find their entrance into the system. Its influence, like - tobacco, is exerted entirely upon the nervous system, and when that - influence has passed off it leaves (as also in the case of tobacco) a - greater or less craving for its repetition; but as organic disease is - not the result, I see no reason why opium smoking in moderation - necessarily degrades the individual more than does the smoking of - tobacco. - -Here I will give you another extract from Mr. Storrs Turner's book, which -tells against his case very strongly indeed. How he came to insert it I -can only understand on the principle I have already mentioned, that truth -is inherent to the human mind and will reveal itself occasionally even -though it has to struggle through a mountain of prejudice and of warped -understanding. This is it, from the evidence of Dr. Eatwell, First -Assistant Opium Examiner in the Bengal service; it will be found on page -233:-- - - Having passed three years in China, I may be allowed to state the - results of my observation, and I can affirm thus far, that the effects - of the abuse of the drug do not come very frequently under - observation, and that when cases do occur, the habit is frequently - found to have been induced by the presence of some painful chronic - disease, to escape from the sufferings of which the patient has fled - to this resource. That this is not always the case, however, I am - perfectly ready to admit, and there are doubtless many who indulge in - the habit to a pernicious extent, led by the same morbid impulses - which induce men to become drunkards in even the most civilised - countries; but these cases do not, at all events, come before the - public eye. It requires no laborious search in civilized England to - discover evidences of the pernicious effects of the abuse of alcoholic - liquors; our open and thronged gin-palaces, and our streets afford - abundant testimony on the subject; but in China this open evidence of - the evil effects of opium is at least wanting. As regards the effects - of the habitual use of the drug on the mass of the people, I must - affirm that no injurious results are visible. The people generally are - a muscular and well-formed race, the labouring portion being capable - of great and prolonged exertion under a fierce sun, in an unhealthy - climate. Their disposition is cheerful and peaceable, and quarrels and - brawls are rarely heard amongst even the lower orders; whilst in - general intelligence they rank deservedly high amongst Orientals. I - will, therefore, conclude with observing, that the proofs are still - wanting to show that the moderate use of opium produces more - pernicious effects upon the constitution than does the moderate use of - spirituous liquors; whilst, at the same time, it is certain that the - consequences of the abuse of the former are less appalling in their - effect upon the victim, and less disastrous to society at large, than - are consequences of the abuse of the latter. - -Could any evidence against the allegations of the Anti-Opium Society be -stronger than this? Have I not now a right to say, "Out of the mouth of -thine own witness I convict thee!" - -My own observation goes to show that opium smoking is far more fascinating -than opium eating, and that the opium smoker never relapses into the opium -eater. Opium eating, as I think I have already stated, is unknown in -China. I think these statements put the question as regards opium smoking, -opium eating, and spirit drinking in a very different light to what the -advocates of the Anti-Opium Society throw upon the subject. The latter -talk of the importation of Indian opium into China as the origin of the -custom of smoking the drug, or, at the least, that it has made the natives -smoke more than they otherwise would have done. There is no truth in such -representations. Let us take the year 1880, for instance, and adopting the -figures given by Sir Robert Hart, and concurred in by the British -merchants, which I take to be quite correct, that the amount of opium -imported into China from India was in that year one hundred thousand -chests, each chest weighing a pikul, which would amount to about six -thousand tons. Distribute those six thousand tons over the whole of China, -which, as I have before so often said, is as large as Europe, and with a -population amounting to three hundred and sixty millions, and you will -find it gives such a trifling annual amount to each person, that Sir -Robert Hart cannot mark from its use any damage to the finances of the -State, the wealth of its people, or the growth of its population. In the -United Kingdom, where we have less than a tenth of the population of -China, there were two hundred thousand tons of alcohol--whisky, gin, -brandy--and one thousand and ninety millions four hundred and forty-four -thousand seven hundred and sixteen gallons of wine and beer consumed in -that year. If all these spirits, wine, and beer were mixed up so as to -form one vast lake--one huge "devil's punch-bowl"--there would be -sufficient liquor for the whole population of the United Kingdom to swim -in at one time. But if the tears of all the broken-hearted wives, widows, -and orphans that flowed from the use of the accursed mixture were -collected, they would produce such a sea of sorrow, such an ocean of -misery as never before was presented to the world. Yet philanthropists and -Christian people in this country give all their time, energies, and a -great deal of their money to put down this purely sentimental grievance in -China, and shut their eyes to the terrible evils thundering at their own -doors! - -The whole purpose of Mr. Storrs Turner's book, and of the Anti-Opium -Society, is to write down opium smoking in China, with the ultimate view -of suppressing the Indo-China opium trade; and no man living is better -aware than Mr. Turner that opium eating is not a practice with the -Chinese; indeed, I doubt if it is known in China at all. Yet, knowing all -this, he puts forward the outrageous theory that opium smoking and opium -eating are equally injurious; it therefore becomes a matter of the first -importance that the great difference between these two practices should be -clearly shown. In the appendix to Mr. Turner's book there is a mass of -evidence, of which a large portion is quite beside the question, for it -applies exclusively to opium eating--a practice, I assert and will clearly -show, is totally different from, and a thousand times more trying to the -constitution than opium smoking. Dr. Ayres says that opium smokers can -smoke in one day as much opium as would, if eaten, poison one hundred men, -and Dr. Ayres is a very great authority on the subject; for not only has -he a large practice among the better classes of Chinese, all of whom are, -more or less, opium smokers, but his daily duties bring him into contact -with the criminal classes, who are most prone to excessive sensual -indulgence of this kind. - -This is what Dr. Ayres says upon the subject in his article in the _Friend -of China_:-- - - As regards opium smoking, no prisoner who confessed to be an opium - smoker has been allowed a single grain in the gaol. Neither has he had - any stimulant as a substitute, and I do not find there has been any - evil consequence in breaking off this habit at once, nor that any - precaution has been necessary, further than a closer attention to the - general health. Several very good specimens of opium smokers have come - under observation; one was the case of a man whose daily consumption - had been two ounces a day for nineteen years, and who was allowed - neither opium nor gin, nor was he given any narcotic or stimulant. For - the first few days he suffered from want of sleep, but soon was in - fair health, and expressed himself much pleased at having got rid of - the habit.... In my experience, the habit does no physical harm in - moderation. In the greatest case of excess just mentioned at the gaol, - a better-nourished or developed man for his size it would be difficult - to see. - -So far as regards opium _eating_, the best medical authorities are divided -as to whether opium eating or drinking in moderation is injurious to the -system at all. In any case, opium eating is not the question before us, -nor the subject of these lectures, which is opium smoking in China. Mr. -Storrs Turner gives, in his appendix, at page 240, extracts from some -statements of Lieut.-Col. James Todd, who says:-- - - This pernicious plant (the poppy) has robbed the Rajpoot of half his - virtues, and while it obscures these it heightens his vices, giving to - his natural bravery a character of insane ferocity, and to the - countenance which would otherwise beam with intelligence an air of - imbecility. - -That entirely relates to the _eating_ of the drug by the Rajpoots of -India, and has no connection or analogy to opium smoking by the Chinese. -There is another quotation on the same page from Dr. Oppenheim, given in -Pereira's _Materia Medica_ as follows:-- - - The habitual _opium eater_ is instantly recognised by his appearance: - a total attenuation of body, a withered, yellow countenance, a lame - gait, &c. - -And so on. This, as you see, applies to opium eating only. There are many -other instances of the effects of such use of opium given in the appendix, -which, after these two quotations, it is useless to further repeat. -Indeed, so far as relevancy to his subject goes, Mr. Storrs Turner might -just as well have introduced into his book medical or other testimony as -to the effects of gluttony or spirit drinking. It suits his purpose, -however, to mix up the two practices, so as to confuse and mislead his -readers. Dr. Oppenheim's statement, by the way, is completely refuted by -Dr. Sir George Birdwood, a distinguished physician, whose long residence -in Bombay,--where there is a Chinese colony, most, if not all, of whom are -habitual smokers of the drug,--and whose thorough acquaintance with the -effects of opium eating and opium smoking, entitle his testimony to the -very highest consideration. Again, at p. 8 of Mr. Turner's volume, -reference is made to De Quincey's book on opium eating, intituled, "The -Confessions of an English Opium Eater." Could anything be more -disingenuous than this? De Quincey was an opium eater, not an opium -smoker. Here is the passage from Mr. Turner's book to which I have -referred:-- - - Those "Confessions," which are not confessions, but an _apologia pro - vitâ suâ_, an elaborate essay to whitewash his reputation and varnish - over the smirching blot of a self-indulgent habit by a glitter of a - fascinating literary style. - -Now did anyone ever hear of such an extraordinary explanation of De -Quincey's motives in publishing that volume? De Quincey, he says, in -effect, was ashamed of the practice of opium eating, and wrote the book as -an excuse for his conduct, so horrible, disgraceful, and debasing, -according to Mr. Storrs Turner, is--not opium eating, observe you, -but--opium smoking. How fallacious are such arguments I think I shall make -apparent to the most simple mind. If a man has the misfortune to have -contracted a disgraceful habit, such, for instance, as over-indulgence in -spirit drinking, the very last thing he would think of doing is to publish -a book upon the subject, and thus acquaint the whole world with his -infirmity. Yet this is what Mr. Turner alleges against De Quincey. But, in -point of fact, he is altogether wrong in supposing that De Quincey was -ashamed of opium eating; if he had been, he unquestionably would not have -written his book, which, by the way, is one of the most fascinating -volumes in our literature. Previous to the publication of it, probably -there were not half a dozen people who knew that he, De Quincey, was an -opium eater, and in the preface to the work, he says, "that his -self-accusation does not amount to a confession of guilt." I know Mr. -Turner to be a gentleman utterly incapable of wilfully acting -disingenuously, much less of stating intentionally what he knew to be -untrue; but he is so blinded by prejudice, his naturally clear intellect -is so warped and distorted, and his faculties and reasoning powers are so -perverted, by this opium question, and his duties towards the Anti-Opium -Society, that he either does not see the difference between the two -things,--opium smoking and opium eating,--or, aware of that difference, -thinks himself justified in classing them together, as they both proceed -from opium, and thus he would persuade himself and his readers that they -are equally baneful. But in this book of his he takes De Quincey, the -opium eater, who confesses to having eaten three hundred and twenty grains -a day, and compares him with an opium-smoking Chinaman who smoked one -hundred and eighty grains a day; the difference between eating three -hundred and twenty grains and smoking one hundred and eighty grains a day -being about as a thousand is to one, in fact, in such case it would be -simply the difference between life and death; and yet Mr. Storrs Turner -would strive to mix up the two practices, so that the incautious reader -might infer that the effects of the one were as injurious as those of the -other. Such is the class of arguments with which the Anti-Opium Society -and its credulous supporters have been satisfied, and upon which the whole -religious world, the country, and the legislature are called upon to come -to the rescue of injured humanity, and abolish this Indo-China opium -trade. - -Now, as De Quincey is on the _tapis_, I cannot refrain from exposing a -very disgraceful piece of deception which has been practised upon the -public by some of the agents or supporters of the Anti-Opium Society since -the first edition of my Lectures appeared. This work of De Quincey, as I -have intimated, is a very entertaining book; it is the first of a series -of fourteen volumes by the same author, published in 1880 by the eminent -firm of Adam and Charles Black, of Edinburgh; the price of each volume is -two shillings, which is very moderate indeed, taking the character and -quality of the letterpress, the paper, and general "get up" into account, -for, as for the copyright, it has expired. Although Mr. Storrs Turner has -mis-described the book as a penitential effort on the part of De Quincey, -I am afraid that the effect of its perusal on most readers would be to -induce them rather to become opium eaters than repel them from the -practice, as will be manifest from an extract which I shall shortly give -the reader. The truth is, De Quincey, who knew human nature very well, -lived by his pen, and was actuated more by the desire to amuse than reform -his readers--for, say as you will, a well presented comedy will be always -more popular with the multitude than a tragedy, however skilfully -performed. Now, I am far from impugning the main features of our author's -"confessions," but in saying that in writing this very fascinating and -original book he went extensively into the picturesque, and drew largely -on his imagination, no person who will afford himself the pleasure of -reading the book can, I think, deny. Now, some very zealous agent or -advocate of the Anti-Opium Society, fearing that the effect of this work -of De Quincey's--brought as it has been into notice in connection with -this controversy by Mr. Turner's and my own book--might be to induce the -reading public to think that opium, after all, was not so terrible a drug -as the Anti-Opium agitators represent, has set himself to the ignoble task -of so garbling the work, and importing into it other matter of his own, as -to represent opium eating as the most terrible, fearful, and demoralizing -practice in the world, and then printing the concoction and flooding the -country with the impudent travesty at the very moderate charge of one -penny. All the entertaining and diverting passages have been suppressed, -and some wretched stuff inserted. It is called on the title page "The -Confessions of an Opium Eater; the famous work by Thomas De Quincey. -Copyright edition." The whole is nothing more than a burlesque--and a very -bad one indeed--of the real volume. In the first place, there is a lie -upon the face of it, as the copyright has expired, and it is not in any -respect a copy of the original; and secondly, it barely contains one-sixth -of the matter of the actual volume, and has "counterfeit" stamped upon -every page. It was exposed at the various book-stalls of Messrs. W. H. -Smith and Son, in London, and, I believe, also throughout the country. I -myself bought two copies at the Charing Cross station a few months ago, -but I believe the delectable piece of literary forgery has since been -withdrawn. I daresay, however, it has, to a great extent, answered its -purpose, _i.e._ to poison the minds of its readers on the Opium question, -by making it appear that opium is a terrible poison, and that the smoking -of it is more injurious than the excessive indulgence in alcohol. This -"pious fraud" has done a grievous wrong to the memory of a great English -author, Thomas De Quincey--whose pure and classic English adorns our -language--and also an injury to the general public who have advanced their -money for the penny lie upon false pretences. The whole affair is just as -defensible a proceeding as that of some tenth-rate dauber who, having -copied (?) a masterpiece of Sir Joshua Reynolds, or some other great -master of the English school, had the miserable caricature oleographed, -and flooded the country with the imposture, in the hope of inducing the -public to believe that true copies of the originals were offered to them. -But these Anti-Opium fanatics do not stick at trifles, and, in their -insane desire to make right appear wrong, do not hesitate to defame the -dead and vilify the living. I have mentioned this incident to show my -readers the unscrupulous efforts these people will resort to in order to -impose their fictions upon the public. - -Now, leaving De Quincey and his book for the present, let us see what Dr. -Ayres says upon the difference between opium eating and opium smoking. In -his article in _The Friend of China_, from which I have already quoted, he -says:-- - - I have conducted my observations with much interest, as the effects of - opium eating are well known to me by many years' experience in India, - and I have been surprised to find the opium smoker differs so much - from the opium eater. _I am inclined to the belief that in the popular - mind the two have got confused together. Opium smoking bears no - comparison with opium eating._ The latter is a terrible vice, most - difficult to cure, and showing rapidly very marked constitutional - effects in the consumer. - -Dr. Ayres was quite right, the two have got mixed up together, thanks to -Mr. Storrs Turner and his confrères. To further explain the difference -between opium eating and opium smoking, let us take the familiar instance -of tobacco smoking. It is not, I think, generally known that tobacco, -taken internally, is a violent and almost instantaneous poison. A very -small quantity of it admitted into the stomach produces speedy death, and -it is a wonder to some medical men that its use has not been made -available by assassins for their foul and deadly purposes. Tobacco has no -medicinal properties; it is simply known to chemists and physicians as a -poison. Its alkaloid, or active principle, is nicotine, a poison of so -deadly and instantaneous a nature as to rank with aconite, strychnine, and -prussic acid. Of the four, indeed, it takes the lead. In Taylor's "Medical -Jurisprudence," to which I have already referred, it is laid down at page -321, under the head of "Poisoning by Tobacco":-- - - The effects which this substance produces when taken in a large dose, - either in the form of powder or infusion, are well marked. The - symptoms are faintness, nausea, vomiting, giddiness, delirium, loss of - power in the limbs, general relaxation of the muscular system, - trembling, complete prostration of strength, coldness of the surface - with cold clammy perspiration, convulsive movements, paralysis and - death. In some cases there is purging, with violent pain in the - abdomen; in others there is rather a sense of sinking or depression in - the region of the heart, passing into syncope, or creating a sense of - impending dissolution. With the above-mentioned symptoms there is - dilatation of the pupils, dimness of sight with confusion of ideas, a - small, weak, and scarcely-perceptible pulse, and difficulty of - breathing. Poisoning by tobacco has not often risen to medico-legal - discussion. This is the more remarkable as it is an easily accessible - substance, and the possession of it would not, as in the case of other - poisons, excite surprise or suspicion. In June, 1854, a man was - charged with the death of an infant, of ten weeks, by poisoning it - with tobacco. He placed a quantity of tobacco in the mouth of the - infant, with the view, as he stated, of making it sleep. The infant - was completely narcotized, and died on the second day.... Tobacco owes - its poisonous properties to the presence of a liquid volatile - alkaloid, _nicotina_. - -Whilst under the head "Nicotine," on the same page, he says:-- - - This is a deadly poison, and, like prussic acid, it destroys life in - small doses with great rapidity. I found that a rabbit was killed by a - single drop in three minutes and a half. In fifteen seconds the animal - lost all power of standing, was violently convulsed in its fore and - hind legs, and its back was arched convulsively. - -In Dr. Ure's "Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures, and Mines," it is laid -down, at page 250, under the head of "Nicotine":-- - - This alkaloid is the active principle of the tobacco plant.... - Nicotine is a most powerful poison, one drop put on the tongue of a - large dog being sufficient to kill it in two or three minutes. - -So much for tobacco and its alkaloid as deadly poisons; yet we all know -that, unless indulged in to an inordinate extent, tobacco smoking is a -perfectly harmless practice, almost universally indulged in; the exception -now being to find a man, young or old, gentle or simple, who is not a -tobacco smoker. Most of our greatest thinkers, philosophers, poets, -statesmen, and mathematicians smoke it, and in most cases, I believe, with -advantage. Indulged in moderately, it does no injury to the constitution, -but I should rather say its effects are curative and beneficial; you will -rarely find a heavy tobacco smoker a drunkard or even a spirit drinker. -Yet this plant, which gives comfort and delight to millions of people, is -a deadly poison if taken internally in even a minute quantity in its -natural or manufactured state. So it is with opium; the habitual eating of -it may be injurious, but the smoking is not only innocuous, but positively -beneficial to the system. It is a complete preservative against dram -drinking and drunkenness, for whilst it produces similar but far more -agreeable effects on the nervous system than wine, it does not, like -alcohol, poison the blood, destroy the health, and lead to ruin, disgrace, -and death. Of course, opium-smoking, like every other luxury--tea, wine, -spirits, beer, tobacco--may be abused, but the few who indulge excessively -are infinitesimally small as compared with the many who abuse the use of -alcoholic liquors. As to opium eating, an overdose produces death, but the -opium smoker can indulge in his luxury from, morning till night without -any apparent injury. It is plain, therefore, that opium smoking and opium -eating cannot be classed in the same category at all, but stand apart -quite separately and distinctly. - -I may here again appropriately refer to Sir Wilfrid Lawson's speech at the -Anti-Opium meeting at Newcastle. In the course of his remarks, the speaker -referred with some humour to an Anti-Tobacco-smoking Society, a once -active organization. At a meeting of this body held at Carlisle, it -appears that the chief orator,--an energetic person, with wonderful powers -of imagination and a fluent tongue, quite another Mr. Storrs -Turner--having exhausted his power of vituperation in denouncing the -Virginian weed and its terrible effects upon its votaries, alleged in -particular that tobacco smoking tended to shorten human life, but here he -was interrupted by one of the audience, a jovial middle-aged north -countryman, who said, "I don't know that Mr. Lecturer, for my father -smoked till he was eighty!" "Ah!" exclaimed the other, quite equal, as he -thought, to the occasion, "your father's case was an exceptional one; he -was an unusually strong, healthy man. Anyone who sees you, his hale, -hearty son, must know that. Had he not been a tobacco smoker he would have -lived much longer." "I don't know that either," returned the countryman, -"for he is alive and well and still smokes tobacco." Now had Sir Wilfrid -delivered that speech at a meeting formed to protest against the theories -of the Anti-Tobacco Society, he would assuredly have scored; but, as -matters stood, I must claim his speech as one made in favour of my views -upon the opium question; for, to use a famous formula, I would say to the -honourable baronet, "Would you be surprised to hear that I can produce to -you, not only an aged father and son who are opium smokers, but a father, -son, and grandson all living who follow that practice, and have done so -all their lives without injury to health?" - -But enjoyable as tobacco smoking may be, I contend that, to the Asiatic at -least, opium smoking is not only a more agreeable but also a far more -beneficial practice. Tobacco has no curative properties, but is simply a -poison; opium is the most valuable medicine known; where all other -sedatives fail its powers are prominent. As an anodyne no other medicine -can equal it. There is one property peculiar to opium, that is that it is -non-volatilizable, or nearly so. If a piece of opium is put on a red-hot -plate, it will not volatilize; that is, it will not disappear in the form -of vapour, which by chemical means can be preserved in order to resume or -retain its original character. But it will be destroyed by combustion; the -heat will consume it in the same manner as it would destroy a piece of -sugar or any other non-volatilizable body; whereas a substance that is -volatilizable, like sulphur, on being subjected to the same process, -instead of being destroyed, is simply given out in vapour, and by proper -means may be caught again and reformed in the shape of sulphur. So when -you place opium into a pipe and put the pellet to the lamp, the effect of -the combustion is to destroy the active property of the opium; the smoker -takes the smoke thrown off into his mouth, which he expels either through -the mouth or nostrils. The only way, therefore, he can get any of the -active property of the opium into his system is by smoking it like -tobacco. Now tobacco, on the contrary, is volatilizable, but the poison is -so volatile, and escapes so freely through the bowl of the pipe in the -shape of vapour, and is so rapidly expelled from the mouth, that no harm -is produced by the process of smoking the deadly poison, the natural -recuperative power of the frame neutralizing the effects of the noisome -vapour. The difference between opium and tobacco smoking appears to be -this:--In the one case you take into your mouth the mere smoke of a -valuable aromatic drug, which, when passed into the stomach in proper -quantities as a medicine, has powerful curative properties, the smoke when -expelled leaving no substance behind it, but in its passage exerting a -pleasant and perfectly harmless stimulating effect upon the nerves. - -In the case of tobacco, the fumes with the volatilized substance of a foul -and poisonous weed having no curative properties whatever, and having the -most loathsome and offensive smell to those who have not gone through the -pain and misery necessary to accustom themselves to them, is taken into -the mouth. Nicotine, the alkaloid of tobacco, is simply a deadly and rapid -poison, useful only to the assassin. Morphia, the alkaloid of opium, is -only poisonous when taken in an excessive quantity; whether used -internally or injected under the skin, it is the most wonderful anodyne -and sedative known. I fully believe that, when medical men come to study -opium and opium smoking more fully, it will become the established opinion -of the faculty that opium smoking is not only perfectly harmless, but that -it is most beneficial, so that it may ultimately not only put down spirit -drinking, but perhaps supersede, to a great extent, tobacco. But few -medical men in this country have as yet made opium a special study. They -only know its use and properties as described in the British Pharmacopeia; -many even of those who have practised in the parts of India where the drug -is eaten do not, it seems, as yet fully understand all its properties. Dr. -Ayres himself admits that he was astonished after his arrival in Hong Kong -to find the great difference between the effects of smoking and eating the -drug. I may here remind my readers that we have, or had once, an -Anti-Tobacco-smoking Society, just as there is now an Anti-Opium-smoking -Society. The former had so many living evidences of the absurdities -alleged by its supporters against the use of tobacco, that the agitation -was laughed down and has either died a natural death or has only a -moribund and spasmodic existence; but had the place where the alleged -enormity of tobacco smoking was practised been Africa, I think the Society -would have died a much harder death, or at all events shown more vitality. -The Anti-Opium Society would have shared the same fate long ago were it -not that the scene of all the alleged evils is China, ten thousand miles -away, and the witnesses against their absurd allegations live the same -distance from us. But still, believe me, the Anti-Opium Society's days are -numbered: it is doomed, and, like the Anti-Tobacco craze, will be numbered -soon amongst the things that were. I flatter myself that in the delivery -and publication of these lectures I have given the agitation a heavy blow -and great discouragement. - -I had some time ago the advantage of reading a very interesting and -remarkable letter in the "Times" by Sir George Birdwood, to whom I have -already referred; he has had more than fourteen years' experience in India -as a medical man, and has made the opium question a special study. I think -his testimony is worth a great deal more than that of any layman, however -learned or talented; the one has both theoretical and practical knowledge -of his subject, the other at best is only a theorist. Believe me, the -Roman poet knew human nature well when he said, "Trust the man who has -experience of facts." The paper, which is a learned and interesting one, -is too long to read, but here is an extract from it:-- - - My readers can judge for themselves from the authorities I have - indicated; but the opinion I have come to from them and my own - experience is, that opium is used in Asia in a similar way to alcohol - in Europe, and that, considering the natural craving and popular - inclination for, and the ecclesiastical toleration of it and its - general beneficial effects, and the absence of any resulting evil, - there is just as much justification for the habitual use of opium in - moderation as for the moderate use of alcohol, and indeed far more. - - Sir Benjamin Brodie is always quoted as the most distinguished - professional opponent of the dietetical use of opium; but what are his - words (_Psychological Enquiries_, p. 248):--"The effect of opium when - taken into the stomach is not to stimulate, but to soothe the nervous - system. It may be otherwise in some instances, but these are rare - exceptions to the general rule. The opium eater is in a passive state, - satisfied with his own dreamy condition while under the influence of - the drug. He is useless but not mischievous. It is quite otherwise - with alcoholic liquors." Opium smoking, which is the Chinese form of - using the drug--for which the Indian Government is specially held - responsible--is, to say the least in its favour, an infinitely milder - indulgence. As already mentioned, I hold it to be absolutely harmless. - I do not place it simply in the same category with even tobacco - smoking, for tobacco smoking may, in itself, if carried into excess, - be injurious, particularly to young people under twenty-five; but I - mean that opium smoking in itself is as harmless as smoking - willow-bark or inhaling the smoke of a peat-fire or vapour of boiling - water.... I have not seen Surgeon-General Moore's recent paper on - opium in the _Indian Medical Gazette_, but I gather from a notice of - it quoted from the _Calcutta Englishman_, in the _Homeward Mail_ of - the 14th of November last, that it supplies a most exhaustive and able - vindication of the perfect morality of the revenue derived by the - Indian Government from the manufacture and sale of opium to the - Chinese. He quotes from Dr. Ayres, of Hong Kong: "No China resident - believes in the terrible frequency of the dull, sodden-witted, - debilitated opium smoker met with in print;" and from Consul Lay:--"In - China the spendthrift, the man of lewd habits, the drunkard, and a - large assortment of bad characters, slide into the opium smoker; hence - the drug seems chargeable with all the vices of the country." Mr. - Gregory, Her Majesty's Consul at Swatow, says Dr. Moore never saw a - single case of opium intoxication, though living for months and - travelling for hundreds of miles among opium smokers. Dr. Moore - directly confirms my own statement of the Chinese having been great - drunkards of alcohol before they took to smoking opium. I find also a - remarkable collection of folk-lore (_Strange Stories from a Chinese - Studio_, by Herbert A. Giles), evidence in almost every chapter of the - universal drinking habits of the Chinese before the introduction of - opium among them, notwithstanding that the use of alcohol is opposed - to the cardinal precepts of Buddhism. What Dr. Moore says of the - freedom of opium smokers from bronchial thoracic diseases is deserving - of the deepest consideration. I find that, on the other hand, the - Chinese converts to Christianity suffer greatly from consumption. The - missionaries will not allow them to smoke, and, as they also forbid - their marrying while young, after the wise custom, founded on an - experience of thousands of years of their country, they fall into - those depraved, filthy habits, of which consumption is everywhere the - inexorable witness and scourge. When spitting of blood comes on, the - opium pipe is its sole alleviation. - -Now Dr. Birdwood is not only well informed upon the opium question, but is -certainly one of the ablest opponents of the Anti-Opium agitation who has -yet appeared. His letters in the "Times" created quite a sensation, and so -alarmed Mr. Storrs Turner that he left no means untried to neutralize -their effects. At this point a bright idea occurred to him. Finding that -there was a general consensus of opinion against him amongst English -medical men and other competent authorities that the outcry against opium -was groundless, he hit upon the brilliant expedient of discrediting them -all, by the assertion that Englishmen are so prejudiced that they are not -to be believed. This is what he says on the subject in his famous article -in the _Nineteenth Century_ having in a previous passage imagined a case -in which China was the plaintiff and Great Britain the defendant:-- - - The baneful effects of the opium vice are established by universal - experience. One may apply to it the theological maxim _Quod semper - quod ubique, quod ab omnibus_. Two considerations will show that the - opposition of a few dissentient voices does not detract from the - general conclusion. Most of these are quite clear on the point that - opium is bad for everybody but Chinese. They would be horrified at the - suggestion that opium should be freely used in England and approve the - efforts or supposed efforts of the Indian Government to keep it out of - the way of the natives of India. On another point these dissentients - are all alike; _every one of them is prejudiced in favour of the - defendant in the case before us. They are all Englishmen._ No French - or German medical man, no single Chinese authority has been quoted to - testify to the innocence of opium. Some of these apologists are opium - merchants, who aver that the drug by which they make their wealth is a - boon and a blessing to China; or it is a gentleman employed in the - India Office who considers opium smoking as safe as "twiddling one's - thumbs." - -Could the force of folly or fanaticism go further than that? All -Englishmen are prejudiced. I wonder, did it ever occur to Mr. Storrs -Turner that _he_, being an Englishman, might be a little prejudiced -also--on the other side of the question. Yes; Dr. Ayres, Dr. Eatwell, -Surgeon-General Moore, Dr. Birdwood, and a host of other eminent medical -men standing in the front rank of their profession, Sir Rutherford -Alcock, Mr. Colborne Baber, Mr. W. Donald Spence, and others are not to be -believed--because they are Englishmen! Were they Germans or Frenchmen, -they would, of course, be entitled to the fullest credence. Like the -priest and prophet of Crete, Mr. Storrs Turner holds that all his -countrymen are liars.[8] But, stay, do I not remember that gentleman's -holding a select conference of English medical men, about October 1882, -when certain resolutions were drawn up condemnatory of opium? Surely, yes. -The invitations were issued by the Earl of Shaftesbury. I should like to -ask Mr. Storrs Turner were the medical and other gentlemen then present -Englishmen or foreigners? If I do not greatly err they were _all_ -Englishmen. Does Mr. Storrs Turner consider those gentlemen worthy of -credit? I rather think he does: so that Mr. Turner's creed runs thus: -"Englishmen are to be believed so long as they agree with me on the opium -question. When they differ from me on that subject they are not to be -believed at all." Mr. Turner is fond of treating his readers to -theological maxims. I will now give him a legal one which, I think, is -applicable to his case. It runs thus, translated into plain English: "_He -is not to be heard who alleges things contrary to each other_." Of course, -the reader has seen that Mr. Turner's sneer at "the gentleman employed in -the India Office," is at Sir George Birdwood, whose pungent articles in -the _Times_ have inflicted such damage on his cause, and whose efforts in -the interests of common sense and truth he would wish to suppress. - -As Mr. Turner's tastes are exotic, I will furnish him now with some -_foreign_ testimony that may perhaps astonish him. For many years previous -to 1858, Don Sinibaldo de Mas had been the Envoy-Extraordinary and -Minister Plenipotentiary of the Court of Spain at Pekin. That nobleman had -travelled much in China, India, Java, Borneo, and Malacca, having learned -the Chinese language the better to enable him to utilize his travels in -those places. In 1858 he published a book[9] in the French language on -China and the Chinese, making special reference to the opium question, to -which he has devoted one very interesting chapter exclusively. The book -was brought out in Paris, and has never, that I am aware of, been -translated into English. Now about the last person from whom one would -expect to obtain testimony of the kind is a Spaniard. Yet so it is. This -book of Don Sinibaldo de Mas is, indeed, one of the most powerful -vindications of British policy in India and China that has yet been -written. I hardly think even Mr. Storrs Turner can accuse this gentleman -of partiality, or object to his testimony as being influenced by personal -motives. This is part of what he says on the subject:-- - - I may say, in the first instance, that personally neither as a private - individual nor as a public functionary have I ever been in the - slightest degree interested in this (opium) trade, for be it noted - that Spanish vessels have never imported into China a single chest of - opium. I consequently approach this subject with complete - impartiality. I have known the Chinese at Calcutta, Singapore, Penang, - Malacca, Manila, and in many parts of their own country, where I - acquired a sufficient knowlege of the Chinese language to enable me to - converse with the natives and make myself fully acquainted with the - opium question, which I believe I understand, and may be considered - thoroughly unbiassed in my opinions. - - Opium has been preached against and denounced as a veritable poison, - and it has been looked upon as a crime in those who have made the drug - an object of commerce or gain. A memorial embodying those views, - signed by many missionaries and supported by the Earl of Chichester, - was presented to Queen Victoria. A meeting was also held in London, - composed of philanthropic gentlemen, presided over by the Earl of - Shaftesbury, when a petition to the Queen embodying the same object - was drawn up; this document I shall refer to more particularly later - on. Lastly, some members of the House of Lords and Commons spoke - against the sale of opium. On the other hand, Christian merchants - established in China, many men of eminence, such as Sir J. F. Davis - and others of the highest respectability, have maintained that the - smoking of this drug has less deletorious effects than the use of - fermented liquors. I will endeavour to explain this question in all - good faith and impartiality. In the maritime towns of India, Malacca, - Java, the Philippines, Borneo, and Sooloo the Chinese are at liberty - to smoke opium where and when they please, and can buy it cheaper than - they can in Canton or Shanghai, not to mention the inland towns: yet - it is a well-known fact that in all these countries, notwithstanding - their unwholesome climates, the opium-smoking Chinese are remarkably - healthy and strong. These very opium smokers are employed as farm - labourers, masons, and porters, enduring great fatigue and performing - the most arduous labours; they have acquired such an excellent - reputation as colonists that efforts have been made during the last - few years to induce them to settle in Lima and Cuba. The percentage of - deaths amongst these people does not exceed the usual rate, and I must - confess that having known numbers of Chinese emigrants in the various - countries I have mentioned, I have never heard of a single death or of - any serious illness having been caused by opium smoking. - - It was only on my first arrival in China that I was made aware of the - dire effects this narcotic is said to produce, and that the vapour - inhaled by opium smokers was designated a poison; _I must add that in - none of the different parts of China which I have visited has it come - to my knowledge that death has resulted from opium smoking_. Having - asked several natives whom I thought worthy of credence whether they - had ever heard of a death having occurred from the habit, they - answered me that it might have happened to a very inordinate smoker, - but only in the event of his being suddenly deprived of the - indulgence. One Chinaman related how he had witnessed such a case. He - had known an inveterate opium smoker who had become extremely poor, - and was found insensible and almost lifeless; some good-natured person - passing by puffed some fumes of opium into his mouth, which - immediately seemed to revive him, and enabled him shortly to smoke a - pipe himself, which most effectually recalled him to life. I admit - that opium is in itself a poison, but let me ask what changes does not - fire produce in the various substances which it consumes? - -I should like to know what does Mr. Storrs Turner think of that. Here is a -highly-educated Spanish gentleman, speaking Chinese well, living amongst -the natives, studying their habits, especially as regards their use of the -opium pipe, declaring that the practice is innocuous. Now, supposing that -instead of smoking opium these Chinese in Malacca, Java, Borneo, and the -Philippines were addicted to the habitual use of spirits, wine, or even -beer, instead of opium, can any intelligent being suppose for a moment -that they would be the patient, strong, healthy, hard-working people that -Don Sinibaldo De Mas found them, and which they still are? - -Let us refer to Mr. W. Donald Spence's testimony as to the _effects_ of -opium. I quote again from his Report of the trade of Ichang for 1881:-- - - As to the effect of this habit on the people, amongst whom it is so - widespread, there is but one opinion. Baron Richthofen, the most - experienced traveller who ever visited Szechuan, after noticing the - extraordinary prevalence of the habit, says:--"In no other province - except Hunan did I find the effects of the use of opium so little - perceptible as in Szechuan." Mr. Colborne Baber, who knows more of the - province and its people than any living Englishman, says: _Nowhere in - China are the people so well off, or so hardy, and nowhere do they - smoke so much opium_. To these names of weight I add my own short - experience. I found the people of Szechuan stout, able-bodied men, - better housed, clad, and fed, and healthier looking than the Chinese - of the Lower Yang-tsze. I did not see amongst them more emaciated - faces and wasted forms than disease causes in all lands. People with - slow wasting diseases such as consumption are, if they smoke opium, - apt to be classed amongst the "ruined victims" of hasty observers, and - amongst the cases of combined debility and opium smoking I saw, some - were, by their own account, _pseudo_-victims of this type. There were - some, too, whose health was completely sapped by smoking combined with - other forms of sensual excess. And no doubt there were others weakened - by excessive smoking simply, for excess in all things has its penalty. - But the general health and well-being of the Szechuan community is - remarkable; to their capacity for work and endurance of hardship, as - well as to the material comforts of life they surround themselves - with, all travellers bear enthusiastic testimony. - -Now, allow me to ask the reader, can he suppose for a moment that if the -people of Szechuan were prone to spirits, or even to beer drinking, in the -same way as they are given to opium smoking, should we have the same -results? Would those people be "so well off and so hardy," so stout, -able-bodied, and so much "better housed, clad, and fed, and healthier -looking than the Chinese of the Lower Yang-tsze?" I think not. What, then, -is the fair conclusion to draw from such a state of things? Why, only that -opium smoking is a harmless if not a beneficial practice, unless when -indulged in to an inordinate extent, which, it is now plain, is entirely -exceptional. I think I am not far from the truth in saying that for one -excessive opium smoker to be met with in China you will find in this -country a hundred cases, at the least, of excessive indulgence in -alcohol--the effects of this being incurable, whilst it is quite otherwise -as regards excessive indulgence in opium. The inference, then, I think, is -that so far as regards any evil effects from opium smoking, they are out -of the range of practical politics and should be relegated to the region -of sentiment alone. - -I will now give you a passage from a valuable work by the learned Dr. J. -L. W. Thudichum, Lecturer to St. George's Hospital,[10] which will throw -a good deal of light upon this part of my subject. At pp. 88 and 89 of the -second volume he says:-- - - The medical uses of opium have been so well known through all - historical times that it is a matter for surprise to find that they - are not better appreciated in the present day. In this, as in many - other matters, we are in fact only gradually emerging from the - condition of those dark times during which, amongst many good things, - the knowledge of opium, for example, was lost.... These and other - considerations led me to look about for a more convenient mode of - producing the effects of morphia without its inconveniences or even - dangers. I know from the experiments of Descharmes and Benard (_Compt. - Rend._, 40, 34) that in opium-smoking a portion of the morphia is - volatilized and undecomposed, and I therefore experimentalized with - the pyrolytic vapours of opium, first upon myself, then upon others; - and when I had made myself fully acquainted with the Chinese method of - using the drug, I came to the conviction that here one of the most - interesting therapeutical problems had been solved in the most - ingenious and at the same time in the most safe manner. I held in my - hand a power well-known and used largely by Eastern races, yet its use - neglected, ignored, denounced, and despised by the entire Western - world. - -In other and non-professional words, Dr. Thudichum has found opium smoking -not only harmless but a valuable curative practice. - -As to Chinese evidence on this question I could, had I thought proper, -have adduced the testimony of some really trustworthy Chinese merchants -and traders, which would have fully borne out all that I have stated as to -the innocuous effects of opium smoking. I have refrained from doing so, -because such evidence, however strong and reliable, would, I feel assured, -be impugned as untrustworthy by the agents of the Anti-Opium Society and -missionaries, who on their part would, no doubt, in the best faith and -with good intentions, I admit, bring out counter testimony of so-called -Christian converts and other natives of a wholly unreliable character. One -of these persons, called Kwong Ki Chiu, styling himself "late a member of -the Chinese Educational Commission in the United States," has written, or -purported to have written, from Hartford, in Connecticut, a letter on this -question to the _London and China Telegraph_. The statements in this -document are exaggerated, misleading, and, in many respects, actually -untrue. I doubt very much if the letter was ever, in fact, written by a -Chinaman at all, and suspect it was produced either here in London by some -agent or advocate of the Anti-Opium Society and forwarded to Mr. Kwong Ki -Chiu for signature, or that it was written by some American missionary. At -any rate, it is plain that the writer has no real knowledge of the subject -of his letter. To prove this is so it is only necessary to refer to one -passage, in which the writer proceeds to show that opium is to a beginner -more alluring than tobacco or spirits. He says:-- - - There is this also to be said as to the difference between the two - stimulants: opium is much the more stimulating, and therefore more - dangerous. It is also much more agreeable and fascinating. Not every - person likes the taste of liquor; the flavour of tobacco is agreeable - to very few persons at first: _but everyone, of whatever nationality, - finds the fragrance of the smoking opium agreeable and tempting, so - that I have no doubt that if opium shops were opened in London as in - China, the habit would soon become prevalent even among Englishmen_. - -Now this is not true. Every foreigner who has lived in China knows it to -be quite the opposite. During my long residence in Hong Kong I have never -known a single instance of an Englishman, or any other foreigner, being an -opium smoker, although I have met with many who had smoked a few pipes by -way of experiment. All have assured me that the vapour was nauseous, and -produced no pleasurable sensations whatever. The fact that Europeans -dislike the fumes of opium, and never indulge in the opium pipe, shows -that Mr. Kwong Ki Chiu, who has doubtless been since his childhood under -missionary tutelage, and therefore interdicted from the use of the drug, -knows nothing reliable upon the subject he writes about so glibly. At a -proper time and place, I should be prepared to treat Mr. Storrs Turner to -such native testimony upon this subject as would make him open his eyes -very wide and put him and his disciples to confusion and flight. - -Let me now give you an extract from a despatch of Sir Henry Pottinger, -formerly Her Majesty's Governor-General and Minister Plenipotentiary in -China, written by him some fifty years ago to the Principal Secretary of -State for Foreign Affairs. It is very important, showing, as it does, the -pains that have been taken by Her Majesty's Government at home and her -representatives in China so long ago to ascertain if there were any truth -in the theory that opium smoking was injurious to the health and morals of -the Chinese:-- - - I cannot admit in any manner the idea adopted by many persons that the - introduction of opium into China is a source of unmitigated evil of - every kind and a cause of misery. Personally, I have been unable to - discover a single case of this kind, although, I admit that, when - abused opium may become most hurtful. Besides, the same remark applies - to every kind of enjoyment when carried to excess; but from personal - observations, since my arrival in China, from information taken upon - all points, and lastly, from what the Mandarins themselves say, I am - convinced that the demoralization and ruin which some persons - attribute to the use of opium, arise more likely from imperfect - knowledge of the subject and exaggeration, and that not one-hundredth - part of the evil arises in China from opium smoking, which one sees - daily arising in England as well as in India from the use of ardent - spirits so largely taken in excess in those countries. - -I may now appropriately give you the promised extract from De Quincey's -_Confessions_. I recommend it to the notice of Sir Wilfrid Lawson. The -distinction which he draws between alcoholic intoxication and the -excitement produced by opium eating is instructive and entertaining. He -says:-- - - Two of these tendencies I will mention as diagnostic, or - characteristic and inseparable marks of ordinary alcoholic - intoxication, but which no excess in the use of opium ever develops. - One is the loss of self-command, in relation to all one's acts and - purposes, which steals gradually (though with varying degrees of - speed) over _all_ persons indiscriminately when indulging in wine or - distilled liquors beyond a certain limit. The tongue and other organs - become unmanageable: the intoxicated man speaks inarticulately; and, - with regard to certain words, makes efforts ludicrously earnest yet - oftentimes unavailing, to utter them. The eyes are bewildered, and see - double; grasping too little, and too much. The hand aims awry. The - legs stumble and lose their power of _concurrent_ action. To this - result _all_ people tend, though by varying rates of acceleration. - Secondly, as another characteristic, it may be noticed that, in - alcoholic intoxication, the movement is always along a kind of arch; - the drinker rises through continual ascents to a summit or _apex_, - from which he descends through corresponding steps of declension. - There is a crowning point in the movement upwards, which once attained - cannot be renewed; and it is the blind, unconscious, but always - unsuccessful effort of the obstinate drinker to restore this supreme - altitude of enjoyment which tempts him into excesses that become - dangerous. After reaching this _acme_ of genial pleasure, it is a mere - necessity of the case to sink through corresponding stages of - collapse. Some people have maintained, in my hearing, that they had - been drunk upon green tea; and a medical student in London, for whose - knowledge in his profession I have reason to feel great respect, - assured me, the other day, that a patient, in recovering from an - illness, had got drunk on a beef-steak. All turns, in fact, upon a - rigorous definition of intoxication. - - Having dwelt so much on this first and leading error in respect to - opium, I shall notice briefly a second and a third; which are, that - the elevation of spirits produced by opium is necessarily followed by - a proportionate depression, and that the natural and even immediate - consequence of opium is torpor and stagnation, animal as well as - mental. The first of these errors I shall content myself with simply - denying; assuring my reader, that for ten years, during which I took - opium, not regularly, but intermittingly, the day succeeding to that - on which I allowed myself this luxury was always a day of unusually - good spirits. - - With respect to the torpor supposed to follow, or rather (if we were - to credit the numerous pictures of Turkish opium-eaters) to accompany, - the practice of opium-eating, I deny that also. Certainly, opium is - classed under the head of narcotics, and some such effect it may - produce in the end; but the primary effects of opium are always, and - in the highest degree, to excite and stimulate the system. This first - stage of its action always lasted with me, during my novitiate, for - upwards of eight hours; so that it must be the fault of the - opium-eater himself, if he does not so time his exhibition of the - dose, as that the whole weight of its narcotic influence may descend - upon his sleep. - - First, then, it is not so much affirmed, as taken for granted, by all - who ever mention opium, formally or incidentally, that it does or can - produce intoxication. Now, reader, assure yourself, _meo periculo_, - that no quantity of opium ever did, or could, intoxicate. As to the - tincture of opium (commonly called laudanum), _that_ might certainly - intoxicate, if a man could bear to take enough of it; but why? Because - it contains so much proof spirits of wine, and not because it contains - so much opium. But crude opium, I affirm peremptorily, is incapable of - producing any state of body at all resembling that which is produced - by alcohol; and not in _degree_ only incapable, but even in _kind_; it - is not in the quantity of its effects merely, but in the quality, that - it differs altogether. The pleasure given by wine is always rapidly - mounting, and tending to a crisis, after which as rapidly it declines; - that from opium, when once generated, is stationary for eight or ten - hours: the first, to borrow a technical distinction from medicine, is - a case of acute, the second of chronic, pleasure; the one is a - flickering flame, the other a steady and equable glow. But the main - distinction lies in this--that, whereas wine disorders the mental - faculties, opium, on the contrary (if taken in a proper manner), - introduces amongst them the most exquisite order, legislation, and - harmony. Wine robs a man of his self-possession; opium sustains and - reinforces it. Wine unsettles the judgment, and gives a preternatural - brightness and a vivid exaltation to the contempts and the - admirations, to the loves and the hatreds, of the drinker; opium, on - the contrary, communicates serenity and equipoise to all the - faculties, active or passive; and, with respect to the temper and - moral feelings in general, it gives simply that sort of vital warmth - which is approved by the judgment, and which would probably always - accompany a bodily constitution of primeval or antediluvian health. - Thus, for instance, opium, like wine, gives an expansion to the heart - and the benevolent affections; but, then, with this remarkable - difference, that in the sudden development of kind-heartedness which - accompanies inebriation, there is always more or less of a maudlin and - a transitory character, which exposes it to the contempt of the - bystander. Men shake hands, swear eternal friendship, and shed - tears--no mortal knows why; and the animal nature is clearly - uppermost. But the expansion of the benigner feelings incident to - opium is no febrile access, no fugitive paroxysm; it is a healthy - restoration to that state which the mind would naturally recover upon - the removal of any deep-seated irritation from pain that had disturbed - and quarrelled with the impulses of a heart originally just and good. - True it is, that even wine, up to a certain point, and with certain - men, rather tends to exalt and to steady the intellect; I myself, who - have never been a great wine-drinker, used to find that half-a-dozen - glasses of wine advantageously affected the faculties, brightened and - intensified the consciousness, and gave to the mind a feeling of being - "ponderibus librata suis," and certainly it is most absurdly said, in - popular language, of any man, that he is _disguised_ in liquor; for, - on the contrary, most men are disguised by sobriety, and exceedingly - disguised; and it is when they are drinking that men display - themselves in their true complexion of character; which surely is not - disguising themselves. But still, wine constantly leads a man to the - brink of absurdity and extravagance; and, beyond a certain point, it - is sure to volatilise and to disperse the intellectual energies; - whereas opium always seems to compose what had been agitated and to - concentrate what had been distracted. In short, to sum up all in one - word, a man who is inebriated, or tending to inebriation, is, and - feels that he is, in a condition which calls up into supremacy the - merely human, too often the brutal, part of his nature; but the - opium-eater (I speak of him simply _as_ such, and assume that he is in - a normal state of health) feels that the diviner part of his nature is - paramount--that is, the moral affections are in a state of cloudless - serenity; and high over all the great light of the majestic intellect. - - This is the doctrine of the true church on the subject of opium, of - which church I acknowledge myself to be the Pope (consequently - infallible), and self-appointed _legate à latere_ to all degrees of - latitude and longitude. But then it is to be recollected that I speak - from the ground of a large and profound personal experience, whereas - most of the unscientific authors who have at all treated of opium, and - even of those who have written professionally on the _materia medica_, - make it evident, by the horror they express of it, that their - experimental knowledge of its action is none at all. - -I have now dealt with fallacies 1, 2, 3, and 5. The fourth Mr. Turner -gravely states in his book--and I am perfectly sure it is accepted as -seriously by his fellowers, _that the supply of opium regulates the -demand, and not the demand the supply_. He says at pp. 152, 153:-- - - Defenders of the [opium] policy vainly strive to shelter it behind the - ordinary operation of the trade laws of demand and supply. The - operation of these economic laws does not divest of responsibility - those who set them in motion at either end; for though it would be - absurd to speak of supply as alone creative of demand, _there is no - question but that an abundant and constantly sustained supply - increases demand whenever the article is not one of absolute - necessity_. When silk came by caravans across Central Asia, and a - single robe was worth its weight in gold in Europe, the shining fabric - was reserved for emperors and nobles, and no demand could be said to - exist for it among common people, whereas now the abundant supply - creates a demand among all classes but the very poorest. The - maid-servant who covets a silk dress may be literally said to have had - the demand _created_ in her case, by the ample supply of the material - which places it constantly before her eyes and renders it impossible - for her to obtain it. Only a few years ago there was no demand for - newspapers amongst multitudes who are now daily or weekly purchasers - of them. In this case the supply of penny and halfpenny journals may - be fairly said to have almost alone created the demand. Such - illustrations might be indefinitely multiplied. - -After that it may be said that the Birmingham jewellers and Manchester -merchants have only to send out to China any amount they please of their -wares, and they will find a ready market, the more the merrier. All their -goods will be taken off their hands; they will only have to take care that -the prices shall not be too exorbitant, for otherwise, as in the case of -the maid-servant, though the Chinese working classes may have helped to -_create_ the demand, they would be unable to avail themselves of the -supply. If that doctrine were sound, a mercantile firm could create as -extensive a trade as it desired, and that, too, in any part of the world. -Instead of sending out fifty thousand pounds worth this year, as it did -last, it would have only to export ten times the amount, and still the -demand would continue. The fact is, as every man well knows who is not -blinded by enthusiasm and looks at the subject by the light of cool reason -and common sense, that the effect of sending to China or elsewhere an -excessive quantity of merchandise, even though such merchandise were in -request there, would have the effect of glutting the market. It is only -where the demand exists, and the desire to possess the article, or where -the people want a particular class of thing, that the goods can be readily -and profitably disposed of. I am sure that if we sent double the quantity -of opium that we do to China, or, indeed, three times the amount, it would -be readily bought up by the natives, because there is a great demand there -for Indian opium, owing to its superior strength and better flavour. And -it must be remembered that China is a vast empire, and that the natives -cannot get as much of the Indian drug as they want. I had an opportunity -recently of speaking to a German gentleman established here in London, who -has been many years in the opium trade generally, who has made opium quite -a study, tasting and smelling it, as wine merchants do their wine, and he -declares that Indian opium has a perfume and aroma that is not found in -the Chinese or Persian drug, and that, in fact, the smell of the one is -comparatively agreeable, while that of the others is offensive. This, I -believe, is one of the reasons for the Chinese liking Indian opium. For my -own part I must say, that much as I dislike the odour of tobacco, I have a -greater aversion still to the effluvium of opium in any form or shape, and -I think this is also the case with all Europeans. In fact, opium smoking -is a practice peculiar to China. - -Nothing proves this so completely as the correspondence between Sir Robert -Hart and his various Sub-Commissioners of Customs, as set out in the -Yellow-Book to which I have so often referred. These Commissioners say -that the Indian drug is almost invariably used to mix with the Chinese -article to flavour and make it, so to speak, the more palatable. The -proposition which Mr. Storrs Turner lays down is simply preposterous, and -cannot for a moment be sustained. I do not wish to utter an offensive word -towards that gentleman personally, whose talents and energy are -unquestionable, and whom I hold in great esteem. Upon any subject but -opium he would be incapable of writing anything but sound sense, but -having opium on the brain, he starts theories that are wholly -unsustainable, which, I am sorry to say, his devoted followers accept as -gospel. But to return to the theory that supply creates the demand. By way -of illustration, Mr. Turner goes on to show that, previous to the removal -of the duty on newspapers, there were very few in the country, but that -the moment the duty was taken off, they multiplied, which he considers -proof that in this case the supply created the demand. That is most -fallacious. The demand for newspapers always existed, but, unfortunately, -owing to the oppressive taxes upon knowledge to which the press in former -times was subjected, the supply was limited. In those days even a weekly -newspaper was a great undertaking. An enterprising man in a country town -might start such a paper, but after a lingering existence it was almost -sure to die, not for want of readers, but because it was so heavily taxed -that readers could not afford to buy it, the price then being necessarily -high. First there was a penny duty on each copy of the newspaper. Next -there was a duty of so much the pound upon the raw material, which had to -be paid before it left the mill; and then there was a further duty upon -every advertisement; so that the unfortunate newspaper proprietor was met -with exactions on every side. A copy, even though an old one, of the -_Times_, or of any of the London morning papers, was in former days -eagerly sought for. In his "Deserted Village," Goldsmith, describing the -village ale-house, says:-- - - Where village statesmen talked with wit profound, - And news much older than their ale went round. - -And one can imagine an eager group in that ale-house trying to get a -glimpse of a London newspaper over the shoulders of the privileged holder. -But when these oppressive duties were removed, a different state of things -prevailed. The cost of starting and manufacturing a newspaper was reduced -to about one-fifth of what it was formerly. Every considerable town had -its daily and its weekly newspaper, because the demand had always existed, -whilst, owing to these prohibitive taxes, there was no supply. The craving -for news had always been present, and the moment these prohibitive duties -were struck off, the ambitious editor, or proprietor, saw his opportunity -and started a paper, not because the supply would create a demand, but -because he knew the demand already existed, and he printed just as many as -he thought he would find readers for, and no more. Had he printed more -than was required the excess would have lain on his hands as so much waste -paper. But according to Mr. Turner's theory, the more newspapers he -printed the more he would have sold! It will at once be recognised that -this theory of supply and demand is simply absurd. If it could be shown to -hold water for a moment, China, and other countries also, would be -inundated with articles that never were seen there before. There would be -no reason why China should not be largely supplied with ladies' bonnets -and satin shoes, which, we know, might lie there for a thousand years and -never be used. I have brought before you this notable theory of Mr. Storrs -Turner's, to show you the utterly worthless kind of arguments with which -the British public have been supplied, in order to support the silly, -unfounded, and most mischievous agitation against the Indo-China opium -trade. - -The next fallacy is number six, namely: _that all, or nearly all, who -smoke opium are either inordinate smokers or necessarily in the way of -becoming so; and that once the custom has been commenced it cannot be -dropped, and that the consumption daily increases_. That is not so at all. -It is altogether exceptional to find an inordinate opium smoker; my -reasons for saying so I have already given. I am supported in those views -by every English resident in China, amongst them by Dr. Ayres, whose -authority is simply unquestionable, and whose opinion on the point I have -set out at page 7. I have known hundreds of men who were in the daily -habit of smoking opium after business hours, and they never showed any -decadence whatever. Opium smoking is never practised during business -hours, except by very aged people or the criminal classes. This is an -absolute fact. The Chinese are too wise and thrifty to while away their -time in such luxurious practices during working hours. The opium pipe, as -a rule, is indulged in more moderately than wine or cigars are with us, -the Chinese being so extremely abstemious in their habits. I never saw any -such instances of over-indulgence as Mr. Turner alleges, and I could get -hundreds of European witnesses out in China and here in London who would -depose to the same fact. Frequently have I compared the small shop-keeping -and working people of China with the same classes here at home as regards -sobriety, industry, and frugality, and always, I regret to say, in favour -of the Chinese. - -It is absolutely untrue, as put forward by the Anti-Opium Society and -their secretary, Mr. Turner, that opium is so fascinating that, once a man -begins to use it, he cannot leave it off; natives will smoke it, on and -off, for two or three days, and not smoke it again for a week or more; but -the truth is, the habit is a pleasant and beneficial one, and few who can -afford it desire to discontinue smoking. The fact undoubtedly is, that if -opium smoking were productive of the terrible results that the -missionaries and the Anti-Opium Society allege, China would not be the -densely-populated country that it now actually is. China could not have -held its own as it has done so long and so successfully had all the people -been addicted to such a vice as dram drinking. The true way to look at -this aspect of the case is to suppose for a moment that, instead of being -"opium sots," as Mr. Storrs Turner puts it, the Chinese, "everywhere in -China, in all climates and all soils, in every variety of condition and -circumstance throughout the vast Empire," to adopt that gentleman's own -language, drank spirits freely. Should we then have the Chinese the -hard-working, industrious, thrifty, frugal people that we find them? I -trow not. Intemperance carries with it the destruction of its votaries, -but no baneful consequences attend opium smoking. Some thirty years ago, -as Sir Rutherford Alcock tells us, an American missionary declared that -there were twenty millions of opium smokers in China--all, no doubt, -induced to that immorality by the British Government and people--and that -two millions were dying annually from the effects of the vice! This -monstrous tale was implicitly believed in by Lords Shaftesbury and -Chichester. Yet we now have a Chinese official, Sir Robert Hart, -deliberately telling the Government of China, in his official Yellow Book, -that there are but two millions of smokers in the whole Empire; that -Indian opium supplies but a moderate quantity of the drug to but half of -that number; and that neither the health, wealth, nor prosperity of the -people suffers in consequence. - -This is what Don Sinibaldo de Mas says upon the subject:-- - - The most extraordinary of the advocates of the opium trade is the Earl - of Shaftesbury, President of the Committee organized in London for the - suppression of the traffic. I have not the slightest doubt as to the - _bona fides_ and excellent heart of the noble lord. There is something - grand and generous in entering the lists for the welfare and - protection of a distant and foreign nation, and manfully fighting for - it against the interests of one's own country and one's native land. I - sincerely admire men of such mettle and the country which can produce - them, but I regret that Lord Shaftesbury did not act with greater - caution, and that before entering upon this question he had not - studied it more carefully; especially do I regret that he did not - adopt a more moderate and dignified tone in the expression of his - opinions. Had he done so, he would have saved himself from the - reproach of having lent his name and sanction to a document disfigured - by statistical errors, some of which are opposed to common sense, and - also of having given gratuitous and undeserved insults to others who - differed from his opinions. - - He argues in his statement to the Queen's Government that opium - smoking annually kills two millions of people in China. How is it - possible that the noble Earl could for a moment imagine that every - year so many human beings voluntarily commit suicide! Two millions of - adults who destroy themselves to enjoy a pleasure! Does it not strike - His Lordship how absurd is such an antithesis as pleasure and death? - Can he believe that human nature in China is different to what it is - in Europe? Is it logical to give publicity to such strange assertions - without adducing the slightest proofs. If we inquire into the - accusations brought forward against the merchants and growers of - opium, we find the same discrepancy and the same injustice. It is a - mistake to imagine that the English alone trade in opium, for all - foreigners alike, especially the Americans, introduce and sell it. - - Lord Shaftesbury, in speaking of the value of the opium imported into - China, says that the merchants "rob" the Chinese. I scarcely know - which is the funnier, the idea expressed by the noble Earl, or the way - in which he expresses it. I can assure His Lordship that amongst the - merchants who make opium their business there are men of the highest - integrity, perfect and most accomplished gentlemen, who not only are - incapable of "stealing" anything, but who are equal to any living men - in noble sentiments, justice, and practical benevolence; I need only - mention one man, and do so because he is not now living. I refer to - the late Mr. Launcelot Dent, who, during a most trying and critical - time when this question first arose, was considered one of the most - interested men in the opium trade.... Everyone who has been in China - knows the generosity and the charity for which Mr. Launcelot Dent was - renowned. Having on one occasion travelled from India to Europe with - him, I saw many of his good deeds, but will only mention one, so as - not to wander too far from my subject. A Catholic missionary was - amongst the steerage passengers; Mr. Dent having seen this, without - saying a word to any person on the subject, took a berth for him in - the first cabin and paid the difference, begging me to ask him to take - possession. The missionary expressed much gratitude, but said that as - he had not a sufficient change of linen he would not feel at home in - the state room, especially as there were lady passengers. Mr. Dent - understood the difficulty, and having casually heard that the - clergymen intended to proceed to Jerusalem, begged of him to accept - the sum which the saloon cabin would have cost,[11] which the poor - missionary accepted with heartfelt thanks. - -I should like to know what Mr. Storrs Turner thinks of that. He objects to -British testimony, except when it coincides with his own views. There is -the evidence of a Spanish nobleman, a scholar, a traveller, and an -accomplished diplomatist, for him! I am afraid he will find the foreign -testimony quite as unpalatable as the home article. This Mr. Launcelot -Dent, by the way, was a member of the eminent firm of Dent and Co.--since -dissolved--which, Mr. Turner says, in his article in the _Nineteenth -Century_, were "legally smugglers." - -The next fallacy, number seven, is _that the Chinese Government is, or -ever was, anxious to put a stop to or check the use of opium amongst the -people of China_. That is one of the accepted propositions or dogmas of -the Anti-Opium people. There is another fallacy, number ten, which I will -dispose of at the same time. It is _that the opposition of the Chinese -officials to the introduction of opium into China arose from moral -causes_. There never was anything more fallacious or more distinctly -untrue than that the Chinese Government is, or ever was, anxious to put a -stop to the trade upon moral grounds. The sole object of the Government of -China in objecting to the importation of Indian opium into the country, as -I have stated already, and as everybody except the infatuated votaries of -the Anti-Opium Society believes, was to protect the native drug, to -prevent bullion from leaving the country, and generally to exclude foreign -goods. This Don Sinibaldo de Mas points out in his book written some five -and twenty years ago. - -If the Chinese Government really wanted to put a stop to or check the use -of opium, they would begin by doing so themselves. They would first stop -the cultivation of the poppy in their own country. We have it on the high -authority of Sir Robert Hart, that the drug was grown and used in China -long before foreigners introduced any there. The Chinese are emphatically -a law-abiding people, and if the Chinese Government really wished to put a -stop to the opium culture, they could do so without any difficulty, just -as our Government has put down tobacco culture in the United Kingdom. I -suppose that in Cornwall and Devon, and in some parts of Ireland--the -golden vein, for instance--tobacco could be grown most profitably. It -could be cultivated also in the Isle of Wight, and in many other parts of -the country. Why, then, is it not grown here? Simply because it is illegal -to do so, and the Government is strong enough to enforce the law. If a -farmer in Ireland or in England were to sow tobacco, the fact would be -soon discovered, and it would be summarily stopped. The same thing could -be done with even greater facility in China. Why, then, does not the -Government of China suppress the cultivation of the poppy there? Simply -because it does not desire to do so, because it derives a large revenue -from opium, both native and foreign, and because the smoking of the drug -is an ancient custom amongst the people, known by long experience to be -harmless, if not beneficial. If it were possible to put down opium smoking -in China, the people would assuredly resort to sam-shu, already so -abundant and cheap, and that would indeed cause China's decadence: for -then we should have the working classes there indulging in spirits, when -the quarrellings, outrages, and kicking of wives to death--which Mr. -Turner admits are never the result of opium smoking--would ensue. I only -wish we could turn our drunkards into opium smokers. If the change would -only save those wretched wives and their helpless children from -ill-treatment by their husbands and fathers, we should have secured one -valuable end. No Government will attempt to interfere with the fixed -habits of the people, especially where those habits have existed many -centuries, if not thousands of years, and where they are known to be not -injurious to themselves or the safety and stability of the State, and to -be, in fact, harmless. We have it from Sir Robert Hart's book, that as far -as can be ascertained, the probability is that there is about the same -quantity of the drug grown in China as is imported into it. That is -admittedly a mere approximation, and Sir Robert Hart gives no data for it, -save the returns of his Sub-Commissioners, each of which differs from the -other, and which he admits are not reliable. The information upon which -these Commissioners made up their returns is simply the gossip collected -by them at the Treaty Ports of China: no doubt the best, and, indeed, the -only, information which they could procure. But with the light thrown upon -the subject by Messrs. Baber and Spence, and numerous other independent -authorities, no one can doubt that there is at least three times the -quantity produced in China that is imported from abroad. - -Both the Customs and Consular reports on trade in China for the year 1880 -as well as 1881 bear testimony to the ever-increasing production of opium -in the northern and western provinces of China, and missionaries and -others who have recently made journeys in the interior report the poppy -crops to be much larger than before the Imperial decree purporting to -prohibit its cultivation. The report of the Customs' Assistant-in-charge -at Ichang for 1880 shows that the average annual import of the Indian drug -at that port does not exceed ten pikuls, while the native production in -the Ichang Prefecture is estimated to be over one thousand pikuls per -annum. Mr. W. Donald Spence, in his report on trade for 1880, gives an -estimate of the total crop of opium raised in Western China in 1880, which -is as follows:--Western Hupeh, two thousand pikuls; Eastern Szechuan, -forty-five thousand pikuls; Yunnan, forty-thousand pikuls; and Kweichow, -ten thousand pikuls; giving a total of ninety-seven thousand pikuls--as -much, in fact, for these districts as the whole amount of Indian opium -imported into China for that year. What his report for 1881 is I have -already shown you. This, it must be borne in mind, is the production of -Western China only. In Shantung, Chihli, the inland provinces, and -Manchuria it is extensively grown, and in all the other provinces smaller -quantities of the drug are produced. That nothing is being done to check -this widespread cultivation of the poppy is notorious. Messrs. Soltan and -Stevenson, who passed through Yunnan last year on their way from Bhamo to -Chingkiang, described the country as resembling "a sea of poppy"; and Mr. -Spence tells us that in 1880 and 1881 a greater breadth of land was sown -with poppies in Western Hupeh than in the previous years. In Manchuria, -which is a large territory forming part of the empire to the north-east of -China, and in the northern provinces of China proper, there was also a -general increase in the area under poppy cultivation. No efforts, in fact, -are being made to stop it. On this subject Mr. Spence, in his report for -1880, remarks:-- - - In Western Hupeh there has been no interference with opium farmers or - opium cultivation by the officials, nor, as far as I have been able to - ascertain, by any of the authorities of the provinces named in this - report. In Yunnan it receives direct official encouragement, and in - all the cultivation is free. Its production is regarded as a fertile - source of revenue to the exchequer, of pelf to officials and - smugglers, of profit to farmers and merchants, and of pleasure to all. - Nearly everybody smokes, and nearly everybody smuggles it about the - country when he can; and in this matter there is no difference between - rich and poor, lettered and unlettered, governing and governed. - -After this testimony, which is corroborated in the strongest manner by -many other and equally disinterested persons, who can pretend to say that -the Chinese Government has any real desire to put down the poppy -cultivation? - -Let us now see what Don Sinibaldo de Mas has to say upon this point. -Having gone into the history of the Indo-Chinese opium trade, and shown -that the sole object of the Chinese Government in objecting to that trade -was to prevent bullion from leaving the country, he says:-- - - It is totally wrong to suppose that the Mandarins are anxious to - prevent the introduction of opium into the country. Many of these - Mandarins smoke it; most of them, if not all, accept presents and - close their eyes at opium smuggling. With the exception of the famous - Lin-tsi-su and a few others who reside at Court, all the others, and I - think even Ki-Ying himself, have profited by this illegal traffic. Sir - I. F. Davis when in China as Minister Plenipotentiary frequently - called Ki-Ying's attention to the smuggling that was being carried on - under the connivance and encouragement of rural officials. - -I referred in my last lecture to a valuable paper read by Sir Rutherford -Alcock at a recent meeting of the Society of Arts. Everybody knows this -gentleman's abilities and his high character, which afford the most -perfect assurance that he would be incapable of asserting anything that he -did not know from his own experience, or from unquestionable sources, to -be true. He speaks also with authority. He may be taken to be, therefore, -a perfectly unbiassed witness. He has no personal interest in the -question, and there is no reason why he should state anything but what is -perfectly accurate. He says, in the paper I have mentioned:-- - - Whatever may have been the motive or true cause, about which there - hangs considerable doubt, it is certain that neither in the first - edicts of 1793-6, nor as late as 1832-4, when several Imperial edicts - were issued against the introduction of opium from abroad, no - reference whatever is made to the _moral ground_ of prohibition, so - ostentatiously paraded in later issues, and notably in Li Hung Chang's - letter to the Anglo-Opium Society last July. The reasons exclusively - put forward in the first of these edicts (in 1793) were that "It - wasted the time and property of the people of the Inner Land, leading - them to exchange their silver and commodities for the vile dirt of the - foreigner." And as late as 1836, when memorials were presented to the - Emperor, showing the connection of the opium trade with the - exportation of sycee, they generally regarded the question in a - political and financial character, rather than a moral light; and - certainly, in several edicts issued between 1836 and 1839, when Lin - made his grand _coup_, there is little, if any, reference to the evils - of opium smoking, but very clear language as to the exportation of - bullion. When we reflect that this "vile dirt," as I will presently - show, was being extensively cultivated in the provinces of China, and - largely consumed by his own subjects, we may be permitted to question - whether the balance of trade turned by the large importation of opium, - and the leakage of the sycee silver, so emphatically and angrily - pointed to in after years, was not the leading motive for the - prohibition of the foreign drug. We have it on authority, that "From - the commencement of the commercial intercourse down to 1828-29 the - balance of trade had always been in favour of the Chinese, and great - quantities of bullion accumulated in China. Since that date the - balance of trade had been in the opposite direction, and bullion began - to flow out of China. As silver became more scarce, it naturally rose - in value, and the copper currency of the realm (and the only one), - already depreciated by means of over-issues and mixture of foreign - coin of an inferior standard, appeared to suffer depreciation when - compared with its nominal equivalent in sycee; and the effects of this - change fell heavily upon a large and important class of Government - officers, and ultimately upon the revenue itself. Memorials were - presented to the Emperor on the subject, and the export of sycee was - prohibited." - -How, after that, it can be said for a moment that the Chinese Government -was actuated by moral considerations, or was really anxious to put down -opium smoking or opium culture, I cannot conceive. The truth is, and it is -so palpable that it really seems to me to require no advocacy whatever, -that the Government, as Sir Rutherford Alcock and Don Sinibaldo so -strongly put it, does not like to see so much bullion leaving the country. - -Now, Sir Rutherford Alcock, unlike the missionaries and the agents of the -Anti-Opium Society, has acquired his knowledge of opium and the opium -trade in the regular course of his ordinary duties, and has necessarily, -therefore, acquired an authentic knowledge of the subject. His testimony, -like that of Messrs. Spence, Baber, and a host of other unimpeachable -witnesses, comes under the head of the "best evidence." But it is said of -Sir Rutherford by the agents of the Anti-Opium Society, with the view of -discrediting his testimony, that he has changed his opinions; that -formerly he was opposed to the trade which he now defends. I do not -believe there is any solid truth in this assertion; but if there is, what -does the fact prove? Why, simply nothing at all. Show me the public man -who during the past forty or fifty years has not altered or modified his -opinions more or less. Sir Robert Peel, one of the greatest of modern -statesmen, when he was past sixty years of age, changed the opinions he -had held all his life upon free trade. Was he right or wrong in doing so? -If Sir Rutherford Alcock had at an earlier period of his life held -different opinions to those he now holds on the Indo-Chinese opium trade, -it is not unreasonable that on a closer study of the subject, and by the -strong light that has been thrown upon it within the past ten or fifteen -years, he should have modified or even altogether changed his opinions. -This is, again, another instance of the desperate efforts of the -Anti-Opium advocates to hold their ground and maintain their unfounded and -untenable theories. - -The Government of China have always been protectionists in the strictest -sense of the term. Their idea has been that China can support itself; that -the people can provide themselves with everything they want, and need -nothing from abroad. They will sell the foreigner as much of their produce -as he wishes to buy, and cheerfully take his gold in exchange, but they -will not buy from him if they can help doing so. This is the real end they -are aiming at; but they would not be at all so persistent, or put their -case so much forward as they do, were it not for the attitude taken up by -the missionaries and that most mischievous, intermeddling, un-English -confederacy the Anti-Opium Society, as revealed to them by _The Friend of -China_. The Government of China have in their employment Chinese clerks -and interpreters who are excellent English scholars. These men explain -everything about the objects of the Anti-Opium Society, and, whilst the -Mandarins laugh at the absurdities put forward by that association, they -are still quite ready to accept the Society as their ally. Hence Li Hung -Chang's letter to Mr. Storrs Turner, mentioned in Sir Rutherford Alcock's -paper; one would almost fancy that this letter had been written for Li by -Mr. Storrs Turner himself. No one knew better than Li Hung Chang that this -letter was one tissue of hypocrisy and mendacity. But, stay, there is one -part of it that is certainly true. Li says to Mr. Turner: "_Your Society -has long been known to me and many of my countrymen_." There can be no -doubt of the fact. Whilst despising Mr. Storrs Turner and his Society, and -cordially hating him and his fellow missionaries, Li Hung Chang and his -friends play into their hands and humour them in this matter to the top of -their bent. Their real object is to get rid of the Indian opium if they -can; or, if they cannot, to have a higher duty fixed upon it, so as to -reduce its supply; or, at all events, to augment their own revenues by the -higher duty. As matters stand at present, the Chinese Government obtains a -net revenue of over two million pounds sterling from the Indian drug, and -they derive, perhaps, half that amount from the duty on the home-grown -article. They have revenue cruisers constantly watching to put down opium -smuggling, and they adopt other rigid steps to prevent the practice; but -it is still carried on to a considerable extent, not by Englishmen or -other foreigners, mark you, but by their own countrymen. Very great -misconception, I may here say, prevails upon this point artfully spread -abroad by agents here of the Anti-Opium Society, but I shall sweep this -away before I close. The Chinese Government is quite willing to perpetuate -the Indo-China opium trade if it can only get the duty raised to suit its -purpose. Therein lies their whole object. Mr. Turner speaks about the -paternal character of the Chinese Government. In the _Peking -Gazette_--which is in some respects analogous to the _London -Gazette_--Imperial decrees are from time to time published. Amongst -others, there will appear proclamations addressed to the people, warning -them to abstain from this and that evil practice. But they have not the -least effect, nor is it expected that they will have effect. They are mere -shams, and are not heeded; yet they please the people. These proclamations -or injunctions are never seriously intended, and Mr. Turner knows this -perfectly well. Dr. Wells Williams mentions in his book that two thousand -years before Christ the manufacture of spirits was forbidden in China; yet -the trade still flourishes there. Spirits are still drunk in moderation -throughout China, just as opium is smoked. - -Sir R. Hart says that "Native opium was known, produced, and used long -before any Europeans began the sale of the foreign drug along the coast." -Mr. Watters, one of Her Majesty's Consuls in China, states that the poppy -is largely cultivated throughout Western China; Mr. Colborne Baber, who -has travelled through nearly the whole of China, not only confirms Mr. -Watters' statement, but says that from his own experience one-third of the -province of Yunnan is under opium culture. Mr. W. Donald Spence and a host -of others thoroughly well informed upon the question also give the -strongest corroborative testimony. Now, in the face of the statements of -such witnesses as these, can you credit for a moment Mr. Storrs Turner -when he says--believing only what he wishes to be true, but having no data -whatever for his statements--that it is only recently that opium has been -cultivated in China? Of all the existing nations of Asia, the only one -that can now be described as civilized is China; and this is the country -where Mr. Turner, because it suits his purpose, tells us that this -invaluable drug has been only _recently_ known. - -China may be said to be the garden of Asia. Opium has been grown -throughout the fertile plains of that immense continent for thousands of -years, and is it likely that the oldest and most civilized of all Asiatic -nations would be the last to introduce into their country the culture of -that drug to whose curative properties Mr. Storrs Turner bears such strong -testimony in the opening chapter of his book? The only reason that -gentleman could have had for making such a statement is simply, as I have -already intimated, to induce his readers to believe that the Chinese would -not have cultivated the drug, nor have used it for smoking, were it not -for the importation of Indian opium into China. Upon this part of my -subject, I may mention that a book has been written by a very learned man, -Dr. W. A. P. Martin, President of the Tungwen College at Peking, who shows -that China was the cradle of Alchemy, which was known there five hundred -years before it was ever heard of in Europe. Are these a people likely to -be ignorant of this indispensable medicine, as Mr. Turner characterizes -it, or to neglect its cultivation throughout their fertile country? I may -add that all, or nearly all, the medicines of the British Pharmacopoeia, -and a great many more also, have been known to the Chinese for hundreds, -if not thousands, of years. - -The eighth fallacy is, _that the British merchants in China are making -large fortunes by opium_. I have already, I think, pretty well disposed of -this, and I need not say much more upon the subject now. One of the great -points of the Anti-Opium Society and its supporters seems to be that the -British merchants are birds of prey, a set of rapacious and ravenous -creatures, without the feelings of humanity in their breasts, who have -gone out to China to make princely fortunes, after the manner of that -apochryphal youth who, on his departure from the paternal roof, is said to -have received this admonition from his canny sire, "Mak money, ma -boy--honestly if you can--but mak money"; that thus animated the British -merchant arrives in China like a hawk amid a flock of pigeons, and helps -himself to one of those princely acquisitions, which, to Mr. Storrs -Turner, seem to be as plentiful as blackberries in the flowery land, and -who, after having helped to demoralise and ruin the nation, gracefully -returns home to enjoy his ill-gotten gains. The best answer to this is the -amicable relations that now exist and have always existed between the -natives and these merchants. The British merchants, as a body, have no -interest in the opium trade; nor are any of them engaged in smuggling or -in any practices detrimental to the natives of China. In point of -education, thorough mercantile knowledge, strict integrity, and sound -practical Christianity, these gentlemen are second to no other body of men -in the British Empire. - -Another fallacy, or false assumption, number nine, which the advocates of -the Anti-Opium Society are fond of propagating, and which is as fully -believed in by themselves as by their deluded followers, is--_that the -discontinuance of the supply of opium from India would stop or check the -practice of opium smoking_. They fully believe that if they could only -succeed in suppressing the Indo-China opium trade they would deal such a -death-blow to this ancient custom, which prevails more or less over the -eighteen provinces of the Chinese empire, that we should in a very short -time hear of there being no opium smoking at all in China! That is as -great a delusion as was ever indulged in. Imagine a person saying that if -we ceased to ship beer, stout, and whiskey to Denmark, France, or Italy, -we should check the consumption of brandy or other alcoholic liquors -throughout Europe, and you have a pretty fair parallel to this assumption. - -Suppose it were possible to stop the supply of opium from British India, -and that such stoppage had in fact taken place, the result would be that -the Chinese would increase the cultivation of the poppy in their own -country still more than they have already done, and the Indian drug known -as "Malwa opium" would still continue to be imported into China, for the -British Government, even if desirous to do so, could not prohibit its -manufacture and exportation. The Portuguese, who were the first to import -Indian opium into China, would cultivate the drug, not only in their -Indian possession of Goa, but in Africa, where they have colonies. -Further, they would encourage its increased cultivation in the native -states of India, which produce the Malwa opium, and which, as I have just -said, we could not prevent. A great stimulus would also be given to the -cultivation of Persian opium. Hear, how I am borne out by Don Sinibaldo de -Mas, an authentic and thoroughly impartial witness. This is what he says, -in his very valuable book:-- - - It is another fallacy to say that if the East India Company were to - prohibit the cultivation of opium in her territories that the article - would disappear from China altogether. The poppy grows freely between - the equator and latitudes 30° to 40°; it is produced in large - quantities in Java, the Phillipines, Borneo, Egypt, and other places, - as well as in China itself, where for many years past some thousands - of chests are annually produced. It may be that the opium grown at - Java has perhaps a different taste from that grown at Malwa and - Benares, and may seem to be of inferior quality, but the consumers - would soon become accustomed to that, and would probably prefer the - former to the latter. Persons who are in the habit of smoking Havanna - dislike Manilla cigars, and those who generally smoke Manillas prefer - them to Havannas. At present opium is not exported from other - countries because Indian Opium is so cheap. - - What, then, may I ask, is the reproach constantly hurled at the East - India Company? That it derives an annual income by the culture of - opium of at least three millions of pounds sterling. Should the - Company prohibit the culture of the drug in order to allow other - nations to derive the emoluments arising from it? I who have travelled - in both upper and lower India, and know something of the country, am - persuaded that the people there are already over-taxed, and to demand - from them a substituted tax for those three millions would be a very - serious matter indeed. And for whom pray would this sacrifice be made? - To reduce the quantity of opium smoked in China? Most assuredly not; - for the Chinese would still smoke just as much. This sacrifice on the - part of England would only benefit those countries which would take up - the cultivation of opium in order to supply the Chinese markets from - which the Indian drug had been withdrawn. And what fault can be found - with the merchants? Is it not the Chinese who ask for opium, and who - buy it of their own free will, although not a single foreigner, either - by example or precept, encourages them to do so. Is it not the Chinese - who go out of their ports to the "Receiving Ships" to fetch it? Is the - Chinese nation composed of children, or of savages who do not know - right from wrong? Ought, for instance, the Queen of England to - undertake to redress Chinese habits, or let us say vices, and to - reform her Custom-house administration by watching the Chinese Coast? - By what right could the English Government or any other Government do - such things? If that is not what is wished, what is? Against whom and - against what is all this outcry? - - It is said that the receiving ships are anchored at the mouth of - rivers, that British war-ships anchor alongside of them, and that the - consuls know this. That is quite true. The consuls admit all this--in - fact, they often send their despatches by these very opium ships to - Hong Kong. How many times has it happened that the consuls have had - discussions with the Chinese governors respecting these receiving - ships? They say, "We do not protect these ships; why do you not drive - them away?" All this, I repeat, is notorious, and it is to be - regretted that it is so; because, under proper legal authorisation, - opium might be introduced into the Chinese Empire with such great - advantage to the Imperial treasury.... - - It cannot be expected that the English Government through its naval - commanders should prevent its subjects from carrying on a remunerative - commerce, whilst Americans, Dutchmen, Danes, Swedes, and Portuguese - would continue to carry on the trade with increased profit through the - withdrawal of the English. - -Were the supply of opium from British India discontinued we should have a -class of merchants who would form syndicates to buy up all the opium that -could be found, and Macao would become the great depôt for Persian, -Javanese, and Malwa opium for the China market, so that we should have -probably four times the quantity of the foreign drug shipped to China that -is now imported into that country, and thus the alleged evils of opium -smoking in China would be intensified. By a stupid though well-meaning -policy, that ultimate demoralisation, degradation, and ruin which the -Anti-Opium Society allege is now being wrought upon the natives of China -by the existing Indo-China opium trade would be enormously accelerated, -whilst England and English missionaries would only earn the contempt of -the Chinese nation and the ridicule of the whole world. I have shown you -that the Government of China is not sincere in its professed desire to put -down opium smoking; for if it was we should never have had the poppy grown -so extensively as it is at present all over the empire. The evidence of -Sir Robert Hart alone upon this point puts the matter beyond the question -of a doubt. How, in the face of that gentleman's book, this Anti-Opium -agitation can continue I really cannot understand. He is an officer of the -Chinese Government, and he would be the last man to publish anything -damaging to the Government or people of China. Here have these Anti-Opium -agitators been forty years in the wilderness without making any progress, -but only getting deeper into the quagmire of error and delusion. Even now, -although defeated at all points, they persist, as I shall show by and by, -in obstructing public business in the House of Commons by again -ventilating their unfounded theories. - -As matters stand, this book of Sir Robert Hart's must show to every -impartial mind that the teaching of the Anti-Opium Society, from its -formation to the present time, has been fallacious, misleading, and -mischievous. Yet, in the face of this most damaging official Yellow-Book, -we are still calmly and seriously told from many platforms, by dignitaries -of the highest position in the Church, and by clergymen of all -denominations, that we are demoralising and ruining the whole nation, -because we send the Chinese a comparatively small quantity of pure and -unadulterated opium, which is beneficial rather than injurious to them. -But what does Sir Robert Hart, with all his official information, say? -That all this opium, amounting to about six thousand tons annually, is -consumed in moderation by one million of smokers, or one-third of one per -cent. of the whole population of China, estimating the number of people at -three hundred millions only. - -The missionaries and the Anti-Opium Society, in the face of facts which -directly contradict them, say that the Chinese Government has a horror of -opium; but they never tell us that that Government has a horror of -themselves. What was the celebrated saying of Prince Kung to the British -Ambassador? "Take away your opium and your missionaries," said he. Now the -Chinese Government does not hate opium; it derives a very large revenue -from the drug at present, and it is only anxious to increase the amount. I -have very little doubt that Prince Kung, and all the other Imperial -magnates, including Li Hung Chang, that strictest of moralists, revel in -the very Indian drug they affect so to abhor. But they do detest the -missionaries most cordially; so do the whole educated people of the -empire, and so do Chinamen generally. None know this better than the -missionaries themselves. That disgraceful book, written by a Mandarin, -called "A Death-blow to Corrupt Practices," which was, by the aid of his -brother Mandarins, extensively circulated throughout China, but too -plainly proves the fact. That infamous volume was aimed at the whole -missionary body in China, Roman Catholic as well as Protestant; it -attributed the foulest crimes, the most disgraceful and disgusting -practices to the missionaries. It was, in fact, the precursor of the -fearful Tientsin massacre; yet the missionaries tell us that if we will -only discontinue the Indo-China opium trade the millennium will arrive. I -may here observe that if opium was the terrible thing, and was productive -of so much misery to its votaries, as the Protestant missionaries and the -Anti-Opium Society would have us believe, it seems strange that no mention -of opium or opium smoking appears in this book. If half the outcry raised -against the Indo-Chinese opium trade were true, here was an excellent -opportunity for the writer to have inveighed against the wickedness of -foreigners in introducing the horrible drug into the country. If the -Gospel is objected to because of this Indian opium, what a fine occasion -for the author to have enlarged upon the iniquity. If the Chinese mind -had been in any way impressed with the evils proceeding from opium -smoking, can it be supposed for a moment that the author of this book, an -educated Mandarin--one of the _literati_, in fact--would have omitted the -opportunity of denouncing the missionaries and foreigners generally for -introducing the terrible drug into the country and making profit by the -vices and misery of the Chinese people? Does not the entire omission of -opium from this book prove most eloquently that there is no real truth in -the outcry raised by these missionaries against the opium trade? The real -fact, believe me, is this, the Chinese dislike and distrust the -missionaries not because opium is an evil but because they hate and -despise Christianity. From the Anti-Opium Society one never hears anything -about the removal of the missionaries; it is all "take away your opium." I -am perfectly sure that, if we agreed to exclude our missionaries from -China, the Government of that country would unhesitatingly admit Indian -opium into the country duty free. No greater proof can be adduced of this -than the zeal and persistency with which the Chinese Government recently -and successfully prosecuted the celebrated Wu Shi Shan case, which was in -the nature of an action of ejectment against a Protestant missionary body -at Foochow. The late Mr. French, the Judge of Her Majesty's Supreme Court -for China and Japan, tried the case, the hearing of which occupied nearly -two months. It cost the Chinese Government about one hundred thousand -dollars, or twenty thousand pounds; they were well satisfied with the -result, although the land they recovered was not worth a tenth of the -money. - -It is declared by Mr. Turner and the other advocates of the Anti-Opium -Society that we have treated the Chinese with great harshness; that we -have extorted the Treaty of Tientsin from them, and bullied them into -legalizing the admission of opium into the empire; that we began by -smuggling opium into China, and ended by quarrelling with the Chinese. It -must not be forgotten, on the other hand, how the Chinese have treated us. -For more than a century before we introduced opium into China, and began, -as it is said, to quarrel with the Chinese, we had been buying their teas -and silks, and paying for them in hard cash. During all that time we were -treated by the Mandarins with the greatest indignity. Our representatives -and our people were insulted, often maltreated, and sometimes murdered. As -to opium smuggling, about which so much is sought to be made by the -Anti-Opium people, there is one point that the writers and speakers upon -the subject seem to have forgotten. In the first place, I think I will -show you that smuggling, in the proper sense of the term, has never, in -fact, been carried on in China by Englishmen--or, indeed, by other -foreigners--at all. But even admitting, for argument's sake, that -smuggling in its ordinary acceptation did, in fact, exist, how does the -matter stand? It has been for centuries the recognized international law -of the civilized world that one nation is not bound to take cognizance of -the revenue laws of another. This principle has been carried out in past -times with the greatest strictness. For instance, there was once a very -large contraband trade done between England and France. When brandy was -heavily taxed, and when it was thought more of than it is now, smuggling -it into England was a very profitable business. It was the same as regards -silks, lace, and a great many other articles before free trade became the -law of this country. Our Government knew this very well, but they never -dreamt for a moment of sending a remonstrance to the French Government -upon the subject. Had they done so, the latter would probably have -replied: "We cannot prevent our people from doing this. We give them no -encouragement whatever. We have enough to do to prevent your people from -smuggling English goods into our country, and you must do your best on -your side to prevent our subjects from introducing French goods into -yours." For I suppose our people, carrying out the principle of -reciprocity, had some contraband dealings with French contrabandists on -their own account. That was the law for centuries, and it is so still. - -But of late years what is called "the comity of nations" has become more -understood, and there is a better spirit spreading between different -states on this subject, although, as I have said, the law is still the -same. If our Government knew that there was now an organized system of -smuggling carried on here with France, they would, I dare say, try to put -a stop to the practice, and would, at the least, give such information to -the Government of France as would put their revenue officers on their -guard, and I am sure that the French Government would act in the same way -towards us. That would be due to the better feeling that has arisen -between the two countries within the last forty years. The moment, -therefore, it was found that there was a considerable demand in China for -Indian opium, British and other vessels brought the article to China; and -there can be no doubt that they met with great encouragement from the -Chinese officials, but they got no assistance from us. The opium shippers -carried on the trade at their own risk. All this has been very clearly -shown by Don Sinibaldo de Mas. There was no actual smuggling on the part -of the owners of these vessels. The Chinese openly came on board and -bought and took away the opium, "squaring" matters, so to speak, with the -Mandarins. These so-called smugglers belonged to all nationalities. There -were Americans, Portuguese, and Germans, as well as English, engaged in -it. According to the international law of European countries, the Chinese -Government ought, under the circumstances, to have had a proper preventive -service, and so put down the smuggling. But, instead of this, the practice -was openly encouraged by the Chinese officials, some of them Mandarins of -high position. - -Now and then an explosion would occur; angry remonstrances would be -addressed to the British Government, and bad feeling between the two -nations would be engendered, the Chinese all along treating us as -barbarians, using the most insulting language towards us, and subjecting -our people, whenever opportunity offered, to the greatest indignities. The -missionaries have ignored all this. They appear to have satisfied -themselves so completely that we forced this trade upon the Chinese that -they have lost sight both of fact and reason. The very existence of an -opium-smuggling trade with China shows that the article smuggled was in -very great demand in that country. People never illegally take into a -country an article that is not greatly in request there. They will not -risk their lives and property unless they know large profits are to be -acquired by the venture, and such profits can only be made upon articles -in great demand. It was because there was found to be a demand for Indian -opium that this so-called contraband trade sprang up. This furnishes the -strongest proof that the Chinese valued the opium highly, and that it was -on their invitation that the drug was introduced. There is, I believe, a -considerable contraband trade now carried on in tobacco between Germany -and Cuba and England, just because the article is in demand here, and -there is a very high duty upon it. The fact is, that if the arguments of -the Anti-Opium people are properly weighed, they will be found, almost -without exception, to cut both ways, and with far greater force against -their own side. - -Now with respect to smuggling, it is right that I should clear up the -misconception that seems to prevail upon the subject. Whatever may have -been the practice previous to the Treaty of Nankin, which was signed on -the 29th of August 1842, and ratified on the 26th of June 1843--forty -years ago, I say it advisedly, and challenge contradiction, that _no -smuggling or quasi smuggling, or any practice resembling smuggling, has -been carried on in China by any British subject_ since the signing of that -treaty. Although no mention is made of opium in that convention, it is an -indisputable fact that from the time of the making of it until the Treaty -of Tientsin in 1858, Indian opium was freely allowed into the country at -an _ad valorem_ duty. This is shown by Don Sinibaldo de Mas, in his book, -and also by Sir Rutherford Alcock, in his valuable paper. No doubt the -Chinese themselves have since then smuggled opium into their country, and -are doing so still. They are, in truth, inveterate smugglers, and it has -been found impossible for the British authorities of Hong Kong to prevent -the practice. For the past thirty years laws have from time to time been -passed in the colony with the object of checking the practice, which have -not been wholly unsuccessful; for instance, some twenty-five years ago an -Ordinance was passed prohibiting junks from leaving the harbour between -sunset, and, I think, 6 a.m. on the following morning, and compelling -every outward-bound junk to leave at the harbour master's office a copy of -the "Manifest" before starting, and I have known many prosecutions for -breach of this Ordinance. - -Still smuggling by Chinamen goes on more or less, but not now, I think, to -any large extent. As for any connivance or participation in the practice -by the British authorities or the British people, and, indeed, I may say -the same for all foreigners in China, there is none whatever. I am fully -borne out in this statement by the _Friend of China_, which you will -remember is the organ of the Anti-Opium Society. It would appear that Sir -John Pope Hennessy, lately Governor of Hong Kong, made a speech last -autumn at Nottingham, on the occasion of the meeting of the Social Science -Congress, in the course of which he made some allusion to smuggling by the -British community of Hong Kong. I have not myself read the speech, but -collect this from the statement of the journal in question, which I shall -now read to you. This is the passage:-- - - The present governor of Hong Kong is extremely unpopular with the - British community under his jurisdiction. Into the occasion and merit - of the feud we do not pretend to enter, but in reproducing the - Governor's condemnation of the Colony it is only fair to note the fact - of the existing hostility between governor and governed. _We are - sorry, too, that Sir John did not state that these desperate smugglers - are of Chinese race. So far as we know there is no ground for - inculpating a single Englishman in Hong Kong in these nefarious - proceedings; the English merchant sells his opium to Chinese - purchasers, and there his connection with the traffic ceases._ - -So much for the delusion as to smuggling by British subjects in China. As -for the "Hoppo" of Canton, who farms from the Chinese Government the -revenue of the provinces of Kwantung and Kwangsi, and whose object it is -to squeeze as much as he can from the mercantile community of these -provinces during his term of office, he has a fleet of fast English-built -steam cruisers, heavily armed, ostensibly to put down smuggling, but -really to cripple the commerce of the port of Hong Kong, they keep the -harbour blockaded by this fleet of armed cruisers to prey upon the native -craft coming to and sailing from the colony. Wild with wrath at the -prosperity of Hong Kong, the Hoppo and his cruisers lose no opportunity of -oppressing the native junks resorting to the place. All those vessels they -think should go to Canton to swell the Hoppo's income. Many Chinese -merchants have put cases of oppression of the kind in my hands, where -those armed cruisers simply played the part of pirates, seizing -unoffending junks, taking them to Canton, and confiscating junk and cargo; -but I regret to say that only in a very few cases have I been able to -obtain redress. This state of things has been going on for the past -fifteen or twenty years, and should be put down by the British Government. -So far as respects the Chinese authorities, and the junk owners, and -native merchants, it is simply legalised robbery; whilst as regards the -British Government and people of the colony, foreigners as well as -natives, it is a system of insult and outrage--a very serious injury, and -a glaring breach of international law, which no European Government would -tolerate in another. I mention this to show how forbearing and -long-suffering the Government of Hong Kong and the Imperial Government -have been towards China during the continuance of this most nefarious and -unjustifiable state of things. This is in truth a very serious matter. -When Sir Henry Elliott took possession of Hong Kong in 1841 on behalf of -the Queen, he invited by proclamation the Chinese people to settle in the -place, promising them protection for their lives and property, upon the -faith of which the natives took their families and property to the colony. -But how can it be said now that their property is protected when this -piratical fleet, like a bird of prey, hovers round the colony, pouncing -down upon the native craft going to or leaving the port? - -To close this part of my subject, I may say in short, that the charges -brought by the Anti-Opium Society against the importation of Indian opium -into China are exactly on a par with the objections of a Society -established in France for the purpose of prohibiting the importation into -England of cognac, on the grounds that that spirit intoxicated, -demoralised, and ruined the English people. If any set of men in France -were fanatical and insane enough to set forth such views, they would be -laughed down at once. The answer to the objection to the brandy trade -would be, "That the English people manufacture and drink plenty of gin and -whisky, and if they, the French, discontinued sending them brandy the -English would simply manufacture and drink more spirits of their own -production." No two cases could be more alike. - -Before proceeding to the last of the fallacies by which the opponents of -the Indo-Chinese opium trade have been so long deluding society, I wish to -refer to the statements made by Mr. Storrs Turner in his book, and by the -advocates of the Anti-Opium trade, respecting the Treaty of Tientsin. It -is alleged that Lord Elgin, who bore the highest character as a statesman -and Christian gentleman, extorted the treaty from the Chinese, and forced -them to include opium in the schedule to that treaty. Mr. Turner, at p. 95 -of his book, typifies the conduct of England thus:-- - - The strong man knocks down the weak one, sets his foot upon his chest - and demands:--"Will you give me the liberty to knock at your front - door and supply your children with poison _ad libitum_?" The weak man - gasps out from under the crushing pressure--"I will, I will; anything - you please." And the strong man goes home rejoicing that he is no - longer under the unpleasant necessity of carrying on a surreptitious - back-door trade. - -This metaphor is really absurd, and has no application whatever. Were a -man so infamous as to act in the manner stated, it would be a matter of -little concern to him whether his poison entered by the front or the back -door, so long as he got paid for the article. The fact is, as I have -stated, that since the Treaty of Nankin, in 1842, opium has been openly -allowed in the country without any difficulty or objection. If there is -any point in this metaphor of Mr. Storrs Turner's at all, it applies not -to the insertion of opium in the tariff, but to the clause in the treaty -as to the admission of missionaries into China, for that was really the -bitter pill the Chinese swallowed. In 1858, when the Treaty of Tientsin -was being drawn up, the tariff upon British goods had to be settled. The -Chinese Commissioners, not only as a matter of course, and without any -pressure whatever, proposed to put down opium in the schedule at the -present fixed duty of thirty taels a pikul, but actually insisted upon -doing so. There was no necessity for using pressure at all, and none in -fact was used. It was included in the tariff just like other goods. Mr. H. -N. Lay, who jointly with Sir Thomas Wade, Her Majesty's present minister -at Pekin, was Chinese Secretary to Lord Elgin's special mission, and who -then, I believe, filled the important post in the Chinese service now -occupied by Sir Robert Hart, expresses his opinion on the subject as -follows:-- - - Statements have been advanced of late, with more or less of precision, - to the effect that the legalisation of the opium trade was wrung from - Chinese fears. At the recent meeting in Birmingham Lord Elgin is - credited, in so many words, with having "extorted" at Tientsin the - legalisation of the article in question. There is no truth whatever in - the allegation, and I do not think, in fairness to Lord Elgin's - memory, or in justice to all concerned, that I ought to observe - silence any longer. Jointly with Sir Thomas Wade, our present minister - in China, I was Chinese Secretary to Lord Elgin's special mission. All - the negotiations at Tientsin passed through me. Not one word upon - either side was ever said about opium from first to last. The revision - of the tariff, and the adjustment of all questions affecting our - trade, was designedly left for after deliberation and arrangement, and - it was agreed that for that purpose the Chinese High Commissioners - should meet Lord Elgin at Shanghai in the following winter. The Treaty - of Tientsin was signed on the 26th of June 1858; the first was - withdrawn, and Lord Elgin turned the interval to account by visiting - Japan and concluding a treaty there. In the meantime the preparation - of the tariff devolved upon me, at the desire no less of the Chinese - than of Lord Elgin. _When I came to "Opium" I inquired what course - they proposed to take in respect to it. The answer was, "We have - resolved to put it into the tariff as Yang Yoh_ (foreign medicine)." - This represents with strict accuracy the amount of the "extortion" - resorted to. And I may add that the tariff as prepared by me, although - it comprises some 300 articles of import and export, _was adopted by - the Chinese Commissioners without a single alteration_, which would - hardly have been the case had the tariff contained aught objectionable - to them. Five months after the signature of the Treaty of Tientsin, - long subsequently to the removal of all pressure, the Chinese High - Commissioners, the signatories of the treaty, came down to Shanghai in - accordance with the arrangement made, and after conference with their - colleagues, and due consideration, signed with Lord Elgin the tariff - as prepared, along with other commercial articles which had been drawn - up in concert with the subordinate members of the Commission who had - been charged with that duty. _The Chinese Government admitted opium as - a legal article of import, not under constraint, but of their own free - will deliberately._ - -Now Mr. H. N. Lay is a gentleman whose testimony is altogether -unimpeachable, and this is his statement. He explains the whole -transaction, and it is substantially and diametrically contrary to the -allegations of Mr. Turner and the Anti-Opium Society. His account of the -matter has the greater force, because I believe he is rather anti-opium in -his views than the opposite, and at the time of the treaty he was in the -service of the Chinese Government. The truth is, that we never should have -had the Chinese urging us to increase the duty had they not been supported -by the Anti-Opium Society. Mr. Laurence Oliphant was Lord Elgin's -secretary at the time of the Tientsin Treaty. This is what he says on the -subject:-- - - As a great deal of misconception prevails in the public mind upon this - subject, I would beg to confirm what Mr. Lay has said as to the views - of the Chinese Government in the matter. - - I was appointed in 1858 Commissioner for the settlement of the trade - and tariff regulations with China; and during my absence with Lord - Elgin in Japan, Mr. Lay was charged to consider the details with the - subordinate Chinese officials named for the purpose. On my return to - Shanghai I went through the tariff elaborated by these gentlemen with - the Commissioner appointed by the Chinese Government. When we came to - the article "opium," _I informed the Commissioner that I had received - instructions from Lord Elgin not to insist on the insertion of the - drug in the tariff, should the Chinese Government wish to omit it. - This he declined to do. I then proposed that the duty should be - increased beyond the figure suggested in the tariff; but to this he - objected, on the ground that it would increase the inducements to - smuggling._ - - I trust that the delusion that the opium trade now existing with China - was "extorted" from that country by the British Ambassador may be - finally dispelled. - -But Mr. Storrs Turner will doubtless still say, "Oh! these gentlemen are -Englishmen; you cannot believe them." I do not think, however, this kind -of objection will have much weight with my readers or the country at -large. - -And now, as I am on the political side of the question, I will say a few -words on the Indian aspect of the case. The Government of India is charged -by Mr. Storrs Turner and the Anti-Opium people generally with descending -to the position of opium manufacturers and merchants, and quotes an -alleged proposal of the late Lord Lawrence to drop the traffic, leaving -the cultivation and exportation of the drug to private enterprise, and -recouping itself from loss by placing a heavy export duty on the article. -If Lord Lawrence ever proposed such an arrangement, which I doubt very -much, I hardly think he could have carefully considered the question. No -doubt, in an abstract point of view, it is contrary to sound policy for -the Government of a country to carry on mercantile business, much less to -take into its own hands a monopoly of any trade, yet the thing has been -done for a great number of years, and is still practised by some -continental Governments without the existence of any special reason for so -doing. The Indo-China opium trade, however, is an entirely exceptional -one. When an exceptional state of things has to be dealt with, -corresponding measures must be resorted to. The opium industry in India is -an ancient one; and the exportation of this drug to China began under the -Portuguese, several centuries ago. Were the Government of India to adopt -the alleged proposals of Lord Lawrence, the result would be that a much -larger quantity of opium than is now produced in India would be turned -out, so that not only would the alleged evils now complained of by the -missionaries and the Anti-Opium Society be intensified, but the Government -of India would find its revenue greatly increased by its export duty on -the drug. This is very conclusively shown by Don Sinibaldo de Mas, a most -competent authority, who has studied the question deeply and can have no -possible object but the revelation of the truth. - -There are numerous objections to throwing open the Indian trade. As -matters now stand, the Government of India annually makes advances to the -opium growers, to enable them to produce the drug. These advances are made -at a low or nominal rate of interest. Let the Government once drop the -monopoly and throw open the trade, and then the small farmers--and they -form perhaps seventy-five per cent. of the whole, whether they cultivate -the poppy or any other crop--would be at the mercy of the usurers, who are -the curse of India. Thus the poor cultivator, instead of paying the -Government two or three per cent. interest for the advance, would have to -pay perhaps five times that amount, with a bill for law costs; and a much -larger bill staring him in the future, in case he should be so unfortunate -as not to be up to time with his payments. The usurers or Márwáris as I -believe they are called, would in such cases profit by the fruits of the -soil instead of the growers. As to the morality of the proposed change, I -do not see what could be gained by such an arrangement. If it is wrong to -derive a revenue from opium by direct, it is equally wrong to do so by -indirect means. Before closing this part of the subject, there is another -point I wish to say a few words upon. It is put forward by Mr. Turner in -his book, with great plausibility, and is, no doubt, accepted by his -disciples as fact, that every acre of land put under opium cultivation -displaces so much rice, the one being a poison, the other the staff of -life. This is perfectly fallacious; wherever rice is grown in China--and I -fancy it is the same in India--there are two crops taken in the year. Rice -is cultivated during the spring and summer months (that is, the rainy -season), for the grain only grows where there is abundance of water. - -The poppy thrives only in the dry season, that is, during the latter part -of the autumn and the winter, when the rice crops have been saved. The -poppy requires a rich soil, so that before planting it the farmers have to -manure the ground well; then, when the poppy crop has been secured, the -land is in good heart for rice, and so the rotation goes on. This I stated -in the first edition of this lecture; since then Mr. Spence's Report for -1881 has appeared which fully confirms my view. Thus much for the accuracy -of this statement of Mr. Storrs Turner. - -I come now to the last of the fallacies, follies, and fantasies, upon -which the huge superstructure of delusion put forward for so many years by -the Anti-Opium Society has been built. At once the least sustainable, it -is the one which carries the most weight with the supporters of that -Society, for it furnishes the _raison d'être_ of their whole action. It is -_that the introduction of Indian opium into China has arrested the -progress of Christianity in that country, and that if the trade were -discontinued the Chinese would accept the Gospel_. No greater mistake, nor -more unfounded delusion than this could be indulged in; indeed, it seems -to me something very like a profanation to mix up the Indo-China opium -trade with the spread of the Gospel in the Empire of China. If the -objection to embrace Christianity because we send opium to that country -has ever, in fact, been made by natives, that objection was a subterfuge -only. - -The Chinese are an acute and crafty race; when they desire to attain an -object, they seldom attempt to do so by direct means, but rather seek to -gain their ends indirectly. They despise and hate Christianity, although -they will not tell you so, much less will they argue with you, or enter -into controversy upon the subject. They will rather try to get rid of it -by a side-wind. They are a very polite and courteous people, and -understand this style of tactics very well. I have no doubt whatever that -if the British trade in opium were suppressed to-morrow, and that no -British merchant dealt any longer in the drug, or sent a particle of it -into China, and if a missionary were to go before the Chinese and say, "We -can now show clean hands, our Government has stopped the opium trade," and -then were to open his book and begin talking to them of Christianity, he -would only be met with derisive laughter. "This man," they would say, -"thinks that because the English have ceased to sell us opium we should -all become Christians. If they sold us no more rice or broadcloth, we -suppose they would say that we should become Mahomedans." - -Knowing the cunning and keen sense of humour of the people, I have no -doubt they would use another argument also. There is a story told of a -Scotch clergyman who rebuked one of his congregation for not being quite -so moderate in his potations as he ought to be. "It's a' vera weel," -returned the other, who had reason to know that the minister did not -always practise what he preached, "but do ye ken how they swept the -streets o' Jerusalem?" The clergyman was obliged to own his ignorance, -when Sandy replied, "Weel, then, it was just this, every man kept his ain -door clean." And I can well fancy in the case I have supposed, an equally -shrewd Chinaman saying to the missionary, "What for you want to make us -follow your religion? Your religion vely bad one. You have plenty men -drink too muchee sam-shu, get drunk and fight, and beat their wives and -children. Chinaman no get drunk. Chinaman no beat or kill his wife. Too -muchee sam-shu vely bad. Drink vely bad for Inglismen; what for you don't -go home and teach them to be soba, plaupa men?" Believe me, the Chinese -know our little peccadilloes and are very well informed respecting our -doings here at home. - -We send but six thousand tons of opium annually to China, which, according -to Sir Robert Hart, who ought to be a reliable authority on the subject, -inflicts no appreciable injury upon the health, wealth, or extension of -the population of that vast empire. The truth is, that the alleged -objection of the Chinese against Christianity amounts simply to this: -because some of our people do what is wrong, and we are not as a nation -faultless in morals, we should not ask them to change their religion for -ours. Perfection is not to be attained by any nation or the professors of -any creed. If we had the ability, and were foolish enough to stop the -exportation of Indian opium to China, the natives of the country would -find some other reason for clinging to their own creeds and rejecting -Christianity. They could, and doubtless would, point to the fearful plague -of intemperance prevailing amongst us; they could also refer to the great -number of distilleries and breweries in the United Kingdom, to our Newgate -Calendar, and to the records of the Divorce Court. In short, they would -say, "You do not practise what you preach. What do you mean, then, by -trying to make Christians of us?" The same doctrine has been used over and -over again even in Christian countries, and it is lamentable to see -educated and intelligent men becoming victims to such a delusive mode of -reasoning. This sad hallucination on the part of the missionary clergymen -is the origin of the mischievous and very stupid agitation going on -against the Indo-China opium trade, but now rapidly, I believe and hope, -coming to an end. - -A few years ago I paid a short visit to Japan. Whilst I was at Tokio, the -capital, a lecture was given there by an educated Japanese gentleman, who -spoke English well and fluently. He introduced religion into his lecture, -and considered the question why the Japanese did not embrace Christianity. -"Our minds," said he, "are like blank paper; we are ready to receive any -religion that is good, we are not bigoted to our own, but we object to -Christianity because we do not consider it a good religion, because we see -that Christians do not reverence old age, and because they are so -licentious, and so brutal to the coolies." But these reasons are again -merely subterfuges. The Japanese do not smoke opium, and the very same -objection they urge against Christianity might also be used by the -Chinese. The Oriental mind is very much the same, whether Chinese, -Japanese, or Indian. Upon religious or political questions they well know -how to shift their ground. As to the Chinese embracing Christianity, I -trust the day will come when they will do so. They would then be the most -powerful nation in the whole world, and probably become our own best -teachers on religion and morals; but at present I see no immediate hope of -their conversion. I say this in view of the stand taken by the Protestant -missionaries on this opium question. Nothing, in my opinion, is more -calculated to impede the progress of missionary work than this most absurd -and unfounded delusion. The reason given by the missionaries for the -apparently small success which has hitherto attended their efforts, is -that the so-called iniquitous traffic in opium has been the one stumbling -block in their way. Put a stop to this villanous trade, they say, and the -Gospel will flourish like a green bay-tree. This sort of argument takes -with the missionaries themselves and with religious people generally, and -thus converts to the anti-opium policy are made. Yet all these statements -rest, I can assure you, on an entirely fallacious foundation. We are not -dealing with a savage but with a civilized people. You may change a -nation's religion, but you cannot alter its customs, and if China were -evangelised to-morrow the Chinese would still continue opium smokers. The -Reverend Mr. Galpin has hit the nail on the head when he said in his -letter to the missionaries of Peking:-- - - Looking at Christianity in the broad and true sense, as a great - regenerating force breathing its beneficent spirit upon and promoting - the welfare of all, of course the excessive use or abuse of opium and - every other thing, is a serious hindrance to its happy progress. But - this is a very different position from that of supposing that the - present apparently slow progress of mission-work in China is to be - attributed to the importation of Indian opium. China is a world in - itself, and the influence of Christian missions has hitherto reached - but a handful of the people, for there are many serious obstacles to - its progress besides opium. - -As before mentioned, the Roman Catholic missionaries have never complained -that their missionary labours were impeded by the opium trade. I had the -honour of being Solicitor at Hong Kong to a wealthy and important -religious community of that persuasion which has missionary stations all -over China, Formosa, and Tonquin, and might call the head of the order a -personal friend, yet I never heard a complaint of the kind from him or any -of his clergy. I was on very intimate terms with a Roman Catholic -gentleman who was in the confidence of the Catholic Bishop at Hong Kong, -and the Roman Catholic community generally, and I have had conversations -with him on missionary matters. He has never uttered such a complaint, -but, on the contrary, has always spoken of the success which attended the -Roman Catholic missions throughout China. In this connection it should not -be forgotten that the Chinese treat all foreigners alike; they know no -distinction between them--English, French, German, Spanish, Americans, -Portuguese, are to them one people. The victims of the Tientsin massacre -were, with the exception, I think, of a Russian gentleman, a community of -French nuns. The petition to the House of Commons set out in my first -letter emanated from the Protestant missionaries alone, and it has not, I -am well assured, been signed by a single Roman Catholic missionary. It is -plain, therefore, that this alleged obstacle to the spread of the Gospel -in China by the English and American missionaries is a monster of their -own creation, and has no real existence. Bishop Burden, of Hong Kong, the -missionary bishop for South China, who, although no authority on the opium -question, ought, on this point at all events, to be well informed, -estimates the number of Protestant converts in China at forty thousand, -and of Roman Catholics at one million. The disparity is great, but then it -should not be forgotten that Roman Catholic missions in China date from a -period probably two centuries earlier than Protestant missions. If out of -these forty thousand converts I allow five per cent., or two thousand, to -be really sincere and able to give a reason for the faith that is in them, -I believe that I am not underrating the precise number of true and _bona -fide_ converts which these missionaries have made. But knowing this as I -do, it is very far from my intention to cast blame upon the missionaries -in consequence. To those who understand the difficulties those devoted men -have to contend with in the progress of their labours, the wonder is not -that they have done so little, but that they have achieved so much. Upon -this point, I would say again, I am very far from attributing any blame to -our missionaries, save in so far as they have allowed themselves to be -cajoled by certain Chinese and others as to opium smoking. No one is more -sensible of their piety, learning, zeal, and industry; and a very sad task -it has been to me to impugn their conduct and controvert their views as I -have done. A good cause, however, cannot and ought not to be promoted by -falsehood; for such this Anti-Opium delusion amounts to, and nothing more, -and there can be no hope for more solid results from the missionary field -until it is swept from the missionaries' path. Two thousand sincere -converts after all is, in my belief, a great and encouraging result, -considering the tremendous obstacles our missionaries have to encounter in -overcoming in the first instance the prejudice of the Chinese against -foreigners, and then in displacing in their minds the idolatrous and -sensuous creed that has taken such firm root there, and become, so to -speak, engrained in the Chinese nature, and implanting in its stead the -truths of the Gospel. Each of these two thousand converts will prove, I am -well assured, like the grain of mustard seed that will fructify and in -time bring forth much fruit. But it must not be forgotten that China, in -the terse and apposite words of the Rev. Mr. Galpin, is "a world in -itself," containing as it does about a fourth of the whole human race. - -The custom of opium smoking has existed in the Empire of China from time -immemorial. You might as well try to reverse the course of Niagara as to -wean the Chinese from the use of their favourite drug. As to the Treaty of -Tientsin, it is unfair and ungrateful of the missionaries to speak of it -as they do. It did no more than reduce to a formal settlement a state of -things that had been for several years tacitly acquiesced in and agreed to -by the Chinese and British authorities and people. That treaty was -prepared with the greatest deliberation by an eminent statesman who was -singularly remarkable for his humanity and benevolence, assisted by able -subordinates who were in no way deficient in those qualities. The -missionaries seem to forget that this very Treaty of Tientsin, which they -so denounce, is the charter by which they have now a footing in China, -with liberty to preach the Gospel there. They would have no _locus standi_ -in China but for this sorely abused treaty. There is a special clause in -it drawn up by Lord Elgin himself, providing that we should be at liberty -to propagate Christianity in the country. That treaty is the missionaries' -protection. It is to it they would now appeal if molested by the Mandarins -or people of China. They cry it down for one purpose, and rely upon it for -another. I may here not inappropriately observe that the missionaries of -Peking seem to have been under a misapprehension as to the nature of this -treaty. From their petition to the House of Commons it would appear that -they were under the impression that some special clause legalizing the -importation of opium into China was introduced into it under pressure from -the British Government; but that was a mistake. There is no "clause" -whatever in the treaty on the subject of opium. The only place that the -word "opium" appears is in the schedule, where it is set down amongst -other dutiable articles, such as pepper and nutmegs, exactly as stated by -Mr. H. N. Lay. It is plain, then, that these missionary gentlemen had not -a copy of the Treaty of Tientsin before them when they drew up their -petition, and I doubt very much if any of them ever read the treaty at -all. They appear to have got the delusion so strongly into their heads -that the legalization of opium was wrung from the Chinese Government that -it seems they thought it quite unnecessary to read the treaty and took -everything for granted. - -I have now, I think, shown and fully refuted the fallacies which within -the past thirty years have crept into the minds of the opponents of the -Indo-China opium trade, dimming the faculties, blinding the reason, -warping the judgment, ministering to the prejudices, deluding the senses, -gratifying the feelings, until these fallacies have become so interwoven -and welded together as to form and culminate into one CONCRETE PLAUSIBLE, -FASCINATING, DEFAMATORY LIE! A cruel, false, and treacherous lie, that -misleads alike its votaries and its victims, and that, too, in the names -of religion and charity.--A lie circumstantial,--so highly genteel and -respectable,--so sentimental and pious,--so sleek and unctuous,--so -caressed and flattered,--so bravely dressed, and so beflounced and trimmed -with the trappings of truth, that even those who have bedecked the jade -fail to see the imposture they have created, so that the tawdry quean -struts along receiving homage as she goes, whilst plain honest TRUTH in -her russet gown wends her way unnoticed.--I have shown that this -Anti-Opium scare is a sham, a mockery, a delusion--a glittering piece of -counterfeit coin, which I have broken to pieces and proved to you that, -for all its silvery surface, there is nothing but base metal beneath. - -Let me now recapitulate. I have, I think, made it irrefutably clear-- - -1. That the Chinese are a civilized people, very abstemious in their -habits, especially as regards the use of opium, spirits, and stimulants of -all kinds. - -2. That there is and can be no analogy or comparison whatever between -opium eating and opium smoking, as each stands separate and apart from the -other, differing totally in the mode of use and their effects, and that -opium eating is not a Chinese custom. - -3. That an overdose of opium, like an excessive draught of spirits, is -poisonous and produces immediate death. - -4. That opium smoking is a harmless and perfectly innocuous practice, -unless immoderately indulged in, which rarely happens, as seldom, indeed, -as over-indulgence in tea or tobacco in England. - -5. That even when immoderately indulged, any depressing effects resulting -from opium smoking are removed simply by discontinuing the use of the drug -for a short period. - -6. That no death from opium smoking, whether indulged in moderately or -excessively, has ever occurred, and that death from such cause is a -physical impossibility. - -7. That opium smoking is a custom far less enslaving and more easily -discontinued than dram drinking or even tobacco smoking. - -8. That opium smoking is a luxury which can only be indulged in by those -who are well-to-do and is wholly out of the reach of the poor, and, save -in Western China and certain other districts, where the poppy is very -extensively cultivated and opium comparatively cheap, beyond the means of -the working classes. - -9. That opium smoking is a universal custom throughout the whole of the -immense empire of China, just as tea, wine, or beer drinking is with the -people of the United Kingdom, its use being limited only by the ability of -the people to procure the drug. - -10. That it is admitted by Sir Robert Hart, a high official of the Chinese -Government, that the greatest quantity of Indian opium of late years -imported into China is only sufficient to supply about one million of -people with a modicum of the drug, and that, in his own words, "neither -the finances of the State, nor the wealth of the people, nor the growth of -its population," can be specially damaged by a luxury which only draws -from five-pence to eleven-pence a-piece from the pockets of those who -enjoy it, and which is indulged in by a comparatively small number of the -Chinese people. - -11. That the poppy is extensively cultivated in all the provinces of China -proper as well as in Manchuria, and that there is probably three or four -times as much native drug produced annually in China as is imported from -abroad. - -12. That in the western parts of China, where the poppy is more -extensively cultivated and opium more generally smoked than in other parts -of the empire, no decadence whatever is produced in the mental or bodily -health, or the wealth, industry, and prosperity of the people, but on the -contrary, that these very people are peculiarly strong and vigorous. - -13. That the Chinese Government is not, and never was, sincere in its -professed desire to put down the practice of opium smoking in the empire, -which is evidenced by the fact that the poppy is largely cultivated -throughout the country, and that a revenue is derived by the Government -from the native drug. - -14. That Hong Kong being the great depôt of Indian opium and the place -where the drug is most largely prepared for smoking purposes, and where -also the native population (about three-fourths of whom are adult males) -are in good circumstances, and therefore better able to indulge in opium -smoking than their countrymen in the mainland of China, is the place where -the alleged evils of opium smoking, if they existed, would be found in -their worst form, yet that _those evils are unknown there_. - -15. That the outcry, got up and disseminated for so many years past in -England against the Indo-China opium trade has not, and never had, any -substantial foundation; that such outcry has arisen from the complaints, -of the Protestant missionaries in China, which also are equally baseless, -those missionaries having been simply made dupes of by certain designing -and mendacious natives for purposes of their own, or of the Government of -China. - -16. That opium was inserted into the Schedule to the Treaty of Tientsin at -the express desire and request of the Chinese authorities; that Lord Elgin -wished and proposed to those authorities by his Secretary, Mr. Laurence -Oliphant, to place a higher duty than thirty taels on the drug, but that -the Chinese officials declined to do so, fearing that, if the duty were -raised, an impetus would be given to smuggling. - -17. That the career of the Anti-Opium Society has been signalized by a -continuous series of mistakes and blunders--commencing with the monstrous -figment (the invention of an American missionary) that there were twenty -millions of opium smokers in China supplied by the Indian drug, and that -_two millions of these smokers died annually from the practice_,--and that -the Anti-Opium confederacy is only kept alive by the continued reiteration -of exploded fallacies, sophistries, and mis-statements of the same nature. - -18. That the British merchants connected with China in the past and the -present were and are wholly free from the stigmas cast upon them by the -Anti-Opium Society, anent smuggling and the opium trade;[12] that, so far -from having acted wrongfully towards China and the Chinese, their conduct -towards both has been, and still is, emphatically characterized by honour -and rectitude, and by uniform courtesy and kindness; and that those -merchants, have deserved well of their country. - -19. That the Anti-Opium Society, from its formation to the present time, -has wrought nothing but mischief, crippling by its pragmatical efforts the -action of Her Majesty's Government, both here and in India and China, -abstracting by its mis-statements enormous sums of money from the -charitable and benevolent, and squandering that money in the propagation -of unfounded theories and injurious reflections against our -fellow-countrymen in China; and that the public should withdraw their -confidence from the Society, and cease to supply it with one farthing -more. - -20. That, save in respect of the blockade of Hong Kong by the armed -cruisers of the Hoppo or Revenue Farmer of the provinces of the two -Kwangs, which inflict great and bitter hardship upon the Chinese merchants -of Hong Kong and the junk owners who trade to that place, the British -nation, by its Government and people, has amply redeemed the promises made -to the people of China by Her Majesty's representative, Sir Henry Elliott, -on taking over Hong Kong, which is amply verified by the flourishing state -of that Colony, and its large, thriving, and contented Chinese population. - -21. That, whilst it is desirable to maintain the most amicable and cordial -relations with the Government of China and its various viceroyalties, that -most unjustifiable blockade by the Hoppo or Revenue Farmer of Canton -should be promptly suppressed; a matter which has only to be taken in hand -by Her Majesty's Consul at Canton, supported, if necessary, by the British -Minister at Peking, and firmly but courteously pressed upon the Viceroy -of the two Kwangs, who cannot but acknowledge the gross injustice and -cruel wrong inflicted on Hong Kong and its native merchants by those -cruisers, and who has the power and only wants the will to let right be -done. - -In the course of these lectures I have spoken of some of the vices of the -Chinese, and of our own also. The people of England have, however, many -virtues, the growth of centuries; one of these is a broad and liberal -charity, that pours forth a continuous stream of benevolence over the -whole world. It is a virtue that pervades all classes, from our honoured -Queen to the humblest of her subjects. It is not without a swelling heart -that one can walk through the streets of London and see the noble -charitable institutions surrounding him upon all sides, such as hospitals, -convalescent institutions, homes for aged and infirm people, educational -institutes, and such like, _supported by voluntary contributions_--living -evidences of the charity and benevolence of our people in the past and -present. Yet these splendid monuments but faintly testify to the flow of -munificence perpetually running its course around us. Observe how -liberally the public respond to the appeals made to it almost daily. Look -at the case of the persecution of the Jews in Russia, the famine in the -North of China, the distress and troubles in Ireland. Then, again, there -is the charity "that lets not the left hand know what the right hand -doeth," of which the world sees nothing, but which is known to go on -unceasingly, and which probably is the most liberal of all. The history of -the world, so far as I am aware, does not record a parallel to this in any -other nation or people. With such an active and unceasing charity going on -amongst us, we should take care that this beneficent stream is not -diverted into worthless channels, for that would be a matter concerning -the whole public. - -Now, though I hold in respect all the officers and supporters of the -Anti-Opium Society, who are actuated, I admit, by the best motives, and -whose characters for benevolence and good faith I do not question, I -cannot forbear from repeating that their crusade against the Indo-China -opium trade is as unjustifiable as it is mischievous, and is well -calculated to produce the results I have deprecated. It encourages the -Chinese Government to make untenable demands upon us, under false -pretences, and it is an unwarranted interference with an industry, wholly -unobjectionable on any but sentimental grounds, affording subsistence to -millions of our fellow-subjects in India. It aims, also, at cutting off -some eight or ten millions sterling from the revenue of that vast -dependency, now expended in ameliorating the condition of its dense -population. Furthermore, it offers to useful and legitimate legislation an -opposition and obstruction of the worst kind, seeing that it obtrudes upon -the Legislature its unfounded and exploded theories, to the displacement -or delay of really useful measures. - -I say that the Anti-Opium Society, in the course of its agitation for the -abolition of this Indo-China opium trade, is vilifying its countrymen and -blackening this country in the eyes of the whole world, so that the -foreigner can convict us out of our own mouths, and jibe at us for -hypocrisy and turpitude we are wholly innocent of, and for crimes we have -never committed.[13] I say that the history of this Society presents -nothing but a dreary record of energies wasted, talents misapplied, wealth -uselessly squandered, charity perverted, and philanthropy run mad. The -members of this Society never think, perhaps, of the mischief they have -done and are doing. Here has our Government been trying for the past seven -or eight years to agree upon a revised commercial treaty with the -Government of China, and here also, side by side, is an irresponsible -political body doing its utmost to cripple, paralyse, and defeat our -Government in its efforts, taking up, in fact, a downright hostile -attitude to the action of the Imperial and Indian Governments, by carrying -on an unauthorized unofficial correspondence with Li Hung Chang, the Prime -Minister, and the most influential public man in China, who is a master of -the arts of diplomacy, and who is doing his utmost to get the better of us -if he can in the matter of the Chefoo Convention. Here, I say, is this -society putting forward Li's audacious and misleading letter to its -secretary, Mr. Storrs Turner, as an embodiment of truth and justice. Is -this patriotic or proper on the part of this Anti-Opium Society? Should -that body, instead of setting itself up as a junto, with a quasi-official -standing, having a monopoly of all the virtues, be allowed by the -Government to carry on its mischievous organization any longer? I think -not. I believe there is no other country in the world--not even America, -where liberty has run to seed--where such an intermeddling, anti-national -and mischievous confederacy would be permitted to exist. Instead of trying -to thwart Her Majesty's Government, as it is doing, it should be the duty -of its members, of every Englishman interested in China, and, indeed, of -the whole country, to strengthen as far as possible the hands of the -Government in its endeavour to bring the pending negotiations for a -commercial treaty with China to a successful close. Yet what are the -present plans of this pragmatical body? In its latest publication, a -compilation of the most fallacious and misleading matter, bearing a title -meanly plagiarized from this book, it is announced that the following -motion stands upon the Order Book of the House of Commons, and is intended -to be moved in the Session for 1883, viz:-- - - That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that in - the event of negotiations taking place between the Governments of Her - Majesty and China, having reference to the duties levied on opium - under the Treaty of Tientsin, the Government of Her Majesty will be - pleased to intimate to the Government of China that in any such - revision of that treaty _the Government of China will be met as that - of an independent State, having the full right to arrange its own - import duties as may be deemed expedient_. - -What a modest proposition! The Queen's Ministers, it appears, cannot be -trusted in their negotiations with the Government of China, and Her -Majesty in consequence is to be asked to ignore her constitutional -advisers, and personally inform the Chinese Minister that his Government -shall be treated as an independent state, and so forth. In fact, this -proposal is tantamount to a vote, _pro tanto_ at least, of want of -confidence in the Government, which, I have little doubt, would be -rejected by an overwhelming majority of both sides of the House. I only -hope it will be pressed to a division, as the result, I believe, will show -to the country in an unmistakable manner, once and for all, the utter -insignificance of the Anti-Opium confederacy as a political body, the -falsity and mischief of its teaching, and prove the knell of its -existence. If motions like this were to be passed, it would be impossible -to carry on Her Majesty's Government. The matter is really too absurd to -be seriously dealt with by Parliament, and I bring it before my readers -more for the purpose of showing the downright folly, infatuation and -fanaticism which characterize this Anti-Opium confederation than for any -other purpose. To these political philanthropists and amateur statesmen I -would recommend these lines, which seem to me to meet their case -exactly:-- - - "No narrow bigot he, his reasoned view - Thy interest, England, ranks with thine, Peru; - War at our doors, he sees no danger nigh, - But heaves for all alike the impartial sigh; - A steady patron of the world alone, - The friend of every country--save his own." - -Of the missionaries themselves, beyond this opium craze that has -unfortunately possessed them, I have nothing to say except to their -credit. A more conscientious and deserving body of men this world has -never produced; under hardships, troubles, and unspeakable difficulties, -they have sped their way with courage and cheerfulness, undeterred by -dangers, great privations and hardships which nothing but their strong -faith and unflagging zeal in their sacred mission could have enabled them -to surmount. Of their ultimate success I entertain, perhaps, as little -doubt as they do themselves; but on this opium question the "zeal of their -house hath eaten them up," and they have unconsciously been playing the -game of the crafty heathen. Let them pursue their good cause, and not -allow themselves to be cajoled by their bitterest enemies; above all, let -them keep clear of politics. No clergyman ever improves by intermeddling -in such matters, but, on the contrary, by doing so he invariably becomes a -bad politician and a worse priest. Let these vast sums, subscribed for the -promotion of a chimera, be transferred to the missionaries' fund, so as to -improve the lot of these missionaries and give them a little more comfort -in the hostile climate and the bitter fight that is before them. "The -labourer is worthy of his hire," and it is starving the missionary work -not to pay its servants liberally, I should say most liberally. With -respect to the Rev. Mr. Storrs Turner, whose name I have so often -mentioned, and whose writings I have so frequently animadverted upon, I -had the pleasure of knowing him in China. No worthier or better gentleman, -and no more able and zealous missionary clergyman ever set foot there. In -referring to him and his writings as I have done, nothing was further from -my thoughts than to impute to him for a moment an unworthy motive. He is -in the first rank of the missionary clergymen who stood the brunt of the -battle, and is deserving of praise and honour. As yet the missionaries -have been like husbandmen tilling an unkindly soil, trying to produce -wholesome fruit where only gross weeds grew before; and although small -apparently has been the fruit as yet, the unfriendly soil has shown signs -of yielding, and I feel assured that the day will come when their labours -shall be rewarded with a plenteous harvest. - -I have now told the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth on -the opium question; certainly such has been my intention. In doing so I am -afraid I may have given pain to many good and excellent people; I know -that I have given pain to myself. I can only repeat that I have never -intended to impute a wrongful or unworthy motive to any of them. Those who -are and have been engaged in the Anti-Opium agitation are, I admit, -influenced by the best motives. I have myself throughout been solely -actuated by a desire to remove the unfounded delusions that have got -possession of these worthy people, which have done great injustice to our -fellow-countrymen in China, as well as to the benevolent British public, -which has kept this Anti-Opium Society provided with the funds that have -enabled them to carry on their operations, to the embarrassment of the -administration of our great Indian Entire. Personally, I say again, that I -have no interest whatever in the matter, nor have I any leaning towards -the interests of any of the merchants now engaged in the opium trade. My -hands in this matter are absolutely clean. In the preface to the first -edition of these lectures I have explained how and why I came to deliver -them; that is my explanation without any mental reservation whatsoever. I -have, I admit, a very strong feeling upon the subject, but so also have -those who differ from me; and I would ask those most excellent and -honourable people to remember that there are two sides to most -questions,--to imagine, if they can, that there are other persons, totally -opposed to their views, who are quite as honest in their convictions as -they are themselves,--to look upon me as one of those persons, and to -measure my feelings by the strength of their own. I say this because I -have heard that a rumour to the effect of my being in some way personally -interested in the Indo-China opium trade has been circulated. If such is -the case, this rumour has no foundation in fact. I cannot prevent the -dissemination of such reports; but they are, I repeat, utterly groundless. -Honest in my purpose, I can afford to treat them with unconcern, and can -justly add, whilst far from setting myself up as better than my -neighbours, that-- - - "I am arm'd so strong in honesty, - That they pass me by as the idle wind, - Which I respect not." - - - - -APPENDIX. - - - - -APPENDIX. - -_Being an Official Letter from the Hon. Francis Bulkeley Johnson, of the -firm of Jardine, Matheson, & Co., Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of -Commerce, to Charles Magniac, Esq., M.P., President of the London Chamber -of Commerce._ - - - Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, - Hong Kong, 22nd November, 1882. - -SIR,--The attention of the Committee of this Chamber has been called to -certain statements recently made in the United Kingdom regarding this -Colony, on what must unfortunately appear to the public mind to be -competent authority, but which are nevertheless unwarranted and -misleading. - -The statements referred to are, in the opinion of the Committee, -calculated not only to affect injuriously the reputation of the Colony, -but to damage its interests by prejudicing the policy of the Home -Government and the Imperial Parliament, when dealing with the settlement -of questions arising out of the close political and commercial relations -which the Island of Hong Kong from its juxta-position must necessarily -hold with the Empire of China. - -The Committee offers no apology for addressing you on this subject as it -ventures to believe that the promotion of British Commercial enterprise -abroad in all legitimate channels is one of the objects the London Chamber -of Commerce has in view, and, to that end, it is clearly desirable that a -true appreciation should prevail, not only among the members of your -influential Committee, but throughout the United Kingdom, as to the -position and character of British trade and traders in the Colonies and -foreign countries. - -In the course of an address on the Repression of Crime delivered at the -Social Science Congress, recently held in Nottingham, Sir John Pope -Hennessy, Governor of this Colony, now on leave of absence in England, is -reported to have said--I quote from the _Nottingham and Midland Counties -Daily Express_, of the 22nd September:--"In the little Colony under my -government one million sterling changes hands every month in the article -of opium. But, with commercial activity and profits, there comes an -increase of crime from opium, from its consumption, and from its -smuggling. Hong Kong wages a chronic opium war on a small scale with -China. A desperate class of men, the opium smugglers make the Colony the -base of their operations--they purchase cannon and ammunition there, they -fit out heavily armed junks and engage, within sight of the island, in -naval battles with the revenue cruisers of the Emperor of China. Sometimes -the Emperor's revenue officers are killed, sometimes the smugglers. Not -unfrequently wounded men of both sides are brought into the Colony. All -this gives rise to a class of crimes difficult for the Governor to -repress, difficult on account of the influence of those who profit by it, -whether they are local traders or the financiers of a Viceroy." - -The picture thus sensationally drawn is one which, from its great -exaggerations, gives an untrue representation of the state of things -prevailing in these waters, and cannot fail to lead to the formation of -wholly incorrect inferences as to the relations existing between the -population of this island, for the most part law-abiding and pursuing -honest and industrious callings, and the authorities of the neighbouring -mainland. - -Sir John Hennessy states that opium, to the extent of a million sterling, -_changes hands_ in this Colony every month, and this assertion as to the -magnitude of the trade was obviously made in order to show the vast and -wide-spread interests involved in it, and the influential protection -therefore likely to be afforded to a traffic which the general tenour of -the remarks just quoted cannot fail to lead ordinary readers to suppose is -to a very large extent, if not mainly, contraband. - -Your Committee will be able to judge from the following facts how far the -injurious imputation, thus plausibly insinuated, if not directly stated, -is to be justified by the actual position of affairs. - -The import of opium from India and Persia to Hong Kong and _the whole of -China_, for the year 1881 was-- - - Of Malwa, from Bombay 35,729 chests. - Bengal, from Calcutta 44,124 " - From Persia 6,763 " - ------ - Total 86,616 chests. - -of an approximate value of £10,000,000 sterling. - -With some slight and unimportant exceptions the whole of this opium, the -trade in which it is worthy of note is now practically monopolized by -British Indian firms, passes through this harbour, but by far the larger -proportion of it can only be classed under the head of Hong Kong trade in -the sense in which the traffic through the Suez Canal can be considered as -Egyptian trade. About one half of the quantity of opium I have named as -the entire import, is immediately sent on either in the original foreign -vessels conveying it here, or by other vessels, also foreign, to Shanghai, -where it is entered regularly at the Custom House under official foreign -superintendence. - -Of the remainder, about one half, that is to say, one quarter of the -whole, is shipped by foreign vessels to other treaty ports open to foreign -trade, where it is duly entered at the Customs. The local trade proper of -the Colony, whether for shipment to Macao or Canton by foreign and native -vessels, or in native bottoms, to non-treaty ports,--_i.e._ to ports and -places with which foreign vessels cannot trade,--for consumption on the -island, and for re-export in a prepared state to California and Australia, -or for smuggling purposes, embraces therefore about one fourth of the -entire export to China from India and Persia, or say, in quantity about -21,000 chests of an approximate value of £2,500,000, or about £200,000 per -month instead of £1,000,000 per month as asserted by Governor Hennessy. - -There being no Custom House at this port, it is impossible to obtain -thoroughly accurate statistics as to the disposition of the 21,000 chests -of opium which form the local trade of the Colony. As regards the local -consumption and export in a prepared state, it may be estimated that from -2,500 to 5,000 chests are boiled in the Colony every year, leaving a -balance of 16,000 to 18,500 chests to be accounted for. To suppose that -this quantity is taken into China by smugglers would be to disregard all -the known conditions of the trade and the fact that the preventive service -of the Chinese Empire is probably in point of espionage the most carefully -organized one in the world. On every road, in every village bordering on a -river or waterway, at every port, village, and fishing station along the -coast, there is a watchful Customs Station rendering it very difficult for -a boat of the smallest size to touch the shore without being overhauled -and made to pay levies purporting to be imperial or local dues. To what -extent such dues are honestly levied and declared, there is no means of -ascertaining. The Customs Stations are believed to be farmed out by the -provincial authorities to officials who pay for their appointments, and -although a service thus organized would be considered as a demoralized one -and its system unreservedly condemned according to Western ideas, it is -probable that the receipts of perquisites, and the partial remission of -duties by Customs officials who farm the revenue, is a _quasi_ recognized -practice acquiesced in by all classes throughout the Empire. - -With this system, however, the Colony and merchants of Hong Kong have no -concern, and for its results they are in no way responsible. As the vast -majority of the junks which leave the mainland with produce or arrive -there with imports, undoubtedly obtain from the local Custom Houses port -clearances and bills of entry, the large trade, whether in opium or other -goods, carried on between this port and places on the coast in native -bottoms, being thus subjected to the ordinary fiscal dues levied on the -China coast according to the practice of the Empire, is for the most part -a strictly legal one. - -Smuggling between this island and the mainland in goods other than opium -scarcely exists, as an evasion of the low _ad valorem_ duty of five per -cent. which is payable on entry at the treaty ports, and is probably the -maximum similarly leviable at other ports, would not compensate for the -heavy charges which must be incurred by transit over unusual routes even -if the ubiquitous Customs officials could be avoided. Opium, owing to its -portable character, the facility with which it can be hidden beneath water -without serious deterioration, and the high duty imposed upon it, is more -readily and profitably smuggled, but the returns which have been received -through the Native Custom House at Canton make it nearly certain that the -quantity which evades the payment of duty, either at the treaty ports or -the ports and places not open to foreign trade, is not greater than 2,000 -to 3,000 chests per annum. (See Parliamentary Papers--China No. 2, 1880.) -And the quantity thus estimated to be smuggled is not conveyed, as alleged -by Governor Hennessy, in junks heavily armed for the purpose, fighting -their way to the mainland through the revenue cruisers, but is concealed, -a few balls at a time, about the persons, and in the luggage of Chinese -passengers by the steamers plying between this port and Canton, and other -places on the coast, or in ordinary trading junks and fishing boats of -unpretentious character, or fast pulling boats propelled by a number of -rowers, or by various devices such as are practised by the persons who -evade the duties on tobacco in the United Kingdom. That the revenue -cruisers which surround this island keep up an effective blockade which -prevents the smuggling of opium on a much larger scale than at present -takes place, is probably true, and it is also true that Chinese junks and -boats in the estuary of the Canton river, which do not promptly submit to -be overhauled by the cruisers, are chased and brought to for examination, -if necessary, by being fired upon. The propinquity, however, of this -island to the mainland, so far from being a cause of injury to the Chinese -Customs Revenue, operates most advantageously for the collection of fiscal -levies upon the foreign trade of the southern coast of the Empire. Were -the island situated at a greater distance from the mainland than it is, or -did not exist in its present conditions as a free port under a foreign -government, the difficulties which would be placed in the way of the -Chinese authorities, when engaged in checking smuggling in opium, would be -much greater than they now are. Opium in that case would probably be -shipped in native vessels from more distant depôts, such as Singapore, -Saigon or the French mediatized territory of Tonquin, to Chinese ports and -places, and it would be impossible for the revenue cruisers to watch the -entire line of their own coast as effectively as they are now able to -blockade this island in which the trade is centred and controlled. - -There is, therefore, no ground for Governor Hennessy's statement that this -Colony is engaged in chronic war with the neighbouring mainland, or for -his implied imputation that the course of its trade is injurious to the -Chinese fiscal revenue. On the contrary, the facts of the case show that -the physical conditions of the island of Hong Kong not only afford the -ready means by which the Chinese Government is enabled to protect its -legitimate revenue, but also unfortunately place it in the power of the -authorities of the province of Quangtung to surcharge the trade in foreign -goods, carried on in native vessels between Hong Kong and the southern -ports of China, with additional taxation in excess of that authorized by -the foreign treaties. - -With the view to make a representation to H.M. Government in support of -which it may hereafter be necessary to invite the good offices of your -Committee, this Chamber is now engaged in an investigation into the facts, -so far as they can be ascertained, relating to this alleged surcharge of -duties upon the Colonial trade for the collection of which, as well as for -the prevention of an illicit traffic in opium, there is reason to believe -the blockade of this island by Chinese revenue cruisers is maintained. - -So much as regards the general conditions of the trade of the Colony which -evidence the grave misrepresentations contained in the Nottingham address, -but in order to show conclusively, by official returns on matters of fact, -the groundlessness of the specific accusation made by Sir John Pope -Hennessy, your attention is invited to the annexed copies of -correspondence, with its enclosures, between the Colonial Government and -the Committee of this Chamber. - -In response to the request of the Committee, the Acting Colonial Secretary -under the direction of His Excellency the Administrator has furnished the -Chamber with the following documents, viz.:-- - - 1. Extracts from a Report by the Colonial Treasurer and Registrar - General upon the Opium Trade of the Colony. - - 2. Return from the Harbour Master, showing the character of the native - vessels engaged in Opium Smuggling and the number of cases of alleged - smuggling brought before the Marine Court since April 1877. - - 3. Return from the Captain Superintendent of Police, showing the total - number of attacks and seizures made by Customs Revenue Cruisers in the - neighbourhood of the Colony and reported to the Police since 1st - January 1877. - -The Colonial Treasurer's Report on the Opium Trade for 1876, confirms the -figures of the approximate estimate made by this Chamber from independent -sources and given above, as to the probable quantity of opium smuggled -into China from this Colony. - -The Harbour Master's Return shows that there is no special class of -vessels fitted out in the Colony and heavily armed for the purpose of -opium smuggling, as alleged by Governor Hennessy, and in the five cases -cited in the report which comprise the whole number brought before the -Marine Court in the course of five years, it will be seen that the -quantity of opium found in the vessels charged with being engaged in -illicit trade was so inconsiderable, as to make it obvious that the -concealment of opium took place in each case in an ordinary trading junk. -It is also clear from this Return that nothing is known in the Harbour -Master's Department of the armed organization for the purpose of opium -smuggling which is stated by Governor Hennessy to carry on a chronic war -with the Empire of China. - -The return from the Captain Superintendent of Police dealing with the -entire number of cases reported to the police authorities during the years -1878 to 1882 (inclusive) of seizures by Chinese Revenue cruisers and -affrays between the cruisers and native vessels on the neighbouring China -coast, is instructive. - -The number of cases is 23, but of these only 6 are reported to be -connected with the opium trade and the value of the opium seized varies -from $3 in one case to the maximum amount in another of $800, showing, in -confirmation of the Report by the Harbour Master to a similar effect, the -comparatively unimportant character of the opium smuggling which prevails -in these waters, and the absurdity of the allegation that there is a large -contraband trade conducted in heavily armed junks fitted for the purpose -in this harbour. - -The remaining 17 cases of seizures by revenue cruisers during five years -do not appear by the returns to have been connected with opium; 7 of them -were salt junks, 1 sulphur and saltpetre, 3 general cargo, and 2 sugar. In -4 cases the particulars of cargoes are not stated. - -The return shows the number of casualties with fatal results reported to -the police as having occurred in affrays between native vessels and the -revenue cruisers during the period of five years under review. Such -casualties have been 8 in number, but not one of them appears to have had -any connection with opium smuggling, or to have arisen out of any case of -contraband trading with which this Colony was concerned. - -In August 1878, a fisherman on the Hong Kong shore was accidentally killed -by a shot fired by a revenue cruiser when pursuing a junk ultimately -seized for some breach of Chinese regulations with general cargo on board. - -In May 1879, three men of a revenue cruiser were killed in an affray with -a junk carrying salt. As salt is not produced or prepared in this island, -this affray was not generated in the Colony or within Colonial waters. The -preparation of salt in China is conducted as a very strict monopoly by -means of Government licenses, and trade in it other than by duly -authorized persons is contraband. Serious affrays between salt smugglers -and revenue officers are well known to be common throughout the Empire, -they are frequently alluded to in the _Peking Gazette_, and in the case -referred to in the Police Report, the junk must have been passing from one -part of the territory of China to another part outside of British waters. - -On 28th November 1881, a man was killed in a boat which was conveying two -gentlemen of this Colony who were returning from a shooting expedition on -the mainland. Passing by a Customs Station on the Chinese side of the -channel the boat was ordered to heave to; not doing so promptly, musket -shots were fired at it and one of the crew was most unfortunately killed. -In this case there appears to have been no smuggling attempted. - -In April this year a man was killed on board a rowing boat in the narrow -channel separating Hong Kong from the mainland, and in June last two men -were killed outside British waters in a trading junk carrying sulphur and -saltpetre, which are contraband articles of trade in China. In neither -case does it appear that opium was concerned. - -With reference, therefore, to Sir John Pope Hennessy's allegations, which -were to the following effect:-- - - _a._--That this island is the base of operations for a class of - desperate men who carry on a large contraband trade in opium with - China; - - _b._--That for the purpose of carrying on that trade, junks heavily - armed with cannon are fitted out here and wage a chronic war with the - neighbouring Empire; - - _c._--That these junks engage, within sight of the island, in naval - battles with the Chinese Revenue cruisers resulting in large loss of - life on both sides; - -The facts are:-- - - _a._--There is no large contraband trade in opium carried on between - this Colony and the China coast. On the contrary, the opium smuggled, - considering the extent of the trade, is inconsiderable, and for the - most part is carried into China in small quantities, portable and - easily concealed, just as parcels of tobacco are smuggled into the - United Kingdom. - - _b._--That within the knowledge of the Harbour Master and the Colonial - police authorities no armed junks have been fitted out in this harbour - during the last five years for the purpose of opium smuggling. - Smuggling of opium, when attempted at all otherwise than by passengers - in the various steamers trading to the coast of China, is carried on - in ordinary trading junks or in rowing boats dependent for success in - their illicit trade upon their swiftness and small size. - - _c._--No such contests as those referred to in allegation _c_ have - taken place within the last five years, and no loss of life in - connection with opium smuggling during the same period has come under - the notice of the police. Any serious affrays attended with loss of - life which have occurred in the neighbourhood of this Colony between - native vessels and revenue cruisers, have been in connection with - contraband traffic in other articles on the adjacent China coast with - which, so far as is known, this Colony has had no concern. The only - instance reported by the police in which revenue officers have been - injured, was the case of the salt junk referred to above and shown to - be a purely Chinese affair. - -It may be added that on goods other than opium there is very little, if -any, illicit trade carried on between the Colony and the mainland, and -that no allegation has ever been made that foreigners are engaged directly -or indirectly in smuggling of any kind. - -In conclusion, the Committee cannot refrain from expressing regret that -Sir John Pope Hennessy having had the fullest opportunities, as Governor -of this island for five years, of obtaining accurate information with -regard to occurrences taking place and the state of affairs prevailing -here during his term of office, should have been led to make statements, -unfounded in fact and misleading in the inferences they are calculated to -raise, which could not fail to damage the character of the Colony, the -legitimate interests of which it might justly have been expected he would -have been most anxious to defend. - -Copies of this letter will be sent through His Excellency the -Administrator to Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the -Colonies, and to the various Chambers of Commerce in the United -Kingdom.--I am, Sir, your most obedient Servant, - - (Signed) F. BULKELEY JOHNSON, - _Chairman_. - - Charles Magniac, Esq., M.P., - President of the London Chamber of - Commerce, London. - - - - - LONDON: - PRINTED BY W. H. ALLEN AND CO., 13 WATERLOO PLACE. - - - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] "British Opium Policy, and its Results to India and China." - -[2] The loose control possessed by the Emperor over his officials was well -described by one of the most trusted ministers of the great Emperor Keen -Lung. He said to one of the Jesuit missionaries at Pekin, that "the -Emperor himself cannot put a stop to the evils that exist in the service. -To displace those officials who have misbehaved themselves, he may send -others, but instead of removing the evil they generally commit greater -exactions than their predecessors. The Emperor is assured that all is -well, whilst affairs are at their worst and the people are oppressed." - -[3] "China: a History of the Laws, Manners, and Customs of the People." - -[4] "The Middle Kingdom." A Survey of the Geography, Government, -Education, Social Life, Arts, Religion, &c., of the Chinese Empire, and -its Inhabitants. - -[5] As a matter of fact the skull of a Chinaman is fully double the -thickness of that of a European. - -[6] "The River of Golden Sand; the Narrative of a Journey through China -and Eastern Thibet to Burmah," by Capt. William Gill, R.E. - -[7] "The Principles and Practice of Medical Jurisprudence," by Alfred -Swaine Taylor, M.D., F.R.S. - -[8] I have a distant recollection of a syllogism with which schoolboys -once used to exercise the minds of their juniors, which ran, I think, -thus:-- - - Epimenides said all Cretans were liars, - Epimenides himself was a Cretan, - Therefore Epimenides was a liar,--therefore he was not a liar. - -[9] "L'Angleterre, la Chine, et l'Inde." I am indebted for a transcript of -the chapter in question to Mr. H. Henry Sultzberger, Merchant, of No. 10 -Cannon Street, City, who has taken such an interest in the opium question -that he had the chapter printed at his own expense; and also to M. -d'Audlan, a teacher of modern languages, for a translation of it. - -[10] "Annals of Chemical Medicine, including the Application of Chemistry -to Physiology, Pathology, Therapeutics, Pharmacy, Toxicology and Hygiene." - -[11] In those days about £100 sterling.--W. H. B. - -[12] The unfounded charge of smuggling by British merchants and foreigners -in Hong Kong has been completely refuted by the Honourable Francis -Bulkeley Johnson, the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of the Colony, -in a very able letter to Charles Magniac, Esq., M.P., the President of the -London Chamber of Commerce. This letter, which reached me just before -going to press, will be found set out _in extenso_ by way of Appendix. It -is full of valuable and interesting information on the Indo-China opium -trade, and is well worthy of careful study. - -[13] In a recent number of the _Temps_, England was flouted with playing a -humanitarian, hypocritical part towards Tunis, whilst we oppressed the -natives of China by forcing them to smoke opium, in order to augment the -revenue of the Indian Government. - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Truth about Opium, by William H. 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Brereton - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Truth about Opium - Being a Refutation of the Fallacies of the Anti-Opium - Society and a Defence of the Indo-China Opium Trade - -Author: William H. Brereton - -Release Date: October 26, 2013 [EBook #44043] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TRUTH ABOUT OPIUM *** - - - - -Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive/American -Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - - THE TRUTH ABOUT OPIUM. - - - BEING A - - _REFUTATION OF THE FALLACIES - OF THE ANTI-OPIUM SOCIETY AND A DEFENCE - OF THE INDO-CHINA OPIUM TRADE_. - - - BY WILLIAM H. BRERETON, - LATE OF HONG KONG. - - - "_Let truth and falsehood grapple; who ever knew truth put to the worse - in a free and open encounter?_"--JOHN MILTON. - - - _SECOND EDITION._ - - - LONDON: - W. H. ALLEN & CO., 13 WATERLOO PLACE. - PUBLISHERS TO THE INDIA OFFICE. - - 1883. - - (_All rights reserved._) - - - - - LONDON: - PRINTED BY W. H. ALLEN AND CO., 13 WATERLOO PLACE. - - - - -PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. - - -In the preface to my first edition I expressed a hope that these lectures, -however imperfect, would prove in some degree instrumental towards -breaking up the Anti-Opium confederacy, and I have the satisfaction of -knowing that my anticipations have not been altogether disappointed. The -lectures were well received by the public and the press, and struck the -Anti-Opium Society and its versatile Secretary, the Rev. Mr. Storrs -Turner, with such consternation that, in the language of people in -difficulties, "business was discontinued until further notice." Mr. Storrs -Turner,--the motive power which kept the Anti-Opium machine working,--who -had hitherto been so active, aggressive, and demonstrative--a very -Mercutio in volubility and fertility of resource,--became suddenly silent, -mute as the harp on Tara's walls. He who once was resonant as the lion, -like Bottom the Weaver, moderated his tone, and roared from thenceforth -"gently as any sucking dove." Until the delivery of my lectures, no lark -at early morn was half so lively or jubilant. Letters to the newspapers, -articles in magazines, improvised lectures and speeches, flew from him -like chaff from the winnowing-machine. Heaven help the unlucky individual -who had the temerity to differ from him on the opium question, for Mr. -Storrs Turner would, as the phrase goes, "come down upon him sharp." - -This kind of light skirmishing suited him exactly; it kept alive public -interest in the Anti-Opium delusion, and no doubt brought grist to the -mill, without committing him to anything in particular, or calling for any -extraordinary draft upon his imagination or resources. He had only to -reiterate loud enough the cuckoo cry that his deluded followers had so -long recognised as the paean of victory. But when my lectures were -delivered, and it was announced that they would be published, "a change -came o'er the spirit of his dream." Having for so many years had -practically all the field to himself, it had never occurred to him that -another and more competent witness from China, where all these imaginary -evils from opium smoking were alleged to be taking place,--who had had -better opportunities of learning the truth about opium than he could -possibly have had, and who had turned those opportunities to good -account,--should appear and refute his fallacies. This was a _denouement_ -that neither he nor his Society was prepared for, and dismay and silence -prevailed in consequence in the enemy's camp. - - And the tents were all silent,--the banners unflown,-- - The lances unlifted,--the trumpet unblown. - -My lectures were delivered in February, 1882. The Rev. Mr. Storrs Turner -attended them and corresponded with me upon the subject. In those lectures -I criticized his book and pointed out its misleading features and -inaccuracies; but, recognizing the force of Sir John Falstaff's maxim, -that "the better part of valour is discretion," he never attempted to -controvert my case, nor justify himself or the Anti-Opium Society, who for -so many years had made such noise in the world. It was only in October, -1882,--eight months after my lectures had been delivered,--after an -article appeared in the _London and China Telegraph_, commenting on the -collapse of the Anti-Opium Society,--that Mr. Storrs Turner, like -Munchausen's remarkable hunting-horn, gave utterance to a few feeble -notes, to the effect that his Society was still alive; for he well knew -that all that I had stated in those lectures I could prove to the -hilt,--aye, ten times over. - -But if Mr. Storrs Turner has declined the contest, an acolyte of his, Mr. -B. Broomhall,--who appears to be the Secretary of the Inland China -Mission, and one of the "Executive Committee" of the Anti-Opium -Society,--comes upon the scene like King Hamlet's ghost, declaring that he -"could a tale unfold, whose lightest breath would harrow up your souls, -freeze the hot blood, and make each particular hair to stand on end." -Plagiarising, if not pirating, my title, with a colourable addition of the -word "Smoking," he produces, in November 1882, a compilation entitled "The -Truth about Opium-_Smoking_," rather a thick pamphlet, made up of excerpts -from all the writings and speeches, good, bad, and indifferent, that have -been published and delivered within the last thirty years on the -Anti-Opium side of the question, with some critical matter of his own, -from all of which it appears most conclusively that he, Mr. B. Broomhall, -is perfectly innocent of the subject he undertakes to enlighten the world -upon. I think I see through this gentleman and his objects pretty well. -With respect to the authors of these writings and speeches, I may say at -once that I hold them in as much respect as Mr. B. Broomhall does himself. -Some of them are very eminent men, who, apart from this opium delusion, -are ornaments to their country, and all, I have no doubt, are men of -spotless honour and integrity; but what, after all, does that prove? Why, -simply the _bona fides_ of these gentlemen, which no one ever questioned, -and nothing more;--that in writing those pamphlets and articles they -honestly believed they were giving utterance to facts and recording -circumstances which were true, and which it was for the good of society -should be widely known. The good and just man is as liable to be deceived -as he who is less perfect,--indeed, more so, for his very amiability and -guilelessness of heart allay suspicion and make him an easier prey to the -designing and unscrupulous. Not one of those gentlemen, save Sir -Rutherford Alcock, and one or two others, whose opinions are coincident, -in fact, with my own, have had any actual personal knowledge of the facts -they write about, and such a statement as the following might well be -printed in the front of each of their books or writings, viz.: "I have -read certain books and articles in newspapers, and heard speeches upon the -opium question, which I believe to be true, and on such assumption the -following pages are my views upon the subject." To prove to my readers the -utterly unreliable and deceptive character of Mr. Broomhall's compilation, -it is only necessary to refer to one passage, which will be found at page -122, where it is gravely put forward THAT THE INDIAN MUTINY WAS BROUGHT -ABOUT BY THE INDO-CHINA OPIUM TRADE! After that, Tenterden Steeple and the -Goodwin Sands will hardly seem so disconnected as has been hitherto -commonly supposed. But then the book is illustrated; there are the -pictures copied from the _Graphic_. There is the poppy, and there is the -opium pipe. Of course Mr. B. Broomhall knows all about opium smoking,--or -the illustrations would not be there. Mr. Crummles, with his "splendid tub -and real pump," could not have done better. - -As to Mr. B. Broomhall's remarks respecting my book I have very little to -say; there is nothing in them. Like Mr. Storrs Turner, he has found it a -poser, and has said very little respecting it. When your opponent gets the -worst of an argument, if he does not honestly acknowledge his -discomfiture, he generally follows one of two courses--either he loses his -temper and takes to scolding, or he suddenly discovers something -wonderfully funny in your arguments which no one else was able to detect. -Mr. B. Broomhall eschews the former, but adopts the latter course. He -selects a paragraph or two, and says, "That is ludicrous," but he never -condescends to enlighten his readers as to where the fun lies, or in what -the drollery consists. - -But, although Mr. B. Broomhall makes light of my book, he has thought -proper to imitate its title. He evidently thought there was nothing -ludicrous in _that_. This was very "smart," but smartness is a quality not -much appreciated on this side of the Atlantic. As my book had dealt a -heavy blow to the Anti-Opium Society, and a cheap edition might prove -still more damaging, an opposition book, with a similar title, might so -confuse the public as to be mistaken for mine. Imitation has been said to -be the sincerest flattery, but I dislike adulation even when administered -by the Anti-Opium Society. This gentleman and his compilation bring very -forcibly to my mind the profound Mr. Pott, of the _Eatanswill Gazette_, -who, having written a series of recondite articles on _Chinese -Metaphysics_, brought his lucubrations to the notice of his friend, Mr. -Pickwick. That gentleman ventured to remark that the subject seemed an -abstruse one. "Very true," returned Mr. Pott, with a smile of intellectual -superiority, "but I crammed for it--I read up the subject in the -_Encyclopaedia Britannica_. I looked for metaphysics under the letter M, -and for China under the letter C, and combined the information." This -seems to be the sort of process by which Mr. B. Broomhall has arrived at -his knowledge on the opium question, and with similar results. I do not -wish to be too hard upon this gentleman, who, after all, may have been -only a cat's-paw in the matter--for it must not be forgotten that there is -Mr. Storrs Turner in the background; but he himself, on reflection, must, -I think, admit that it was going a little too far to introduce into his -compilation a parody--which some might call a vulgar parody--on one of the -verses of Bishop Heber's very beautiful and world-renowned Missionary -Hymn. I will not give my readers the "elegant extract," but they can find -it for themselves at page 117. - -I have in this edition amplified the matter and given extracts from the -Reports of Mr. William Donald Spence, Her Majesty's Consul at Ichang, and -Mr. E. Colborne Baber's _Travels and Researches in Western China_, which -throw a flood of light upon the opium question. I have also quoted from a -very valuable work of Don Sinibaldo de Mas, an accomplished Chinese -scholar, formerly Spanish Minister to the Court of Peking, published in -Paris in 1858, which in itself is a complete vindication of the opium -policy of Her Majesty's Government in India and China, and an able -refutation of the unfounded views of the Anti-Opium Society; and I believe -this edition of _The Truth about Opium_ will be found a very complete -defence of the Indo-China opium trade. - -_30th January 1883._ - - - - -PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. - - -The following lectures were given in pursuance of a determination I came -to some six years ago in Hong Kong, viz. that if I lived to return to -England I should take some steps, either by public lectures or by the -publication of a book, to expose the mischievous fallacies disseminated by -the "Anglo-Oriental Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade." About -that time nearly every mail brought out newspapers to China containing -reports of meetings held in England condemnatory of the Indo-China opium -trade, at which resolutions were made containing the grossest -mis-statements and exaggerations as to opium-smoking, and also the most -unfounded charges against all parties engaged in the opium trade, showing -clearly, to my mind, that not one of the speakers at those meetings really -understood the subject he spoke about so fluently. I have now, happily, -been able to carry out my intention. Unfortunately, I was deprived of the -opportunity of delivering these lectures in Exeter Hall, which was not -only more central than St. James's Hall, but where I could have selected a -more convenient hour for the purpose than the only time the Secretary of -the latter Company could place at my disposal, the reason being that the -Committee of Exeter Hall refused to allow me its use for the purpose of -refuting the false and untenable allegations of the Anti-Opium Society, an -act of intolerance which I think I am justified in exposing. I trust, -however, that any drawback on this account will be compensated for by the -publication of the lectures. I am well aware that this volume has many -imperfections, but there is one respect in which I cannot reproach myself -with having erred, and that is, in having overstepped the bounds of truth. -I have the satisfaction of knowing that all I have stated in the lectures -is substantially true and correct, and with such a consciousness I -entertain a confident hope that they will prove in a humble way -instrumental towards breaking up the Anti-Opium confederacy, the objects -of which are as undeserving of support as they have proved mischievous in -their tendency. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - -LECTURE I. - -Objects of the Lectures.--Lectures based upon principle and not upon -grounds of expediency.--Lecturer's knowledge of the Opium question derived -from actual acquaintance with the facts, acquired during nearly fifteen -years' residence in Hong Kong.--Opium smoking as practised by the Chinese -perfectly innocuous, beneficial rather than injurious.--Opinion of Dr. -Ayres.--Charges made by the Anti-Opium Society and its supporters false -and unfounded.--Alleged knowledge of the members and supporters of the -Anti-Opium Society founded on hearsay evidence of the worst and most -untrustworthy character.--Lecturer not acting in the interests of the -British merchants in China, nor of any other party or person.--Has no -personal interest in the Opium question, and is actuated only by a desire -to dispel the false and mischievous delusions spread abroad in England by -the Anti-Opium Society.--British and other foreign residents in China hold -opposite views to those disseminated by the Anti-Opium people.--British -merchants as a body have no interest in the trade.--China a great Empire -as large as Europe, with a much greater population.--Country and people of -China described.--Impossible to demoralize and debase such a people.--Opium -smoking a general custom throughout the eighteen provinces of China.-- -Reasons for the prolonged existence of the Anti-Opium Society.--False -charges of the Anti-Opium Society respecting the Indo-China Opium trade -more fully formulated.--Petition to the House of Commons of the Protestant -Missionaries at Peking.--Refusal to sign it of the Rev. F. Galpin.--If -half those charges were true the British residents in China would be the -first to raise their voices against the Opium trade.--Official Yellow -Book published by Sir Robert Hart, the Inspector-General of Chinese -Customs, negatives the allegations of the members of the Anti-Opium -Society and the Protestant Missionaries.--Roman Catholic Missionaries make -no complaint against the Indo-China Opium trade.--Allegations of the -Anti-Opium Society that British trade with China has suffered from the -alleged forcing of Opium upon China untrue.--Friendly relations between -the British merchants in China and the Chinese people.--Englishmen more -esteemed by the Chinese than any other nation.--Hong Kong described.-- -Government of China described.--Hong Kong the head-quarters of the -Indo-China Opium trade, Chinese residing there have better means of -procuring the drug than elsewhere--no sufferers from Opium smoking found -there.--Exposure by Dr. Ayres, the Colonial Surgeon of Hong Kong, of the -fallacy that Opium smoking, although indulged in for years, cannot be -dropped without injury to the system.--Fallacy of comparing the Chinese -with the savages of Central Africa by the Secretary of the Anti-Opium -Society exposed.--Archdeacon Gray, a resident for twenty years at Canton, -silent, in his recent work on China and her people, as to the alleged -iniquity of the Indo-China Opium trade.--Character of the Chinese as -described by various authors.--Chinese a frugal and abstemious people.-- -Opium smoking less injurious than beer or tobacco.--Charges of the -Anti-Opium Society based upon fallacies; those fallacies detailed.-- -Alleged objections of the Chinese to receive the Gospel on account of the -Indo-China Opium trade the merest subterfuge, and utterly absurd and -untenable.--The opinion of the late John Crawfurd, Esq., F.R.S., formerly -Governor of the Straits Settlements.--His Dictionary of the Indian Islands -and Adjacent countries. - - Pages 1-49 - - -LECTURE II. - -Hearsay testimony upon which charges of the Anti-Opium Society founded -explained.--Chinese a polite people and treat Missionaries courteously, -but despise Christianity, and will not tell Missionaries the truth about -Opium.--Respectable Chinese would become an object of scorn and disgrace -to their fellow-countrymen if they embraced Christianity.--Professing -Chinese Christians in most cases impostors.--Heathen Chinese as a rule -more trustworthy than so-called Christian converts.--Missionary clergymen -in China have not the confidence of the Chinese people, and draw their -information as to Opium smoking from polluted sources.--Difference between -Missionary clergymen in China and the clergymen of all denominations in -England as regards knowledge of the people they live amongst.--Missionaries -in China wholly responsible for the imposture prevailing in England as to -Opium smoking in China.--Although the Chinese are a spirit-drinking -people, they never drink to excess.--Drunkenness unknown amongst -Chinese.--Chinese-American treaty a sham as regards Opium.--Sir J. H. -Pease, M.P., duped by the "bogus" clause as to Opium.--His speech on the -Opium question in 1881.--Chinese smoke Opium wherever they go.--As much -Opium imported into China now as before the sham treaty.--Opium a luxury -which only the well-to-do can freely indulge in.--Explanation of the means -by which unfounded statements respecting Opium are propagated.--Apologue -by way of example.--Proof of the state of things explained by the apologue -furnished by the Rev. Storrs Turner and Dr. Ayres.--First fallacy, that -the poppy is not indigenous to China, but has been recently introduced -there, presumably by British agency, and the second fallacy, that Opium -smoking in China is now and always has been confined to a small -per-centage of the population, but which, owing to the importation into -the country of Indian Opium, is rapidly increasing, refuted and the truth -fully stated.--Testimony of Mr. W. Donald Spence and Mr. E. Colborne -Baber, and Sir Rutherford Alcock. - - Pages 50-100 - - -LECTURE III. - -Third and fifth fallacies upon which the members of the Anti-Opium Society -and its supporters are misled.--Opium eating and Opium smoking contrasted -with spirit drinking.--Valuable curative properties of Opium.--Spirit -drinking produces organic and incurable diseases, is a fruitful cause of -insanity, and leads to ruin and destruction.--The like effects admittedly -not due to Opium.--Opium eating and Opium smoking totally distinct.-- -Whatever the effects of Opium eating, Opium smoking perfectly innocuous.-- -Anti-Opium advocates cunningly try to mix the two together.--Disingenuous -conduct in this respect of the Rev. Storrs Turner--Mr. Turner so great an -enthusiast as not to be able to see the difference.--Testimony of Dr. -Eatwell as to the use of Opium.--Difference between Opium eating and -Opium smoking explained in the case of tobacco smoking.--Tobacco taken -internally a deadly poison, harmless when smoked.--Medical testimony as to -the poisonous quality of tobacco and its alkaloid, nicotine.--Opium a -valuable medicine, without any known substitute.--Anti-Tobacco Smoking -Society, once formed the same as the Anti-Opium Society, put down by the -common sense of the community, the like fate awaits the Anti-Opium -Society.--Testimony of Dr. Sir George Birdwood, Surgeon-General Moore, Sir -Benjamin Brodie, Dr. Ayres, and W. Brend, M.R.C.S., as to Opium.--Small -quantity of Indian Opium imported into China.--Enormous amount of spirits -consumed in the United Kingdom.--Anti-Opium Society blind to the latter, -energetic as to the former a purely sentimental grievance.--Fallacy of -Anti-Opium Society that supply creates demand refuted and exposed.-- -Remaining fallacies refuted.--Effects of suppression of Indo-China Opium -trade.--Missionaries detested in China.--Indian Opium welcomed.--Saying of -Prince Kung.--Treaty of Tientsin explained and defended.--Erroneous -notions of the Protestant Missionaries as to that treaty.--Abused by -Missionaries, yet the treaty the Missionaries only charter.--Testimony of -H. N. Lay and Lawrence Olyphant.--Spurious copy of De Quincey's -"Confessions of an Opium Eater," published by Anti-Opium people.-- -Testimony of Don Sinibaldo de Mas, formerly Spanish Minister in China, a -powerful defence of the Indo-China Opium trade.--Policy of the Indian -Government as regards Opium wisest and best.--Alleged proposal of Lord -Lawrence to alter that policy.--Fallacy involved in such proposal -exposed.--Abrogation of Indo-Opium trade injurious if not destructive to -the spread of the Gospel in China.--False charge of smuggling by British -merchants in China exposed and refuted.--Un-English policy of the -Anti-Opium Society exposed.--Recapitulation.--Benevolence of the British -public.--Necessity for seeing that it is not diverted into worthless -channels.--Anti-Opium Society, mischievous, presenting a melancholy record -of energies wasted, talents misapplied, wealth uselessly squandered, -charity perverted, and philanthropy run mad.--Society should be dissolved -and its funds transferred to Missionaries.--Missionaries should not mix up -Christianity and Opium.--Missionaries defended and encouraged. - - Pages 101-174 - - -APPENDIX. - -Official Letter of Francis Bulkeley Johnson, Esq., of the firm of Jardine, -Matheson & Co., of Hong Kong and China, Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber -of Commerce, to Charles Magniac, Esq., M.P., the President of the London -Chamber of Commerce, respecting the charge of smuggling against the -British merchants in China, and giving particulars of the Indo-China Opium -trade. - - Pages 177-183 - - - - -THE TRUTH ABOUT OPIUM. - - - - -LECTURE I. - - -The object of these lectures is to tell you what I know about opium -smoking in China--a very important subject, involving the retention or -loss of more than seven millions sterling to the revenue of India, and -what is far more precious, the character and reputation of this great -country. With respect to the former, I would simply observe that I do not -intend to deal with the question on mere grounds of expediency, strong as -such grounds unquestionably are, for, if I believed that one-half of what -is asserted by the "ANGLO-ORIENTAL SOCIETY FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF THE -OPIUM TRADE," as to the alleged baneful effects of opium smoking upon the -Chinese, were true, I should be the first to raise my humble voice against -the traffic, even though it involved the loss, not of seven millions -sterling, but of seventy times seven. But it is because I know that these -statements and all the grave charges made by the supporters of that -society, and repeated from day to day, against the Government of India and -the Government of this country, and also against the British merchants of -China, to be not only gross exaggerations but absolutely untrue--mere -shadowy figments, phantasies, and delusions--that I come forward to draw -aside the curtain, and show you that behind these charges there is no -substance. Were my knowledge of the opium question derived merely from -books and pamphlets, articles in the newspapers, and ordinary gossip, I -would not venture to trespass upon your time and attention, because in -that respect you have at your disposal the same means of information as I -have myself. But I come before you with considerable personal experience, -and special knowledge of the subject, having lived and practised as a -solicitor for nearly fifteen years in Hong Kong, where I had daily -experience, not only of the custom and effects of opium smoking, but also -of the trade in opium in both its crude and prepared state. I had there -the honour of being solicitor to the leading British and other foreign -firms, as well as to the Chinese, from the wealthy merchant to the humble -coolie; so that during the whole of that period down to the present time I -have had intimate relations in China with foreigners and natives, -especially with those engaged in the opium trade. Under these -circumstances I had daily intercourse with the people from whom the best -and most trustworthy information on the subject of opium and opium smoking -could be obtained, and my experience is that opium smoking, as practised -by the Chinese, is perfectly innocuous. This is a fact so patent that it -forces itself upon the attention of every intelligent resident in China -who has given ordinary attention to the subject. The whole question at -issue is involved in this one point, for if I show you that opium smoking -in China is as harmless, if, indeed, not more so, as beer drinking in -England, as I promise you I shall do most conclusively, then _cadit -quaestio_, there is nothing further in dispute; the Indo-Chinese opium -trade will then stand out--as I say it does--free from objection upon -moral, political, and social grounds, and the occupation of the Anti-Opium -agitators, like Othello's, will be gone. It is true that the opponents of -the Indo-Chinese opium trade interlard their case with political matters -wholly beside the question; this they do to make that question look a -bigger one than it really is, so as to throw dust in the eyes of the -public and impose upon weak minds. For instance, they drag in the -miscalled "Opium War" and ring the changes upon it. That war, whether -justifiable or not, cannot affect the points at issue. It is an -accomplished fact, and it is idle now to introduce it into the present -opium question. And though I shall be obliged to go pretty fully into the -whole controversy, I ask you to keep your minds steadily fixed upon the -real question, which is briefly this: Is opium smoking, as practised in -China, detrimental to health and morals, and if so, does the Indo-Chinese -opium trade contribute to these results? - -I may now at the outset assure you that I do not give expression to my -views in the interests of the merchants of China, whether native or -foreign, or on behalf of any party whatsoever; nor do I come before you -with any personal object, because neither directly nor indirectly have I -any pecuniary or personal concern in the opium question, nor, indeed, in -any commercial matter in Hong Kong or China. I simply find that unfounded -delusions have taken possession of the public mind upon the subject, which -have had most mischievous consequences, and are still working much evil. -These I wish to dispel, if I can. Furthermore, I have delivered and -published these lectures at my own cost, unaided by any other person, so, -I think, under these circumstances, that I have some right to be regarded -as an impartial witness. - -I am aware of no subject, involving only simple matters of fact, and -outside the region of party politics, upon which so much discussion has -been expended, and about which such widely different opinions are -prevalent, as this opium question. On the one side, it is said that, for -selfish purposes, we have forced and are still forcing opium upon the -people of China; that the Indian Government, with the acquiescence and -support of the Imperial Government, cultivates the drug for the purpose of -adding seven or eight millions sterling to its revenue, and, with full -knowledge of its alleged baneful consequences to the natives of China, -exports it to that country. A further charge, moreover, is brought against -the British merchants, that they participate in this trade for gain, or, -as it is put by the Rev. Mr. Storrs Turner, formerly a missionary -clergyman at Hong Kong, but now and for many years the active and -energetic Secretary of the Anti-Opium Society, to enable them to make -"princely fortunes." That is the favourite expression of Mr. Turner, who -finds, no doubt, that it takes with certain small sections of the public, -readier to believe evil of their own countrymen than of the people of -other countries, under the belief, perhaps, that in doing so they best -display the purity and disinterestedness of their conduct. - -The Anti-Opium Society and its supporters assert as an incontestable fact -that opium smoking is fatal, not only to the body but to the soul; -meaning, I suppose, that the custom is destructive to the physical, and -demoralising to the moral nature of its votaries, and that the opium -traffic is regarded by the people of China with such horror that it -prevents the natives from receiving the Gospel from those who help to -supply them with this drug, viz., the British people. It is alleged that -the use of opium demoralises the Chinese, that it ruins and saps the -manhood of the whole nation, with a host of concomitant evils, to which I -shall by and by refer more particularly, the whole involving the utmost -turpitude, the greatest guilt and the worst depravity on the part of -England and the English Government, and still more especially on that of -the Indian Government and the British merchants in China. Here I may -observe, in passing, that if the objection to opium on the part of the -Chinese is so strong, it is rather remarkable that they should not only -greedily purchase all the Indian opium we can send them, but cultivate the -drug to an enormous extent in their own country. The Anti-Opium Society -and its supporters further say that opium culture and opium smoking are of -comparatively recent origin in China; and although they do not directly -allege that we have introduced those practices, there is throughout all -their writings and speeches "a fond desire, a pleasing hope" that the -readers or hearers of their books and speeches will form that opinion for -themselves. I should tell you that those who hold directly contrary views -consist of all the British residents in China, with the exception of some -of the Protestant missionaries (of whom I desire to speak with respect), -comprising the British merchants, their numerous assistants (an educated -and most intelligent body), professional men, traders of all classes, and -also all the other foreign merchants and residents in the country--German, -American, and others, for there are many nationalities to be met with in -China, who with the British form one harmonious community. - -Take all these men, differing in nationality and religious persuasions as -they do, and I venture to say that you will not find one per cent. of them -who will not tell you that the views put forward by these missionaries and -the Anti-Opium Society are utterly preposterous, false, and unreal--who -will not declare that opium smoking in China is a harmless if not an -absolutely beneficial practice; that it produces no decadence in mind or -body, and that the allegations as to its demoralising effects are simply -untrue. Those who have taken a special interest in the subject know that -the poppy is indigenous to China, as it is to the rest of Asia, that opium -smoking is and has been a universal custom throughout China, probably for -more than a thousand years; that this custom is not confined to a few, but -is general amongst the adult male population; limited only, in fact, by -the means of procuring the drug. That is my experience also; it is -corroborated by others, and therefore I may assert it as a fact. I have -used the adjective "Protestant" because, although there are a great number -of Roman Catholic and some Greek missionaries in China, no complaint -against the opium trade has ever to my knowledge been made by one of these -missionaries. - -Now, why is this belief so prevalent? Because those foreign residents -daily mix with the Chinese, know their habits and customs, hear them talk, -sell to them, and buy from them, and being aware, as they all are, of the -controversy going on here about opium, and the strenuous efforts that are -being made in this country to prevent the Indian Government from allowing -opium to be imported into China, they take a greater interest in the -subject, and examine the question more carefully than they otherwise -might. They, I say, being on the ground and knowing the very people who -smoke opium and who have smoked it for years, without injury or decay to -their bodily or mental health, have irresistibly come to the same -conclusion as I have. For myself, I may say that I have taken a very great -interest in the subject, particularly during the past five or six years. I -have tried in vain to find out those pitiable victims of opium smoking who -have been so much spoken of in books, in newspapers, and on public -platforms. Day after day I have gone through the most populous parts of -Hong Kong, which is a large city, having about one hundred and fifty -thousand Chinese inhabitants--in both the wealthiest and poorest quarters. -I have daily had in my office Chinese of all classes, seeing them, -speaking to them, interrogating them upon different subjects, and I have -never found amongst them any of these miserable victims to opium smoking. -On the contrary, more acute, knowing, and intelligent people than these -very opium smokers I have rarely met with. - -Now, Hong Kong may be said to be, and is, in fact, the headquarters in -China of the opium trade. It is there that all the opium coming from India -and Persia is first brought. It is, in fact, the entrepot or depot from -which all other parts of China are supplied with the drug. Furthermore, it -is the port whence "prepared opium," the condition in which the drug is -smoked, is mostly manufactured and exported to the Chinese in all other -parts of the world, for wherever he goes, the Chinaman, if he can afford -it, must have his opium-pipe. Moreover, the Chinese of Hong Kong get much -better wages and make larger profits in their trades and businesses than -they could obtain in their own country; and can, therefore, better afford -to enjoy the luxury of the pipe than their own countrymen in China. So -that if opium smoking produced the evil consequences alleged, Hong Kong is -unquestionably the place where those consequences would be found in their -fullest force. They are not to be found there in the slightest degree. One -fact is worth a thousand theories, and this I give you as one which I -challenge Mr. Storrs Turner or any other advocate of the Anti-Opium -Society to disprove. I will now show you how I am corroborated. I have a -witness on the subject whose testimony is simply irrefragable. Dr. Philip -B. C. Ayres, the learned and efficient Colonial Surgeon, and Inspector of -Hospitals of Hong Kong, confirms my statement in the strongest possible -manner. That gentleman has held the important office I have mentioned for -about ten years. Previous to taking up his appointment at Hong Kong he had -been on the Medical Staff of India, where he had made opium and opium -eating--for the drug is not smoked in India--a special study. In Hong Kong -he has had abundant opportunities of studying the effects of opium smoking -and making himself thoroughly acquainted with the wonderful drug, such -opportunities, indeed, as few other medical men have ever had. It is part -of his daily duties to inspect the Civil Hospital of Hong Kong,--a -splendid institution open to all nationalities, and conducted by able -medical men,--the Gaol, the Chinese Hospital, called the Tung Wah, which -is under exclusive Chinese management, and all other medical institutions -in the Colony. Thus a wide field of observation is presented to him. I may -add here that Dr. Ayres is the only European physician who has succeeded -in removing the prejudice among the better class of the Chinese against -European doctors and in obtaining a large native practice. This fact -speaks volumes as to his general abilities as well as to his professional -attainments and his means of acquainting himself with the social life of -the Chinese. In his annual Report presented to the Government of Hong Kong -for the year 1881, a copy of which, I believe, is now, or ought to be, in -the pigeon-holes of the Colonial Office in Downing Street, there is the -following passage:-- - - I have come to the conclusion that opium smoking _is a luxury of a - very harmless description_, and that the only trouble arising from its - indulgence is a waste of money that should be applied to necessaries. - Eight mace is equivalent to an ounce and twenty-nine grains, a - quantity of opium sufficient to poison a hundred men, smoked by one - man in a day, and this he has been doing for twenty years: that is to - say, he has consumed in smoke in that time about one thousand pounds - sterling, and for this indulgence he has to deny himself and his - family many absolute necessaries. The list of admissions contains - thirty-five opium smokers, and the amount smoked between them daily - was eighty-four mace and a half, or seven dollars worth of opium. The - result of my observations this year is only to confirm all I said on - the subject of opium smoking in my report for 1880. - -Again, Dr. Ayres has published from time to time in the "_Friend of -China_," the organ of the Anti-Opium Society, various interesting papers -on medical subjects. This is what he says in an article which will be -found at length at p. 217 of vol. 3 of that journal:-- - - My opinion of it is that it [opium smoking] may become a habit, _but - that that habit is not necessarily an increasing one_. Nine out of - twelve men smoke a certain number of pipes a day, just as a tobacco - smoker would, or as a wine or beer drinker might drink his two or - three glasses a day, without desiring more. _I think the excessive - opium smoker is in a greater minority than the excessive spirit - drinker or tobacco smoker._ In my experience, the habit does no - physical harm in moderation.... I do not wish to defend the practice - of opium smoking, but in the face of the rash opinions and exaggerated - statements in respect of this vice, it is only right to record that no - China resident believes in the terrible frequency of the dull, - sodden-witted, debilitated opium smoker met with in print, nor have I - found many Europeans who believe they ever get the better of their - opium-smoking compradores in matters of business. - -Let Mr. Storrs Turner refute this, if he can. If he cannot, what becomes -of his book[1] published in 1876, which may be called the gospel of the -Anti-Opium Society, with which I shall make you better acquainted by and -by. And what should become of the Anti-Opium Society itself, which has -wasted on its chimerical projects hundreds of thousands of pounds--the -contributions of the benevolent British public, which might have been -spent in alleviating the misery and distress in this vast metropolis, or -been otherwise usefully applied. - -The Government of Hong Kong, for the purposes of revenue, has farmed out -the privilege or monopoly of preparing this opium and selling it within -the colony, and I dare say you will be surprised to hear that the amount -paid by the present opium monopolist for the privilege amounts to about -forty thousand pounds sterling a year. To elucidate this, I should tell -you, that opium as imported from India, Persia, and other places is in a -crude or unprepared state. In this condition it is made up in hard round -balls, each about the size of a Dutch cheese, but darker in colour. To -render it fit for smoking it has to be stripped of its outer covering, -shredded, and boiled with water until it becomes a semi-fluid glutinous -substance resembling treacle in colour and consistence. In this state it -is known as "prepared opium." As such it is put up into small tins or -canisters, hermetically sealed, so that it can be exported to any part of -the world. Now, I have been the professional adviser of the opium farmer -for at least ten years, and from him and his assistants I have had -excellent opportunities of learning the truth about opium. I have thus -been able to get behind the scenes, and so have had such opportunities of -acquainting myself with the subject as few other Europeans have possessed. -I knew the late opium farmer, whom I might call a personal friend, -intimately from the time of my first arrival in China. When I call him the -opium farmer I mean the ostensible one, for the opium monopoly has always, -in fact, been held by a syndicate. My friend was the principal in whose -name the license was made out, and who dealt with the wholesale merchants, -carried on all arrangements with the Government of the Colony, and -chiefly managed the prepared opium business. I knew him so intimately and -had so many professional dealings with him, irrespective of opium, that I -had constant opportunities of becoming acquainted with all the mysteries -of the opium trade. Now the conclusion to which my own personal experience -has led me I have told you of before, and I have never met anyone who has -lived in China, save the missionaries, whose experience differed from -mine. I have tried to find the victims of the so-called dreadful drug, but -I have never yet succeeded. - -Many people in this country, I dare say, owing to the false and -exaggerated stories which have been disseminated by the advocates of the -Anti-Opium Society, think that if they went to Hong Kong they would see -swarms of wretched creatures, wan and wasted, leaning upon crutches, the -victims of opium smoking. If they went to the colony they would be greatly -disappointed, for no such people are to be met with. On the contrary, all -the Chinese they would see there are strong, healthy, intelligent-looking -people, and, mark my words, well able to take care of themselves. I don't -suppose there were five per cent. of my Chinese clients who did not, to a -greater or less extent, smoke opium. I have known numbers, certainly not -less than five or six hundred persons in all, who have smoked opium from -their earliest days--young men, middle-aged men, and men of advanced -years, who have been opium smokers all their lives, some of them probably -excessive smokers, but I have never observed any symptoms of decay in one -of them. I recall to mind one old man in particular, whom I remember for -more than fifteen years; he is now alive and well; when I last saw him, -about two years ago, he was looking as healthy and strong as he was ten -years before. He is not only in good bodily health, but of most -extraordinary intellectual vigour, one of the most crafty old gentlemen, -indeed, that I have ever met; no keener man of business you could find, or -one who would try harder to get the better of you if he could. The only -signs of opium smoking about him are his discoloured teeth, by which an -excessive smoker can always be detected, for immoderate opium smoking has -the same effect, though in a less degree, as the similar use of tobacco, -the excessive smoking of which, as I shall by and by show you, is the more -injurious practice of the two. The Chinese, as a rule, have extremely -white teeth--the effect, perhaps, of their simple diet, and their -generally abstemious habits. They are proud of their teeth, which they -brush two or three times a day, so that there is no difficulty in -distinguishing heavy smokers from those who smoke in moderation. It is -easy to compare the one with the other, and I may state that although the -former be not often met with, he will be found to be not a whit inferior -to the other in wit or sharpness. The old gentleman I have referred to, -like many others of his countrymen, will settle himself down of an -evening, when the business of the day is over, and enjoy his opium pipe -for two or three hours at a stretch, yet, notwithstanding this terrible -excess, as the Anti-Opium people would say, he continues strong and well. -Nay, more, he has two sons of middle age, healthy, active men, who indulge -in the pipe quite as regularly as their aged father. I have known many -others like these men, but have never seen or heard of any weakness or -decay arising from the practice. - -Now, I have told you that the British merchants in China hold the same -views as I do upon the opium question. But it may be said that the -merchants are interested persons, and in point of fact Mr. Storrs Turner -says as much in his book. And, of course, he would have it inferred that -what _they_ allege or think on the subject should not have any weight, -because they are the very persons in whose interest this so-called -iniquitous traffic is being carried on, and that, therefore, they would -not say anything likely to dry up their fountain of profit. I only wish -for the sake of my fellow-countrymen that all these declarations about -princely fortunes were true. Hills look green afar off, but when you -approach them they are often found as arid as the desert; and, -unfortunately, like Macbeth's air-drawn dagger, these splendid visions are -not "sensible to feeling as to sight," but simply _princely fortunes_ of -the mind "proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain." Mr. Turner mentions -in his book one eminent firm in particular, the oldest and probably the -greatest in China or the far East, a firm respected throughout the whole -mercantile world, whose public spirit, boundless charity, and general -benevolence are proverbial, whom he stigmatizes as "opium merchants," and -who are, of course, making the imaginary "princely fortune" by opium. Now -if that gentleman had taken the least trouble to inquire before he -launched his book upon the world, he would have found that the firm he -refers to in such terms had had little or nothing to do with opium for at -least twenty years. That is not, perhaps, a matter of much importance. If -he had taken the trouble to make further inquiry, he could have had no -difficulty in ascertaining, what I tell him now as a fact, and one within -my own personal knowledge, that the only merchants in China who are making -large profits out of opium are just two or three firms, who, by the -undulations and fluctuations inseparable from commerce, have got the bulk -of the trade into their hands, and that all the other British merchants -throughout China, and all the foreign merchants, Germans, Americans, and -others, have really little or nothing to do with the opium trade at all. -Of course, merchants now and then will have to execute orders for opium -for a constituent who may require a chest or two of the drug, but that is -only in the course of business, and is not attended with any profit to -speak of. And I am perfectly sure that if it were possible to put a stop -to this opium traffic, which is said to be the source of so much profit to -many, that, saving the two or three firms I have mentioned, the -suppression of the trade would make no difference to the other firms. This -gross blunder of Mr. Storrs Turner is characteristic of the general -inaccuracy of his book. Before casting odium upon an eminent firm common -decency, if not prudence, to say nothing of good taste, should have -induced him to make careful inquiries upon the subject. This, it is clear, -he has not done, and, as if to make matters worse, although his book -appeared so long ago as 1876, in an article published in the "Nineteenth -Century" for February 1882, he has again gratuitously referred to this -firm in terms as unjustifiable as they are absolutely unfounded. He -couples the firm with another house now dissolved, and says, "they were -legally smugglers, but the sin sat lightly upon their consciences." Very -pretty this for a minister of the Gospel and the Secretary of the -Anglo-Oriental Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade. The -statement, even if true, was wholly unnecessary for the professed object -of the writer, and why he made it is best known to himself. This is the -gentleman by whose persistent efforts those fallacious and mischievous -views upon the opium question have during the past eight years been -mainly forced upon the public, and to whom the prolonged existence of that -most mischievous organization, the Anti-Opium Society, is due. He is the -Frankenstein who has created the monster that has deceived and scared so -many excellent people. I will show you that this monster is but a poor -bogey after all, with just as much form and substance as that with which -Mrs. Shelley affrights her readers in her clever romance. On the other -hand, do not let it be thought, as I believe has been said by some -enthusiasts, that it is owing to the British merchants in China having -discovered that opium is an unclean thing, and to their having washed -their hands of all participation in the traffic, that the trade has fallen -into the hands of a few, who of course would, by parity of reasoning, be -set down as very unscrupulous people. That is a fallacy, and, what is -more, it is an untruth. I do not believe there is a British firm, or a -firm of any other nationality, in China, which would not, if the -opportunity presented itself, become to-morrow "opium merchants," as Mr. -Turner expresses it, if they thought the trade would prove a source of -profit, because they hold, with me, that the opium traffic is a perfectly -proper and legitimate one, quite as much so as traffic in tobacco, wine, -or beer; and a thousand times less objectionable than the trade in ardent -spirits. - -Before proceeding further, it is important that I should bring to your -notice some particulars about China and its people. It is actually -necessary to do so, to enable you to grasp the facts and see your way well -before you. Although the opium question ought to be a simple one, yet, -owing to the sophistries and misrepresentations of the Anti-Opium Society, -and in particular of its Secretary and living spirit, Mr. Storrs Turner, a -wide field is opened to us across which it will be necessary to lead you -to chase the phantom off the plain. The public here are very apt to think -of China as if it were a country like Italy, France, or England. They -never dream for a moment of the immense empire which China actually is. -Perhaps if they did, and could take in the whole situation, they would be -slower to believe the extraordinary stories which are spread about our -_forcing_ opium upon the Chinese, and, by doing so, demoralizing the -nation. We forget, as we grow old, much that we have learned in our youth, -especially geography, and I daresay many a schoolboy could enlighten -myself and others upon that particular branch of education. China, it -must be remembered, is a country which cannot be compared with France, -Spain, or England, for it is a vast empire, as large as Europe, with a -population some fifty or sixty millions greater. Now, what a stupendous -feat to be able to storm, as it were, that enormous empire, and for a -handful of British merchants to succeed in forcing opium upon, and, by -doing so, debasing the whole of this wonderful people. Yet this is what is -alleged by the anti-opium philanthropists and by Mr. Storrs Turner, who is -their priest and prophet, and so his enthusiastic disciples believe, to -whom I would merely say,--"Great is thy faith." These plain facts are not -brought forward by the Anti-opium people. The public are addressed and -pleas are put forward for their support on the ground that we are dealing -with a country of the like extent as our own, inhabited by a primitive -semi-civilized people. No greater fallacy, no more downright untruth could -be put forward. The Chinese are not only a civilized but an educated -people. Until quite recently there were more people in the British -Islands, in proportion to their population, who could neither read nor -write than in China. - -It must be borne in mind that the empire of China comprises eighteen -provinces, quite large enough to form eighteen separate kingdoms. I am -speaking now of China Proper, and am leaving out Thibet, Mongolia, and -Manchuria, immense countries to the West, North-West, and North of China, -and also the vast possessions of China in Central Asia, all forming part -of that great empire. Many of these eighteen provinces are larger than -Great Britain; one of them is equal in extent to France. Although there is -in one sense a language common to the whole country, yet not only has each -province a dialect of its own, different from that of the others, but it -has, so to speak, innumerable sub-dialects. Dialect, perhaps, is hardly -the correct word; it is more than a dialect, for not only each province, -but each district or county, has a dialect, differing so essentially from -each other that the people of one province, or one district, can, in most -instances, no more make themselves colloquially understood by those of -another than a Frenchman could make himself intelligible to an Englishman, -if neither knew the language of the other. You will often find people -living in villages not more than fifteen or twenty miles apart who cannot -converse with one another. I have seen in my own office a man belonging to -the province of Kwang-tung, in the south of China, unable to speak in -Chinese to a native of the adjoining province of Fuh-kien. In this case -the native villages of these two were not more than ten miles apart, and -the only medium of conversation was the barbarous jargon in which -Europeans and Chinese carry on their dealings, called "pidgin English"--a -species of broken English of the most ridiculous kind. Now, when you take -into account that each province differs in language from each other--for -that is really what the case practically comes to--that they have separate -dialects in each province, and also, to a certain extent, different -customs and certain prejudices, I ask you, does it not appear a gigantic, -if not an impossible, task for England, a small and distant country, to be -able to demoralize, debase, and corrupt the people of each of these -eighteen provinces? Yet that is really the allegation of the Anti-Opium -Society against their own country, this small and distant England! - -I have said that there are customs peculiar to each of these provinces, -but there are others common to all; one of them is opium smoking; another, -I am sorry to say, is hatred and contempt of foreigners. They one and all -agree in regarding foreigners as an inferior race, whose customs, -language, and religion they despise. Among the common people every -foreigner, of whatsoever nationality, is called "Fan-Qui," or "foreign -devil." The designation of foreigners amongst the better classes of people -is "outer barbarian." No better instance could I give you than this to -show the strong prejudice held by the whole nation against foreigners. -"Fan-Qui" is still the term used by the lower orders to denote foreigners, -even in the British colony of Hong Kong. To remedy this state of things, -at the time of the making of the Treaty of Tientsin in 1858 (which is the -existing treaty between the two nations), Lord Elgin, the author of the -treaty, had very properly a stipulation inserted that the term "outer -barbarian" should no longer be applied to British subjects. Now, when you -take into account that not only are these three hundred and sixty millions -of people spread over an enormous empire, having a prejudice common to all -parts alike against foreigners, as well as their own prejudices against -each other, forming eighteen separate provinces or kingdoms, speaking -different languages, is it reasonable to suppose that they would, so to -speak, simultaneously adopt the practice of opium smoking when introduced -by the despised foreigner? If these people still despise our customs, as -they do our religion, as they do everything, in fact, belonging to us, how -can it be said that we are forcing this foreign drug upon them to their -destruction? - -I have already mentioned that the custom of opium smoking is common to all -the people of these eighteen provinces. Whether they live in the valleys -or on the hills they smoke opium. Now Mr. Turner is a great enemy of opium -smoking; he is its determined opponent, and I do not think I wrong him--I -certainly do not mean to do so--when I describe him as a person strongly -prejudiced against the practice. The best, the wisest, and ablest among us -have prejudices, and it is casting no stigma upon that gentleman to say -that he has his. When I make you better acquainted with his book, which I -shall soon do, you will, I think, agree with me on this point. When people -have those strong prepossessions they are prone not to judge facts fairly; -they see things, in short, through a false medium. That which to an -ordinary person appears plain and clear enough, to one under the influence -of prejudice stands out in different colours, and is passed over as untrue -or misleading; sometimes, however, the plain truth will leak out, in spite -of prejudice. It is laid down by legal text writers that truth is natural -to the human mind, that the first impulse of a man if interrogated upon a -point is to tell the truth, and that it is only when he has had time to -consider, that he is inclined to swerve from it. Now in this book of Mr. -Turner's, at p. 13, he confirms my statement. This is what he says. I need -not read to you the previous part, because the context does not alter the -sense of my quotation. He is arguing against the allegation of pro-opium -people that opium has a beneficial result in counteracting the effects of -malaria and ague, and he says:-- - - These curious arguments are two. First, that the universal - predilection of the Chinese for opium is owing to the malarious - character of the country; secondly, that the use of opium is a - wholesome corrective to the unwholesome, even putrid, food which the - Chinese consume. The reply to the first is that the country over which - opium is smoked is in area about the size of Europe, and includes, - perhaps, an equal variety of sites, soils, and climates, great plains - level as our own fen district, and mountainous regions like the - Highlands of Scotland. Ague is almost unknown in many of the - provinces--_yet everywhere, in all climates and all soils, in every - variety of condition and circumstance throughout that vast empire, the - Chinese smoke opium_. - -Now that is the testimony of the Rev. Storrs Turner, the most strenuous -and, as I believe, the ablest advocate against the Indo-China opium trade. -But then he adds:-- - - But nowhere do they all smoke opium. The smokers are but a per-centage - greater or smaller in any place. - -Well, nobody ever said they all did smoke opium. Females, as a rule, do -not smoke, and children don't smoke. It is only the grown men, and those -who can afford to buy the drug, who smoke it. China, for its extent and -its vast and industrious population, is still a poor country. Although its -natural resources are considerable, the great bulk of the people are in -poor circumstances. It is only those above the very poor who can afford to -smoke opium occasionally, and only well-to-do people who are able to do so -habitually. Opium smoking is, in fact, a luxury in which, every Chinaman -who can afford it indulges more or less, just as English people who have -sufficient means drink tea, wine, and beer, or smoke tobacco. The effects -of opium smoking are no more injurious than are those articles, in daily -use in England, nor is its use more enslaving. On the contrary, from my -own observation, I feel persuaded that those who habitually drink wine or -spirits are far more liable to abuse and become enslaved to the habit than -the smoker of opium. This, as you are now aware, is confirmed by the great -authority of Dr. Ayres. Yet Mr. Storrs Turner, in the face of that most -damaging admission, and his disciples would have the British public -believe that by supplying the Chinese with a small quantity of opium, -which is used and grown largely in almost every province, district, and -village of China, we are demoralizing and degrading the whole people. Now, -if this practice of opium smoking has existed, and does exist, throughout -these eighteen provinces, over this large and mighty empire, as Mr. Storrs -Turner admits, can it be urged for a moment that England has had anything -to do with it more than that Englishmen, in common with other foreigners, -have imported for the last forty or forty-five years a quantity of the -drug very much less than that actually grown in China itself? I say she -has not. I say that opium smoking has existed for a thousand years or -more, and that its use by the natives of China is simply limited by the -extent of their purchasing power. But how is it that such divergent -opinions can exist between Englishmen living in China and certain -Englishmen here at home? My answer is, that the former, the English -residents in China, derive their knowledge on the subject from actual -experience formed from personal intercourse with the natives, from seeing -with their own eyes, and hearing with their own ears; whilst people in -England obtain their information from hearsay only. Hearsay testimony is -their sole guide; and, as I shall show you by and by, this hearsay -evidence is of the worst and most unreliable kind. But still the question -remains why this should be so; why is it that among the educated and -intelligent people of England, in an age when newspapers are universal, -and books of travel cheap and plentiful, that such an extraordinary -difference of opinion should exist? I will now give you the explanation of -these opposite views. - -The first is this:--China is ten thousand miles away. If that country were -as near to us as the Continent of Europe, to which it is equal in extent, -the people of England, including all these Anti-Opium advocates, would be -of the same mind as their countrymen in China. The field of the imposture -would then be so close to us that the delusion could no longer be -sustained--if, indeed, under such circumstances it could ever have -existence--it would be seen through at once. If it were sought to prove -that we were corrupting and demoralizing the whole of the natives of the -Continent by selling them spirits, beer, or opium, and if the persons who -did so were to pity, patronize, and caress those people as if they were an -inferior race, and but semi-civilized, as the anti-opium people do with -the Chinese,--the persons who attempted to act in such an extraordinary -manner would be scoffed at as visionaries, if not downright fools; yet the -parallel is complete. Indeed, taking into account the existing prejudices -of the Chinese against foreigners, the sound sense of the people of China -and their frugal and abstemious habits, there should be less difficulty in -effecting such wonderful results in Europe than in China. Perhaps, -however, the best illustration of this is that afforded by the present -agitation here in England, under the leadership of Sir Wilfrid Lawson -against the liquor traffic. The evils of intemperance, unlike those -alleged against opium smoking, are real evils, and are admitted to be so -by all. Everyone is agreed upon this point; yet a large portion of our -revenue, amounting to some twenty-six millions sterling, is derived from -taxes upon spirits, wine, and beer, the abuse of which produces these -evils. Sir Wilfrid Lawson is as determined a foe to the Indo-China opium -trade as he is to the liquor traffic. Why does he not apply the same rule -to the one as to the other? Why does he ask the Government to forego the -eight millions derived from opium in India, and not demand the abrogation -of these spirit, wine, and beer duties which are derived from so wicked a -source here in England? He and his Anti-Opium friends would, if they -could, prohibit the cultivation and exportation of opium in India, why do -not he and his fellow teetotallers call upon the country to prohibit the -manufacture of alcoholic liquors? Some few months ago an Anti-Opium -meeting took place at, I think, Newcastle, attended by Sir Wilfrid Lawson. -In the course of a facetious speech the Honourable Baronet, becoming -serious, made quite light of this ridiculously small sum of eight millions -sterling derived from the opium trade, and declared that he who did not -believe that a substitute for it could be found was a "moral -atheist"--whatever that may mean. Why does he not call upon the Government -to forego the sum of twenty-six millions derived from alcohol, which is -not more to England, if indeed so much, as the eight millions are to -India, and declare that any person who said we could not find a substitute -was a "moral atheist"? I answer thus: because the one concerns matters -here at home with which he and the rest of the public are well acquainted, -whilst the other relates to affairs ten thousand miles away, about which -he and they know little or nothing. Sir Wilfrid and his followers very -well know that if they advocated the abolition of the duties on spirits, -wine, and beer, they would be simply scoffed at by the public as fools and -visionaries, and that, on the other hand, if they required all our -distilleries and breweries and all public-houses to be closed, they would -be treated as downright lunatics; but it is quite different as regards -India and China. With matters in those countries these enthusiastic -gentlemen can and do disport themselves very much as they please, -oblivious to the plainest facts. - -The second is this:--There is, here in England, that powerful association, -"_The Anglo-Oriental Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade_," -whose sole object is to attain the end which its name imports, the -abolition of the Indo-China opium trade, on the alleged ground that it is -demoralizing and ruining the natives of China. That Society, I deeply -regret to say, is supported by some of the most influential people in -England--noblemen, archbishops, and other dignitaries of the Church, -clergymen of all denominations, people justly and deservedly commanding -the respect of their fellows--but who, on this opium question, simply know -little or nothing, who implicitly believe all that is told to them by the -agents of that Society, but otherwise have no knowledge of the facts. When -it is taken into account that this body has immense funds at its command, -that it has the support of a large part of what is known as the "religious -world," and that the Society has branches and agencies ramified throughout -the whole country, the reader will not fail to perceive how this -extraordinary hallucination, these false and unfounded delusions -respecting opium smoking, have got possession of the public mind. In -former times we have had associations formed for the purpose of carrying -out great public objects and of disseminating knowledge necessary for the -country to comprehend those objects; but you will find that for the most -part these societies have dealt with acknowledged and existing facts. For -instance, there was the "Anti-Corn Law League." The purposes of that -league were understood by everyone; the main facts were admitted because -they existed here in England and were patent to all. It was only a matter -of opinion between two great political parties whether they should be -dealt with in one particular way or not. That league was formed for a -great national object; but the Anti-Opium Society of which I am speaking -has been got up to carry out the opinions of a few individuals, most -respectable, I admit, but at the same time most enthusiastic--I may say, -indeed, fanatical--holding views the most incorrect and delusive upon a -subject with which they are most imperfectly acquainted. - -Meantime, this Society, through its ubiquitous and indefatigable -Secretary, who may be called the "Head Centre" of the confederacy, and its -other agents, is for ever on the alert. Let any gentleman who has bad -experience of opium smoking, whether in India or China, write to the -newspapers; let him read a paper at a meeting of any of our scientific -bodies disputing the alleged facts of the opium-phobists, and he is marked -out as a prey. Sir Rutherford Alcock, whose high character, thorough -knowledge of China, and great abilities are well known, with a view of -putting the opium question before the public in a correct and proper -light, published an able and, indeed, unanswerable article in the -"Nineteenth Century" for December 1881 ("Opium and Common Sense"), when -Mr. Storrs Turner plunged into print with a counter article in the number -for February 1882 of the same Review ("Opium and England's Duty"), to -which I have already alluded. This article purports to be an answer to the -former one, but it is nothing of the kind, for it is a mere _rechauffe_ of -his book, and wholly fails in its alleged purpose. Again Sir Rutherford -Alcock, with the same laudable object, early in 1882, read an able and -interesting paper on the opium question before the Society of Arts. It was -listened to by many scientific gentlemen and others. Sir Rutherford knows -the truth about opium, and he told it in his paper. The Rev. Storrs Turner -was there; he knew the damaging revelations which Sir Rutherford Alcock -had made, and so much afraid was he of the effects of the fusillade, that -to rally his dismayed followers he improvised a meeting of his most -devoted disciples two or three days afterwards at the Aquarium. I venture -to say there was not a pro-opium advocate present at his meeting I do not -think the meeting was ever advertised--I certainly saw no advertisement of -it in the newspapers--and Mr. Turner, on that occasion, exhorted his -followers to hold fast to the true faith, refuting in the way, no doubt -most satisfactory to himself and his audience, the facts, figures, and -arguments of Sir Rutherford. So it is with articles and letters in the -newspapers. Many gentlemen well-informed upon the opium question have -published letters dealing with this question on the pro-opium side; -whereupon Mr. Turner and other anti-opium advocates at once pounce down -upon them, and repeat the same old stale exploded stories about -demoralization and what not. But latterly, and since the first edition of -these lectures was published, Mr. Turner has preferred to carry on the -anti-opium agitation more quietly, for I think I have thrown cold water -upon the zeal of him and his friends. His plan now is to get together in -private conclave a few medical gentlemen and others whose opinions he has -first made sure of; certain resolutions are then produced ready cut and -dry, which are passed with acclamation and inserted in the newspapers. -This sort of thing deceives nobody but the infatuated dupes of the -Anti-Opium Society, for whose edification they are principally intended; -just as the American orator, though speaking to empty benches in Congress, -made what his constituents at Bunkum considered a capital speech. - -All these anti-opium articles, speeches, and resolutions are based upon -the same model. They assume certain statements as existing and -acknowledged facts which have never been proved to be such, and then -proceed to draw deductions from those alleged facts. This style of -argument can scarcely be praised for its fairness; it certainly places -those who hold contrary views, and who object to employing similar -tactics, at a disadvantage. This is especially remarkable in Mr. Storrs -Turner's article in the "Nineteenth Century." There the writer, taking all -his facts for granted, plunges at once _in medias res_, and proceeds to -enlighten his readers with all the confidence of the pedagogue who, strong -in his axioms and postulates, explains to his admiring pupils the -mysteries of the "Asses' Bridge." The English people have hitherto had -little or no knowledge of the opium question, save what they hear through -the Anti-Opium Society, in whose teaching some of them put faith, if only -for the reason that they are mostly clergymen and others of high -character. And here I may observe that, supposing the pro-opium advocates, -or perhaps I should more correctly say the general public, had a counter -society to disseminate their opinions, that they had organised a committee -with command of ample funds, and had officers to carry out their views, -this Anglo-Oriental Society would be strangled in three months; for -fiction, however speciously represented, cannot hold its own against fact. -There is an old saying that "what is everybody's business is nobody's -business," and so it has been with the pro-opium side of the question. The -foreign merchants in China, as a body, have no interest in the Indo-China -opium trade. They would not care if the trade were to be suppressed -to-morrow, and therefore they take no active part in opposing the -Anti-Opium Society. The general public also take little or no interest in -the matter, and it is really only those who are actuated by a sense of -duty, or who, like myself, have followed the question, and who, from -practical acquaintance and a thorough research into all its bearings, take -more than ordinary interest in the subject, who think of refuting the -monstrous misrepresentations of the anti-opium people. Therefore it is -that the other side have had practically the whole field to themselves. -Upon the like conditions any imposture could for a time be successfully -carried on. The days of the anti-opium agitation are, however, happily -drawing to a close. A flood of light from various sources has within the -past year been thrown upon the subject. The unwholesome mists of -ignorance, prejudice, and fanaticism are clearing away, and the truth -about opium is becoming visible at last. And here I would observe that in -using the word "imposture" I do not mean to impugn the motives of any of -the good and benevolent people who support this Society. I speak of the -thing, not of those who have created or are supporting it. - -I have before slightly touched upon the charges brought against the -British Government and the British nation respecting opium. I will -formulate them more particularly now; as the subject cannot, I think, be -thoroughly understood unless I do so. I have read Mr. Storrs Turner's book -and his reply to Sir R. Alcock, very carefully; I have read anti-opium -speeches delivered in London, Manchester, Leeds, and London upon the -subject; they all come to the same thing--one is a repetition of the -other. As I understand the matter, this is what the charges of the -Anti-Opium Society amount to. It is alleged that opium smoking, once -commenced, cannot be laid aside, that it poisons the blood, reduces the -nervous and muscular powers, so that strong men under the use of opium -speedily become debilitated and unfit for labour; that opium smoking -paralyses the mind as well as the body, and produces imbecility, or at -least mental weakness; that it so demoralises the people using it, that it -converts honest and industrious men from being useful members of society -into lazy, dishonest scoundrels; that it saps the manhood and preys like a -cankerworm upon the vitals of the Chinese people, injuring the -commonwealth and threatening even the existence of the nation if the -custom of opium smoking be not stopped, which, it is alleged, can be -effected only by the supply of opium from India being discontinued. It is -urged, in fact, that the sale of Indian opium to the Chinese is a crime -not only against the people of China but against humanity; that much, if -not all, of the misery and crime prevalent throughout China are due, -either directly or indirectly, to the use of opium; and for all these -fearful results England is held responsible. It is further said, that the -sale of British opium to the Chinese interferes with legitimate commerce, -creating, it is alleged, so much bitterness in the native mind against the -English nation, that the Chinese refuse to buy our goods. And, above all, -it is contended that the Indo-China opium trade impedes the progress of -Christianity, the Chinese refusing to accept the Gospel from a people who -have such terrible crimes to answer for as the introduction of Indian -opium into China. Since the days of Judge Jeffereys never was there such a -terrible indictment, nor one so utterly unfounded as happily it is. In -fact, all the objections that in old times were made against negro slavery -have been brought forward against this harmless and perfectly justifiable -Indo-China opium trade. Indeed Mr. Storrs Turner, in his article in the -"Nineteenth Century," coolly places the two in the same category, and -modestly proposes that the revenue from opium should be discontinued, and -that England should compensate the Indian Government for the loss, just as -she did the slave owners. It is astonishing how liberal your political -philanthropist can be in the disposal of other people's money. Well, I had -always thought that the Government of India, for the past sixty years at -least, had been actuated by one great and prominent object--the -amelioration, the happiness, and prosperity of the teaming millions -committed to its care, and I think so still. I have always believed that -the Imperial Government, no matter which party was from time to time in -power, had the prosperity, honour, and dignity of their country at heart, -and were influenced by a sincere desire towards all the world to be just -and fear not, and to diffuse as much happiness as possible amongst our own -people, and all other nations and races with whom we became associated all -over the world, and I remain of that opinion still. Some fifty years ago -we washed the stain of slavery from our hands, performing that great act -of justice from a pure sense of duty, without any outside pressure, and -also without shedding a drop of blood. This act was unique, for at the -time slavery existed in every country, and had so existed for thousands of -years. We know that, thirty years later, a similar achievement cost a -kindred nation a long and bloody war, and an aggregate money expenditure -far exceeding our own national debt--the growth of centuries. That feat of -ours showed what the mind and heart of this great nation then were, and I -do not believe that we have since degenerated. Since then we have spent -many millions of money in sweeping slavery from the seas and in -endeavouring to put an end to that accursed evil throughout the world. In -doing this our pecuniary loss has been the least of our sacrifices. We -have spent more than money. We have lost in the struggle the lives of some -of the best and noblest of England's sons. These are acts worthy of a -great nation; compared with them the objects of the Anti-Opium Society -sink into utter insignificance. The sublime and the ridiculous could not -be brought more vividly face to face. - -For the last fifty years there has been one feeling predominant in the -minds of the people of England, and that is a manly, generous anxiety to -protect the weak against the strong all over the world. Yet these foul and -untenable charges against England are now spread broadcast by this -Society, whose only warrant for doing so are the statements made to them -by a handful of fanatical missionary clergymen, whose unfounded and -fantastic views are accepted as so much dogma which it would be heresy to -doubt. Why, if we were guilty of but half the wickedness attributed to us, -it would not require this Anti-Opium Society to cry it down; the nation -would rise as one man to crush it for ever. There is not a British -merchant in China who would not raise his voice against it, aye, though he -was making that princely fortune which Mr. Turner refers to in his book; -for let me assure you that your fellow-countrymen in China, who are but -sojourners in that land, as they all hope to end their days at home, have -as warm a love for their country and as keen a sense of their country's -honour and dignity as any set of Englishmen residing here at home, however -high their station and great their wealth. - -To prove to you, if indeed further proof is necessary, that I have not -overstated the case as regards the extreme views of the missionaries and -the Anti-Opium Society, I will give you their latest production. It comes -from the fountain-head, and takes the form of a petition of "the Ministers -of the Gospel in China" to the House of Commons. This petition was -prepared by the Missionaries of Peking, and is a gem in its way. It would -never do to put the reader off with a mere extract, so I give it _in -extenso_. It was drawn up and sent round for signature during the past -summer, and appeared in the Shanghai and Hong Kong newspapers. This is the -document:-- - - _To the Honourable_ - THE BRITISH HOUSE OF COMMONS. - - The petition of the undersigned Missionaries of the Gospel in China - humbly sheweth: - - That the opium traffic is a great evil to China, and that the baneful - effects of opium smoking cannot be easily overrated. It enslaves its - victim, squanders his substance, destroys his health, weakens his - mental powers, lessens his self-esteem, deadens his conscience, unfits - him for his duties, and leads to his steady descent, morally, - socially, and physically. - - That by the insertion in the British Treaty with China of the clause - legalizing the trade in opium, and also by the direct connection of - the British Government in India with the production of opium for the - market, Great Britain is in no small degree rendered responsible for - the dire evil opium is working in this country. - - That the use of the drug is spreading rapidly in China, and that, - therefore, the possibility of coping successfully with the evil is - becoming more hopeless every day. In 1834 the foreign import was - twelve thousand chests; in 1850 it was thirty-four thousand chests; in - 1870 it was ninety-five thousand chests; in 1880 it was ninety-seven - thousand chests. _To this must be added the native growth, which, in - the last decade, has increased enormously, and now at least equals, - and according to some authorities doubles, the foreign import._ - - That while the clause legalizing the opium traffic remains in the - British Treaty, the Chinese Government do not feel free to deal with - the evil with the energy and thoroughness the case demands, and - declare their inability to check it effectively. - - That the opium traffic is the source of much misunderstanding, - suspicion, and dislike on the part of the Chinese towards foreigners, - and especially towards the English. - - That the opium trade, by the ill name it has given to foreign - commerce, and by the heavy drain of silver it occasions, amounting, at - present, to about thirteen million pounds sterling annually, has - greatly retarded trade in foreign manufactures, and general commerce - must continue to suffer while the traffic lasts. - - That the connection of the British Government with the trade in this - pernicious drug excites a prejudice against us as Christian - missionaries, and seriously hinders our work. It strikes the people as - a glaring inconsistency, that while the British nation offers them - the beneficent teaching of the Gospel, it should at the same time - bring to their shores, in enormous quantities, a drug which degrades - and ruins them. - - That the traffic in opium is wholly indefensible on moral grounds, and - that the direct connection of a Christian Government with such a trade - is deeply to be deplored. - - That any doubt as to whether China is able to put a stop to opium - production, and the practice of opium smoking in and throughout her - dominions should not prevent your Honourable House from performing - what is plainly a moral duty. - - Your petitioners, therefore, humbly pray that your Honourable House - will early consider this question with the utmost care, take measures - to remove from the British Treaty with China the clause legalizing the - opium trade, and restrict the growth of the poppy in India within the - narrowest possible limits. - - Your Honourable House will thus leave China free to deal with the - gigantic evil which is eating out her strength, and creates hindrance - to legitimate commerce and the spread of the Christian religion in - this country. - - We also implore your Honourable House so to legislate as to prevent - opium from becoming as great a scourge to the native races of India - and Burmah as it is to the Chinese; for our knowledge of the evil done - to the Chinese leads us to feel the most justifiable alarm at the - thought that other races should be brought to suffer like them from - the curse of opium. - - We believe that, in so doing, your Honourable House will receive the - blessing of those that are ready to perish, the praise of all good - men, and the approval of Almighty God. - - And your petitioners will ever pray. - -The thoughts that occurred to me after reading this petition were -these:--First it struck me that the missionaries, like the unfortunate -Bourbons, "had learnt nothing and forgotten nothing." I thought next of -the wonderful solicitude shown by these missionaries for the mercantile -interest. "By the ill name the opium trade has given to foreign commerce," -they say, "the trade in foreign manufactures and general commerce has been -retarded, and must continue to suffer while the opium traffic lasts." -Well, it is remarkable that this complaint is not made by the people whose -interests are alleged to have so suffered, but by missionary clergymen, -who ought to know little or nothing upon the subject; they are not -merchants, and associate very little with mercantile men, either native or -foreign, and certainly, if they minded their own business, could not -possibly have that knowledge of mercantile affairs with which they appear -to be so familiar. The persons who ought to know whether foreign -manufactures or foreign trade have fallen off owing to the opium traffic, -are the foreign merchants resident in China, whose especial duty it is to -look after those interests, yet these gentlemen, strange to say, have made -no complaint of the kind. Those merchants are directly concerned in -foreign manufactures and general commerce either as principals or as -agents for absent principals in England and elsewhere; they, in fact, -exclusively manage foreign trade in China. There is a chamber of commerce -in Hong Kong and another in Shanghai, whose members are all keen men of -business, actively alive to their own and their constituents' interests, -and in constant communication with similar mercantile bodies at home; -moreover, there are excellent daily papers published in both these places, -where such grievances, if they existed, could be freely ventilated; yet -the missionaries of the Gospel in Peking would have the House of Commons -and the world believe that the foreign merchants in China, who are always -wide-awake, are blind to their own interests and slumbering at their -posts. Now why have not these merchants ever complained that commerce has -suffered from the opium traffic? Why, simply because there is no -foundation in fact for such complaint. I am afraid that with the -missionaries who make this most unfounded statement the "wish was father -to the thought." Every man ought to know his own business best, and you -will generally find that when a stranger professes great interest in your -affairs, and presses upon you gratuitous advice upon the subject, he is -not really actuated by a desire to promote your interests, but has some -other and totally different object in view. So it is with these missionary -gentlemen at Peking. There is just one other point connected with this -remarkable Petition to which I would call attention. Evidently feeling the -ground slipping from under their feet, the framers, adding another string -to their bow, extend their sympathies beyond China, and take British -Burmah under their patronage. Indeed, it seems to me that these missionary -clergymen of Peking would, if they could, not only supersede the Viceroy -of India in his management of the Indian Empire, but even Her Majesty the -Queen and her immediate Government. - -I should here, however, in justice to the entire missionary body, say, -that _all_ of them are not so deluded as their brethren at Peking. There -is one bright, particular star, at least, which shines through the -Egyptian darkness that enshrouds the rest. The Reverend F. Galpin, of the -English Methodist Free Church, is a respected missionary clergyman at -Ningpo, an important port on the east coast of China. He, unlike most of -his brethren at other places in that country, when asked to sign this -curious petition, very properly declined to do so. All honour to Mr. -Galpin. He was not afflicted with the midsummer madness of his brethren at -Peking. Were all the Protestant missionaries in China like him, we should -not have heard of these absurd and monstrous stories respecting the -Indo-China opium trade, and there would, perhaps, be larger and better -results from the missionary's labours. This is the manly, sensible, and -dignified reply of Mr. Galpin:-- - - The REV. J. EDKINS and others, Peking. - - SIR,--I beg to acknowledge receipt of a copy of your circular, dated - June 24th, with form of petition to the British House of Commons - against the importation of Indian opium, and also to express my - sympathy with the spirit and motives that have suggested the petition; - but, at the same time, I must also express disapproval of the proposed - petition, and disbelief of many of the statements contained therein. - - Looking at Christianity in the broad and true sense, as a great - regenerating force breathing its beneficent spirit upon and promoting - the welfare of all, of course the excessive use or abuse of opium, and - every other thing, is a serious hindrance to its happy progress. _But - this is a very different position from that of supposing that the - present apparent slow progress of mission-work in China is to be - attributed to the importation of Indian opium._ China is a world in - itself, and the influence of Christian missions has hitherto reached - but a handful of the people, for there are many serious obstacles to - its progress besides opium. - - Then, again, I beg to express my hearty dissent from the idea - presented in the petition, that the Chinese people or Government are - really anxious to remove the abuse of opium. The remedy has always - been, as it is now, in their own hands. - - Neither do I believe that if the importation of Indian opium ceased at - once, the Chinese Government would set about destroying a very - fruitful means of revenue. On the contrary, I feel sure that the - growth of Chinese opium would be increased forthwith. - - I therefore beg to return the petition in its present form, with the - suggestion that Christian missionaries had better direct their - attention to, and use their influence upon, Chinese. - - Yours truly, - F. GALPIN, - _English Methodist Free Church_. - - Ningpo, 15th July. - -No doubt these most estimable and respectable but infatuated gentlemen -suppose that their petition will have some weight with the Legislature. I -believe and hope it will, but not exactly of the kind expected; for I -shall be surprised indeed, if it be not treated as it deserves, _i.e._ as -a downright contempt of the House of Commons; for it seems to me to be an -insult to the common sense not only of the House in its collective -capacity, but of every individual member. In saying this I am far from -attributing to these missionary clergymen a wilful intention to state what -they knew to be untrue, nor to insult or mislead the Legislature, for I am -assured that one and all of them would be incapable of so doing. I am sure -they thoroughly believe every word they have stated to be true; but then -it must be remembered that the effect upon the public mind and the injury -done to society by the publication of fallacious and untrue statements, -are in no way lessened because their authors suppose those statements to -be, in fact, true and correct. - -I have shown you that Mr. Turner admits that opium smoking is common all -over China. But, he says, the Chinese do not all smoke. In his book he -affirms that it is only in recent years that opium has been grown in -China. This is the passage, it occurs at page 2:--"Indigenous in Asia, the -first abode of the human species, the poppy has long been cultivated in -Egypt, Turkey, Persia, and _recently_ in China and Manchuria. It is well -known in our gardens, grows wild in some parts of England, and is -cultivated in Surrey for the supply of poppy heads to the London market. -From the time of Hippocrates to the present day _it has been the -physician's invaluable ally in his struggles against disease and death_." - -This is about the most remarkable statement I have ever read. The greater -includes the less, and if the poppy is indigenous to Asia it is, of -course, indigenous also to China and Manchuria, which with the other -dominions of China comprise fully one-fourth of the entire Asiatic -continent. This, indeed, Mr. Storrs Turner does not deny in terms, but it -is plain he wished his readers to believe that the poppy was _not_ -indigenous to those countries, and was only recently introduced there. The -passage involves that sort of fallacy which Lord Palmerston termed "a -distinction without a difference." As to the poppy being indigenous to the -whole of Asia and notably to the most fertile parts of it, _e.g._ China -and Manchuria, there can be no doubt, and therefore no difference, but -the distinction is that it is only of late years that it has been -_cultivated_ in those countries. The poppy may grow wild over a continent, -but be cultivated only in a part. I will show you by-and-by, upon -excellent authority and by the strongest grounds for inference, that the -poppy is not only indigenous to China, but has been cultivated there for -various purposes other than for medical ones and for smoking, certainly -for two thousand, and probably for four or five thousand years. An -ordinary reader, especially one not familiar with the geography of Asia, -would conclude from this passage in Mr. Turner's book that China and -Manchuria were not in Asia at all, but that of late years the poppy had -been introduced into those countries from that continent. Thus much for -the Gospel of the Anti-opiumists. - -I now confront Mr. Storrs Turner with another book, which everyone must -admit is of greater authority than his. It is a book published towards the -close of 1881 by a high official of the Chinese Government, then Mr. but -now Sir Robert Hart, G.C.M.G., the Inspector-General of Chinese Customs, a -man who knows China and the Chinese better, perhaps, than any living -European. That gentleman tells a very different tale about opium to what -the Anti-Opium Society has hitherto regaled the world with. This book is -an official one, issued from the Statistical Department of the -Inspector-General of Chinese Customs at Shanghai for the use and guidance -of the Chinese Government. It stands upon a very different footing to the -volume published by Mr. Turner, the paid secretary and strenuous advocate -of the Anti-Opium Society. Sir Robert Hart has entire control over the -revenue of China as far as regards foreign trade. At every treaty port -open to foreign vessels there is a foreign Commissioner of Customs, and -Sir Robert Hart is the supreme head of these commissioners. He is a man -deservedly trusted and respected by the Chinese Government; a man of -learning and talents, and I need hardly add of the very highest character, -and, I believe, he is one of the most accomplished Chinese scholars that -could be found. He says that opium has been grown in China from a remote -period, and was smoked there before a particle of foreign opium ever came -into the country. This is the passage from his--the now famous -yellow-book:-- - - In addition to the foreign drug there is also the native product. - Reliable statistics cannot be obtained respecting the total quantity - produced. Ichang, the port nearest to Szechwan, the province which is - generally believed to be the chief producer and chief consumer of - native opium, estimates the total production of native opium at - twenty-five thousand chests annually; while another port, Ningpo, far - away on the coast, estimates it at two hundred and sixty-five - thousand. Treating all such replies as merely so many guesses, there - are, it is to be remarked, two statements which may be taken as facts - in this connection: the one is that, so far as we know to-day, the - native opium produced does not exceed the foreign import in quantity; - _and the other that native opium was known, produced, and used long - before any Europeans began the sale of the foreign drug along the - coast_. - -So much for Mr. Storrs Turner's bold assertion that it is only recently -that opium has been cultivated in China; the obvious inference which he -wished the reader to draw from it being that it was the importation of the -Indian drug into China that induced the natives to plant opium there. Now, -with respect to that most unfounded charge of the Chinese disliking the -English for introducing opium into their country, and British commerce -declining in consequence, I assure you that all that is simply moonshine. -These statements are not merely false assumptions, they are simply untrue. -No one who has had any experience of China and its people, does not know -perfectly well, that of the whole foreign trade with China the British do -at least four-fifths; not only have we the lion's share of the trade, but -it is an unquestionable fact that of all the nations who have made -treaties and had dealings with China, the British are and have been for -many years the most respected by the Chinese people. It is, I say, an -indisputable fact, that notwithstanding all our past troubles about -smuggling and our wars with China, which Mr. Turner is so fond of dilating -upon, that at this day, by high and low, rich and poor, from the mandarin -to the humble coolie, England is held in higher regard than any other -nation. If trade with China has in any way declined, the fact is traceable -to other and different causes, which it is not my province to enter upon. - -Now, why are England and Englishmen thought so well of by the Chinese? It -is simply because the British merchants and British people in China have -acted towards the Chinese, with whom they have been brought into contact, -with honour and rectitude--because in their intercourse with the natives -they have been kind, considerate, and obliging--because, instead of -resenting the old rude and overbearing manners of the Chinese officials -and others, they have returned good for evil, and shown by their -conciliatory bearing, and gentlemanly and straightforward conduct, that -the British people are not the barbarians they had been taught to believe. -By such means the British residents in China have gone far to break down -the barrier of prejudice towards foreigners behind which the people of -that country had hedged themselves, thus preparing the way for the labours -of the missionaries and making, in fact, missionary work possible. If -further proof were wanting that the British are held in high estimation by -the people and the Government of China, it will be found in the fact, that -our own countryman, Sir Robert Hart, who before entering the service of -the Chinese Government had been in the diplomatic service of his own -country, now occupies the high and honourable position of -Inspector-General of Chinese Customs, and is, I may add, the trusted -counsellor of the Government of China. - -It is not very long since the Governor of Canton paid a visit to the -Governor of Hong Kong; such an act of courtesy to Her Majesty's -representative on the part of so great a Chinese magnate was until then, I -believe, unprecedented. The constant exclamation of the great mandarin as -he was being driven through the streets of Hong Kong was--"What a -wonderful place! What a wonderful place!" in allusion to the fine -buildings, the wide and clean streets,--a strong contrast to those of -Canton--and the dense and busy population around him. And yet more -recently, that is during the summer of 1882, a greater personage still -paid an official visit to the Hon. W. H. Marsh, who during the absence of -Sir George Bowen, the Governor, worthily administers the affairs of the -colony--I refer to the present viceroy of the provinces of Kwantung and -Kwangsi, commonly called the "two Kwangs," an official only next in -importance to His Excellency Li Hung Chang, the Governor of Petchili. Do -you think we should have such a state of things if we were demoralizing -and ruining the people of China, as is alleged by the Anti-Opium Society, -or if, indeed, the Chinese people or Government had any real grievance -against us. - -Upon this point I cannot refrain from mentioning an incident that occurred -soon after I arrived in China. A respectable Chinaman asked me to prepare -his will. He gave me for the purpose, written instructions in Chinese -characters, which I had translated. On reading the translation I found his -instructions very clearly drawn up, but what was gratifying to me, and -what is pertinent to my subject, was the following passage, with which he -commenced them:--"Having," said he, "under the just and merciful laws -administered by the English Government of Hong Kong, amassed in commerce -considerable wealth, I now, feeling myself in failing health, wish to make -a distribution of the same." There are thousands like that Chinaman in -Hong Kong, and also in Shanghai, and in all the treaty ports of China. In -speaking as this man did, he was only giving expression to the feelings of -all his countrymen who have had dealings with the English in China. Are -such feelings on the part of these Chinese consistent with the -consciousness that we are enriching ourselves by ruining the health and -morals of their countrymen, as is most wrongfully put forward by the -Anti-Opium Society and its allies the Protestant missionaries? No; they -bespeak perfect confidence, respect, and gratitude towards us; for -oppressed and plundered as the Chinese have been by their own officials, -there is no other people on the face of the earth who more thoroughly -appreciate justice and equity in the administration of public affairs; -thus it is that they respect the British rule, which they have found by -experience to be the embodiment of both. - -There are very few, perhaps, in this country who know what Hong Kong -really is. It is now a flourishing and beautiful city, standing upon a -site which, but the other day, was a barren rock. Commerce with its -civilising influence has transformed it into a "thing of beauty," "an -emerald gem of the _eastern_ world." Forty years ago, the English -Government sent out a commissioner to report upon the capabilities of the -place for a town or settlement. He sent home word that there was just room -there for _one_ house. He little dreamt that upon that barren inhospitable -spot within a few years would be realised the poet's dream when he -wrote:-- - - Oh, had we some bright little isle of our own - In a blue summer ocean far off alone, - Where a leaf never dies, midst the still blooming bowers, - And the bee banquets on through a whole year of flowers. - -He little thought that on that very site there would soon be many -thousands of houses, some of them palatial buildings, including many -Christian churches and some heathen temples, for liberty of conscience -reigns there supreme; with a Chinese population of over one hundred and -fifty thousand. These people are all doing well. Some of them are wealthy -merchants; many of them are shop-keepers; others are artificers; and a -very large number of them are labourers or coolies. There is no pauperism -in the colony. The people there are all well-to-do, or able to live -comfortably, and, what is more, they are all happy and contented. A -comparatively small body of police preserves the peace of the colony; for, -thanks to a succession of wise and able governors, local crime has been -reduced to a minimum; serious offences are very rare amongst the regular -inhabitants. It is the criminal classes from the mainland which really -give trouble, for Hong Kong labours under the disadvantage of being close -to two large cities on the Pearl River--Canton and Fatchan, notorious for -piratical and other criminal classes. You might send a child from one end -of the town to the other without fear of molestation. Indeed, the natives -themselves are the very best police; for, take the Chinese all round, they -are the most orderly and law-abiding people in the world. They respect the -British Government as much as the British people do themselves. They bring -their families to Hong Kong, settle down there, and make themselves -perfectly at home, finding more security and happiness there than they -ever could attain in their own country; because in Hong Kong there is and -has always been perfect equality before the law for every man, -irrespective of race, colour, or nationality. The life and property of -every man there is secure. This is not the case in China. - -These are the fruits of commerce which brings peace and plenty in its -train, which sweeps aside the dust of ignorance, fanaticism, and -superstition--which has reclaimed the deserts of Australia and North -America, and spread flourishing cities there, where law and order, truth -and justice, peace and happiness, religion and piety are established. -These are the achievements of British merchants who have won for our -Sovereign the Imperial diadem she wears, and made their country the -mistress of the world. These are the people who have done all this, and -better still, made the name of England honoured and respected throughout -the whole world, and sent the Gospel into every land. Yet those very men -Mr. Storrs Turner and other anti-opium fanatics would cover with obloquy, -because, forsooth, some British merchants have been concerned in this -perfectly justifiable Indo-Chinese opium trade. - -Mr. Turner in his book speaks of the Chinese Government as a paternal -Government, which, the moment it finds any practices on foot injurious to -the people, at once takes steps to put them down. I tell you, as a fact, -that a more corrupt Government,[2] so far at least as the Judges and high -Mandarins downwards are concerned, never existed in the whole world. There -is no such thing as justice to be had without paying for it; if it is not -a misnomer to say so, for this so-called justice is bought and sold every -day. Corruption pervades the whole official class. I could detail facts as -to the punishment of the innocent and the escape of the guilty, which came -under my own observation, that would make one's flesh creep. This is why -the Chinese of Hong Kong respect so much the British Government, whose -rule is just and equitable. - -Now there is another point which I wish more particularly to impress upon -you, it is this: Anyone hearing of the alleged dreadful effects upon the -Chinese of opium smoking, and our wicked conduct in forcing the drug upon -them, and making them buy it whether they wish to do so or not, would -think that these Chinese were a simple, unsophisticated people, something -like the natives of Madagascar,--a people lately rescued from barbarism by -missionaries; that they were a weak race, without mental stamina or -strength of mind--a soft simple, easily-persuaded race. These are some -more of the erroneous views which the Anti-Opium Society tries to impress -upon the public mind, and which its Secretary, Mr. Storrs Turner, in -particular, artfully endeavours to inculcate. To prove that this is so, I -have only to read you a passage from his work. But before doing so, let me -assure you that there is not a more astute, active-minded, and knowing -race of people under the sun than the Chinese. For craft and subtlety I -will back one of them against any European. At page 3 you will read:-- - - More opium is consumed in China than in all the rest of the world, and - nearly the whole of the opium imported into China is shipped from - Calcutta and Bombay. The East and the West, England, India, and China, - act and re-act upon each other through the medium of poppy-juice. - Simple mention of the relations which these three great countries bear - to the drug is enough to show that a very grave question is involved - in the trade. England is the grower, manufacturer, and seller; India - furnishes the farm and the factory; China is buyer and consumer. The - question which obviously arises is this, Is it morally justifiable and - politically expedient for the English nation to continue the - production and sale of a drug so deleterious to its consumers? Before, - however, we enter upon a consideration of this question, we must - explain how it has come to pass that the British nation has got into - this unseemly position. Otherwise, the fact that the British - Government is actually implicated in such a trade may well appear - incredible. If, for instance, any minister could be shameless enough - to suggest that England should embark on a vast scale into the - business of distillers, and with national funds, by servants of - Government, under inspection and control of Parliament, _produce and - export annually ten or twenty millions' worth of gin and whisky to - intoxicate the populous tribes of Central Africa, he would be greeted - by a general outcry of indignation. Yet the very thing which we scout - as an imagination, we consent to as a reality._ We are maintaining our - Indian Empire by our profits as wholesale dealers in an article which, - to say the best of it, is as bad as gin. - -Now, is that a fair parallel? Is it honest or just to place the civilized, -wise, and educated Chinese in the same category with the barbarous natives -of Central Africa? This, I assure you is but a fair specimen of the -misleading character of Mr. Turner's book and an example of the teaching -by which people are made the dupes of the Anti-Opium Society. This is the -language which Mr. Storrs Turner applies to his country and countrymen to -gratify himself and his fanatical followers. China, though a heathen, is a -civilized nation. The civilization of the Chinese does not date from -yesterday. When England was inhabited by painted savages, China was a -civilized and flourishing Empire. When ancient Greece was struggling into -existence, China was a settled nation, with a religion and with laws and -literature dating back to a period lost in the mist of ages. When -Alexander, miscalled the Great, fancied he had conquered the world, and -sighed that there was no other country to subdue, the mighty Empire of -China, with its teeming millions, and a civilization far superior, taken -altogether, to any that he had yet known, was a flourishing nation, and -happily far away from the assaults of him and his conquering force. Five -thousand years ago, as the Rev. Dr. Legge, the Professor of Chinese at -Oxford, tells us, the Chinese believed in one God and had, in fact, a -theology and a system of ethics known now as Confucianism, certainly -superior to that of Greece or Rome. They had then and still have a written -language of their own, in which the works of their sages and philosophers -are recorded. There are books extant in that language for more than three -thousand years ago. In a learned and very interesting book, written by Dr. -Legge, entitled "The Religions of China," it is shown that the Chinese, -not only of to-day, but of five thousand years ago, were a great nation. -Was it then, I again ask, honest or fair of the Rev. Storrs Turner, who is -himself no mean Chinese scholar, to mislead his readers by making use of -so forced and inapplicable a comparison? Can there, in fact, be any -analogy whatever between the Indo-China opium trade, even supposing that -the smoking of the drug were as deleterious to the system as is alleged, -and sending whisky from England to the savages of Central Africa? No man -could have known better than Mr. Turner that his simile was false and -misleading, for he has lived in China for many years. An ordinary person -reading that gentleman's book would swallow this simile as one precisely -in point, and end by feeling horrified at the iniquities we were -perpetrating in China, which is, no doubt, the exact result that he looked -for. I recently met a lady with whom I had been in correspondence for some -time on professional business. In the course of conversation we happened -to speak about opium, and the moment the subject was mentioned she turned -up her eyes in horror and declared that she was ashamed of her country for -the wrong it was inflicting upon the natives of China. Mr. Turner's -wonderful parallel between the civilized Chinese and the African savages -had plainly produced its desired effect upon her. I very soon, however, -undeceived her on the point, as I have since had the pleasure of doing -with many others labouring under the like delusions. I am sorry to say -that it is with the gentler sex that our Anti-Opium fanatics make their -most profitable converts. I honour those ladies for their fond delusion, -which shows that their hearts are better than their heads; that their good -intentions run in advance of them, and make them ready victims. Well, -well, I trust their charity will soon be diverted into worthier channels. -Unfortunately, the minds of many in England have become imbued with the -same erroneous belief, which is entirely owing to the mischievous teaching -of the Anti-Opium Society, and to the powerful machinery that this Society -has available for disseminating its doctrines. I am sorry, indeed, to have -to allude thus to Mr. Storrs Turner and his book, for I respect him as a -clergyman, a scholar, and a gentleman; but I cannot avoid doing so, for -certain it is that if you mean to refute Mahomedanism you cannot spare -Mahomed or the Alkoran. - -I have already told you something as to the character of the Chinese -generally. I will now mention from authority some more specific -characteristics of these people, because it is really important that you -should thoroughly understand what manner of men these Chinese are, for -that is a matter going to the root of the whole question. If I show you, -as I believe I shall be able to do most conclusively, that the Chinese are -as intelligent and as well able to take care of themselves as we are, with -far more craft and subtlety than we possess, you will, I think, be slow to -believe that they are silly enough to allow us to poison them with opium, -as it is alleged we are doing. A stranger mixture of good and evil could -hardly be met with than you will find in the Chinese--crafty, -over-reaching, mendacious beyond belief, double-dealing, distrustful, and -suspicious even of their own relations and personal friends; -self-opinionated, vain, conceited, arrogant, hypocritical, and deceitful. -That is the character that I give you of them; but it is the worst side of -their nature, for they have many redeeming qualities. I will now place -before you their character from another and a more competent authority. -The Venble. John Gray, D.D., was, until recently, for about twenty-five -years, Archdeacon of Hong Kong, but during the greater part, if not the -whole of that time, he was the respected and faithful incumbent of the -English Church at Canton, where he resided. Now Dr. Gray, who is still in -the prime of life, is a learned and able man; a keen observer of human -nature; a sound, solid, sensible Churchman, and so highly esteemed for his -excellent qualities, that I do not think any Englishman who ever lived in -China has left a more honoured name behind him than he has. He mixed a -great deal amongst the Chinese as well as amongst his own countrymen. He -also travelled much in China, and there really could not be found a more -competent authority as to the character of the Chinese people; and indeed -as to all matters connected with China. In 1878 he published a valuable -and trustworthy book.[3] It is not the production of a person who has -merely made a flying visit to China; but it is the work of an old and -sagacious English resident in that country, a profound thinker and -observer, of a man who has studied deeply and made himself thoroughly -acquainted with his subject. He says, at p. 15, vol. i.:-- - - Of the moral character of the people, who have multiplied until they - are "as the sands upon the sea-shore," it is very difficult to speak - justly. The moral character of the Chinese is a book written in - strange letters, which are more complex and difficult for one of - another race, religion, and language to decipher than their own - singularly compounded word-symbols. In the same individual virtues and - vices apparently incompatible are placed side by side--meekness, - gentleness, docility, industry, contentment, cheerfulness, obedience - to superiors, dutifulness to parents, and reverence to the aged, are, - in one and the same person, the companions of insincerity, lying, - flattery, treachery, cruelty, jealousy, ingratitude, and distrust of - others. - -This is the character which an English clergyman and scholar gives of the -Chinese. Dr. Gray was not a missionary, and it is to the missionary -clergymen generally that the extraordinary and delusive statements -respecting opium which I am combating are due; the reason for which I -shall by and by give you. I hold these missionary gentlemen in the very -highest respect. In their missionary labours they have my complete -sympathy, and no person can possibly value them as such more than I do, -nor be more ready than I am to bear testimony to the ability, piety, -industry, and energy which they have always displayed. But they are not -infallible, and when they forsake or neglect their sacred functions, and -enter the arena of politics; when they cast aside the surplice and enter -the lists as political gladiators, they are liable to meet with opponents -who will accept their challenge and controvert their views, and have no -right to complain if they now and then receive hard knocks in the -encounter. They are enthusiastic in their sacred calling; but that fact, -whilst it does them honour, shows that their extraordinary assertions as -to the opium trade should be received with caution, if not distrust. They -are the men who are responsible for the unfounded views which have got -abroad on this question. - -Now, is it not significant that Dr. Gray, whom the people of Canton -esteemed and respected more than any European who has lived amongst them, -except, perhaps, the late Sir Brooke Robertson (who was more Chinese than -the Chinese themselves), should have said nothing against opium in that -valuable and exhaustive work of his? Is it not passing strange that this -shrewd observer of men and manners, this intelligent English clergyman, -who has passed all these years at Canton, which, next to Hong Kong is the -great emporium of opium in the south of China, should be silent upon the -alleged iniquities that his countrymen are committing in that country? Dr. -Gray is a patriotic English gentleman. Can you suppose for a moment, that -if we were demoralizing and ruining the people of the great city of -Canton, and above all, that we were impeding the progress of the Gospel in -China, that his voice would not be heard thundering against the iniquity? -Dr. Gray is an earnest and eloquent preacher as well as an accomplished -writer; yet his voice has been silent on this alleged national crime. Is -it to be thought that, if there were any truth in the outcry spread abroad -by Mr. Storrs Turner and the Anti-Opium Society, he would have omitted to -have enlarged upon the wickedness of the opium trade when writing this -book upon China and the manners and customs of the Chinese? Is it not -remarkable that he has said not a word about that wickedness, and that all -these alleged evils arising from the trade are only conspicuous in his -book by their absence? And here I would ask, is not the silence of Dr. -Gray on this important opium question, under all the circumstances, just -as eloquent a protest against the anti-opium agitation, as if he had given -a whole chapter in his book denouncing the imposture? - -But to return to the character of the Chinese. Dr. Wells Williams, a -missionary clergyman of the highest character, who, being a missionary, I -need hardly say, does not hold the views that I do, has written another -admirable book upon China.[4] In it he has described the Chinese character -very fully. He first tells us, at page 2 of the second volume, what one, -Tien Kishi--a popular essayist--thinks of foreigners. - - "I felicitate myself," he says, "that I was born in China, and - constantly think how different it would have been with me if I had - been born beyond the seas in some remote part of the earth, where the - people, far removed from the converting maxims of the ancient kings - and ignorant of the domestic relations, are clothed with the leaves of - plants, eat wood, dwell in the wilderness, and live in the holes of - the earth. Though born in the world in such a condition, I should not - have been different from the beasts of the field. But now, happily, I - have been born in the 'Middle Kingdom.' I have a house to live in, - have food and drink and elegant furniture, have clothing and caps and - infinite blessings--truly the highest felicity is mine." - -That is still the opinion of every Chinaman respecting foreigners, save -those at Hong Kong, Shanghai, and the other treaty ports of China who, -having intermixed with foreigners, have found that their preconceived -notions respecting them were untrue, but they are but a handful, a drop in -the ocean; yet these are the people who, it is said, at our bidding and -instigation, are ruining their prospects and their health by smoking our -opium. Dr. Williams further says of them, at page 96 of the same volume:-- - - More ineradicable than the sins of the flesh is the falsity of the - Chinese and its attendant sin of base ingratitude. Their disregard of - truth has, perhaps, done more to lower their character in the eyes of - Christendom than any other fault. They feel no shame at being detected - in a lie, though they have not gone quite so far as to know when they - do lie, nor do they fear any punishment from the gods for it. Every - resident among them and all travellers declaim against their - mendacity. - -I shall give you by-and-by instances--actual facts known to myself, to -prove that every word Dr. Williams has said is true; and further, that the -Chinese will indulge in falsehood, not merely for gain or to carry out -some corrupt purpose, but for the mere pleasure of romancing, or to -gratify and oblige a friend. Dr. Williams then goes on to moralize, and -admits that the Chinese have a great many virtues as well as a great many -very foul vices. Unquestionably they have a great many virtues, aye, and -virtues of sterling character, and amongst these are commercial honour and -probity. For commercial instincts and habits I place them next to the -British. In their affection for their parents, their attachment to the -family homestead, their veneration for the aged and the virtuous, they -surpass every other nation. These are not the class of men to allow -themselves to be befooled with opium. Another virtue they possess, and it -is one very pertinent to the subject of this lecture, is abstemiousness; -they are positively the most frugal, self-denying, and abstemious people -on the face of the earth. - -Not only are the Chinese abstemious in their use of opium, but also as -regards alcoholic liquors. It is not, I think, generally known that there -is a species of spirit manufactured, and extensively used throughout -China, commonly called by foreigners "sam-shu." It is very cheap, and -there is no duty upon it in Hong Kong, nor is there any, I believe, in -their own country. I suppose a pint bottle of it can be bought for a -penny. It is a sort of whisky distilled from rice. The Chinese use it -habitually, especially after meals, and I do not think there is a single -foreign resident of Hong Kong, or any of the Treaty Ports, who does not -know this fact. The practice in China is, for the servants of Europeans to -go early to market each morning and bring home the provisions and other -household necessaries required for the day's use. I have seen, in the case -of my own servants, the bottle of sam-shu brought home morning after -morning as regularly as their ordinary daily food. Yet I never saw one of -my servants drunk or under the influence of liquor. What is more than -that, although sam-shu is so very cheap and plentiful, and is used -throughout the whole of Hong Kong, I never saw a Chinaman drunk, nor ever -knew of one being brought up before the magistrate for intemperance. I -cannot say the same thing of my own countrymen. Does not that form the -strongest possible evidence that the Chinese are an extremely steady and -abstemious race? Yet these are the people whom Mr. Storrs Turner would put -in the same category as the savages of Africa? Well, then, is it likely -that a people so abstemious in respect of spirit drinking would indulge -to excess in opium, especially if the drug has the intoxicating and -destructive qualities ascribed to it by the missionaries? - -The Chinese, I have also said, are a very frugal people. Six dollars, or -about twenty-four shillings of our money, per month are considered -splendid wages by a coolie. On two dollars a month he can live -comfortably. He sends, perhaps, every month, one or two dollars to his -parents or wife in his native village; for generally a Chinaman, be he -never so poor, has a wife, it being there a duty, if not an article of -religion, for the males, to marry young. The remainder they hoard for a -rainy day. Now, I say again, if the Chinese are such abstemious and frugal -people, and that they are so is unquestionable, does not the same rule -apply to opium as to spirits? The truth of the matter is, that it is a -very inconsiderable number of those who smoke opium who indulge in it to -any considerable extent--probably about one in five thousand. When a -Chinaman's day's work is over, and he feels fatigued or weary, he will, if -he can afford it, take a whiff or two of the opium pipe, seldom more. If a -friend drops in he will offer him a pipe, just as we would invite a friend -to have a glass of sherry or a cigar. This use of the opium pipe does good -rather than harm. Those who indulge in it take their meals and sleep none -the worse. The use of the pipe, indeed, wiles them from spirit drinking -and other vicious habits. My own belief is that opium smoking exercises a -beneficial influence upon those who habitually practise it, far more so -than the indulgence in tobacco, which is simply a poisonous weed, having -no curative properties whatever. I have seen here in England many a youth -tremble and become completely unhinged by excessive smoking, so terrible -is the effect of the unwholesome narcotic on the nervous system when it is -indulged in to excess; indeed I have heard it often said that excessive -indulgence in tobacco frequently produces softening of the brain: such a -result has never proceeded from opium smoking. - -I have stated in my programme of these lectures that the views put forward -by the "Anglo-Oriental Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade" -were based upon fallacies and false assumptions, which account for the -many converts the advocates of that Society have made. I have now to tell -you what these fallacies and false assumptions are. In fact, these explain -pretty clearly how it has come to pass that so many otherwise sensible, -good, and benevolent people have been led astray on the opium question. - -The first of these fallacies is, _that the poppy is not indigenous to -China, but has been recently introduced there, presumably by British -agency_. The truth being that the poppy is indigenous to China, as it -admittedly is to Asia generally, and has been used in China for various -purposes for thousands of years. - -The second is, _that opium smoking in China is now and always has been -confined to a small per-centage of the population, but which, owing to the -introduction into the country of Indian opium, is rapidly increasing_. The -fact being that the custom is, and for many centuries has been, general -among the male adults throughout China, its use being limited only by the -ability to procure the drug. - -The third is, _that opium smoking is injurious to the system, more so than -spirit drinking_. The truth being that the former is not only harmless but -beneficial to the system, unless when practised to an inordinate extent, -which is wholly exceptional; whilst spirit drinking ruins the health, -degrades the character, incites its victims to acts of violence, and -destroys the prospects of everyone who indulges to excess in the practice. - -The fourth is, _that the supply of opium regulates the demand, and not the -demand the supply_. When I come to consider this in detail, I think I -shall rather surprise you by the statements in support of this -extraordinary theory put forward by Mr. Storrs Turner in this wonderful -book of his. The use of so utterly untenable a proposition shows to what -extremes fanatical enthusiasts will resort in support of the hobby they -are riding to death; how desperate men, when advocating a hopeless cause, -will grasp at shadows to support their theories. When such persons wish a -certain state of things to be true and existing, they never stop to -scrutinize the arguments they use in support of them. If Mr. Storrs Turner -had not opium on the brain to an alarming extent, and was writing by the -light of reason and common sense, he would no more dream of putting -forward such a theory than he would entertain the faintest hope of finding -any person silly enough to believe in the doctrine. - -The fifth fallacy is, _that opium smoking and opium eating are equally -hurtful_. The fact being that there is the widest difference in the world -between the two practices, as I shall hereafter conclusively prove to you. -Upon this point, I may tell you, that Mr. Storrs Turner, in the appendix -to his book, gives numerous extracts from evidence taken on various -occasions as to opium _eating_, which has no relevancy to opium smoking; -not that I am even disposed to admit that even opium eating in moderation -is a baneful practice, the medical evidence on the subject being at -present very conflicting. And here I may appropriately say, that although -an overdose of opium may cause death, the mere _smoking_ of the drug in -any quantity will not do so. No case of poisoning by opium smoking has -ever been reported or heard of; such a thing, in fact, is a physical -impossibility. I daresay this may surprise some people, but it is, -nevertheless, an irrefragable fact. - -The sixth is, _that all, or nearly all, who smoke opium are either -inordinate smokers or are necessarily in the way of becoming so, and that -once the custom has been commenced it cannot be dropped; but the victim to -it is compelled to go on smoking the drug to his ultimate destruction_. -That, I shall show you, upon the best evidence, is altogether untrue, -thousands of Chinese having been to my knowledge habitual and occasional -opium smokers, who showed no ill effects whatever from the practice, -which, by the way, is far more easily discontinued than the use of -alcoholic liquors. - -The seventh is, _that the Chinese Government is, or ever was, anxious to -put a stop to the custom, or even to check the use, of opium amongst the -people of China_. This is one of the most ridiculous and unfounded notions -that ever entered the mind of man. There is a saying that "none are so -blind as those who will not see," and here, I shall show you, is the -strongest proof of the adage. - -The eighth is, _that the British merchants in China are making large -fortunes by opium_. The fact being that the Indo-China trade is profitable -to a very few merchants only, whilst the British merchants as a body have -no interest in the trade whatever. This is a pet fallacy of Mr. Storrs -Turner, and he has shown throughout his book, and notably in his article -in the "Nineteenth Century," a determination to make the most of it. He -has evidently persuaded himself that some large English firms have made -enormous fortunes by the drug, and he seems to have made up his mind never -to forgive the enormity. - -The ninth is, _that the discontinuance of the supply of opium from British -India would stop, or effectually check, the practice of opium smoking in -China_. The fact being that the suppression of the present Indo-China -opium trade, if indeed it were possible to suppress it, would have -precisely the contrary effect. I shall prove to you clearly, that if the -Indo-China opium trade, as at present carried on, were put an end to, such -an impetus would be given to the importation of opium into China as would -enormously add to the consumption of the drug, and that then British and -other merchants who have now no dealings in opium, would in such case -become largely engaged in the trade; whilst opium smuggling, the cause of -so much strife and unpleasantness in past times, would again become -general upon the coast of China. - -The tenth is, _that the opposition of Chinese officials to the -introduction of opium into China arose from moral causes_. The fact being, -as every sane man acquainted with China knows, that the true reason for -such opposition was a desire to protect and promote the culture of native -opium to keep out the foreign drug, and thus prevent the bullion payable -for the latter from leaving the country. - -Last, but by no means least, is the fallacy and fond delusion, _that the -introduction of Indian opium into China has arrested and is impeding the -progress of Christianity in that country, and that if the trade were -discontinued, the Chinese, or large numbers of them, would embrace the -Gospel_. The fact being, that opium smoking has had nothing whatever to do -with the propagation of Christianity in China, any more than rice or -Manchester goods, as I confidently undertake to show you when I come to -deal more fully with this outrageous fallacy. I will only now observe that -it is a remarkable fact, that while China is covered with a network of -Roman Catholic missionaries, some of whom I had the pleasure of knowing -quite intimately, I have never heard of a similar complaint having been -made by any of them, but, on the contrary, have always known them to speak -triumphantly of their great success in their missionary labours; but then -it must be remembered that these Roman Catholic missionaries, greatly to -their credit, throw their whole soul into their work, and devote their -whole time to their missionary labours, never mixing in politics or -interfering with matters of State. These are the figments which have got -hold of the Anti-Opium mind, from which has sprung the monstrosity put -forward by the Anti-Opium Society. I shall, in future lectures, return to -these fallacies, and dispose of each in turn. - -I will close this lecture by giving you the testimony of a very high and -entirely impartial authority as to the innocuous effects of opium, which -strongly confirms all that I have already stated. The late John Crawfurd, -F.R.S., was a _savant_ of high reputation in England, throughout the East, -and, I believe, in Europe. He was the contemporary and intimate friend of -the late Sir Benjamin Brodie, the eminent surgeon. Mr. Crawfurd had, -previous to 1856, been Governor of the three settlements of Singapore, -Penang, and Malacca. He resided for a great number of years in the far -East, studying there the country and people; he visited Siam, Java, -Borneo, and the Phillipine Islands, making himself thoroughly acquainted -with those places, the Malay peninsula, and various other countries in the -Indian Ocean and China Sea. In 1820 he published, in London, "A History of -the Indian Archipelago" (then comparatively but seldom visited by, and -less known to, Europeans), a work, I understand, of considerable merit. -Thirty-six years afterwards, that is, in the year 1856, having during the -interval spent seven years in travelling through India and otherwise -making himself perfectly acquainted with his subject, he published "A -Dictionary of the Indian Islands and Adjacent Countries." The book was -brought out in London by the well-known firm of Bradbury and Evans, and I -have it now before me. It was lent to me by a friend since the first -edition of these lectures was published. It is an interesting and valuable -volume, affording abundant evidence of the learning, research, vast -information and talents, and the studious and energetic character of the -writer. The book was published many years before this wonderful -confederation "The Anglo-Oriental Society for the Suppression of the Opium -Trade" sprang into existence, and, indeed, before there was any -considerable controversy upon the opium question. The opinions of this -eminent man on the subject of opium should, therefore, be viewed as wholly -unbiassed, for it is certain that he had no selfish ends to gratify. -Turning to the word "Opium" at page 313, we find the following:-- - - Opium is at present largely consumed in the Malayan Islands, in China, - in the Indo-Chinese countries, and in a few parts of Hindustan, much - in the same way in which wine, ardent spirits, malt liquor, and cider - are consumed in Europe. Its deleterious character has been much - insisted on, but generally, by parties _who have had no experience of - its effects_. Like any other narcotic or stimulant, the habitual use - of it is amenable to abuse, and as being more seductive than other - stimulants, perhaps more so; but this is certainly the utmost that can - be safely charged to it. Thousands consume it without any pernicious - result, as thousands do wine and spirits, without any evil - consequence. I know of no person of long experience and competent - judgment who has not come to this common-sense conclusion. Dr. Oxley, - a physician and a naturalist of eminence, and who has had a longer - experience than any other man of Singapore, where there is the highest - rate of consumption of the drug, gives the following opinion:--"The - inordinate use, or rather abuse, of the drug most decidedly does bring - on early decrepitude, loss of appetite, and a morbid state of all the - secretions; but I have seen a man who had used the drug for fifty - years in moderation, without any evil effects; and one man I recollect - in Malacca who had so used it was upwards of eighty. Several in the - habit of smoking it have assured me that, in moderation, it neither - impaired the functions nor shortened life; at the same time fully - admitting the deleterious effects of too much." There is not a word of - this that would not be equally true of the use and abuse of ardent - spirit, wine, and, perhaps, even tobacco. The historian of Sumatra, - whose experience and good sense cannot be questioned, came early to - the very same conclusion. The superior curative virtues of opium over - any other stimulant are undeniable, and the question of its - superiority over ardent spirits appears to me to have been for ever - set at rest by the high authority of my friend Sir Benjamin Brodie. - "The effect of opium, when taken into the stomach," says this - distinguished philosopher, "is not to stimulate but to soothe the - nervous system. It may be otherwise in some instances, but these are - rare exceptions to the general rule. The opium eater is, in a passive - state, satisfied with his own dreamy condition while under the - influence of the drug. He is useless but not mischievous. It is quite - otherwise with alcoholic liquors."--"Psychological Inquiries," p. 248. - - It may be worth while to show what is really the relative consumption - in those countries in which its use is alleged to be most pernicious. - In the British Settlement of Singapore, owing to the high rate of - wages, and the prevalence of a Chinese population, the consumption is - at the rate of about three hundred and thirty grains, or adult doses, - a year for each person. In Java, where the Chinese do not compose - above one in a hundred of the population, and where wages are - comparatively low, it does not exceed forty grains. Even in China - itself, where the consumption is supposed to be so large, it is no - more than one hundred and forty grains, chiefly _owing to the poverty - of the people, to whom it is for the most part inaccessible_. It must - not be forgotten, that some of the deleterious qualities of opium are - considerably abated, in all the countries in question, by the manner - in which it is prepared for use, _which consists in reducing it to a - kind of morphine and inhaling its fumes in this state_. Moreover, - everywhere consumption is restricted by heavy taxation. The opium of - India pays, in the first instance, a tax which amounts to three - millions sterling. The same opium in Singapore, with a population of - sixty thousand, pays another impost of thirty thousand pounds; and, in - Java, with a population of ten millions, one of eight hundred thousand - pounds. _Not the use, then, but the abuse, of opium is prejudicial to - health_; but in this respect it does not materially differ from wine, - distilled spirits, malt liquor, or hemp juice. There may be shades of - difference in the abuse of all these commodities, but they are not - easily determined, and, perhaps, hardly worth attempting to - appreciate. There is nothing mysterious about the intoxication - produced by ordinary stimulants, because we are familiar with it; but - it is otherwise with that resulting from opium, to which we are - strangers. We have generally only our imaginations to guide us with - the last, and we associate it with deeds of desperation and murder; - _the disposition to commit which, were the drug ever had recourse to - on such occasions, which it never is, it would surely allay and not - stimulate_. - - - - -LECTURE II. - - -I closed my first lecture with a list of fallacies, upon which the -objections to the Indo-China opium trade, and the charges brought against -England in relation to that trade, are founded, stating that I should -return to them and dispose of each separately. I also said in the earlier -part of my lecture, that the extraordinary hallucinations which had taken -hold of the public mind, with respect to opium smoking in China, arose, -amongst other causes, from the fact that the public had formed their -opinions from hearsay evidence, and that of the very worst and most -untrustworthy kind. I say untrustworthy because hearsay evidence, although -in general inadmissible in our law courts, may be in some cases very good -and reliable evidence. As this point goes to the root of all these -fallacies and false assertions, and the delusions based upon them, I wish -to show you why hearsay evidence is, in this case, of the worst and most -unreliable kind. In the first instance, I would refer you to the general -character of the Chinese for mendacity and deceit, admitted by all writers -upon the subject of China and the Chinese, and supported by the general -opinion of Europeans who have dwelt amongst them. Now, I am far from -saying that every Chinaman is necessarily a liar, or habitually tells -untruths for corrupt purposes. The point is, rather, that the Chinese do -not understand truth in the sense that we do. The evidence of Chinese -witnesses in courts of justice is notorious for its untrustworthy -character. The judges are not generally contented with the direct and -cross-examination to which witnesses are ordinarily subjected by counsel, -but frequently themselves put them under a searching examination, and -generally require more evidence in the case of Chinese than they would -if Europeans were alone concerned. - -From my acquaintance of the Chinese I can say that they are a very -good-natured people, especially when good-nature does not cost them much; -but they are also a very vindictive people, as, I suppose, most heathen -nations are. I have known cases where, to gratify private malice, or to -obtain some object, the reason for which would be hard for us to -appreciate, a Chinaman has got up a charge without foundation in fact, but -supported by false witnesses, who were so well drilled and had so -thoroughly rehearsed their parts that it was hard to doubt, and almost -impossible to disprove, the accusation. By such means innocent men have -been condemned and sentenced to severe punishments, or been unjustly -compelled to pay large sums of money. I have, on the other hand, known -cases which, according to the evidence brought before me, appeared -perfectly clear and good in law; but on taking each witness quietly into -my own office, and going through his evidence, the whole fabric would -tumble down like a pack of cards; so that, although my client's case might -still be intrinsically good, the witnesses he brought in support of it -knew nothing about it beyond what they had heard from others. It would -turn out that they had been told this by one person, that by another, and -so on, throughout the series of witnesses, not one of them would have any -actual knowledge of the alleged facts. In cases like these there would -probably be no corrupt motive whatever. - -While upon this point I may allude to another peculiar phase in the -Chinese character. They are so addicted to falsehood that they will -embellish truth, even in cases where they have the facts on their own -side. On such occasions they like to add to their story a fringe of -falsehood, thinking, perhaps, that by doing so, they will make the truth -stand out in brighter colours and appear more favourable in the eyes of -the Court and the Jury. Another Chinese peculiarity is the following:--If -you put leading questions to a Chinaman upon any particular subject, that -is to say, if you interrogate him upon a point, and by your mode of doing -so induce him to think that you are desirous of getting one particular -kind of answer, he gives you that answer accordingly, out of mere -good-nature. In these instances his imagination is wonderfully fertile. -The moment he finds his replies afford pleasure, and that there is an -object in view, he will give his questioner as much information of this -kind as he likes. Not only is this the case with the common people, -corresponding to the working or the labouring classes here, but the habit -really pervades the highest ranks of Chinese society. It is mentioned in -Dr. Williams's work, how the Chinese as a people think it no shame in -being detected in a falsehood. It is very hard to understand, especially -for an Englishman, such moral obtuseness. We are so accustomed to consider -truth in the first place, and to look upon perjury and falsehood with -abhorrence, that it may seem almost like romancing to gravely assure you -of these facts. - -If I relate a few short anecdotes which are absolutely true, and in which -I was personally concerned, I may put the matter more clearly before you. -A Chinese merchant, now in Hong Kong, once instructed me to prosecute a -claim against a ship-master for short delivery of cargo, and from the -documents he gave me, and the witnesses he produced, I had no hesitation -in pronouncing his case a good one, although I knew the man was -untruthful. When we came into court, knowing my client's proclivities, my -only fear was that he would not be content with simply telling the truth, -but would so embellish it with falsehood that the judge would not believe -his story. I therefore not only cautioned him myself in "pidgin English," -but instructed my Chinese clerk and interpreter to do so also. My last -words to him on going into court were, "Now mind you talkee true. Suppose -you talkee true you win your case. Suppose you talkee lie you losee." The -man went into the witness-box, and I am bound to say that on that occasion -he did tell the truth, and nothing but the truth, but I could plainly see -by his manner and bearing that the task was a most irksome one. When he -left the box, after cross-examination, I felt greatly relieved. The -defendant, who, I am glad to say, was not an Englishman, although he -commanded a British ship, told falsehood after falsehood. There could be -no doubt about this, and the judge, Mr. Snowden, the present Puisne Judge -of Hong Kong, at last ordered him to leave the box, and gave judgment for -my client. Notwithstanding this satisfactory result, I saw that the -plaintiff was still dissatisfied. I left the court and he followed me -out. He still seemed discontented, and had the air of an injured man. When -we got clear of the court he actually assailed me for having closed his -mouth and deprived him of the luxury of telling untruths. "What for," said -he, "you say my no talkee lie? that man have talkee plenty lie." I -replied, "Oh, that man have losee; you have won." But with anger in his -countenance, he walked sullenly away. - -Now I will tell you another--and a totally different case. The judge on -this occasion was the late Sir John Smale, Chief Justice of Hong Kong. It -was an action brought by a Chinese merchant, carrying on business in -Cochin China, against his agent in Hong Kong, a countryman of his, who had -not accounted for goods consigned to him for sale. The plaintiff put his -case in my hands. When it came into court the defendant was supported by -witnesses who seemed to have no connection whatever with the -subject-matter of the suit. They, however, swore most recklessly. In -cross-examination one of the witnesses completely broke down. The Chief -Justice then stopped the case, and characterized the defendant's conduct -"as the grossest attempt at fraud he had ever met with since he had come -to China," and, under the special powers he possessed, sent the false -witness to gaol for six weeks. The person so punished for perjury proved -to be what we would call a Master of Arts. He was, in fact, an expectant -mandarin, ranking very high in China. I should tell you that in that -country there is no regular hereditary nobility, nor any aristocracy save -the mandarin or official class. The fact is, and in view of Mr. Storrs -Turner's comparison of the Chinese with the savages of Central Africa, I -may here mention it, that in China--where these simple, innocent -"aborigines," as it suits the anti-opium advocates to treat them, -flourish--education is the sole criterion of rank and precedence. They -have a competitive system there, which is undoubtedly the oldest in the -world. This man, as I said, was a Master of Arts, and would, in regular -course, have been appointed to an important official post and taken rank -as a mandarin. He was, I believe, at the time of his sentence, one of the -regular examiners at the competitive examinations of young men seeking for -employment in the Civil Service of the Empire. When the case ended, I -dismissed it from my mind. But, to my great surprise, six or seven of the -leading Chinamen of Hong Kong waited upon me on the following day, and -implored of me to get this man out of gaol. They declared that the whole -Chinese community of Hong Kong felt degraded at having one of their -superior order, a learned Master of Arts, consigned to a foreign prison. -They assured me that this was the greatest indignity that could have been -offered to the Chinese people. I replied that the fact of the prisoner -being a man of education only aggravated his offence, that he had -deliberately perjured himself in order to cheat my client, and that the -foreign community considered his punishment far too lenient, for had he -been a foreigner he would have got a far more severe punishment. But they -could not see the matter in that light, and went away dissatisfied. They -afterwards presented a petition to the Governor, praying for the man's -release, but without success. My object in narrating this to you is to -show the utter contempt which the Chinese, not only of the lower orders, -but of the better class, have for the truth. I could supplement these -cases by many others, all showing that the Chinese do not regard the -difference between truth and falsehood in the sense that we do. - -To illustrate more clearly what I have told you, I will read to you a -short passage from a leading article in the "China Mail," a daily -newspaper published in Hong Kong. The date of the paper is the 3rd of -October 1881. The editor is a gentleman who has been out there for twenty -years; he is a man of considerable ability and knows the Chinese character -perfectly, and I may also mention that he is a near relative of Mr. Storrs -Turner. This is what he says:-- - - The question of the reliability of Chinese witnesses is one which is - continually presenting itself to all who have anything to do with - judicial proceedings in this colony, and as jurors are usually saddled - with the responsibility of deciding how far such evidence is to be - credited in most serious cases, the subject is one which appeals to a - large body of residents. An eminent local authority, some time since, - gave it as his opinion that he did not think a Chinese witness could - give accurate evidence, even if the precise truth would best suit his - purpose. This is doubtless true to some extent, and it bears directly - on one phase of the discussion, viz. that of reliableness, so far as - strict accuracy of detail is concerned. But a witness may be regarded - as the witness of truth although he fails in that extremely precise or - accurate narration of facts and details which goes so far to - strengthen truthful testimony. What is meant here by reliability of - witnesses, however, is their desire to tell what they _believe_ to be - the truth. It has been somewhere said, by one of authority on Chinese - matters, that it is not particularly surprising that the Chinese, as a - people, are so widely known as economisers of the truth, when their - system of government is carefully considered. For a Chinaman, life - assumes so many phases, in which a good round lie becomes a valuable - commodity, that the only surprise remaining is, that he is ever known - to tell the truth. - -That is exactly what I have already said. It would occupy too much time to -read the rest of the article, which is ably written, but the portion I -have quoted tends to show the unreliability of Chinese witnesses, even in -a solemn Court of Justice. - -Now, I think, I have shown you that our Celestial friends present rather -an unpromising raw material from which to extract the truth. Yet these are -the men from whom the missionaries derive their information as to those -wonderful consequences from opium smoking which, the more greedily -swallowed, are the more liberally supplied, thus affording an illustration -of Mr. Storrs Turner's extraordinary theory of supply and demand, of which -I shall have to speak more by and by. Having exhibited to you the well of -truth from which credible evidence is sought to be obtained, I have now to -turn to the other side of the question and describe the character and -competence of those who draw their facts from that source, and from whom -the general public have mainly derived their knowledge of opium and opium -smoking. - -As regards the missionaries, I have stated already that I hold them in the -very highest respect, and they are well deserving of it, and, indeed, of -the consideration of the whole community. Were I to state anything to -their prejudice or disadvantage, further than what I assert as to their -fallacious views and unjustifiable conduct on the opium question, I should -certainly be speaking without warrant; for a more respectable, -hard-working, or conscientious body of gentlemen it would be difficult to -find. Perhaps they are the hardest worked and worst paid class of any -foreigners in China. They have a work to perform, the difficulty of which -is but partially understood in this country; that is, the task of -converting to Christianity these heathen people, who think Confucianism -and the other religions engrafted upon it which they follow, and which -seem to suit their temperament, immeasurably superior to ours; who point -to our prophets and sages as men of yesterday, and look with comparative -contempt upon our literature, laws, and customs. The real difficulty of -the situation lies in these facts; believe me, that it is as absurd as it -is untrue to say that opium has had anything to do with the slow progress -of Christianity in China. Missionary clergymen in China are really not the -best men to get at the facts of the opium question. If a foreigner, here -in England, were to ask me in which quarter he would be likely to obtain -the best information regarding the manners and customs of the English -people, I should certainly advise him to get introductions to some of our -working clergy of all denominations, because they are the people's trusted -friends and advisers, sharing in their joys and sympathizing in their -sorrows, their wants and necessities. They are educated and matter-of-fact -men, just the class of persons to afford sound and accurate information as -to the country and people. This, I believe, will be generally admitted. -The same rule would not apply to our missionary clergymen in China; for -they, unlike our clergy at home, are not the trusted friends and advisers -of the Chinese people, and, knowing really very little of the inner life -of the people, cannot be said to sympathize in their wants and -necessities. No doubt there have been some admirable books written on -China by missionary clergymen, such as the "Middle Kingdom," from which I -have already quoted, and Dr. Doolittle's work; but everyone who has lived -long in China takes all their statements on every point affecting their -missionary labours, and upon many other matters also, _cum grano_. So far -as the manners and customs of the Chinese can be understood from their -outdoor life, literature, and laws, they are competent judges enough; but -as they are not admitted into Chinese society, and do not possess the -confidence of the people, they cannot be accepted as authorities on the -inner social life of the natives, so far as regards opium-smoking. They -have not at all the same status as regards the Chinese that English -clergymen have in respect to their own countrymen here in England; and if -a friend were to put such a question to me respecting China and the -Chinese, the last people I would refer him to for information would be the -missionary clergymen. These missionary gentlemen, if they were at home in -England, would, no doubt, have their livings and vicarages, and would take -their place with the regular clergy of the country. But in China things -are totally different. There the people not only despise them, but laugh -at the creed they are trying to teach. The simplicity of the Gospel is too -cold for them. Teeming with the marvellous as their own religions do, no -other creed seems acceptable to them that does not deal in startling -miracles and offer a continuous supply of supernatural feats. Anyone who -reads Dr. Legge's book, on the religions of China, will see this at once. -The Chinese have an accepted belief three or four thousand years older -than Christianity, and they are well aware of the fact. Despising -Europeans, as they do, and looking upon themselves as a superior race, it -is not likely that the Chinese will take missionary clergymen into their -confidence, or afford them any trustworthy information about private or -personal matters. In short, there is no cordiality between the Chinese and -the missionaries. - -Still our Chinese friends are a very polite people, and no doubt they are -and will continue to be outwardly very civil to missionaries, and, -although they may consider them impudent intruders, will give courteous -answers to their questions; but it does not follow that they will give -_true_ answers. A respectable Chinaman, such as a merchant, a shopkeeper, -or an artizan, would consider himself disgraced among his own community if -it were known that he had embraced Christianity, or even entertained the -thought of doing so. I do not think that, long as I was in China, I had a -single regular Chinese client who was a Christian. All my native -clients--merchants, shopkeepers, clerks, artizans, and coolies, and I have -had professional dealings with thousands of them--were heathens. In very -rare instances Chinese professing Christianity will be found holding -respectable positions; but, I regret to say, I do not believe that any of -such people are sincere. I had myself a clerk in my office for about -twelve years; he was a young man educated at St. Paul's College, in Hong -Kong. The College is now closed, but when in existence the pupils there -got an excellent education, and were also well clothed and fed. They were -not only taught Chinese, as is the case in Chinese schools, but also to -read and speak English well. When he went to the school he was not more -than seven or eight years old, and left it probably when he was fourteen -or fifteen. He was an excellent clerk, a highly intelligent young fellow, -and wrote and spoke English well. Now, if ever there were a case where a -lad might be expected to be a sincere convert this was the one. He had -been strictly brought up as a Christian, went to church, and read the -Bible regularly, and, indeed, was far more kindly treated in the College -than English lads are in many schools in this country. Even that boy was -not a sincere convert. - -When about eighteen years of age he got married, as is the custom with the -youth of China. On informing me of his intention, he asked me to procure -from the Superintendent of Police the privilege of having "fire crackers" -at his wedding, a heathen custom, supposed to drive away evil spirits. I -reminded him that I had always believed him a Christian; when he said, -"Oh! it's a Chinese custom." However, I got him the privilege. But instead -of being solemnized in the church, which he had been in the habit of -attending when a pupil in St. Paul's College, according to the rites of -the Church of England, his marriage ceremony was celebrated in Chinese -fashion, a primitive proceeding, and certainly heathen in its form. He -never went near the church at all. A few days afterwards I remarked to him -that he had not been married in the church. He laughed, and said, "that as -he and his wife were Chinese they could only be married according to -Chinese custom." - -Let me give another story in point. I knew a man in Hong Kong who, owing -to the difficulty of finding suitable natives who understood English, was -for a long time the only Chinese on the jury list. He spoke English fairly -well. He was educated at a school presided over by the late Rev. Dr. -Morrison, the learned sinologue, who had lived in Hong Kong before my -time. His school was an excellent one, and had turned out some very good -scholars. I have seen this man go into the jury-box, and often too, into -the witness-box, and take the Bible in his hand and kiss it -ostentatiously. I used to think he was a sincere Christian, and was glad -to see so respectable a Chinaman (for he held a responsible position in a -bank) acknowledge in public that he was a Christian. But that man, I -afterwards discovered from the best possible authority, was at heart a -heathen; he always had idols, or, as we call them, "Josses," in his house. -He also was a Christian in name, and nothing more. - -There was another man educated in Dr. Morrison's school. Dr. Legge knew -him very well, and was a sort of patron of his. I suppose it is pretty -well known that polygamy is a custom in China, and that it is quite an -exception for a Chinese in any decent position there not to have three, -four, or more wives; the more he has the greater his consequence among his -countrymen. This man, as a matter of fact, had three wives, and when his -so-called first wife died, he was in a great fright lest Dr. Legge should -discover that he had two more wives, for it is customary that the other -wives should attend the funeral of the first as mourners. Now these are -the sort of converts, for the most part, to be met with in China. As a -rule, they are far less honest and more untruthful than their heathen -countrymen, and many Europeans in consequence will not take converts into -their service. In proof of this statement I will here give you an extract -from a very able article which appeared in the "Hong Kong Daily Press," an -old and well conducted newspaper, of the 31st October 1882. This is it:-- - - They [the missionaries] secure some adherence to the Christian - religion, no doubt, but what is the value of the Christianity? It - possesses, so far as we have been able to judge, neither stamina nor - backbone. Foreigners at Hong Kong, and at the Treaty Ports, fight shy - of Christian servants, a very general impression existing that they - are less reliable than their heathen fellows; and with regard to the - Christians in their own villages and towns, there is always a - suspicion of interested motives. - -Are these Chinese converts the class of the Chinese from which truth is to -be gleaned? Is the testimony of such people of the slightest value? Yet -these are the persons from whom the missionaries derive their knowledge of -opium smoking and its alleged baneful effects. I venture to say that among -all the so-called Christian converts in China you will not find five per -cent. who are really sincere--all the rest profess Christianity to obtain -some personal advantage. These so-called converts are generally people -from the humblest classes, because, as I have mentioned, people of the -better class, such as merchants, shopkeepers, and tradesmen, not only -consider their own religion superior to the Christian's creed, but they -would be ashamed to adopt Christianity, as they would thus be disgraced -and make themselves appear ridiculous in the eyes of their neighbours; -and they are a people peculiarly sensitive to ridicule. I will not say -that there are not some true converts to be found among Chinese -congregations; if there are none, the missionary clergymen are certainly -not to blame, for they are indefatigable in their exertions to make -converts, proving also by their blameless lives the sincerity of their -professions. As I have said, the difficulty attending their efforts is -enormous. It must be remembered that in China we are not teaching -Christianity to the poor African, or the semi-civilised native of -Madagascar or the Fiji Islands; but that we are dealing with civilized -men, who consider their own country and literature, customs and religion, -far superior to those of England or of any other country in the world. The -Chinese are so convinced of this, that the very coolies in the streets -consider themselves the superiors of the foreign ladies and gentlemen that -pass, or whom, perhaps, they are carrying in their sedan chairs. - -I hold the missionaries altogether responsible for the hallucination that -has taken possession of the public mind on the opium question. With the -Bible they revere in their hands, they think the Chinese should eagerly -embrace the doctrine it inculcates, and, unable to account for their -failure, they readily accept the subterfuge offered by certain Chinese for -not accepting Christianity or attending to their teaching. They feel that -it is, or may be, expected of them in this country, that they should have -large congregations of native proselytes, such as, I believe, the -missionaries have in Madagascar, and in like places, forgetting that no -parallel can be drawn between such races and the Chinese. The Protestant -missionary clergymen in China are, not unnaturally, anxious to account for -their supposed failure in that large and heathen country. They would not -be human if they were not. The better class of Chinese, as I have said, -will not listen to a missionary, or argue with him. They do not want to -hear lectures on Christianity, and grow impatient at any disparaging -remark about their own religion. They simply say, "We have a religion that -is better than yours, and we mean to stick to it." The missionaries, -however, think they ought to have better success. They are, no doubt, -indefatigable in their labours, and as they do not meet with the results -that ought, they consider, to follow from their labours, and as their -sanguine minds cling to any semblance of excuse for their shortcomings, -they accept the stale and miserable subterfuge, to the use of which their -converts are prompted by the Mandarins, that the Indo-China opium trade is -vicious, and that before Christianity is accepted by the country, the -trade in question must be abolished. This transparent evasion of the -Chinese appears to me to bear too strong a family likeness to the famous -"confidence trick," with which the police reports now and then make us -acquainted, to be entertained for a moment. - -The Chinese, knowing the weakness of the missionaries, play upon it; and -one of the best instances I can give you that they are successful is -this:--They tell them that the Chinese Government objects to the opium -trade upon moral grounds; but it never occurs to the missionaries to -retort and say, "If so, why does your Government not prevent the -cultivation of opium throughout China? In the provinces of Yunnan and -Szechuen, and all over the Empire, indeed, enormous crops of opium are -raised every year; why does not your Government, knowing, as you say, that -the effects of opium are so fatal, put a stop to the growth of the -deleterious drug?" This question would prove rather a difficult one to -answer, though the Mandarins, skilful casuists as they are, would no doubt -invent some specious one which might impose upon their interrogators. The -mental vision of our missionary friends is so limited to one side only of -the question, that even here they might be taken in by the astute natives. -It is only of late that the Chinese Government has taken up the moral -objection, and the reason, I believe, it has done so is because it has -found out the weak side of the missionaries, probably through _The Friend -of China_, published at Shanghai. - -When it is taken into account that of late years the average quantity of -Indian opium imported into China is about one hundred thousand chests, -each of which, for all practical purposes, may be called a hundredweight, -and that the price of each of these chests landed in China is about seven -hundred dollars, and that the whole works up to something like sixteen -millions sterling, the strong objection of the Mandarin classes to allow -such a large amount of specie to leave the country becomes intelligible. -Rapacious plunderers as they are, they see their prey escaping them before -their very eyes, and are powerless to snatch it back. These sixteen -millions, they think, would be all fair game for "squeezing" if we could -only keep them at home. For although China is an immense empire, with -great natural resources, it is still a poor country as regards the -precious metals. No doubt an economist would tell these Mandarins: "It is -true we sell you all this opium, but then we give you back again all the -money you pay for it, with a great deal more besides, for the purchase of -your tea and silk." But a Mandarin would only laugh at such an argument. -"Ah," he would say, "you must have tea and silk in any case; you can't do -without them. We want to get hold of your silver and give you none of ours -in return." That is the true cause, or one of the true causes, of the -objection of the Government of China to the importation into that country -of Indian opium. - -The missionaries, or at all events the greater number of them, have -adopted the view, that if they could only put a stop to the importation of -Indian opium into China the evangelization of the country would be a -question of time only; and in one sense, indeed, this would be true; but -the time would not be near, but very distant. The Chinese have a keen -sense of humour, and if the British would allow themselves to be cajoled -by the specious arguments with which the religious world here is -constantly regaled about the opium question, so far as to put a stop to -the traffic, such a feeling of contempt for English common sense, and in -consequence for the religion of Englishmen, would ensue, that the spread -of the Gospel in China would be greatly retarded indeed. The truth about -opium is so clear to those who trust to the evidence of their senses, and -who look at facts from a plain common sense point of view, that they -cannot for a moment see that there is any connection whatever between -opium and Christianity. It seems to me that those gentlemen who adopt the -anti-opium doctrine, and scatter it abroad, are only comparable to the -monomaniac, who, sane upon every subject but one, is thoroughly daft upon -that. No better example of this can I give you than by referring to a -speech made by a gentleman deservedly respected by the community, whom I -have always considered as one of the hardest-headed men sitting in the -House of Commons, possessing sound common sense upon all subjects save -that of opium. I refer to Sir J. W. Pease, the Member for South Durham. -In the year 1881 the usual anti-opium debate came on in the House of -Commons. Sir J. W. Pease delivered a speech on the occasion denunciatory -of the Indo-China trade, in the course of which he referred to the treaty -recently made between China and America, one of the clauses of which -provides that American ships shall not import opium into China, and that -no Chinaman shall be allowed to import opium into America, where there is -a large Chinese population, especially in San Francisco. The treaty -relates to other matters, and this clause is, so to speak, interpolated -into it, for a purpose I shall now explain. It was intended to appear as a -sort of _quid pro quo_, for whilst America, in fact, gave up nothing, -though she affected to do so, she obtained some commercial advantages by -the treaty. This is the clause:-- - - The Governments of China and of the United States mutually agree and - undertake that Chinese subjects shall not be permitted to import opium - into any of the ports of the United States; and citizens of the United - States shall not be permitted to import opium into any of the open - ports of China. This absolute prohibition, which extends to vessels - owned by the citizens or subjects of either Power, to foreign vessels - employed by them or to vessels owned by the citizens or subjects of - either Power, and employed by other persons for transportation of - opium, shall be enforced by appropriate legislation on the part of - China and the United States, and the benefits of the favoured claims - in existing treaties shall not be claimed by the citizens or subjects - of either Power as against the provisions of this article. - -I happened to be weather-bound in Rome when I first read, in a Hong Kong -paper, that amusing and deceptive treaty, which was made in 1880. Knowing -thoroughly the situation, and all the facts connected with the Indo-China -opium trade, I undertake to assure you that so far, at least, as regards -this opium clause, that treaty was simply a farce. With the single -exception of a line of mail packet steamers between Hong Kong and San -Francisco, America has few or no steamers trading in the China seas. She -has protected her mercantile marine so well that she has now very little -occasion for exercising her protection. She has no vessels trading between -India and China, and never has had any, and, as a matter of fact, no -American ships carry one ounce of opium between India or China, or to the -port of Hong Kong, or have carried it for many years, if, indeed, any -American vessel has ever done so. Nor is there, indeed, at present the -slightest probability that her ships will ever convey opium between India -and China. America, in fact, might, with as much self-denial, have -undertaken not to carry coals to Newcastle as Indian opium to China. There -are regular lines of British steamers plying between the ports of Bombay, -Calcutta, and Hong Kong, by which all Indian opium for the China trade is -carried direct to its destination. - -I declare that anything more absurd, deceptive, and dishonest never formed -the subject of an international treaty. The whole affair was so utterly -false and misleading that the first thing I did after reading the treaty -was to cut it out from the newspaper and forward it, with an explanatory -letter, to the "Times," the usual refuge of the aggrieved Briton. This -deceptive clause was intended simply to mislead the simple, benevolent, -good-natured John Bull, already, as the framers of the treaty no doubt -supposed, half-crazed on the anti-opium movement. A better specimen of -American smartness and Chinese astuteness could hardly be conceived than -this crafty and fallacious clause. America has no opium to sell or import, -and can, therefore, afford to be extremely generous on the point. It is -just possible, however, that at a future day opium may be produced in the -South-Western States, in which case the American Government--I will not -say the American people, for I hold _them_ in great respect--will -endeavour to wriggle out of this precious treaty, just as they are now -trying to do as regards the Panama convention with this country, when the -possibility that gave rise to it is likely to become a reality. The -stipulation that Chinese subjects should not be permitted to import opium -into any of the ports of the United States is of course absolute nonsense. -If the American Government had really intended to prohibit opium from -being imported from China, or elsewhere, into their country they should -not have confined the prohibition to Chinese subjects, but have extended -it to all nationalities; in fact, to have made opium, save for medical -purposes, contraband. To explain this point more clearly, you will -remember what I have mentioned before, that the exclusive right to -manufacture crude opium into the form used for smoking, called in China -"prepared opium," is farmed out. The present farmer pays the Government of -Hong Kong two hundred and five thousand dollars, or forty thousand pounds -a year for the monopoly. The reason why he pays so large a sum for this -privilege is because of the facilities it affords him for exporting it to -other places, and not merely to get the exclusive right of preparing and -selling the drug in Hong Kong, for if that were all the benefit to be -derived from the monopoly he would not give so large a rent for it. The -greater source of profit arises from the circumstance that the Chinese -must have the beloved stimulant wherever they roam. If you go to -Australia, the Philippine Islands, the Straits, Borneo, or the town of -Saigon in French Cochin China, or wherever else dollars are to be made, -you will find Chinese in abundance. Go to the South Seas, go to the -Sandwich or the Fiji Islands, you will discover the Chinese happy and -prosperous, and you will always see in their houses the opium pipe. The -advantage of having the exclusive privilege in Hong Kong of preparing and -selling opium consists in this, that it is the terminus of an American -line of steamers which ply between that port and San Francisco. It is also -the port from which British lines of steamers run to Australia, Tasmania, -and New Zealand. These packets always take with them consignments of -prepared opium ready for smoking, because at these places there are large -and well-to-do Chinese communities who can afford to indulge in the -national luxury of opium smoking. I have already told you that I was for -about ten years solicitor for that opium firm, and I happen to know a -great deal about the prepared opium trade through that medium. The Chinese -in California, where there is an immense number of those people, do not -consume less, I should say, in the course of a year than one hundred -thousand pounds worth of prepared opium. As is the case in Hong Kong, the -Chinese have better means to buy the drug there than they would have at -home. They get high wages, keep shops, are excellent tradesmen, and can -live and make money where a European would starve. They are all, in fact, -well-to-do, and wherever a Chinaman has the money he must have his opium -pipe. Therefore the privilege of supplying the Chinese in California, -Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania, and in the South Sea Islands, where -are large China colonies, is enjoyed by the opium farmer of Hong Kong, -because he has the means of shipping the drug by steamers direct to those -places, thus out-distancing all other competitors. This trade, -notwithstanding that wonderful treaty, is still going on, and not one -ounce of opium less than was shipped before its ratification is now being -carried to San Francisco, and in American bottoms too, for the treaty only -says that no _Chinaman_ shall import opium into America; there is no -prohibition against Americans or Europeans doing so. What the opium farmer -now does, if indeed he has not always done so, is to get an American or -other merchant in Hong Kong to ship the drug for him in his own name, -handing him, the opium farmer, the bill of lading. The opium is -accordingly shipped in the name of Brown, Jones, or Robinson, and on its -arrival at San Francisco the opium farmer's consignee takes possession of -it, and it is distributed by him among his countrymen in that flourishing -city. - -If Sir J. W. Pease were not an enthusiast, ready to swallow without -hesitation everything which seems to tell against the opium traffic, and -to disbelieve everything said or written on the other side of the -question, he would have seen through all this as a matter of course. This -is what he said about the treaty in the speech I have referred to, having -first delivered a philippic on the enormities and terrible wickedness of -the traffic:-- - - Only last year a treaty was entered into between the United States and - China, and one of the articles of that treaty distinctly stated that - the opium trade was forbidden, and that no American ship should become - an opium trader--a fact which showed that the Chinese authorities were - honest in their expressed desire to put an end to the trade. - -Sir J. W. Pease is the most confiding of men; to my mind the treaty should -be construed in a very different sense. Sometimes, when we want to convey -our sentiments to another, we do so indirectly. There is a very well -understood method of attaining that object. Instead of opening your mind -to Mr. Jones, who is the object of your intended edification, you will in -Mr. Jones's presence address your remarks to Mr. Brown; but in reality, -although you are speaking to the latter, you are speaking at the former. -Now the whole object of this precious article of the treaty was to play a -similar piece of finesse. Both nations well understood what they were -about; they were simply trying to hoodwink and make fools of John Bull by -putting into the treaty this false and hypocritical clause, which, as -between themselves, each party well knew meant nothing to the other. Here -is Sir J. W. Pease, a sensible and astute man of business, with his eyes -open, yet, blinded by his good nature and anti-opium prejudice, falling -into the trap set for him, and allowing himself to be deceived by this -transparent piece of humbug, and quoting in the House of Commons this -"bogus" treaty as evidence that the Indo-China opium trade is so infamous -that the American Government intended, so far as they were concerned, to -put a stop to it, and that the Chinese Government wish to abolish it on -moral grounds. I give you this as an example of the lengths to which -otherwise sensible gentlemen will go when smitten with opium-phobia, and -how oblivious they become under such circumstances to actual facts. -Imagine how his Excellency Li Hung Chang, that very able Chinese -statesman, and those smart American diplomatists who have thus posed as -anti-opium philanthropists, must have enjoyed the fun of being able to so -completely bamboozle an English member of Sir J. W. Pease's reputation! - -Now, although I have exposed this Americo-Chinese juggle, I am far from -meaning to cast the slightest imputation upon Sir J. W. Pease, whose -personal character I in common with the whole country hold in the very -highest respect. I am well assured that in bringing forward his motion in -the House of Commons he was actuated by a sense of duty, and the very -purest motives, and that in referring to the treaty in question he fully -believed in its _bona fides_; upon this point I am at one with his warmest -admirers. No one deservedly stands higher as a philanthropist and -Christian gentleman, and, save as regards this opium delusion, no man has -ever made a nobler use of an ample fortune than he. - -I may speak in the same terms of the venerable and universally-respected -nobleman who is the president of the Anti-Opium Society, whose whole life -has been devoted to the welfare of his fellow men, especially those who -stood most in need of his help. I referred in the first edition of this -lecture to a Most Reverend Prelate, honoured and beloved both by his own -countrymen, and, I believe, the whole Christian world, who is also, I -deeply deplore, a believer in the anti-opium delusion, but in doing so -nothing was farther from my intentions than to lay aside for a moment the -respect that was due to him as a man and a high dignitary of the church. I -revere and honour him and admire his great and noble qualities as much as -any man living. Born and brought up as I have been in the Church of -England, and sincerely attached to its doctrine and teaching, having near -and dear relatives, too, ministers of that church, the last thing I would -be capable of doing is to harbour an unkind thought, or utter a -disrespectful word, against any of her clergy, much less one of her most -honoured prelates. These three good and upright men are, I am sorry to -say, but types of a great many other most estimable people, many of them -ornaments to their country, who through the purity and overflowing -goodness of their hearts, have been dragged into the vortex of delusion -set afloat by the Anti-Opium Society--who allow themselves to be cajoled -and victimised--led by the nose, in fact, by anti-opium fanatics, who, -cunning as the madman and perfectly regardless of the means they resort to -in the prosecution of what they consider right, bring to their aid the -zeal of the missionary and the power for mischief which superior education -and mis-directed talents confer. This is what rouses one's indignation and -compels me to pursue the unpleasant task of discrediting and otherwise -painfully referring to men whom, apart from this wretched opium delusion, -I honour and respect. - -Upon this point I cannot refrain from referring to a gentleman of high -standing, who had formerly been in China, and really ought to have known -better. That gentleman went so far as to write a letter to the "Times," in -which he said that out of one hundred missionaries in China there was not -one who would receive a convert into his church until he had made a vow -against opium smoking. Bearing in mind that all these so-called converts -made by these one hundred missionaries belong for the most part to the -very poor, if not to the dregs of the people, I should think no missionary -clergyman would find much difficulty in obtaining such a pledge. He has -only to ask and to have. If a clergyman in a very poor neighbourhood in -the East End of London proposed to his congregation that they should -promise never to drink champagne, he would receive such a pledge without -difficulty from one and all; but if any kind person were afterwards to -give them a banquet of roast beef and plum-pudding, with plenty of -champagne to wash those good things down, I am afraid their vow would be -found to be very elastic. - -So it is with the congregations of these missionary clergymen; there is -not an individual amongst them who would refuse to enjoy the opium pipe if -he got the chance, however much they might declaim against the practice to -please the missionary. Opium, as the missionaries must well know, is a -luxury that can only be indulged in by those who have the means of paying -for it. Now, while twopence or threepence may appear to us a very -insignificant sum, such will not be the opinion of a very poor person. -Threepence will purchase a loaf of bread. So it is with the Chinese, -especially those residing in their own territory. There is only one class -of coin current in China. It is known by Europeans as "cash." Ten should -equal a cent, or a halfpenny, but owing to the inferiority of the metal -they are made of, twelve or thirteen usually go to make one cent of -English money, so that ten cents, or fivepence of our money, would be -about one hundred and thirty cash. A poor Chinaman possessing that sum -would think that he had got hold of quite a pocketful of money, and so it -would prove, so far as regards a little rice or salt fish, which forms -part of most Chinamen's daily food; but were he so foolish as to indulge -in opium, a few whiffs of the pipe would soon swallow up the whole. And -then there arises the difficulty of getting the cash, so that it is really -only people having command of a fair amount of money who can afford to -indulge, habitually at all events, in the luxury of the pipe. - -Now with respect to the alleged evil effects of opium smoking, you will -constantly hear stories from missionary sources of wretched people, the -slaves of the opium pipe, crawling to the medical officers of missionary -hospitals, who are to a certain extent missionaries themselves, and asking -to be cured of the terrible consequences of their indulgence in opium -smoking. The medical officer at each of these missionary institutions, a -victim himself, in most cases, to the delusions set afloat, accepts their -story, pities the men, and takes them into the hospital; and, believing -that if they do not get a moderate indulgence in opium smoking they will -pine away and die, the good, easy man, full of kindness and simplicity, -gives them a liberal allowance, which his patients are delighted to get. -Knowing the bent of mind of the confiding doctor, they fill him with all -kinds of falsehoods as to the evils attendant upon opium smoking in -general, which he swallows without a particle of doubt. The truth, -however, is that those men who go with such tales to the medical -missionary are in most, if not all, cases simply impostors, generally -broken-down thieves, sneaks, and scoundrels--the very scum of the people. -No longer having energy even to steal, they are driven off by their old -associates, to starve or die in a gaol. These men are the craftiest, the -meanest, and the most unscrupulous on the face of the globe. They well -know all that the missionaries think about opium smoking, and, like the -accommodating Mr. Jingle, they have a hundred stories of the same kind -ready to pour into the ears of their kind-hearted benefactors, who become -in turn their victims. Much merriment, I have no doubt, these scamps -indulge in amongst themselves at the good doctor's expense; for the -Chinese are not deficient in humour, and have a keen sense of the -ludicrous. These people crawl to one of the hospitals; the doctor is -delighted with their stories, for they confirm all he has written home or -published, perhaps in _The Friend of China_. He communicates with the -missionary; their stories are sent home, and the patients get for three or -four weeks excellent food and comforts, including plenty of opium, before -they are turned out as cured. The lepers have been cleansed and made -whole, but only to enable them to prey once more upon the industrious -community. I may here observe that there are no missionary hospitals in -Hong Kong, and so we never hear of those wonderful stories happening in -that place, yet, if such stories were true, it is there that the strongest -corroboration of them should be found, for, although there is no -missionary hospital in the colony, there is the large and well-managed -civil hospital, as also the Chinese Tung-Wah Hospital, both of which are -subject to the inspection of Dr. Ayres. - -Such are the tales, and such the authors who have caused much of this -clamour about opium smoking. There is scarcely a particle of truth in any -one of those stories. No man can indulge in opium to such an extent as to -harm himself unless he possesses a fair income, and if such a person -became ill from over-indulgence, he would not go to a foreign hospital, -but would send for a doctor to treat him at his own house. It is only the -broken-down pauper, thief, or beggar, who, in his last extremity, seeks -admission to the hospital. - -Dr. Ayres was the first to expose this imposture. On arriving at Hong Kong -he found it had been the custom there to allow such of the prisoners in -the gaol as were heavy smokers a modicum of prepared opium daily,--it -having been supposed by his predecessors that without it such prisoners -would pine away and die. Dr. Ayres, however, knew better; and he at once -put an end to the custom. He would not allow one grain of opium or other -stimulant to be given to any prisoner, however advanced a smoker he might -be. The result was that the hitherto pampered prisoners moaned and -groaned, pretending, no doubt, to be very ill; but after a little time -they got quite well. The Doctor has published his experiences on this -subject in the _Friend of China_. - -These persons know what pleases the missionaries, and so they detail to -them all kinds of horrible stories respecting opium smoking, which, as I -have before stated, are pure inventions. Trust a Chinaman to invent a -plausible tale when it suits his purpose to do so. The missionaries do not -smoke opium themselves, and have, therefore, no means of refuting the -falsehoods thus related to them, or of testing their accuracy. They simply -believe all these stories, and send them on to head-quarters in London, to -be retailed by eloquent tongues at Exeter Hall and elsewhere. I have no -doubt that every mail brings home numbers of apparently highly -authenticated tales of this kind, every one of which is baseless. Thanks -to the modern excursion agents, and to the present facilities for -travelling, gentlemen can easily take a trip to China, and if any of them -happen to have opium on the brain, they will take letters of introduction -to missionary clergymen. On their arrival at Hong Kong they will perhaps -be shown over the Tung-Wah hospital, where they see a number of wretched -objects labouring under all kinds of diseases; they will go away fully -impressed with the belief that all the patients shown to them are victims -of opium smoking. They are then taken to an opium shop, or as the -missionaries like to call it, an "opium den"--though why an opium-smoking -shop should be so termed, and a dram shop in London called a "gin palace," -I cannot understand--and are there shown half a dozen dirty-looking men, -mostly thieves and blackguards, all smoking opium, and as they are quiet -and motionless, they come to the conclusion that they are all in a dying -state, having but a few days more to live. If they knew the facts, they -would find perhaps that the very men they were commiserating were just -then quietly planning a burglary or some piratical expedition for that -very night. These kind of travellers go out to China with preconceived -notions, and are quite prepared to believe anything and everything, -however absurd or monstrous, about opium smoking. They will spend two days -at Hong Kong, three at Canton, two or three at Shanghai. They will take -copious notes at these places, omitting nothing, however incredible or -absurd, that is told them, and return home with a full conviction that -they have "done China," when in reality they have only done themselves, -and that, too, most completely. If they have the _cacoethes scribendi_ -strong upon them, they will probably write a book upon the subject; and so -the miserable delusion is kept up. - - 'Tis pleasant, sure, to see one's name in print; - A book's a book, although there's nothing in't. - -Mr. Turner, in his volume, gives what he calls "a little apologue," with -the object of showing how the Indian Government injures China by supplying -it with opium. If you will allow me, I will give you a short one, too. Let -us suppose a young gentleman, well brought up, and a member of that -excellent institution, the "Young Men's Christian Association," where he -has heard the most eloquent speeches on the wickedness of this country in -permitting the Indo-Chinese opium trade, and thus encouraging opium -smoking--for your anti-opium agitator thinks it the height of virtue and -propriety to drag his country through the mire on every occasion that -presents itself. Let us call him Mr. Howard; it is a good name, and was -once owned by a most benevolent man. He makes up his mind to go out to -China and to see for himself the whole iniquity; for, despite his strong -faith in his clerical mentors at Exeter Hall, he can hardly believe that -his own countrymen could really be the perpetrators of such dreadful -wickedness as he has been told. He takes a letter of introduction to a -missionary gentleman at Hong Kong, and another to a mercantile firm there. -He expects, on his arrival, to see the streets crowded with the -wretched-looking victims of the opium-pipe, crawling onwards towards their -graves, whilst the merchant who is making his princely fortune by this -terrible opium trade drives by in his curricle, looking complacently at -his victims, just as a slave-owner of old might be expected to have gazed -at his gangs of serfs wending their way to their scene of toil. Not seeing -any but active, healthy-looking people, he concludes that the miserable -creatures he is looking out for are in hospital, or lying up in their own -houses. He calls upon Messrs. Thompson and Co., the mercantile firm to -which he is accredited, and is well received by one of the partners, who -invites him to stop at his house during his stay in Hong Kong--for our -fellow-countrymen in China are the most hospitable people in the world. -Mr. Howard declines, as he intends putting up at Mr. Jenkins's, his -missionary friend. The great subject on his mind is opium, so he comes to -the point at once, and asks, "Is there much opium smoked in the colony?" -"Oh, plenty," answers Mr. Thompson; "two or three thousand chests arrive -here every week." "Do you sell much?" Mr. Howard asks. "No; we haven't -done anything in it these many years," is the response. "Do many people -smoke?" continues Howard, following up his subject. "Oh, yes: every -Chinaman smokes." "But where are all the people who are suffering from -opium smoking?" again asks the inquirer, determined to get at the facts. -"Ha, ha, ha!" laughs Mr. Thompson, but that gentleman is writing letters -for the mail, and has not much time at his disposal. "Here, Compradore," -he says, addressing a Chinese who has been settling an account with one of -the assistants, "this gentleman wants to know all about opium smoking." -The Compradore is the agent who conducts mercantile transactions between -the foreign firms and the Chinese; he resides on his master's premises, -and is usually an intelligent and keen man of business, and, I may also -add, an inveterate opium smoker. The two try to make themselves -understood. Mr. Howard repeats the same questions to the Compradore that -he had just put to Mr. Thompson, and receives similar replies. -Disappointed and surprised, Howard calls with his letter of introduction -upon the missionary, to whom he tells what he has heard from Messrs. -Thompson & Co. "Ah," says the missionary, "they wouldn't give you any -information there; they are in the opium trade themselves." But Mr. Howard -tells him that Thompson had assured him that they had not been in the -trade for years. "Ah," returns the missionary, "you must not believe what -_he_ says. His firm is making a princely fortune by opium." "But where are -the smokers?" asks Howard. "Oh, I will show them to you." He then calls -Achun his "boy." "This gentleman," he says to the latter, "wants to know -about opium smoking. Take him to the Tung-Wah and to an opium shop, you -savee?" "Yes, my savee" (meaning "I understand"), returns Achun, who is, -of course, a devout convert, but who, notwithstanding, often in private -indulges in the iniquity of the pipe. On they go to the Tung-Wah, which is -the Chinese hospital before referred to, where he is shown some -ghastly-looking men, all either smoking the "vile drug" or having opium -pipes beside them. Two or three are shivering with ague; another is in the -last stage of dropsy; another is in consumption, and so on. They are all -pitiable-looking objects, wasted, dirty, and ragged. Poor Mr. Howard -shrinks away in horror. "Are all these men dying from opium smoking?" he -asks of his guide. "Yes, ebely one; two, tlee more day dey all die. Oh! -velly bad! olla men dat smokee dat ting die," says the person questioned, -well knowing that what he has said is false, and that the poor creatures -before him are only honest, decent coolies in the last stages of disease, -who until they entered the hospital may never have had an opium pipe in -their mouths. "Their poverty and not their will consented." They had been -admitted but a few days before to the Tung-Wah, where the Chinese doctor -in charge had prescribed for them opium smoking as a remedy for their -sickness and a relief for their pains. Poor Mr. Howard leaves the hospital -bitterly reflecting upon the wickedness of the world and of his own -countrymen in particular. As for Mr. Thompson, he is set down for a false -deceitful man, a disgrace to his country, who should be made an example -of. He and his guide then proceed to the opium shop. I shall, however, -proceed there before them, and describe the place and its occupants. -Opposite to the entrance door are two well-dressed men, their clothes -quite new, their heads well shaven, and having attached to them long and -splendid queues. These men are lying on their sides, vis-a-vis, with their -heads slightly raised, smoking away. If it were not for their villainous -countenances they might pass for respectable shopkeepers. They are two -thieves, who have just committed a burglary in a European house, from -which they carried off three or four hundred pounds' worth of jewellery, -and they are now indulging in their favourite luxury on the proceeds. They -have also exchanged their rags for new clothes, got shaved and trimmed, as -Mr. Howard sees them. Now, wherever an extreme opium smoker is met, he -will in general be found to be one of the criminal classes. In this shop -there are three other men smoking. They are stalwart fellows, but -dirty-looking, as they have just finished coaling a steamer, and are -begrimed with coal dust. As the daily expenses of a steamer are -considerable, it is a great object with sea captains to get their vessels -coaled as quickly as possible, so that they may not be delayed in port. -The men employed upon this work are usually paid by the job, and probably -each will receive half-a-dollar for his share. They work with -extraordinary vigour, and by the time they have finished they are often -much distressed, and are inclined to lie down; their hearts, perhaps, are -beating irregularly, and their whole frame unhinged. Being flush of money, -for half-a-dollar, or two shillings, is quite a round sum for them, they -have decided to go to the opium shop, and, by having a quiet whiff or two, -bring the action of their hearts into rhythm, and restore themselves to -their ordinary state. These poor coolies are honest fellows enough. They -work hard, and are peaceful, unoffending creatures. Hundreds of them are -to be seen hard at work every day in Hong Kong. - -The interior of the opium shop is as described when Mr. Howard enters with -the missionary's servant. The moment the two well-dressed thieves see -them, their guilty consciences make them conclude that the one is a -European, and the other a Chinese detective in search of them. They close -their eyes and pretend to be in profound slumber. They are really in -deadly fear of apprehension, for escape seems impossible. Mr. Howard asks -his guide who they are. "Oh, dese plaupa good men numba one; dey come dis -side to smokee. To-day dey smokee one pipe; to-mollow dey come and smokee -two, tlee pipe; next dey five, six; den dey get sik and die. Oh, opium -pipe veely bad; dat pipe kill plenty men." "You say they are good, -respectable men?" says Mr. Howard. "Yes, good plaupa men; numba one Chinee -genlman." "Oh, is not this a terrible thing?" says Mr. Howard, compressing -his lips, breathing heavily, and vowing to bear witness, on his return to -London, to all the villainy he fancies he has seen. The three men begrimed -with coal-dust, although they appear only to be semi-conscious, are in -reality taking the measure of Mr. Howard, and enjoying a quiet laugh at -his expense. One exclaims, referring to his chimney-pot hat, "Ah ya! what -a funny thing that Fan-Qui has got on his head!" The other replies, "It's -to keep the sun away." "How funny!" retorts the first speaker, "we wear -hats to keep our heads warm; they wear hats to keep their heads cool." -"Oh," returns the other speaker, "the Fan-Qui have such soft heads that if -they did not keep the sun off the little brains they have would melt away; -and they would die, or become idiots."[5] Mr. Howard, seeing them in their -dirty condition, concludes that they are some of the wretched victims of -opium smoking, in the last stage of disease, and leaves with his -conductor, pitying them from the depths of his heart; his pity, however, -is as nothing compared to the contempt with which these supposed victims -to the opium pipe regard him and his chimney-pot hat. As he leaves he asks -his guide, "Does the keeper of the opium shop expect a gratuity?" "Oh," -returns the other, "supposee you pay him one dolla, he say, tankee you." -Mr. Howard accordingly gives a dollar to the man, who looks more surprised -than grateful, and he leaves the shop, satisfied that he has at last seen -the true effects of opium smoking in China. He returns to the missionary, -to whom he relates the horrors he has seen, makes copious notes of them, -and vows to enlighten his countrymen at home upon the subject. As for his -guide Achun, this person loses no time in returning to the opium shop, -where he compels the keeper of it to share with him the dollar he has just -received, and, having so easily earned two shillings, he quietly reclines -on one of the couches and takes a whiff or two of the pipe, the more -enjoyable because it is forbidden fruit. Thus the benevolent British -public is befooled by these ridiculous stories about opium. - -Now as Achun is a representative character, many like him being in the -service of missionaries and other foreigners throughout China, I will give -you a further specimen of the way such persons cheat and delude their -masters. Achun, in whom Mr. Jenkins, the missionary, places implicit -confidence, has of late been much exercised as to his "vails," for Chinese -servants are quite as much alive to the perquisites of their office as -Jeames, John Thomas, or any others of our domestics here in England. -Indeed, I may safely lay it down as a rule that, like cabmen, domestic -servants will be found the same all over the world, "one touch of nature -makes the whole world kin," and no sooner have you engaged your Chinese -"boy" than his mind is at once set working as to the amount of drawbacks, -clippings, and parings over and above his wages he may safely count upon -in his new place. Achun is dissatisfied with the commission or drawback -allowed him by Chook Aloong, the shopkeeper or compradore, who supplies -Mr. Jenkins's family with provisions and other household necessaries; he -is allowed only ten per cent. of the monthly bill, and he considers that -in all fairness he should get double that amount. Thus impressed, he makes -energetic remonstrances on the subject to Chook Aloong, who is firm and -will give no more than ten per cent. Achun is equal to the occasion. Now -Mr. Jenkins and his family are simple and frugal in their dietary, but -there are some articles of food they insist upon having of the best kind, -in consequence of which their compradore sends them those articles and, -indeed, all others of unobjectionable quality. Eggs which are not -absolutely fresh, and meat, though it be game, if in the slightest degree -"up," they will have none of. Achun well knows all this, and he has -determined to have Chook Aloong displaced. Having himself a partiality for -eggs, he begins operations by daily appropriating to his own use some of -those fresh eggs and substituting stale ones in their stead. In the like -manner, instead of letting the family have the beef, mutton, and fowls -nice and fresh as they are delivered, he holds them over until the bloom -of freshness has departed. This state of affairs occasions some commotion -in the family circle. The boy is sent for and shown that the eggs are bad -and the meat "high"; he expresses great concern, and declares that he will -forthwith call upon the compradore and compel him to make good the damage -already done, and supply proper provisions in future. Mr. Jenkins, though -angry, is not implacable, and is willing to believe that some mishap has -occurred; for how could his old and trusted compradore treat him so badly? -His hopes are, however, disappointed, for again and yet again the meat is -bad, and, worse still, the eggs are--well, not fresh. The climax is -reached one morning when poor Mr. Jenkins, in breaking his egg, finds, not -the usual bright yellow yolk and spotless albumen within, but a young -chick almost fledged. Horror and disgust seize him, the old Adam -over-masters him for a moment, and, full of wrath, he roars for the boy. -Achun appears the very picture of innocence, when Mr. Jenkins, ashamed of -his outburst of wrath and now quite calm explains the _contretemps_. He -has even in the reaction regained some of his good humour. "Look here, -Achun," he says, showing the chick, "this is too bad, you know. Supposee I -wanchee egg,--can catchee him; supposee I wanchee chicken--can catchee -chicken. No wanchee egg and chicken alla same together." Achun perceives -the joke, and knowing his master's weakness, says, "Oh, ho, massa, velly -good, dat belong numba one. 'No wanchee egg and chicken alla same -togedda,'" continues the cunning rascal, repeating his master's words, "Oh -velly funny, velly good, massa, ho! ho! ho!" Mr. Jenkins is pleased at the -mild flattery of his boy, who has now advanced a step or two in his -estimation. "Oh, massa, dat man, Chook Aloong, velly bad man," continues -Achun when his merriment had subsided. "Him smokee too much opium pipe; he -no mind his pidgin plaupa, he smokee alla day." "Oh! ho! is that the way?" -asks the missionary, a new light dawning for the first time upon him. "And -so Chook Aloong is an opium smoker?" "Ye-s," replies Achun, prolonging the -word. "Too much opium, plenty opium. More betta you get anoda compado -sah--some good plaupa man dat no smokee." "Very well, Achun," says Mr. -Jenkins with a sigh. "It is plain I must get somebody else. Find me out -some other man, and, mind, he must not smoke opium." "Hab got, massa," -returns the boy delighted with his success. "Hab got velly good man, him -numba one good compado"; and in walks the person indicated, who has been -listening outside all the time. "This belong Sam Afoong, him do all ting -plaupa," the fact being that this very Sam Afoong is the greatest cheat in -the whole market. "Oh, you're the man," says Mr. Jenkins. "I hope you -don't use opium." "Oh no, sah," returns the other, who is in fact an -inveterate smoker, "my neba smokee; dat opium pipe velly bad. It hab kill -my fadda, my six bludda, my----." But here he is stopped by a signal from -Achun, who saw that his friend, in familiar parlance, was "laying it on -too thickly." Sam Afoong vows to supply the best of good things, and does -so, and the Jenkins family are no longer troubled with bad provisions; but -had the lady of the establishment gone through the formality of weighing -every joint of meat that her new compradore supplied, she would have found -that every pound was short of two or three ounces, for thus Sam Afoong -recouped himself for the large per-centage bestowed on Achun. - -To prove that the missionaries are deceived in the way I have described I -will refer you to a passage in Mr. Storrs Turner's own book, where even he -admits that one of his own converts, who had assured him that he never -smoked, and no doubt had pledged himself never to do so, was found -regaling himself with the iniquity. At p. 32 Mr. Turner says, "I have -caught a man smoking who had only half an hour before denied to me that he -was a smoker, and condemned the habit." Yet such are the men from whom the -missionaries derive their information about opium smoking. For further -proof of this I will quote again from Dr. Ayres' article, in _The Friend -of China_. This is what he says:-- - - At the Tung Wah Hospital the stranger may at any time see the most - dreadful and ghastly-looking objects in the last stages of scrofula - and phthisis smoking opium, who had never previously in all their - lives been able to afford the expense of a pipe a day, yet the - European visitor leaves the establishment attributing to the abuse of - opium effects which further inquiry would have satisfied him were due - to the diseases for which the patients were in hospital. From what I - have seen there, there is no doubt that the advanced consumptive - patient does experience considerable temporary relief to his difficult - breathing by smoking a pipe of opium, though it is a very poor quality - of drug that is given to patients at the Tung Wah Hospital. - -Thus, as I have shown, it has come to pass that whilst the missionary -clergymen, owing to their sacred calling and their unquestionably high -character, are accepted in England as the most reliable witnesses and -entitled to the greatest credit, they are really the men who are the very -worst informed upon the opium question which they profess to understand so -thoroughly. They are, in fact, the victims of their own delusions. But -saddest fact of all, these missionary gentlemen, with the best intentions -and in the devout belief that by carrying on this anti-opium agitation -they are helping to remove an obstacle to the dissemination of the Gospel -in China, are of necessity by so doing obliged to neglect more or less the -very Gospel work they are really so desirous to spread, leaving the -missionary field open to their Roman Catholic rivals. - -The information placed before the public here in England upon the opium -question, tainted as it is at the very fountain head, is sent forward from -hand to hand, meeting in its filtrations from China to this country with -impurity after impurity, until it reaches the form of the miserable trash -retailed at Exeter Hall, or by the agents of the Anti-Opium Society. It is -an accepted adage that "a story loses nothing by the carriage." The maxim -becomes, more strongly pointed when it is remembered that the opium tales -partake so much of the marvellous, and that the various transmitters of -those accounts are, in almost every instance, fanatical believers in the -supposed wickedness of the Indo-Chinese opium trade. I am quite sure that -out of every thousand people who believe in the anti-opium delusion, you -will not find two who have ever set their foot in China, or know anything -with respect to the alleged evils they denounce, except from the -unreliable sources I have mentioned. Such people, as a rule, are by far -the most violent and uncompromising opponents of the Indo-Chinese opium -trade. The people I describe generally speak with such an air of authority -on the question, that an ordinary person would suppose they had personally -witnessed all the evils they describe. If you ask one of them in what part -of China he has lived, or when and where he has seen the horrors he speaks -of, he will jauntily tell you, "Oh, I have heard Mr. A. or the Rev. Mr. B. -explain the whole villainy at Exeter Hall." Another will say he has read -Mr. Storrs Turner's great work upon opium smoking, with which I have -already made you somewhat acquainted. When General Choke rebuked Martin -Chuzzlewit for denying that the Queen lived in the Tower of London when -she was at the Court of St. James, Martin inquired if the speaker had ever -lived in England. "In writing I have, not otherwise," responded the -General, adding, "We air a reading people here, Sir; you will meet with -much information among us that will surprise you Sir." Just so. These -anti-opium enthusiasts have been in China in writing, and understand the -opium question upon paper only--a few months in Hong Kong or Canton, freed -from missionary influence, would soon disillusionize them. I remember -hearing a story once of a most estimable gentleman who had the misfortune -to be the defendant in an action for breach of promise. The plaintiff's -counsel, who had a fluent tongue and a fertile imagination, painted him in -such dreadful colours, and so belaboured him for his alleged heartless -conduct towards the lady that the gentleman so denounced, persuaded for -the moment that he was really guilty, rushed out of court, exclaiming, "I -never thought I was so terrible a villain before." That is just the kind -of feeling that first comes over one upon hearing of those opium-smoking -horrors; for it must not be forgotten that the indictment of the -Anti-Opium Society, and of its secretary Mr. Storrs Turner in particular, -not only includes the Imperial Government, and the Government of India, -during the past forty years, but all the British merchants connected with -the Chinese trade, and, indeed, the entire British nation. - -Before proceeding to deal with the fallacies I have enumerated, it is -necessary that I should again address a few words to you on the subject of -evidence, so as to enable you to discriminate between the value of the -various witnesses who have attempted to enlighten public opinion on the -subject before us. I dislike very much to trouble the reader with dry -professional matters, but, under the circumstances, I cannot avoid doing -so. It is a rule of law which will, I think, commend itself to the common -sense of everybody, that the evidence to be adduced on a trial should be -the best that the nature of the case is susceptible of, rather than -evidence of a subsidiary or secondary nature, unless, indeed, no better be -forthcoming. In determining matters of fact, the best witnesses would be -held to be those who have become acquainted with those facts in the course -of their ordinary employment, or in the performance of their professional -duties, rather than mere amateurs or volunteers, whose knowledge is -derived from accident or casual observation only. For illustration, let us -suppose the case of a collision at sea between two steamers, A and -B,--that previous to and at the time of the collision, besides the usual -officers and seamen in charge of A, there were on deck the steward of the -vessel and a passenger. Now, the best witnesses on board of A as to the -catastrophe would not be the two latter, although they saw the whole -occurrence, but the men who were in actual charge of the navigation of the -ship, viz. the look-out man in the bows--whose duty it would be to watch -for rocks or shoals, or any ship or vessel ahead, and to give immediate -notice to the officer of the watch and the man at the wheel of the -presence of such object;--the officer of the watch, usually stationed on -the bridge;--and the man at the wheel. Why? Because, it being the peculiar -duty of the first two men to look out for and avoid striking on rocks or -shoals, or coming into collision with any other vessel, and the duty of -the third man not only to keep a look out but to steer as directed by the -officer on the bridge, they necessarily paid more attention to, and had -their intellects better sharpened in respect to such matters than the -others, who had no such duty cast upon them. The next best witnesses would -be the other seamen during whose watch the accident occurred, their duty -being generally to attend to the management of the ship, her sails and -cordage, and obey the orders of the officer of the watch, but who, not -having immediate connection with the steering and course of the vessel, -would not be expected to have the same accurate knowledge of the -circumstances that led to and occurred up to the time of the collision as -the first three. The least valuable witnesses would be the steward and the -passenger, for the reasons already mentioned. Applying these rules to the -question now before us, it follows that the testimony of such a man as Dr. -Ayres--some of which I have given you already--and of others which I shall -lay before you, should have far greater weight and be more reliable than -that of ordinary persons having no special knowledge or experience of -opium or its effects, nor any opportunity of obtaining such knowledge, -much less any duty cast upon them to acquire it, _e.g._ missionaries and -other persons unconnected with native and foreign merchants, and having no -duties to perform which would bring them into constant intercourse with -the Chinese community. - -The first of these fallacies which have so much tended to warp the -understanding of these Anti-Opium people is this: "That the poppy is not -indigenous to China, but has been recently introduced there, presumably by -British agency." With this let us take the second fallacy, viz.: "That -opium smoking in China is now and has always been confined to a small -per-centage of the population, but which, owing to the introduction of -Indian opium, is constantly increasing." Here I would first inquire--what -is the poppy? To this question one person would say, It is the plant that -produces that deadly drug, morphia. Another would answer, It is the herb -from which laudanum is made; and a third would say, It is the plant which -supplies opium, smoked so much in China and eaten so largely in India. -These answers would all be correct enough, so far as they go; but they -would not be complete, for there are many other uses to which the poppy is -applied besides all these. That valuable plant produces not only opium, -but an oil used for lighting and for edible purposes, the Chinese using -the oil to mollify their daily rice and other food, mixing it also very -commonly with another and richer quality of oil. The seeds, when the oil -is expressed, are given to cattle, or allowed to rot and form manure. If -the oil is not expressed, the seeds can be worked up into cakes. From the -capsules medicine is made, and lastly, the stalks and leaves when burnt -produce potash. Mr. William Donald Spence, one of Her Majesty's Consuls in -China, to whose valuable "Report on the Trade of the Port of Ichang, and -the Opium-culture in the Provinces of Szechuan and Yunnan," I shall -presently introduce you, knows all this as matter of fact, and, indeed, I -am mainly indebted to him for the information I now give you. It is -admitted by Mr. Storrs Turner that the poppy is indigenous to China, and -when it is remembered that the people of that country are and have been -for thousands of years the most civilized in Asia,--that agriculture is -considered the most honourable industry in the country, as evidenced by -the annual practice of the Emperor to turn over the earth with the plough -at the beginning of Spring,--that the Chinese are skilled husbandmen, and -of most frugal and thrifty habits, it becomes a matter of irresistible -inference that those people must have known that most useful plant, the -poppy, and must have cultivated it for economic purposes long before opium -was known in Europe. Sir Robert Hart, in his Yellow Book, says "that -native opium was known, produced, and used _long before_ any Europeans -began the sale of the foreign drug along the coast." Compare that with the -misleading passage at page 2 of Mr. Storrs Turner's book, where he says -"that the poppy had long been cultivated in Egypt, Turkey, Persia, India, -and _recently_ in China and Manchuria," and ask yourselves what credit you -can give to that gentleman as a trustworthy guide on the subject of opium. -Here is Sir Robert Hart, a great Chinese authority, practically admitting -that three or four hundred years ago at the least native opium was grown -and produced in China, and Mr. Storrs Turner, in this fallacious statement -of his, trying to induce his readers to infer that the drug was only -recently produced in that Empire! The reader can choose between these -authorities for himself. Now the fact is, that in very ancient Chinese -works mention is made of the poppy. In the "History of the Later Han -Dynasty" (A.D. 25-220), the brilliant colour of the poppy blossom, of the -charms of the juice, and the strengthening qualities of the seeds of the -plant, formed the themes of Chinese poets as far back as a thousand years, -and probably much farther. The poet Yung T'aou, of the T'ang dynasty (A.D. -618-907), celebrates the beauty of the flower. The poet Soo Cheh (A.D. -1039-1112), dwells, in an ode, on the curative and invigorating effects of -the poppy seeds and juice, and another poet, Soo Sung, of the same period, -praises the beauty of the plant, which he speaks of as being grown -everywhere in China. I am not a Chinese scholar, but I have high authority -for these statements. You will thus clearly perceive that opium is a -native plant, that its various uses have for many centuries been known to -the Chinese, and that the British are in no way responsible for the -introduction of opium into China, much less for the practice of smoking -the drug. - -I have mentioned Mr. W. Donald Spence as one of Her Majesty's Consuls in -China. Now, every foreign resident in that country knows who and what -those consular gentlemen are; but I do not think the public here in -England are equally well informed upon the subject, because it is only -natural that they should confound them with the ordinary British Consuls -at the European and American ports; but that would be a very great -mistake, for the two sets of Consuls form quite distinct and separate -bodies. The Consuls at the latter ports are no doubt highly respectable -gentlemen, often indeed, men who have distinguished themselves in science -and literature, or in the army or navy, but still they are simply -commercial agents of the British Government, and no more, having little or -no diplomatic or other duties to discharge. The Consular Service of China -stands upon a totally different footing. In this country Her Majesty's -Consuls are not only commercial agents, but are trained diplomatists, -entering the service in the first instance as cadets, after passing most -difficult competitive examinations. They are always Chinese scholars, many -of them holding high rank as such. The Consuls have very important -diplomatic duties to discharge, and have also magisterial duties to -perform towards their countrymen in China, all of which demand qualities -of a high order, and which only superior education and careful training -enable them to discharge. England has acquired by treaty ex-territorial -rights, as regards her own subjects, in the ports of China thrown open to -her commerce, known as "Treaty ports," the most important of which are the -exclusive right to hear and determine all civil and criminal cases against -British subjects. These onerous and important duties are performed by Her -Majesty's Consuls at those ports. These gentlemen, indeed, have more power -in many respects than is possessed by the Queen's Ambassadors and -Ministers Plenipotentiary at the various Courts in Europe. They have, in -fact, all the powers now vested in the Judges of Her Majesty's High Court -of Judicature here in England, as well as the powers possessed by the -Judges of the Admiralty, Probate, and Bankruptcy Courts. Further, and in -addition to all these multifarious duties, they are Her Majesty's special -commercial agents at these treaty ports, with the usual jurisdiction over -British ships, their officers, and crew. It is, therefore, a matter of the -first necessity that the persons in whom such tremendous powers are placed -should not only be gentlemen of the very highest characters and assured -abilities, but men of superior education specially trained to fill these -important positions and discharge the varied and onerous duties -appertaining to them. Such are the present British Consuls in China, and -such they have been in the past. There is not, I believe, in this or any -other country, a more highly-educated, intelligent, and efficient body of -men to be found. If any proof of these high qualities is required, it will -be furnished in the fact that notwithstanding the difficult, delicate, and -onerous duties cast upon them, no instance of their abuse of these powers -has ever occurred. I certainly know of none. I am only here stating, I -assure you, what is actually true. It has, indeed, always been to me a -marvel that no complaints--no political entanglements, no troubles--have -arisen from the abnormal state of things arising out of our commercial and -political relations with China, and the extraordinary and exceptional -powers necessarily entrusted to our Consular Agents in that Empire in -consequence. We can now look back, after a quarter of a century of -experience, and congratulate ourselves that all our complicated machinery -has worked so well, that no clouds obscure the vista, and that our present -position in China is one of serenity and sunshine; that we stand upon the -very best terms with the Chinese Government from the central authority at -Peking to all its ramifications throughout the vast empire. Nothing, in -fact, blurs the landscape, save the miserable opium phantom created by our -own countrymen, the missionaries, and magnified to a monster of large -dimensions by the "Chinese jugglers," who here in England keep the -machinery of the Anti-Opium Society in motion. These happy results are due -to Her Majesty's Diplomatic and Consular Service in China, controlled by -Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in England. -And here I cannot but remind you of that distinguished veteran statesman -Sir Rutherford Alcock, formerly Her Majesty's Minister to the Court of -Peking, to whose wise and far-seeing policy much of the present happy -relations with China is due. There is not an English resident in China -who cannot bear testimony to the splendid talents and genuine patriotism -which has marked his career in that vast and interesting country. There is -no greater authority living upon Anglo-Chinese affairs than he, especially -as regards the period of the famous treaty of Tientsin, some of whose -testimony on these points I will lay before you. After a long and -honourable career he is now in England enjoying his well-earned repose, -and is, happily, a powerful living witness to the fallacies I am now -trying to efface. - -Now, one of the ablest and most accomplished men at present in the -Diplomatic and Consular Service of China is Mr. W. Donald Spence, Her -Majesty's Consul at Ichang, a port on the Yangtze, to whom I have before -shortly referred. This gentleman, in the year 1881, paid a visit to -Chungking, the commercial capital of Szechuan in Western China. Whilst -there he availed himself of the opportunity to make inquiries and -investigations into the commercial products of that immense province, and -especially into the cultivation of native opium, the extent and condition -of opium culture in Western China, and the attitude respecting it of the -Chinese Government, and on the effect of opium smoking on the people of -those provinces where it appears that habit is all but universal. It was -his especial duty to make these investigations. No better proof could be -produced as to the abilities of this gentleman than this valuable document -on the subject presented by him to Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of -State for Foreign Affairs which Mr. Spence, in his covering letter to Lord -Granville modestly styles "his Report on the Trade of the Port of Ichang -for the Year 1881." If anyone will read the whole of this Report--and it -will well repay careful perusal--he will pronounce it, I think, one of the -ablest and most admirable State papers that have ever been penned. In -giving you some extracts from it I will, therefore, ask you to treat the -author of it, not as a mere hireling, having an interest in certain -matters which it is desirable to place in a particular light, as the -agents of the Anti-Opium Society would, no doubt, have you believe, but as -the honest statement of an upright, high-minded, honourable English -gentleman, of superior talents and a cultivated mind, who values truth -above everything, who can have no other object in the matter but to do -what is honest, just, and right, and who on this question of opium smoking -tells the truth and nothing but the truth to Her Majesty's Minister. This -is what he says as to the cultivation of the poppy in Szechuan:-- - - Of all the products of Szechuan, the most important nowadays is native - opium. In September last year it was my fortune to be sent on the - public service to the commercial metropolis of Szechuan, Chungking. I - was four months in the province. In the course of that time I visited - parts of the great opium country, questioned many people regarding - opium culture, consumption, and export, and carefully noted the - observations and conclusions on these subjects come to by Mr. Colborne - Baber and Mr. E. H. Parker during their official residence there, with - a view to giving, as far as possible, exact information in my Trade - Report on a matter of great commercial, and no little political, - interest at the present moment. The cultivation of the poppy is - carried on in every district of Szechuan except those on the west - frontier, but most of all in the Prefectures of Chungking Fu and - Kweichow Fu. In all the districts of Chungking Fu, south of the - Yang-tsze, and in some of the districts of Kweichow Fu, north of that - river, it is the principal crop, and, in parts, the only winter crop - for scores upon scores of square miles. The headquarters of the trade - are at the city of Fuchow, in the first of these prefectures, and, in - a considerably less degree, at Fengtu, a district city in Kweichow Fu. - Baron Richthofen, writing in 1872, says that the poppy then was - cultivated only on hill slopes of an inferior soil, but one sees it - now on land of all kinds, both hill and valley. Baron Richthofen - himself anticipates this change when he says:--"The Government may at - some time or other reduce the very heavy restrictions, and if Szechuan - opium then should be able to command its present price at Hankow, the - consequence would be an immediate increase in the area planted with - the poppy." Since he wrote, the area given to the poppy has much - increased, though not from the cause alleged. Being a winter crop, it - does not interfere with rice, the food staple of the people, - displacing only subsidiary crops, such as wheat, beans, and the like. - When it is planted in paddy and bottom lands, which nowadays is often - the case, it is gathered in time to allow rice or some other crop to - follow. It can hardly be said of Szechuan that the cultivation of - opium seriously interferes with food supplies. The supply of rice - remains the same, and the opium produced, less the value of the crops - it replaces, is so much additional wealth to the province. - - I shall presently show that opium is a more remunerative crop than its - only possible substitutes, beans or wheat, and no per-centage of the - opium crop being due to the landlord, its cultivation has been greatly - stimulated in consequence. Of late years, however, in the districts I - have named as being in winter one vast poppy-field, owners of land - have become alive to the value to occupiers of the opium crop, and - have stipulated for a share of it in addition to their share of the - summer crop. Rents, in fact, where opium is in universal cultivation, - have practically doubled. Before leaving the subject of tenure, I may - add that, in the event of non-payment of rent from causes other than - deficient harvests, the landlord helps himself to the deposit in his - hands. In bad years remissions are willingly made by the Government to - owners of the land-tax, and by owners to occupiers of the - rent-produce. - -Now you will remember that this very province of Szechuan, where such -extensive cultivation of the poppy is carried on, is the largest and most -distant of all the provinces of China; it is one of the westernmost of the -eighteen provinces of the empire, being bordered on the west by Thibet. -Until quite recently Szechuan was about as accessible to Englishmen as -Moscow was fifty years ago, a _terra incognita_, in fact, to Europeans, so -that it cannot be pretended for one moment that the introduction into -China of Indian opium has had anything to do with the cultivation of the -drug there. Indian opium could hardly ever have found its way into the -province, which is not less than one thousand two hundred miles from the -sea. It is only since the opening of the port of Ichang in the adjoining -province of Hupeh, which took place in April 1877, that the district has -become at all accessible. But let us return to Mr. W. Donald Spence. This -is another extract from his report:-- - - The poppy is now grown on all kinds of land, hill slopes, terraced - fields, paddy and bottom lands in the valleys. Since 1872, when Baron - Richthofen visited the province, a great change has taken place in - this respect, for it appears to have been cultivated then on hill - lands only. All the country people whom I asked were agreed that opium - is most profitably grown on good land with liberal manuring. In India - it is best grown on rich soil near villages where manure can be easily - obtained, and the Szechuan cultivator has found this out for himself. - Poppy cultivation, as practised in Szechuan, is very simple. As soon - as the summer crop is reaped the land is ploughed and cleaned, roots - and weeds are heaped and burnt, and the ashes scattered over the - ground; dressings of night soil are liberally given. The seeds are - sown in December, in drills a foot and a half apart. In January, when - the plants are a few inches high, the rows are thinned and earthed up - so as to leave a free passage between each: the plants are then left - to take care of themselves, the earth round them being occasionally - stirred up and kept clear of weeds. In March and April, according to - situation, the poppy blooms. In the low grounds the white poppy is by - far the most common, but red and purple are also grown. As the - capsules form and fill, dressings of liquid manure are given. In April - and May the capsules are slit and the juice extracted. The raw juice - evaporates into the crude opium of commerce increasing in value as it - decreases in weight. - -Mr. Spence then goes on to compare the value of the wheat with the opium -crop, showing that the cultivation of the latter is just twice as -profitable as the former. Space will not allow me to give you full -extracts on this subject, but, as some portion of it is germane to this -part of my lecture, I give a short extract on the point:-- - - It must be remembered, too, that every single part of the poppy plant - has a market value. The capsules, after the juice has been extracted, - are sold to druggists, and made into medicine; oil is expressed from - the seeds, and largely used for lighting and adulterating edible oils; - the oil-cake left in the oil-press is good manure, as are also the - leaves; and the stalks are burnt for potash. Against these advantages - opium is subject to a rent, and requires, for profitable cultivation, - plenty of manure; whereas wheat, when followed by a summer crop, pays - little or no rent, and gets, in general, no manure. Into the relative - profits of opium and wheat both Mr. Baber and Mr. Parker have gone - very carefully, and their results correspond, in the main, with my own - observations. - -I will now give you a short account of opium-culture in the province of -Yunnan, a more inaccessible part of China still perhaps than Szechuan. Mr. -E. Colborne Baber, like Mr. Spence, belongs to the diplomatic service, and -is now the secretary of the British Legation at Peking. All that I have -stated as to Mr. Spence applies alike to him. He is a gentleman in whom -the most implicit confidence should be placed. In 1877 he travelled -through Western Szechuan, having, in his own words, on the morning of the -8th July in that year, passed the western gate of Ch'ung-Ch'ung "full of -the pleasurable anticipations which precede a plunge into the unknown." -Having finished his journey through Szechuan, he struck into Yunnan, -following the route of Mr. Grosvenor's mission. He has recounted his -adventures in a most valuable and interesting book, written in such a -pleasing and graphic style, that the reader, when looking at it for -reference only, is irresistibly compelled to read further. His book has -been published by the Royal Geographical Society, and is well worthy of -general perusal. It is one of the few readable books of travel to be met -with nowadays. There is very little respecting opium culture in the -volume, but what there is upon the subject is very much to the point. This -is what he says:-- - - Of the sole agricultural export, opium, we can speak with some - certainty. We were astounded at the extent of the poppy cultivation - both in Szechuan and Yunnan. We first heard of it on the boundary line - between Hupah and Szechuan, in a cottage which appears in an - illustration given in the work of Captain Blakiston, the highest - cottage on the right of the sketch. A few miles south of this spot - the most valuable variety of native opium is produced. - - In ascending the river, wherever cultivation existed we found numerous - fields of poppy. Even the sandy banks were often planted with it down - to the water's edge: but it was not until we began our land journey in - Yunnan that we fairly realised the enormous extent of its production. - With some fear of being discredited, but at the same time with a - consciousness that I am under-estimating-the production, I estimate - that the poppy-fields constitute a third of the whole cultivation of - Yunnan. - - We saw the gradual process of its growth, from the appearance of the - young spikelets above ground in January, or earlier, to the full - luxuriance of the red, white, and purple flowers, which were already - falling in May. In that month the farmers were trying the juice, but - we did not see the harvest gathered. We walked some hundreds of miles - through poppies; we breakfasted among poppies; we shot wild ducks in - the poppies. Even wretched little hovels in the mountains were - generally attended by a poppy patch. - - The ducks, called locally "opium ducks," which frequently supplied us - with a meal, do really appear, as affirmed by the natives, to stupefy - themselves by feeding on the narcotic vegetable. We could walk openly - up to within twenty yards of them, and even then they rose very - languidly. We are not, however, compelled to believe, with the - natives, that the flesh of these birds is so impregnated with laudanum - as to exercise a soporific influence on the consumer. They are found - in great numbers in the plain of Tung-ch'uan, in Northern Yunnan, and - turn out to be the _Tadorna vulpanser_. - - In the same district, and in no other, we met with the _Grus cinerea_, - an imposing bird, which is also a frequenter of opium-fields. - - The poppy appeared to us to thrive in every kind of soil, from the low - sandy borders of the Yang-tyu to the rocky heights of Western Yunnan; - but it seemed more at home, or at any rate was more abundant, in the - marshy valleys near Yung-ch'uan, at an elevation of seven thousand and - sixty feet (seven thousand one hundred and fifty feet according to - Garnier). - - I am not concerned here with the projects or prospects of the Society - for the Abolition of Opium: _if, however, they desire to give the - strongest impetus to its growth in Yunnan, let them by all means - discourage its production in India_. - -Now I have given you some very important evidence upon the two fallacies -before us; but perhaps, after all, the best testimony upon the subject is -that of Mr. Turner himself. He says, at page 13 of his book:-- - - "Everywhere, in all climates, on every soil, in every variety and - condition of circumstances throughout that vast empire, the Chinese - smoke opium, but nowhere do they all smoke. The smokers are but a - per-centage, greater or smaller in different places." - -I quite agree with him on this point. But here the question arises, where -is the drug procured which is smoked in every part of the eighteen -provinces of this vast Empire, equal in extent to Europe? Surely not from -abroad, because that great China authority, Sir Robert Hart, tells us in -his Yellow Book that all the Indian and Persian opium imported into China -is sufficient only to supply one third of one per cent. of the population -with a small portion annually of the drug. Not from India, because there -are many provinces in China--and a province there means a territory as -large as Great Britain--into which a particle of the Indian drug has -seldom or never been introduced. Whence, then, comes the great bulk of the -drug to satisfy all these smokers? Surely it must be from Chinese soil, -from the opium fields surrounding their own homes, which are to be seen in -every province of the Empire. - -Let us now return to the Yellow-book of Sir Robert Hart, to which I have -referred in the former lecture, and which seems to me to afford all the -evidence on this subject that is really wanted. It is admitted on both -sides that opium smoking is more or less prevalent throughout every -province of China, on every soil, whether in the valleys or on the hills -and mountains. Sir Robert Hart sent out a circular to the foreign -Commissioners of Customs at all the Treaty Ports in China, Hainan, and -Formosa,--two large islands lying respectively off the south and -south-east coast of China,--and the returns show that there are many -opium-smoking shops in each of these Treaty Ports, and that the gross -quantity of Indian and other foreign opium imported into China is about -one hundred thousand chests. Those returns also reveal the fact that in -almost every case foreign opium is used for mixing with the native drug, -which is of inferior quality and, there can be no doubt, invariably -adulterated; that a large amount of native opium is grown and sold; and -that the custom of opium smoking is more or less universal. Suppose we -take the case of Canton, as being a very large city. We may find, perhaps, -two or three hundred opium shops there, but the people who attend them are -not the better class of Chinese. They are exactly the same class of people -who frequent the drinking shops of London and other large cities in -England. The respectable, well-to-do people in Canton, who can afford to -keep the drug in their own houses, would not enter an opium shop any more -than a respectable person here would frequent a public-house. If a -stranger in London looked into the public-houses and saw men and women -drinking there, he would come to a false conclusion if he thought that -none but such people drank beer, spirits, or wine. We know that in almost -every private house here there is more or less liquor of all kinds kept -and consumed. The drinking shops furnish a mere indication of the amount -of alcoholic liquors drunk in a town. It is exactly the same with the -opium shops. They show the prevalence of the custom throughout the -country. If you find two hundred opium shops in Canton, and I am sure -there are not fewer there, you may be not less certain that opium is -smoked in the great majority of private and business houses in Canton. It -is the same in all the Treaty Ports. The opium-smoking shops in China may -be counted by hundreds and thousands, because China is as large as Europe, -and more populous. - -Sir Robert Hart's Report, although to a certain extent an anti-opium one, -is in this and other respects very valuable, and forms in itself a -complete answer to the false and unfounded allegations of the Anti-Opium -Society. It is not likely that he would exaggerate the amount of opium -grown or smoked in China; the inference, indeed, would be that he, as an -official of the Chinese Government, would do just the contrary. There are -a great many other important ports in China besides the twenty ports with -which foreigners are not allowed to trade, and from which, indeed, they -are rigidly excluded; and in the interior of the country there are immense -and numerous cities and towns, large, thriving and densely populated, -where the opium pipe is used as freely as the tobacco pipe is with us. The -provinces in which opium is most grown are Szechuan and Yun-Nan, two of -the largest of the eighteen provinces constituting China proper. They are -the two great western provinces; but it is also grown in the eastern and -central provinces, in fact, more or less, all over the country. Though -there are no certain statistics, there cannot be a doubt that opium -smoking is more prevalent in the interior provinces than on the coast, -because it is there that the most opium is grown, and it is but reasonable -to infer that where opium is largely cultivated, especially in a country -like China, having no railroads, and few ordinary roads, there you will -find it to be most cheap and abundant, and therefore most consumed. Upon -this point I would refer to a most authoritative work by the late lamented -Captain Gill, R.E.,[6] whose barbarous murder the whole country deplored. -At page 235 of vol. ii. Captain Gill says:-- - - As we had such vague ideas of the distance before us we were anxious - to make an early start, but we were now in Yunnan, the province of - China in which there is more opium smoked than in any other, and in - which it is proportionately difficult to move the people in the - morning. There is a Chinese proverb to the effect that there is an - opium pipe in every house in the province of Kweichow, but one in - every room in Yunnan, which means that men and women smoke opium - universally. - -That is the report of a man who was not only a sagacious and close -observer of all that he saw in his interesting journey, but who was wholly -impartial and disinterested on the subject of opium smoking. Sir Robert -Hart does not purport to give in this book correct returns of the quantity -of opium smoked or imported, much less of the quantity grown in China. The -replies of his subordinates at the different ports, many of them seven -hundred or a thousand miles apart, all concur in speaking of the great -difficulties they had in getting any figures at all. They are, therefore, -not to be taken as absolutely trustworthy, and Sir Robert candidly admits -that they are mere approximations. Before I had seen his book I had made a -calculation of the probable number of opium smokers in China, on the -assumption that the population of China proper was three hundred and sixty -millions, and that the custom was universal, limited only by the means of -procuring the drug; and I arrived at the conclusion that there were in -China three millions of habitual smokers, and about the same number of -occasional smokers. Mr. Lennox Simpson, Commissioner at Chefoo, in reply -to Sir Robert Hart's circular, says, at page 13 of the Yellow Book: - - Much difficulty has been experienced in eliciting answers to the - various questions put to the native opium shops and others, all - viewing with suspicion any inquiries made, evidently fearing that some - prohibition is about to be put on the trade, or that their interests - are in some way to suffer. _Hence some of the figures given in the - return can scarcely be considered reliable, although every pains has - been taken to collect information._ - -These commissioners are all gentlemen of good standing and education, and -they have a great many subordinates under them, so that they possess means -of collecting information such as no foreigner, not engaged in the public -service of China, could possibly command. Mr. Francis W. White, the -Commissioner at Hankow, replied: - - Owing to the entire absence of all reliable figures, the amount of - opium put down as produced within the province and within the empire - yearly, must be taken as approximate only. I have been careful to - collect information from various sources, and this has been as - carefully compared and verified as means will allow. - -Mr. Holwell, the Commissioner at Kiukiang, wrote: - - The total quantity of unprepared native opium, said to be produced - yearly in the province of Kiangsi, I find it next to impossible to - ascertain with any degree of certainty. Native testimony differs. - -I will point out by-and-by the reason why these returns are so unreliable. -The most extraordinary of them all are the returns of Mr. E. B. Drew, the -Commissioner at Ningpo, and Mr. H. Edgar, the Commissioner at Ichang. The -former estimates the entire quantity of native opium grown and consumed in -China at two hundred and sixty-five thousand chests, the latter at only -twenty-five thousand--less than a tenth of Mr. Drew's estimate. In the -face of all these discrepancies, Sir Robert Hart takes an arbitrary -figure, and says, in effect, there is at least as much opium produced in -China itself as is imported into China. With the knowledge I have of the -Chinese and the opium trade generally, from the calculations I have made, -and by the light thrown upon the question by Sir Robert Hart's Yellow -Book, and the Reports of Messrs. Spence and Baber and others, I am induced -to come to the conclusion that two hundred and sixty-five thousand chests -is much nearer the mark than a hundred thousand chests. - -The reason the Chinese opium dealers have been so reticent in affording -information to the Commissioners of Customs at these Treaty Ports is, that -they are afraid to do so, fearing if they gave correct information, they -might in so doing furnish to the Mandarins reasons for "squeezing" them, -or for placing taxes and other restrictions on their trade; for the -Government officials in China, from the highest to the lowest, are, as I -have before said, the most corrupt, cruel, and unscrupulous body of men -in the whole world. Mr. Storrs Turner has told us that the Chinese -Government is a paternal one, exercising a fatherly care of its people, -and always exhorting them to virtue. Nothing can be more fallacious than -this. Theoretically, there is much that is good in the system of -government in China, but practically it is quite the reverse. There is -little sympathy between the supreme Government and the great body of the -people. The Emperor, his family, and immediate suite, are all Tartars, -quite another race from the Chinese, differing totally in customs, -manners, dress, and social habits. The Governors or Viceroys are pretty -much absolute sovereigns within their own provinces. Each has under him a -host of officials, commonly known as Mandarins, who are generally the most -rapacious and corrupt of men; their salaries, in most cases, are purely -nominal, for they are expected to pay themselves, which they well -understand how to do. Their system of taxation is irregular and -incomplete, and the process of squeezing is openly followed all over the -country. There is nothing a Chinese dreads so much as disclosing his -pecuniary means, or, indeed, any information that might furnish a clue to -them. If he admitted that he cultivated fifty acres of opium, or bought a -hundred pikuls of opium in a year, his means and his profits could be -arrived at by a simple process of arithmetic, and although he might feel -sure that, so far as Sir Robert Hart and the foreign Commissioners under -him were concerned, no wrong need be apprehended, yet he is so distrustful -and suspicious, that he would fear lest the facts should reach the ears of -the higher Chinese officials through the native subordinates in the -Commissioners' Offices. - -A Chinaman, therefore, will never tell the amount or value of his -property, or the profits he is making by his business. He fears being -plundered; that is the simple fact. I know a respectable man in Hong Kong, -the possessor of considerable house property there, a man who would be -called wealthy even in England. Some years ago, when at Canton, where he -had a house, a Mandarin suddenly arrested and put him into prison. What a -Chinese prison is you will find in Dr. Gray's book. It is not the place -where a paternal Government ought to house the worst of criminals, or even -a wild beast. The man had committed no crime, and had done nothing -whatever to warrant this treatment; in vain he asked what he had been -imprisoned for, and demanded to be confronted with his accusers, if there -were any. His gaolers shrugged their shoulders and gave him no answer. He -was kept there for two or three months. Ultimately he received a hint, -which he recognized as an official intimation, that unless he came down -handsomely, as the phrase is, and that speedily, he would lose his head. -He took the hint, made the best bargain he could, and ultimately had to -pay seventy thousand dollars, or about fourteen thousand pounds, for his -release. There never was any accusation brought against him. - -I knew another man, living at Swatow, who had made a great deal of money -in trade. He bought a large piece of foreshore at that place, which he -reclaimed and turned into profitable land. A military Mandarin living -there thought him a fair object for a squeeze; the same process was gone -through as in the case I have before mentioned; but this man, not having -the same wisdom as the other, held fast to his dollars. The result was -that a false charge of kidnapping, alleged to have been committed twenty -years before, was brought against him, and he was taken out and beheaded. -That is the way money is raised by the governors and their subordinates in -China. So much for Mr. Turner's benign and paternal Government. There is -no regular Income Tax in China, but there is a Property Tax levied in the -way I have mentioned. The Chinese authorities will let a man go on making -money for many years, and when they think he has accumulated sufficient -wealth for their purpose, they pounce down upon him and demand as much as -they think they can extort. That is the reason the Chinese opium dealers -are so reticent when inquiries are made concerning opium. If the -Commissioners at the Treaty Ports had got fair returns, I have no doubt -that it is not a hundred thousand pikuls of native opium that Sir Robert -Hart would have estimated as the quantity of opium grown in China, but -probably four or five times that amount. - -Here, again, I must quote from Mr. Spence's report. Nothing can possibly -show better the prevalence of opium smoking in the provinces of Szechuan -and Yunnan and Hupah, they being about equal in extent to France, Spain, -and Portugal. This is what he says on the prevalence of opium smoking in -those provinces:-- - - Before giving an estimate of the amount of opium produced in Szechuan, - I must refer, in explanation of the large figures I shall be obliged - to use, to the extraordinary prevalence of the habit of opium smoking - in Western Hupei, in Szechuan, and in Yunnan. It prevails to an extent - undreamt of in other parts of China. The Roman Catholic missionaries, - who are stationed all over Szechuan to the number of nearly one - hundred, and who, living amongst the people, have opportunities of - observation denied to travellers, estimate that one-tenth of the whole - male adult population of the province smoke opium. Mr. Parker, after - travelling all over the thickly-settled parts of the province, - estimates the proportion of smokers thus:-- - - Per cent. - Labourers and small farmers 10 - Small shopkeepers 20 - Hawkers, soldiers 30 - Merchants, gentry 80 - Officials and their staffs 90 - Actors, prostitutes, thieves, vagabonds 95 - - I agree with Mr. Parker that the proportion of smokers varies in - different classes according to their means and leisure, but I feel - sure his estimate of the per-centage amongst the labouring classes is - much too low. One of the most numerous class of labourers in China is - the coolie class, day labourers who live by picking up odd jobs, - turning their hands to any kind of unskilled work that may be offered. - Certainly more than half of them smoke. Of the labouring classes who - are not "coolies," as a whole this much may be said--they only have - money at stated intervals; and when out of a gang of forty or fifty - workmen or sailors only four or five smoke opium, it does not mean - that only ten per cent. are smokers. In all probability half of the - whole gang squandered their wages the day they got the money, and have - nothing left to buy opium or anything else until the job or voyage for - which they have been engaged is finished. - - For example, of my junk crew on my voyage to Chungking, only four - smoked opium regularly, but seven others who had spent all their wages - before we started smoked whenever I gave them a few cash. The total - abstinence of a British sailor at sea for months on end proves - nothing; it is what he will do when he has ten pounds in his pocket, - and is in a street with fifteen public-houses, that decides his - sobriety. So of workmen in the west of China, a large number smoke - opium when they have money, and do the best they can when they have - none. Whatever be the exact per-centage of the opium smokers in - Szechuan in the whole population, it is many times larger than in the - east. - -Now, after all this absolutely irrefutable testimony, many might think it -unnecessary to go further. They little know, however, how strong a hold -fanaticism takes of the human mind; they little think how difficult it is -to eradicate a fascinating LIE from the mind, once its glittering -meretricious form has got hold of it and supplanted wholesome truth. I -have, therefore, to deal not only with those whose minds are as a sheet of -white paper, but with those in whom the fallacious seeds that beget error -and fanaticism have been sown and taken firm root. I will now give you an -extract from Sir Rutherford Alcock's paper, which is deserving of careful -study:-- - - I may say here, that although most of the staple arguments and - misleading opinions on opium and its disastrous effects come from the - missionaries in China, whose good faith I do not question, there is no - stronger protest against exaggerated and sensational statements on - record than has been supplied by one of their number, the late Dr. - Medhurst, of whom it has been truly said, he was "one of the most - able, experienced, zealous missionaries in China." Opposed in - principle to the opium trade in all its aspects, his statements will - be readily accepted as unimpeachable evidence. The following remark - appears in an official paper, forwarded to the Chief Superintendent of - Trade of Hong Kong in 1855. Alluding to a speech of an American - missionary who had visited England, and was reported to have told the - British public "that the smokers of the contraband article have - increased from eight to fifteen millions, yielding an annual death - harvest of more than a million," and further characterizing the - traffic as "staining the British name in China with the deepest - disgrace," Dr. Medhurst observes, "_such statements do great harm; - they produce a fictitious and groundless excitement in the minds of - the religious and philanthropic public at home, while they steel - against all reasonable and moderate representations the minds of the - political and mercantile body abroad. The estimate given has not even - the semblance of truth; it is an outrageous exaggeration._" And yet in - a memorial presented to Lord Clarendon by two distinguished and justly - respected noblemen, the Earls of Shaftesbury and Chichester, on the - extent of the opium trade in 1855, these, and still more "outrageous - exaggerations" appear with the authority of their names. Lord - Shaftesbury officializes the estimate that twenty millions of Chinese - are opium smokers, and assumes that of this number one-tenth, that is, - two millions, die yearly, and states it as "an appalling fact." - Appalling, indeed! But what if it be a mere figment of the - imagination, and absolutely devoid, as Dr. Medhurst says, of a - semblance of truth? - -This is the way the benevolent British public have been cajoled and misled -for the last twenty years, or more, by opium-phobists. No wonder that the -Anti-Opium Society can raise fifty thousand pounds so easily, for the -British public is a benevolent one, and will subscribe its gold readily -where what they believe a proper object presents itself. Sad, indeed it -is, that in the present case its munificence represents, not merely so -much money lost, but vast sums recklessly squandered in a mischievous -agitation, that whilst it tends to sap and ruin one of the loveliest of -all virtues--that charity that endureth long and is kind--paralyses -missionary labour, prejudices the trade and revenue of our great Indian -Empire, and defames our country in the eyes of the whole world. Sad, sad -also to see that venerated nobleman, Lord Shaftesbury, after his long and -honourable career, and so many other good and eminent men, made the -victims of such miserable delusions. - -I think it is now clear, both from the testimony I have adduced, and from -Mr. Turner's own admission, that the poppy is not only indigenous to -China, but that it has been cultivated there from time immemorial, and -that opium is smoked generally throughout China, the only limit to its use -being the means of procuring the drug. - - - - -LECTURE III. - - -In my last lecture I dealt with the fallacy that the poppy is not -indigenous to China, but has recently been introduced there presumably by -British agency, and that opium smoking in China was confined to a small -percentage of the people, which had been steadily increasing since the -introduction into China of Indian opium. - -I now proceed to discuss fallacy number 3, which is, that "_opium smoking -is injurious to the system, more so than spirit drinking_." I think I -shall be able to show most clearly that exactly the reverse is the case. -With this it will be convenient to take fallacy number 5, which is a -kindred one, namely, that "_opium smoking and opium eating are equally -hurtful_." This fallacy lies at the root of the opium controversy, for it -alone has enabled the Anti-Opium agitators to give plausibility to their -teaching and to obtain some hold, as they lately had, upon the public -mind. There is, in truth, about as much difference in the two practices as -there is between drinking, say, a pint of ardent spirits and bathing the -surface of one's body with the same stimulant. Before proceeding further, -it may be stated that opium is admitted by physicians in all countries to -be an invaluable medicine, for which there is no known substitute. Mr. -Storrs Turner says that from the time of Hippocrates to the present day it -has been the physician's invaluable ally in his struggles against disease -and death. - -Pereira thus describes the drug:-- - - Opium is undoubtedly the most important and valuable remedy of the - whole Materia Medica. For other medicines we have one or more - substitutes, but for opium none,--at least in the large majority of - cases in which its peculiar and beneficial influence is required. Its - good effects are not, as is the case with some valuable medicines, - remote and contingent, but they are immediate, direct, and obvious, - and its operation is not attended with pain or discomfort. Furthermore - it is applied, and with the greatest success, to the relief of - maladies of everyday occurrence, some of which are attended with acute - human suffering. - -This is the description given of opium in Dr. Quain's _Dictionary of -Medicine_ recently published:-- - - Opium and morphia naturally stand first and still hold their place as - our most potent and reliable narcotics, all the more valuable because - almost alone in their class they are also endowed with powerful - anodyne action, in virtue of which they may relieve pain without - causing sleep. Valuable as it is in all forms of insomnia, opium is - especially indicated in typhus fever and other acute disorders, when - delirium and prolonged wakefulness seem to endanger life. The - principal drawback to opium is the digestive disturbance following its - use, and the fact that, as toleration is very rapidly established, - gradually increasing doses are needed to check the counteracting - influence of habit. - -The Anti-Opium Society and their followers allege that dram-drinking is -not only less baneful than opium-smoking, but they say that the latter -practice so injures the constitution, and has such extraordinary -attractions for those who indulge in it, that it is impossible to get rid -of the habit, and that, in effect, whilst drunkards can be reformed, opium -smokers cannot. This is absolutely untrue. The reverse is much nearer the -mark. The effect upon the system of constant spirit drinking, leaving -actual drunkenness and its consequences aside, is that it produces organic -changes in the system, by acting upon what medical men call the -"microscopic tissues," of which the whole human frame is made up; also -poisoning the blood, which then, instead of being a healthy fluid coursing -freely through the frame and invigorating the entire system, flows -sluggishly, producing organic changes in the blood vessels, inducing -various diseases according to the constitution and tendencies of the -individual. Three of the most usual diseases to which the habitual dram -drinker is subject are liver disease, fatty degeneration of the heart, and -paralysis. There is not a medical student of three months' experience who -could not, if you entered a dissecting-room, point you out a "drunkard's -liver." The moment he sees that object he knows at once that the wretched -being to whom it belonged had, by continued indulgence in alcohol, ruined -his constitution and health, and brought himself to an untimely end. There -is another serious consequence arising from habitual drinking. Not only -does the habit irreparably ruin the general health so that cure is -impossible, but it induces insanity, and I believe I am not beyond the -mark in stating that fifty per cent. at the least of the lunatics in our -various asylums throughout the country have become insane from -over-indulgence in alcohol. Dr. Pereira, in his celebrated _Materia -Medica_, states that out of one hundred and ten cases occurring in male -patients admitted into the Hanwell Lunatic Asylum in 1840, no fewer than -thirty-one were ascribed to intemperance, while thirty-four were referred -to combined causes of which intemperance was stated to be one; and yet Mr. -Turner and his disciples say that spirit drinking is a lesser vice than -opium smoking! - -I need not remind you of the consequences to others besides the actual -victims to spirit drinking, for that is unfortunately told too eloquently -and but too vividly brought before us every day in the public newspapers. -You will find that those acts of violence, those unfortunate cases that -make one shudder to read, happening daily in this country--kicking wives, -sometimes to death, beating and otherwise ill-using helpless children, -violently attacking unoffending people in the streets--all are the -results, more or less, of spirit drinking. Even the missionaries admit -that opium smoking does not produce any of these evils. As I have said -before, truth is natural to the human mind, and will reveal itself, even -where it is not directly relevant to the purpose. Mr. Turner does not -venture to dispute this in his book, and I would call your attention to -the passage. He says on page 33:-- - - Even between drunkenness and opium smoking there are perceptible - distinctions. We must allow that opium smoking is a much more pacific - and polite vice. The opium sot does not quarrel with his mate nor kick - his wife to death; he is quiet and harmless enough while the spirit of - the drug possesses him. - -That is all true so far as the fact goes, but if an insinuation is -intended that the Chinaman gets violent after the effect of the drug has -passed away, there is no foundation for it in fact. The Chinaman takes -opium just because he likes it, and knowing it will act at once as a -pleasing sedative and a harmless stimulant. A man who is working hard all -day in a tropical climate, whether at bodily or mental work, finds, -towards the close of the day, his nervous system in an unsettled state, -and looks for a stimulant, and the most harmless and most effectual one he -can find is the opium pipe. When opium and opium smoking are better -understood--and I believe the subject is now but imperfectly known by most -medical men in this country--I feel convinced that the faculty will -largely prescribe opium smoking, not merely as a substitute for dram -drinking, but as a curative agency, that in many cases will be found -invaluable. In this I am borne out by an eminent medical authority, to -whom I shall refer by-and-by. The regular and habitual opium smoker is -seldom or never found to indulge in spirits at all. Stimulants of all -kinds are so freely taken here that people never look upon them as a -poison; but in point of fact they are a terrible poison, and a very active -one, too. Another medical work of very great authority is that by Dr. -Taylor.[7] It has always received the greatest attention in courts of law; -and it is also held in the highest estimation by the medical profession. -At page 315, under the head of "Poisoning by Alcohol," he says:-- - - The stomach has been found intensely congested or inflamed, the mucous - membrane presenting in one case a bright red, and in another a dark - red-brown colour. When death has taken place rapidly, there may be a - peculiar odour of spirits in the contents; but this will not be - perceived if the quantity taken was small, or many hours have elapsed - before the inspection is made. The brain and its membranes are found - congested, and in some instances there is effusion of blood or serum - beneath the inner membrane. In a case observed by Dr. Geoghegan, in - which a pint of spirits had been taken and proved fatal in eight - hours, black extravasation was found on the mucous membrane of the - stomach; but no trace of alcohol could be detected in the contents. - The action of a strong alcoholic liquid on the mucous membrane of the - stomach so closely resembles the effect produced by arsenic and other - irritants, as easily to give rise to the suspicion of mineral irritant - poisoning. A drawing in the museum collection of Guy's Hospital - furnishes a good illustration of the local action of alcohol. The - whole of the mucous membrane of the stomach is highly corrugated and - is of a deep brownish-red colour. _Of all the liquids affecting the - brain this has the most powerful action on the stomach._ A case of - alcoholic poisoning of a child, aet. seven, referred to me by Mr. - Jackaman, coroner for Ipswich, in July 1863, will serve to show the - correctness of this remark. A girl was found at four o'clock in the - morning lying perfectly insensible on the floor. She had had access to - some brandy, which she had swallowed from a quartern measure, found - near her empty. She had spoken to her mother only ten minutes before, - so that the symptoms must have come on very rapidly. She was seen by - Mr. Adams four hours afterwards. She was then quite insensible, in a - state of profound coma, the skin cold, and covered with a clammy - perspiration. There had been slight vomiting. The child died in twelve - hours, without recovering consciousness, from the time at which she - was first found. - -So far Dr. Taylor, a most competent authority on the subject, as showing -what a poison alcohol is. Now alcohol, as I have before mentioned, effects -an organic change in the system, which opium, if smoked, or even if eaten -does not; and when spirits are indulged in to a very considerable extent, -the disease produced is absolutely incurable, because it is impossible for -any medical skill to give a man new tissues, new blood, a new stomach, or -a new liver, where the whole substance and material of all has undergone a -complete and ruinous change. Now, the case as regards opium is totally -different, because, no matter how much one may indulge in opium, whether -in eating or smoking, the effects produced are always curable. This is so -as regards opium eating; in respect to the infinitely less exciting -practice of opium _smoking_, the rule applies with very much greater -force. A man may smoke opium inordinately until, from want of appetite and -impaired digestion, he seems sinking into the grave; he is, however, only -labouring under functional derangement, which is always curable. The use -of opium in any form produces no organic change in the system whatever. -Excessive eating or smoking opium may impair the appetite and digestion, -but that will be all. I have very competent medical authority for saying -this. This fact places opium and alcohol in two entirely different -categories. The one, if eaten in moderation, is, I believe, harmless, if -not beneficial; while, as to the smoking of the drug, it is absolutely -innocuous;--but if alcohol be freely though not inordinately used, it will -prove, sooner or later, destructive to the system, acting upon the frame -as a slow poison, which must eventually end, as experience shows, in ruin -and death. De Quincey tells us in his _Confessions_ that he ate opium with -impunity for eighteen years, and that it was only after eight years -_abuse_ of opium eating that he suffered in any way from the practice. - -I will now give you another extract from Dr. Pereira's book. At page 446, -under the heading "Consequences of Habitual Drunkenness," he says:-- - - The continued use of spirituous liquors gives rise to various morbid - conditions of system, a few only of the most remarkable of which can - be here referred to. One of these is the disease known by the various - names of _delirium tremens_, _d. potatorum_, _oinomapria_, &c., and - which is characterized by delirium, tremor of the extremities, - wakefulness, and great frequency of pulse. The delirium is of a - peculiar kind. It usually consists in the imagined presence of objects - which the patient is anxious to seize or avoid. Its pathology is not - understood. It is sometimes, but not constantly, connected with or - dependent on an inflammatory condition of the brain, or its membranes. - Sometimes it is more allied to nervous fever. Opium has been found an - important agent in relieving it. Insanity is another disease produced - by the immoderate and habitual use of spirituous liquors. - -Now I do not think that, much as they have abused opium smoking, any of -the Anti-Opium writers have ever alleged insanity to be an effect or -concomitant of opium smoking. It must therefore be taken as generally -admitted that opium smoking, or even opium eating, does not produce -insanity. We have, then, this undisputed fact, viz. _that insanity and -acts of violence do not result from opium smoking, whilst they are -unquestionably produced by spirit drinking_. - -I had recently some conversation on the subject of opium with a medical -friend who has been in large practice in London, for twenty years. I had -previously spoken to him frequently on the same subject, and he has been -kind enough to give me his views in a very interesting and concise manner. -This opinion, I may tell you, is not paid for, or prepared merely to -support a particular purpose, as in the case of trials in the law courts. -It is purely spontaneous. We all know that professional men, whether -doctors, lawyers, surveyors, and others, are all more or less prone to -take the views of the party requiring their services, and they, -accordingly, will give opinions more or less coinciding with those views. -It does not, however, follow that the persons doing so are guilty of any -moral wrong, or that they write or state what they do not believe to be -true; on the contrary, they have a complete faith in the statements they -make. The natural bent of the mind is to lean towards the views urged by -one's patient or client; and thus two physicians or lawyers of the highest -standing and character will be found to hold different opinions. But this -statement with which I have been furnished stands on an entirely different -footing. There can have been no bias in the mind of the writer; it is -simply the result of study and experience. I have the most perfect -confidence in this gentleman's opinions. He is Mr. William Brend, M.R.C.S. -He says:-- - - There is no organic disease traceable to the use of opium, either - directly or indirectly, and whether used in moderate quantities or - even in great excess. In other words, _there is no special disease - associated with opium_. Functional disorder, more or less, may be, and - no doubt is, induced by the improper or unnecessary use of opium; but - this is only what may be said of any other cause of deranged health, - such as gluttony, bad air, mental anxiety.... - - However great the functional disorder produced by opium, even when - carried to great excess, may be, the whole effect passes off, and the - bodily system is restored in a little while to a state of complete - health, if the habit be discontinued. Alcohol, when taken in - moderation, unquestionably benefits a certain number of individuals, - but there are others whose systems will not tolerate the smallest - quantities; it acts upon them like a poison. But in the case of all - persons when alcohol is taken in excess disease is sooner or later - produced; that disease consists of organic changes induced in the - blood-vessels of the entire system, more especially the minute - blood-vessels called the capillaries; these become dilated, and - consequently weakened in their coats, and eventually paralyzed, so - that they cannot contract upon the blood. The result of this is - stagnation, leading to further changes still, such as fatty - degeneration of all the organs; for it must be remembered that alcohol - circulates with the blood, and thus finds its way into the remotest - tissues. The special diseases referrable to alcohol, besides this - general fatty degeneration, are the disease of the liver called - "cirrhosis," and very frequently "Bright's disease of the kidneys." - Here, then, we have a great and important difference between opium and - alcohol. The second great difference grows out of the first. It is - this:--I have said that if alcohol be taken in excess for a certain - length of time, depending to some extent upon the susceptibility of - the individual, organic change, that is disease, is inevitable; but - the saddest part of it is that it is real disease, not merely - functional disorder; so that if those who have yielded to that excess - can be persuaded to abandon alcohol entirely the mischief induced must - remain. The progress of further evil may be staved off, but the system - can never again be restored to perfect health. _The demon_ has taken a - grip which can never be entirely unloosed. Herein there is the second - great difference between the use of opium and of alcohol in excess. - - If what I have said of opium eating be true, common sense will draw - the inference that opium smoking must be comparatively innocuous, for - used in this way, a very small quantity indeed of the active - constituents find their entrance into the system. Its influence, like - tobacco, is exerted entirely upon the nervous system, and when that - influence has passed off it leaves (as also in the case of tobacco) a - greater or less craving for its repetition; but as organic disease is - not the result, I see no reason why opium smoking in moderation - necessarily degrades the individual more than does the smoking of - tobacco. - -Here I will give you another extract from Mr. Storrs Turner's book, which -tells against his case very strongly indeed. How he came to insert it I -can only understand on the principle I have already mentioned, that truth -is inherent to the human mind and will reveal itself occasionally even -though it has to struggle through a mountain of prejudice and of warped -understanding. This is it, from the evidence of Dr. Eatwell, First -Assistant Opium Examiner in the Bengal service; it will be found on page -233:-- - - Having passed three years in China, I may be allowed to state the - results of my observation, and I can affirm thus far, that the effects - of the abuse of the drug do not come very frequently under - observation, and that when cases do occur, the habit is frequently - found to have been induced by the presence of some painful chronic - disease, to escape from the sufferings of which the patient has fled - to this resource. That this is not always the case, however, I am - perfectly ready to admit, and there are doubtless many who indulge in - the habit to a pernicious extent, led by the same morbid impulses - which induce men to become drunkards in even the most civilised - countries; but these cases do not, at all events, come before the - public eye. It requires no laborious search in civilized England to - discover evidences of the pernicious effects of the abuse of alcoholic - liquors; our open and thronged gin-palaces, and our streets afford - abundant testimony on the subject; but in China this open evidence of - the evil effects of opium is at least wanting. As regards the effects - of the habitual use of the drug on the mass of the people, I must - affirm that no injurious results are visible. The people generally are - a muscular and well-formed race, the labouring portion being capable - of great and prolonged exertion under a fierce sun, in an unhealthy - climate. Their disposition is cheerful and peaceable, and quarrels and - brawls are rarely heard amongst even the lower orders; whilst in - general intelligence they rank deservedly high amongst Orientals. I - will, therefore, conclude with observing, that the proofs are still - wanting to show that the moderate use of opium produces more - pernicious effects upon the constitution than does the moderate use of - spirituous liquors; whilst, at the same time, it is certain that the - consequences of the abuse of the former are less appalling in their - effect upon the victim, and less disastrous to society at large, than - are consequences of the abuse of the latter. - -Could any evidence against the allegations of the Anti-Opium Society be -stronger than this? Have I not now a right to say, "Out of the mouth of -thine own witness I convict thee!" - -My own observation goes to show that opium smoking is far more fascinating -than opium eating, and that the opium smoker never relapses into the opium -eater. Opium eating, as I think I have already stated, is unknown in -China. I think these statements put the question as regards opium smoking, -opium eating, and spirit drinking in a very different light to what the -advocates of the Anti-Opium Society throw upon the subject. The latter -talk of the importation of Indian opium into China as the origin of the -custom of smoking the drug, or, at the least, that it has made the natives -smoke more than they otherwise would have done. There is no truth in such -representations. Let us take the year 1880, for instance, and adopting the -figures given by Sir Robert Hart, and concurred in by the British -merchants, which I take to be quite correct, that the amount of opium -imported into China from India was in that year one hundred thousand -chests, each chest weighing a pikul, which would amount to about six -thousand tons. Distribute those six thousand tons over the whole of China, -which, as I have before so often said, is as large as Europe, and with a -population amounting to three hundred and sixty millions, and you will -find it gives such a trifling annual amount to each person, that Sir -Robert Hart cannot mark from its use any damage to the finances of the -State, the wealth of its people, or the growth of its population. In the -United Kingdom, where we have less than a tenth of the population of -China, there were two hundred thousand tons of alcohol--whisky, gin, -brandy--and one thousand and ninety millions four hundred and forty-four -thousand seven hundred and sixteen gallons of wine and beer consumed in -that year. If all these spirits, wine, and beer were mixed up so as to -form one vast lake--one huge "devil's punch-bowl"--there would be -sufficient liquor for the whole population of the United Kingdom to swim -in at one time. But if the tears of all the broken-hearted wives, widows, -and orphans that flowed from the use of the accursed mixture were -collected, they would produce such a sea of sorrow, such an ocean of -misery as never before was presented to the world. Yet philanthropists and -Christian people in this country give all their time, energies, and a -great deal of their money to put down this purely sentimental grievance in -China, and shut their eyes to the terrible evils thundering at their own -doors! - -The whole purpose of Mr. Storrs Turner's book, and of the Anti-Opium -Society, is to write down opium smoking in China, with the ultimate view -of suppressing the Indo-China opium trade; and no man living is better -aware than Mr. Turner that opium eating is not a practice with the -Chinese; indeed, I doubt if it is known in China at all. Yet, knowing all -this, he puts forward the outrageous theory that opium smoking and opium -eating are equally injurious; it therefore becomes a matter of the first -importance that the great difference between these two practices should be -clearly shown. In the appendix to Mr. Turner's book there is a mass of -evidence, of which a large portion is quite beside the question, for it -applies exclusively to opium eating--a practice, I assert and will clearly -show, is totally different from, and a thousand times more trying to the -constitution than opium smoking. Dr. Ayres says that opium smokers can -smoke in one day as much opium as would, if eaten, poison one hundred men, -and Dr. Ayres is a very great authority on the subject; for not only has -he a large practice among the better classes of Chinese, all of whom are, -more or less, opium smokers, but his daily duties bring him into contact -with the criminal classes, who are most prone to excessive sensual -indulgence of this kind. - -This is what Dr. Ayres says upon the subject in his article in the _Friend -of China_:-- - - As regards opium smoking, no prisoner who confessed to be an opium - smoker has been allowed a single grain in the gaol. Neither has he had - any stimulant as a substitute, and I do not find there has been any - evil consequence in breaking off this habit at once, nor that any - precaution has been necessary, further than a closer attention to the - general health. Several very good specimens of opium smokers have come - under observation; one was the case of a man whose daily consumption - had been two ounces a day for nineteen years, and who was allowed - neither opium nor gin, nor was he given any narcotic or stimulant. For - the first few days he suffered from want of sleep, but soon was in - fair health, and expressed himself much pleased at having got rid of - the habit.... In my experience, the habit does no physical harm in - moderation. In the greatest case of excess just mentioned at the gaol, - a better-nourished or developed man for his size it would be difficult - to see. - -So far as regards opium _eating_, the best medical authorities are divided -as to whether opium eating or drinking in moderation is injurious to the -system at all. In any case, opium eating is not the question before us, -nor the subject of these lectures, which is opium smoking in China. Mr. -Storrs Turner gives, in his appendix, at page 240, extracts from some -statements of Lieut.-Col. James Todd, who says:-- - - This pernicious plant (the poppy) has robbed the Rajpoot of half his - virtues, and while it obscures these it heightens his vices, giving to - his natural bravery a character of insane ferocity, and to the - countenance which would otherwise beam with intelligence an air of - imbecility. - -That entirely relates to the _eating_ of the drug by the Rajpoots of -India, and has no connection or analogy to opium smoking by the Chinese. -There is another quotation on the same page from Dr. Oppenheim, given in -Pereira's _Materia Medica_ as follows:-- - - The habitual _opium eater_ is instantly recognised by his appearance: - a total attenuation of body, a withered, yellow countenance, a lame - gait, &c. - -And so on. This, as you see, applies to opium eating only. There are many -other instances of the effects of such use of opium given in the appendix, -which, after these two quotations, it is useless to further repeat. -Indeed, so far as relevancy to his subject goes, Mr. Storrs Turner might -just as well have introduced into his book medical or other testimony as -to the effects of gluttony or spirit drinking. It suits his purpose, -however, to mix up the two practices, so as to confuse and mislead his -readers. Dr. Oppenheim's statement, by the way, is completely refuted by -Dr. Sir George Birdwood, a distinguished physician, whose long residence -in Bombay,--where there is a Chinese colony, most, if not all, of whom are -habitual smokers of the drug,--and whose thorough acquaintance with the -effects of opium eating and opium smoking, entitle his testimony to the -very highest consideration. Again, at p. 8 of Mr. Turner's volume, -reference is made to De Quincey's book on opium eating, intituled, "The -Confessions of an English Opium Eater." Could anything be more -disingenuous than this? De Quincey was an opium eater, not an opium -smoker. Here is the passage from Mr. Turner's book to which I have -referred:-- - - Those "Confessions," which are not confessions, but an _apologia pro - vita sua_, an elaborate essay to whitewash his reputation and varnish - over the smirching blot of a self-indulgent habit by a glitter of a - fascinating literary style. - -Now did anyone ever hear of such an extraordinary explanation of De -Quincey's motives in publishing that volume? De Quincey, he says, in -effect, was ashamed of the practice of opium eating, and wrote the book as -an excuse for his conduct, so horrible, disgraceful, and debasing, -according to Mr. Storrs Turner, is--not opium eating, observe you, -but--opium smoking. How fallacious are such arguments I think I shall make -apparent to the most simple mind. If a man has the misfortune to have -contracted a disgraceful habit, such, for instance, as over-indulgence in -spirit drinking, the very last thing he would think of doing is to publish -a book upon the subject, and thus acquaint the whole world with his -infirmity. Yet this is what Mr. Turner alleges against De Quincey. But, in -point of fact, he is altogether wrong in supposing that De Quincey was -ashamed of opium eating; if he had been, he unquestionably would not have -written his book, which, by the way, is one of the most fascinating -volumes in our literature. Previous to the publication of it, probably -there were not half a dozen people who knew that he, De Quincey, was an -opium eater, and in the preface to the work, he says, "that his -self-accusation does not amount to a confession of guilt." I know Mr. -Turner to be a gentleman utterly incapable of wilfully acting -disingenuously, much less of stating intentionally what he knew to be -untrue; but he is so blinded by prejudice, his naturally clear intellect -is so warped and distorted, and his faculties and reasoning powers are so -perverted, by this opium question, and his duties towards the Anti-Opium -Society, that he either does not see the difference between the two -things,--opium smoking and opium eating,--or, aware of that difference, -thinks himself justified in classing them together, as they both proceed -from opium, and thus he would persuade himself and his readers that they -are equally baneful. But in this book of his he takes De Quincey, the -opium eater, who confesses to having eaten three hundred and twenty grains -a day, and compares him with an opium-smoking Chinaman who smoked one -hundred and eighty grains a day; the difference between eating three -hundred and twenty grains and smoking one hundred and eighty grains a day -being about as a thousand is to one, in fact, in such case it would be -simply the difference between life and death; and yet Mr. Storrs Turner -would strive to mix up the two practices, so that the incautious reader -might infer that the effects of the one were as injurious as those of the -other. Such is the class of arguments with which the Anti-Opium Society -and its credulous supporters have been satisfied, and upon which the whole -religious world, the country, and the legislature are called upon to come -to the rescue of injured humanity, and abolish this Indo-China opium -trade. - -Now, as De Quincey is on the _tapis_, I cannot refrain from exposing a -very disgraceful piece of deception which has been practised upon the -public by some of the agents or supporters of the Anti-Opium Society since -the first edition of my Lectures appeared. This work of De Quincey, as I -have intimated, is a very entertaining book; it is the first of a series -of fourteen volumes by the same author, published in 1880 by the eminent -firm of Adam and Charles Black, of Edinburgh; the price of each volume is -two shillings, which is very moderate indeed, taking the character and -quality of the letterpress, the paper, and general "get up" into account, -for, as for the copyright, it has expired. Although Mr. Storrs Turner has -mis-described the book as a penitential effort on the part of De Quincey, -I am afraid that the effect of its perusal on most readers would be to -induce them rather to become opium eaters than repel them from the -practice, as will be manifest from an extract which I shall shortly give -the reader. The truth is, De Quincey, who knew human nature very well, -lived by his pen, and was actuated more by the desire to amuse than reform -his readers--for, say as you will, a well presented comedy will be always -more popular with the multitude than a tragedy, however skilfully -performed. Now, I am far from impugning the main features of our author's -"confessions," but in saying that in writing this very fascinating and -original book he went extensively into the picturesque, and drew largely -on his imagination, no person who will afford himself the pleasure of -reading the book can, I think, deny. Now, some very zealous agent or -advocate of the Anti-Opium Society, fearing that the effect of this work -of De Quincey's--brought as it has been into notice in connection with -this controversy by Mr. Turner's and my own book--might be to induce the -reading public to think that opium, after all, was not so terrible a drug -as the Anti-Opium agitators represent, has set himself to the ignoble task -of so garbling the work, and importing into it other matter of his own, as -to represent opium eating as the most terrible, fearful, and demoralizing -practice in the world, and then printing the concoction and flooding the -country with the impudent travesty at the very moderate charge of one -penny. All the entertaining and diverting passages have been suppressed, -and some wretched stuff inserted. It is called on the title page "The -Confessions of an Opium Eater; the famous work by Thomas De Quincey. -Copyright edition." The whole is nothing more than a burlesque--and a very -bad one indeed--of the real volume. In the first place, there is a lie -upon the face of it, as the copyright has expired, and it is not in any -respect a copy of the original; and secondly, it barely contains one-sixth -of the matter of the actual volume, and has "counterfeit" stamped upon -every page. It was exposed at the various book-stalls of Messrs. W. H. -Smith and Son, in London, and, I believe, also throughout the country. I -myself bought two copies at the Charing Cross station a few months ago, -but I believe the delectable piece of literary forgery has since been -withdrawn. I daresay, however, it has, to a great extent, answered its -purpose, _i.e._ to poison the minds of its readers on the Opium question, -by making it appear that opium is a terrible poison, and that the smoking -of it is more injurious than the excessive indulgence in alcohol. This -"pious fraud" has done a grievous wrong to the memory of a great English -author, Thomas De Quincey--whose pure and classic English adorns our -language--and also an injury to the general public who have advanced their -money for the penny lie upon false pretences. The whole affair is just as -defensible a proceeding as that of some tenth-rate dauber who, having -copied (?) a masterpiece of Sir Joshua Reynolds, or some other great -master of the English school, had the miserable caricature oleographed, -and flooded the country with the imposture, in the hope of inducing the -public to believe that true copies of the originals were offered to them. -But these Anti-Opium fanatics do not stick at trifles, and, in their -insane desire to make right appear wrong, do not hesitate to defame the -dead and vilify the living. I have mentioned this incident to show my -readers the unscrupulous efforts these people will resort to in order to -impose their fictions upon the public. - -Now, leaving De Quincey and his book for the present, let us see what Dr. -Ayres says upon the difference between opium eating and opium smoking. In -his article in _The Friend of China_, from which I have already quoted, he -says:-- - - I have conducted my observations with much interest, as the effects of - opium eating are well known to me by many years' experience in India, - and I have been surprised to find the opium smoker differs so much - from the opium eater. _I am inclined to the belief that in the popular - mind the two have got confused together. Opium smoking bears no - comparison with opium eating._ The latter is a terrible vice, most - difficult to cure, and showing rapidly very marked constitutional - effects in the consumer. - -Dr. Ayres was quite right, the two have got mixed up together, thanks to -Mr. Storrs Turner and his confreres. To further explain the difference -between opium eating and opium smoking, let us take the familiar instance -of tobacco smoking. It is not, I think, generally known that tobacco, -taken internally, is a violent and almost instantaneous poison. A very -small quantity of it admitted into the stomach produces speedy death, and -it is a wonder to some medical men that its use has not been made -available by assassins for their foul and deadly purposes. Tobacco has no -medicinal properties; it is simply known to chemists and physicians as a -poison. Its alkaloid, or active principle, is nicotine, a poison of so -deadly and instantaneous a nature as to rank with aconite, strychnine, and -prussic acid. Of the four, indeed, it takes the lead. In Taylor's "Medical -Jurisprudence," to which I have already referred, it is laid down at page -321, under the head of "Poisoning by Tobacco":-- - - The effects which this substance produces when taken in a large dose, - either in the form of powder or infusion, are well marked. The - symptoms are faintness, nausea, vomiting, giddiness, delirium, loss of - power in the limbs, general relaxation of the muscular system, - trembling, complete prostration of strength, coldness of the surface - with cold clammy perspiration, convulsive movements, paralysis and - death. In some cases there is purging, with violent pain in the - abdomen; in others there is rather a sense of sinking or depression in - the region of the heart, passing into syncope, or creating a sense of - impending dissolution. With the above-mentioned symptoms there is - dilatation of the pupils, dimness of sight with confusion of ideas, a - small, weak, and scarcely-perceptible pulse, and difficulty of - breathing. Poisoning by tobacco has not often risen to medico-legal - discussion. This is the more remarkable as it is an easily accessible - substance, and the possession of it would not, as in the case of other - poisons, excite surprise or suspicion. In June, 1854, a man was - charged with the death of an infant, of ten weeks, by poisoning it - with tobacco. He placed a quantity of tobacco in the mouth of the - infant, with the view, as he stated, of making it sleep. The infant - was completely narcotized, and died on the second day.... Tobacco owes - its poisonous properties to the presence of a liquid volatile - alkaloid, _nicotina_. - -Whilst under the head "Nicotine," on the same page, he says:-- - - This is a deadly poison, and, like prussic acid, it destroys life in - small doses with great rapidity. I found that a rabbit was killed by a - single drop in three minutes and a half. In fifteen seconds the animal - lost all power of standing, was violently convulsed in its fore and - hind legs, and its back was arched convulsively. - -In Dr. Ure's "Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures, and Mines," it is laid -down, at page 250, under the head of "Nicotine":-- - - This alkaloid is the active principle of the tobacco plant.... - Nicotine is a most powerful poison, one drop put on the tongue of a - large dog being sufficient to kill it in two or three minutes. - -So much for tobacco and its alkaloid as deadly poisons; yet we all know -that, unless indulged in to an inordinate extent, tobacco smoking is a -perfectly harmless practice, almost universally indulged in; the exception -now being to find a man, young or old, gentle or simple, who is not a -tobacco smoker. Most of our greatest thinkers, philosophers, poets, -statesmen, and mathematicians smoke it, and in most cases, I believe, with -advantage. Indulged in moderately, it does no injury to the constitution, -but I should rather say its effects are curative and beneficial; you will -rarely find a heavy tobacco smoker a drunkard or even a spirit drinker. -Yet this plant, which gives comfort and delight to millions of people, is -a deadly poison if taken internally in even a minute quantity in its -natural or manufactured state. So it is with opium; the habitual eating of -it may be injurious, but the smoking is not only innocuous, but positively -beneficial to the system. It is a complete preservative against dram -drinking and drunkenness, for whilst it produces similar but far more -agreeable effects on the nervous system than wine, it does not, like -alcohol, poison the blood, destroy the health, and lead to ruin, disgrace, -and death. Of course, opium-smoking, like every other luxury--tea, wine, -spirits, beer, tobacco--may be abused, but the few who indulge excessively -are infinitesimally small as compared with the many who abuse the use of -alcoholic liquors. As to opium eating, an overdose produces death, but the -opium smoker can indulge in his luxury from, morning till night without -any apparent injury. It is plain, therefore, that opium smoking and opium -eating cannot be classed in the same category at all, but stand apart -quite separately and distinctly. - -I may here again appropriately refer to Sir Wilfrid Lawson's speech at the -Anti-Opium meeting at Newcastle. In the course of his remarks, the speaker -referred with some humour to an Anti-Tobacco-smoking Society, a once -active organization. At a meeting of this body held at Carlisle, it -appears that the chief orator,--an energetic person, with wonderful powers -of imagination and a fluent tongue, quite another Mr. Storrs -Turner--having exhausted his power of vituperation in denouncing the -Virginian weed and its terrible effects upon its votaries, alleged in -particular that tobacco smoking tended to shorten human life, but here he -was interrupted by one of the audience, a jovial middle-aged north -countryman, who said, "I don't know that Mr. Lecturer, for my father -smoked till he was eighty!" "Ah!" exclaimed the other, quite equal, as he -thought, to the occasion, "your father's case was an exceptional one; he -was an unusually strong, healthy man. Anyone who sees you, his hale, -hearty son, must know that. Had he not been a tobacco smoker he would have -lived much longer." "I don't know that either," returned the countryman, -"for he is alive and well and still smokes tobacco." Now had Sir Wilfrid -delivered that speech at a meeting formed to protest against the theories -of the Anti-Tobacco Society, he would assuredly have scored; but, as -matters stood, I must claim his speech as one made in favour of my views -upon the opium question; for, to use a famous formula, I would say to the -honourable baronet, "Would you be surprised to hear that I can produce to -you, not only an aged father and son who are opium smokers, but a father, -son, and grandson all living who follow that practice, and have done so -all their lives without injury to health?" - -But enjoyable as tobacco smoking may be, I contend that, to the Asiatic at -least, opium smoking is not only a more agreeable but also a far more -beneficial practice. Tobacco has no curative properties, but is simply a -poison; opium is the most valuable medicine known; where all other -sedatives fail its powers are prominent. As an anodyne no other medicine -can equal it. There is one property peculiar to opium, that is that it is -non-volatilizable, or nearly so. If a piece of opium is put on a red-hot -plate, it will not volatilize; that is, it will not disappear in the form -of vapour, which by chemical means can be preserved in order to resume or -retain its original character. But it will be destroyed by combustion; the -heat will consume it in the same manner as it would destroy a piece of -sugar or any other non-volatilizable body; whereas a substance that is -volatilizable, like sulphur, on being subjected to the same process, -instead of being destroyed, is simply given out in vapour, and by proper -means may be caught again and reformed in the shape of sulphur. So when -you place opium into a pipe and put the pellet to the lamp, the effect of -the combustion is to destroy the active property of the opium; the smoker -takes the smoke thrown off into his mouth, which he expels either through -the mouth or nostrils. The only way, therefore, he can get any of the -active property of the opium into his system is by smoking it like -tobacco. Now tobacco, on the contrary, is volatilizable, but the poison is -so volatile, and escapes so freely through the bowl of the pipe in the -shape of vapour, and is so rapidly expelled from the mouth, that no harm -is produced by the process of smoking the deadly poison, the natural -recuperative power of the frame neutralizing the effects of the noisome -vapour. The difference between opium and tobacco smoking appears to be -this:--In the one case you take into your mouth the mere smoke of a -valuable aromatic drug, which, when passed into the stomach in proper -quantities as a medicine, has powerful curative properties, the smoke when -expelled leaving no substance behind it, but in its passage exerting a -pleasant and perfectly harmless stimulating effect upon the nerves. - -In the case of tobacco, the fumes with the volatilized substance of a foul -and poisonous weed having no curative properties whatever, and having the -most loathsome and offensive smell to those who have not gone through the -pain and misery necessary to accustom themselves to them, is taken into -the mouth. Nicotine, the alkaloid of tobacco, is simply a deadly and rapid -poison, useful only to the assassin. Morphia, the alkaloid of opium, is -only poisonous when taken in an excessive quantity; whether used -internally or injected under the skin, it is the most wonderful anodyne -and sedative known. I fully believe that, when medical men come to study -opium and opium smoking more fully, it will become the established opinion -of the faculty that opium smoking is not only perfectly harmless, but that -it is most beneficial, so that it may ultimately not only put down spirit -drinking, but perhaps supersede, to a great extent, tobacco. But few -medical men in this country have as yet made opium a special study. They -only know its use and properties as described in the British Pharmacopeia; -many even of those who have practised in the parts of India where the drug -is eaten do not, it seems, as yet fully understand all its properties. Dr. -Ayres himself admits that he was astonished after his arrival in Hong Kong -to find the great difference between the effects of smoking and eating the -drug. I may here remind my readers that we have, or had once, an -Anti-Tobacco-smoking Society, just as there is now an Anti-Opium-smoking -Society. The former had so many living evidences of the absurdities -alleged by its supporters against the use of tobacco, that the agitation -was laughed down and has either died a natural death or has only a -moribund and spasmodic existence; but had the place where the alleged -enormity of tobacco smoking was practised been Africa, I think the Society -would have died a much harder death, or at all events shown more vitality. -The Anti-Opium Society would have shared the same fate long ago were it -not that the scene of all the alleged evils is China, ten thousand miles -away, and the witnesses against their absurd allegations live the same -distance from us. But still, believe me, the Anti-Opium Society's days are -numbered: it is doomed, and, like the Anti-Tobacco craze, will be numbered -soon amongst the things that were. I flatter myself that in the delivery -and publication of these lectures I have given the agitation a heavy blow -and great discouragement. - -I had some time ago the advantage of reading a very interesting and -remarkable letter in the "Times" by Sir George Birdwood, to whom I have -already referred; he has had more than fourteen years' experience in India -as a medical man, and has made the opium question a special study. I think -his testimony is worth a great deal more than that of any layman, however -learned or talented; the one has both theoretical and practical knowledge -of his subject, the other at best is only a theorist. Believe me, the -Roman poet knew human nature well when he said, "Trust the man who has -experience of facts." The paper, which is a learned and interesting one, -is too long to read, but here is an extract from it:-- - - My readers can judge for themselves from the authorities I have - indicated; but the opinion I have come to from them and my own - experience is, that opium is used in Asia in a similar way to alcohol - in Europe, and that, considering the natural craving and popular - inclination for, and the ecclesiastical toleration of it and its - general beneficial effects, and the absence of any resulting evil, - there is just as much justification for the habitual use of opium in - moderation as for the moderate use of alcohol, and indeed far more. - - Sir Benjamin Brodie is always quoted as the most distinguished - professional opponent of the dietetical use of opium; but what are his - words (_Psychological Enquiries_, p. 248):--"The effect of opium when - taken into the stomach is not to stimulate, but to soothe the nervous - system. It may be otherwise in some instances, but these are rare - exceptions to the general rule. The opium eater is in a passive state, - satisfied with his own dreamy condition while under the influence of - the drug. He is useless but not mischievous. It is quite otherwise - with alcoholic liquors." Opium smoking, which is the Chinese form of - using the drug--for which the Indian Government is specially held - responsible--is, to say the least in its favour, an infinitely milder - indulgence. As already mentioned, I hold it to be absolutely harmless. - I do not place it simply in the same category with even tobacco - smoking, for tobacco smoking may, in itself, if carried into excess, - be injurious, particularly to young people under twenty-five; but I - mean that opium smoking in itself is as harmless as smoking - willow-bark or inhaling the smoke of a peat-fire or vapour of boiling - water.... I have not seen Surgeon-General Moore's recent paper on - opium in the _Indian Medical Gazette_, but I gather from a notice of - it quoted from the _Calcutta Englishman_, in the _Homeward Mail_ of - the 14th of November last, that it supplies a most exhaustive and able - vindication of the perfect morality of the revenue derived by the - Indian Government from the manufacture and sale of opium to the - Chinese. He quotes from Dr. Ayres, of Hong Kong: "No China resident - believes in the terrible frequency of the dull, sodden-witted, - debilitated opium smoker met with in print;" and from Consul Lay:--"In - China the spendthrift, the man of lewd habits, the drunkard, and a - large assortment of bad characters, slide into the opium smoker; hence - the drug seems chargeable with all the vices of the country." Mr. - Gregory, Her Majesty's Consul at Swatow, says Dr. Moore never saw a - single case of opium intoxication, though living for months and - travelling for hundreds of miles among opium smokers. Dr. Moore - directly confirms my own statement of the Chinese having been great - drunkards of alcohol before they took to smoking opium. I find also a - remarkable collection of folk-lore (_Strange Stories from a Chinese - Studio_, by Herbert A. Giles), evidence in almost every chapter of the - universal drinking habits of the Chinese before the introduction of - opium among them, notwithstanding that the use of alcohol is opposed - to the cardinal precepts of Buddhism. What Dr. Moore says of the - freedom of opium smokers from bronchial thoracic diseases is deserving - of the deepest consideration. I find that, on the other hand, the - Chinese converts to Christianity suffer greatly from consumption. The - missionaries will not allow them to smoke, and, as they also forbid - their marrying while young, after the wise custom, founded on an - experience of thousands of years of their country, they fall into - those depraved, filthy habits, of which consumption is everywhere the - inexorable witness and scourge. When spitting of blood comes on, the - opium pipe is its sole alleviation. - -Now Dr. Birdwood is not only well informed upon the opium question, but is -certainly one of the ablest opponents of the Anti-Opium agitation who has -yet appeared. His letters in the "Times" created quite a sensation, and so -alarmed Mr. Storrs Turner that he left no means untried to neutralize -their effects. At this point a bright idea occurred to him. Finding that -there was a general consensus of opinion against him amongst English -medical men and other competent authorities that the outcry against opium -was groundless, he hit upon the brilliant expedient of discrediting them -all, by the assertion that Englishmen are so prejudiced that they are not -to be believed. This is what he says on the subject in his famous article -in the _Nineteenth Century_ having in a previous passage imagined a case -in which China was the plaintiff and Great Britain the defendant:-- - - The baneful effects of the opium vice are established by universal - experience. One may apply to it the theological maxim _Quod semper - quod ubique, quod ab omnibus_. Two considerations will show that the - opposition of a few dissentient voices does not detract from the - general conclusion. Most of these are quite clear on the point that - opium is bad for everybody but Chinese. They would be horrified at the - suggestion that opium should be freely used in England and approve the - efforts or supposed efforts of the Indian Government to keep it out of - the way of the natives of India. On another point these dissentients - are all alike; _every one of them is prejudiced in favour of the - defendant in the case before us. They are all Englishmen._ No French - or German medical man, no single Chinese authority has been quoted to - testify to the innocence of opium. Some of these apologists are opium - merchants, who aver that the drug by which they make their wealth is a - boon and a blessing to China; or it is a gentleman employed in the - India Office who considers opium smoking as safe as "twiddling one's - thumbs." - -Could the force of folly or fanaticism go further than that? All -Englishmen are prejudiced. I wonder, did it ever occur to Mr. Storrs -Turner that _he_, being an Englishman, might be a little prejudiced -also--on the other side of the question. Yes; Dr. Ayres, Dr. Eatwell, -Surgeon-General Moore, Dr. Birdwood, and a host of other eminent medical -men standing in the front rank of their profession, Sir Rutherford -Alcock, Mr. Colborne Baber, Mr. W. Donald Spence, and others are not to be -believed--because they are Englishmen! Were they Germans or Frenchmen, -they would, of course, be entitled to the fullest credence. Like the -priest and prophet of Crete, Mr. Storrs Turner holds that all his -countrymen are liars.[8] But, stay, do I not remember that gentleman's -holding a select conference of English medical men, about October 1882, -when certain resolutions were drawn up condemnatory of opium? Surely, yes. -The invitations were issued by the Earl of Shaftesbury. I should like to -ask Mr. Storrs Turner were the medical and other gentlemen then present -Englishmen or foreigners? If I do not greatly err they were _all_ -Englishmen. Does Mr. Storrs Turner consider those gentlemen worthy of -credit? I rather think he does: so that Mr. Turner's creed runs thus: -"Englishmen are to be believed so long as they agree with me on the opium -question. When they differ from me on that subject they are not to be -believed at all." Mr. Turner is fond of treating his readers to -theological maxims. I will now give him a legal one which, I think, is -applicable to his case. It runs thus, translated into plain English: "_He -is not to be heard who alleges things contrary to each other_." Of course, -the reader has seen that Mr. Turner's sneer at "the gentleman employed in -the India Office," is at Sir George Birdwood, whose pungent articles in -the _Times_ have inflicted such damage on his cause, and whose efforts in -the interests of common sense and truth he would wish to suppress. - -As Mr. Turner's tastes are exotic, I will furnish him now with some -_foreign_ testimony that may perhaps astonish him. For many years previous -to 1858, Don Sinibaldo de Mas had been the Envoy-Extraordinary and -Minister Plenipotentiary of the Court of Spain at Pekin. That nobleman had -travelled much in China, India, Java, Borneo, and Malacca, having learned -the Chinese language the better to enable him to utilize his travels in -those places. In 1858 he published a book[9] in the French language on -China and the Chinese, making special reference to the opium question, to -which he has devoted one very interesting chapter exclusively. The book -was brought out in Paris, and has never, that I am aware of, been -translated into English. Now about the last person from whom one would -expect to obtain testimony of the kind is a Spaniard. Yet so it is. This -book of Don Sinibaldo de Mas is, indeed, one of the most powerful -vindications of British policy in India and China that has yet been -written. I hardly think even Mr. Storrs Turner can accuse this gentleman -of partiality, or object to his testimony as being influenced by personal -motives. This is part of what he says on the subject:-- - - I may say, in the first instance, that personally neither as a private - individual nor as a public functionary have I ever been in the - slightest degree interested in this (opium) trade, for be it noted - that Spanish vessels have never imported into China a single chest of - opium. I consequently approach this subject with complete - impartiality. I have known the Chinese at Calcutta, Singapore, Penang, - Malacca, Manila, and in many parts of their own country, where I - acquired a sufficient knowlege of the Chinese language to enable me to - converse with the natives and make myself fully acquainted with the - opium question, which I believe I understand, and may be considered - thoroughly unbiassed in my opinions. - - Opium has been preached against and denounced as a veritable poison, - and it has been looked upon as a crime in those who have made the drug - an object of commerce or gain. A memorial embodying those views, - signed by many missionaries and supported by the Earl of Chichester, - was presented to Queen Victoria. A meeting was also held in London, - composed of philanthropic gentlemen, presided over by the Earl of - Shaftesbury, when a petition to the Queen embodying the same object - was drawn up; this document I shall refer to more particularly later - on. Lastly, some members of the House of Lords and Commons spoke - against the sale of opium. On the other hand, Christian merchants - established in China, many men of eminence, such as Sir J. F. Davis - and others of the highest respectability, have maintained that the - smoking of this drug has less deletorious effects than the use of - fermented liquors. I will endeavour to explain this question in all - good faith and impartiality. In the maritime towns of India, Malacca, - Java, the Philippines, Borneo, and Sooloo the Chinese are at liberty - to smoke opium where and when they please, and can buy it cheaper than - they can in Canton or Shanghai, not to mention the inland towns: yet - it is a well-known fact that in all these countries, notwithstanding - their unwholesome climates, the opium-smoking Chinese are remarkably - healthy and strong. These very opium smokers are employed as farm - labourers, masons, and porters, enduring great fatigue and performing - the most arduous labours; they have acquired such an excellent - reputation as colonists that efforts have been made during the last - few years to induce them to settle in Lima and Cuba. The percentage of - deaths amongst these people does not exceed the usual rate, and I must - confess that having known numbers of Chinese emigrants in the various - countries I have mentioned, I have never heard of a single death or of - any serious illness having been caused by opium smoking. - - It was only on my first arrival in China that I was made aware of the - dire effects this narcotic is said to produce, and that the vapour - inhaled by opium smokers was designated a poison; _I must add that in - none of the different parts of China which I have visited has it come - to my knowledge that death has resulted from opium smoking_. Having - asked several natives whom I thought worthy of credence whether they - had ever heard of a death having occurred from the habit, they - answered me that it might have happened to a very inordinate smoker, - but only in the event of his being suddenly deprived of the - indulgence. One Chinaman related how he had witnessed such a case. He - had known an inveterate opium smoker who had become extremely poor, - and was found insensible and almost lifeless; some good-natured person - passing by puffed some fumes of opium into his mouth, which - immediately seemed to revive him, and enabled him shortly to smoke a - pipe himself, which most effectually recalled him to life. I admit - that opium is in itself a poison, but let me ask what changes does not - fire produce in the various substances which it consumes? - -I should like to know what does Mr. Storrs Turner think of that. Here is a -highly-educated Spanish gentleman, speaking Chinese well, living amongst -the natives, studying their habits, especially as regards their use of the -opium pipe, declaring that the practice is innocuous. Now, supposing that -instead of smoking opium these Chinese in Malacca, Java, Borneo, and the -Philippines were addicted to the habitual use of spirits, wine, or even -beer, instead of opium, can any intelligent being suppose for a moment -that they would be the patient, strong, healthy, hard-working people that -Don Sinibaldo De Mas found them, and which they still are? - -Let us refer to Mr. W. Donald Spence's testimony as to the _effects_ of -opium. I quote again from his Report of the trade of Ichang for 1881:-- - - As to the effect of this habit on the people, amongst whom it is so - widespread, there is but one opinion. Baron Richthofen, the most - experienced traveller who ever visited Szechuan, after noticing the - extraordinary prevalence of the habit, says:--"In no other province - except Hunan did I find the effects of the use of opium so little - perceptible as in Szechuan." Mr. Colborne Baber, who knows more of the - province and its people than any living Englishman, says: _Nowhere in - China are the people so well off, or so hardy, and nowhere do they - smoke so much opium_. To these names of weight I add my own short - experience. I found the people of Szechuan stout, able-bodied men, - better housed, clad, and fed, and healthier looking than the Chinese - of the Lower Yang-tsze. I did not see amongst them more emaciated - faces and wasted forms than disease causes in all lands. People with - slow wasting diseases such as consumption are, if they smoke opium, - apt to be classed amongst the "ruined victims" of hasty observers, and - amongst the cases of combined debility and opium smoking I saw, some - were, by their own account, _pseudo_-victims of this type. There were - some, too, whose health was completely sapped by smoking combined with - other forms of sensual excess. And no doubt there were others weakened - by excessive smoking simply, for excess in all things has its penalty. - But the general health and well-being of the Szechuan community is - remarkable; to their capacity for work and endurance of hardship, as - well as to the material comforts of life they surround themselves - with, all travellers bear enthusiastic testimony. - -Now, allow me to ask the reader, can he suppose for a moment that if the -people of Szechuan were prone to spirits, or even to beer drinking, in the -same way as they are given to opium smoking, should we have the same -results? Would those people be "so well off and so hardy," so stout, -able-bodied, and so much "better housed, clad, and fed, and healthier -looking than the Chinese of the Lower Yang-tsze?" I think not. What, then, -is the fair conclusion to draw from such a state of things? Why, only that -opium smoking is a harmless if not a beneficial practice, unless when -indulged in to an inordinate extent, which, it is now plain, is entirely -exceptional. I think I am not far from the truth in saying that for one -excessive opium smoker to be met with in China you will find in this -country a hundred cases, at the least, of excessive indulgence in -alcohol--the effects of this being incurable, whilst it is quite otherwise -as regards excessive indulgence in opium. The inference, then, I think, is -that so far as regards any evil effects from opium smoking, they are out -of the range of practical politics and should be relegated to the region -of sentiment alone. - -I will now give you a passage from a valuable work by the learned Dr. J. -L. W. Thudichum, Lecturer to St. George's Hospital,[10] which will throw -a good deal of light upon this part of my subject. At pp. 88 and 89 of the -second volume he says:-- - - The medical uses of opium have been so well known through all - historical times that it is a matter for surprise to find that they - are not better appreciated in the present day. In this, as in many - other matters, we are in fact only gradually emerging from the - condition of those dark times during which, amongst many good things, - the knowledge of opium, for example, was lost.... These and other - considerations led me to look about for a more convenient mode of - producing the effects of morphia without its inconveniences or even - dangers. I know from the experiments of Descharmes and Benard (_Compt. - Rend._, 40, 34) that in opium-smoking a portion of the morphia is - volatilized and undecomposed, and I therefore experimentalized with - the pyrolytic vapours of opium, first upon myself, then upon others; - and when I had made myself fully acquainted with the Chinese method of - using the drug, I came to the conviction that here one of the most - interesting therapeutical problems had been solved in the most - ingenious and at the same time in the most safe manner. I held in my - hand a power well-known and used largely by Eastern races, yet its use - neglected, ignored, denounced, and despised by the entire Western - world. - -In other and non-professional words, Dr. Thudichum has found opium smoking -not only harmless but a valuable curative practice. - -As to Chinese evidence on this question I could, had I thought proper, -have adduced the testimony of some really trustworthy Chinese merchants -and traders, which would have fully borne out all that I have stated as to -the innocuous effects of opium smoking. I have refrained from doing so, -because such evidence, however strong and reliable, would, I feel assured, -be impugned as untrustworthy by the agents of the Anti-Opium Society and -missionaries, who on their part would, no doubt, in the best faith and -with good intentions, I admit, bring out counter testimony of so-called -Christian converts and other natives of a wholly unreliable character. One -of these persons, called Kwong Ki Chiu, styling himself "late a member of -the Chinese Educational Commission in the United States," has written, or -purported to have written, from Hartford, in Connecticut, a letter on this -question to the _London and China Telegraph_. The statements in this -document are exaggerated, misleading, and, in many respects, actually -untrue. I doubt very much if the letter was ever, in fact, written by a -Chinaman at all, and suspect it was produced either here in London by some -agent or advocate of the Anti-Opium Society and forwarded to Mr. Kwong Ki -Chiu for signature, or that it was written by some American missionary. At -any rate, it is plain that the writer has no real knowledge of the subject -of his letter. To prove this is so it is only necessary to refer to one -passage, in which the writer proceeds to show that opium is to a beginner -more alluring than tobacco or spirits. He says:-- - - There is this also to be said as to the difference between the two - stimulants: opium is much the more stimulating, and therefore more - dangerous. It is also much more agreeable and fascinating. Not every - person likes the taste of liquor; the flavour of tobacco is agreeable - to very few persons at first: _but everyone, of whatever nationality, - finds the fragrance of the smoking opium agreeable and tempting, so - that I have no doubt that if opium shops were opened in London as in - China, the habit would soon become prevalent even among Englishmen_. - -Now this is not true. Every foreigner who has lived in China knows it to -be quite the opposite. During my long residence in Hong Kong I have never -known a single instance of an Englishman, or any other foreigner, being an -opium smoker, although I have met with many who had smoked a few pipes by -way of experiment. All have assured me that the vapour was nauseous, and -produced no pleasurable sensations whatever. The fact that Europeans -dislike the fumes of opium, and never indulge in the opium pipe, shows -that Mr. Kwong Ki Chiu, who has doubtless been since his childhood under -missionary tutelage, and therefore interdicted from the use of the drug, -knows nothing reliable upon the subject he writes about so glibly. At a -proper time and place, I should be prepared to treat Mr. Storrs Turner to -such native testimony upon this subject as would make him open his eyes -very wide and put him and his disciples to confusion and flight. - -Let me now give you an extract from a despatch of Sir Henry Pottinger, -formerly Her Majesty's Governor-General and Minister Plenipotentiary in -China, written by him some fifty years ago to the Principal Secretary of -State for Foreign Affairs. It is very important, showing, as it does, the -pains that have been taken by Her Majesty's Government at home and her -representatives in China so long ago to ascertain if there were any truth -in the theory that opium smoking was injurious to the health and morals of -the Chinese:-- - - I cannot admit in any manner the idea adopted by many persons that the - introduction of opium into China is a source of unmitigated evil of - every kind and a cause of misery. Personally, I have been unable to - discover a single case of this kind, although, I admit that, when - abused opium may become most hurtful. Besides, the same remark applies - to every kind of enjoyment when carried to excess; but from personal - observations, since my arrival in China, from information taken upon - all points, and lastly, from what the Mandarins themselves say, I am - convinced that the demoralization and ruin which some persons - attribute to the use of opium, arise more likely from imperfect - knowledge of the subject and exaggeration, and that not one-hundredth - part of the evil arises in China from opium smoking, which one sees - daily arising in England as well as in India from the use of ardent - spirits so largely taken in excess in those countries. - -I may now appropriately give you the promised extract from De Quincey's -_Confessions_. I recommend it to the notice of Sir Wilfrid Lawson. The -distinction which he draws between alcoholic intoxication and the -excitement produced by opium eating is instructive and entertaining. He -says:-- - - Two of these tendencies I will mention as diagnostic, or - characteristic and inseparable marks of ordinary alcoholic - intoxication, but which no excess in the use of opium ever develops. - One is the loss of self-command, in relation to all one's acts and - purposes, which steals gradually (though with varying degrees of - speed) over _all_ persons indiscriminately when indulging in wine or - distilled liquors beyond a certain limit. The tongue and other organs - become unmanageable: the intoxicated man speaks inarticulately; and, - with regard to certain words, makes efforts ludicrously earnest yet - oftentimes unavailing, to utter them. The eyes are bewildered, and see - double; grasping too little, and too much. The hand aims awry. The - legs stumble and lose their power of _concurrent_ action. To this - result _all_ people tend, though by varying rates of acceleration. - Secondly, as another characteristic, it may be noticed that, in - alcoholic intoxication, the movement is always along a kind of arch; - the drinker rises through continual ascents to a summit or _apex_, - from which he descends through corresponding steps of declension. - There is a crowning point in the movement upwards, which once attained - cannot be renewed; and it is the blind, unconscious, but always - unsuccessful effort of the obstinate drinker to restore this supreme - altitude of enjoyment which tempts him into excesses that become - dangerous. After reaching this _acme_ of genial pleasure, it is a mere - necessity of the case to sink through corresponding stages of - collapse. Some people have maintained, in my hearing, that they had - been drunk upon green tea; and a medical student in London, for whose - knowledge in his profession I have reason to feel great respect, - assured me, the other day, that a patient, in recovering from an - illness, had got drunk on a beef-steak. All turns, in fact, upon a - rigorous definition of intoxication. - - Having dwelt so much on this first and leading error in respect to - opium, I shall notice briefly a second and a third; which are, that - the elevation of spirits produced by opium is necessarily followed by - a proportionate depression, and that the natural and even immediate - consequence of opium is torpor and stagnation, animal as well as - mental. The first of these errors I shall content myself with simply - denying; assuring my reader, that for ten years, during which I took - opium, not regularly, but intermittingly, the day succeeding to that - on which I allowed myself this luxury was always a day of unusually - good spirits. - - With respect to the torpor supposed to follow, or rather (if we were - to credit the numerous pictures of Turkish opium-eaters) to accompany, - the practice of opium-eating, I deny that also. Certainly, opium is - classed under the head of narcotics, and some such effect it may - produce in the end; but the primary effects of opium are always, and - in the highest degree, to excite and stimulate the system. This first - stage of its action always lasted with me, during my novitiate, for - upwards of eight hours; so that it must be the fault of the - opium-eater himself, if he does not so time his exhibition of the - dose, as that the whole weight of its narcotic influence may descend - upon his sleep. - - First, then, it is not so much affirmed, as taken for granted, by all - who ever mention opium, formally or incidentally, that it does or can - produce intoxication. Now, reader, assure yourself, _meo periculo_, - that no quantity of opium ever did, or could, intoxicate. As to the - tincture of opium (commonly called laudanum), _that_ might certainly - intoxicate, if a man could bear to take enough of it; but why? Because - it contains so much proof spirits of wine, and not because it contains - so much opium. But crude opium, I affirm peremptorily, is incapable of - producing any state of body at all resembling that which is produced - by alcohol; and not in _degree_ only incapable, but even in _kind_; it - is not in the quantity of its effects merely, but in the quality, that - it differs altogether. The pleasure given by wine is always rapidly - mounting, and tending to a crisis, after which as rapidly it declines; - that from opium, when once generated, is stationary for eight or ten - hours: the first, to borrow a technical distinction from medicine, is - a case of acute, the second of chronic, pleasure; the one is a - flickering flame, the other a steady and equable glow. But the main - distinction lies in this--that, whereas wine disorders the mental - faculties, opium, on the contrary (if taken in a proper manner), - introduces amongst them the most exquisite order, legislation, and - harmony. Wine robs a man of his self-possession; opium sustains and - reinforces it. Wine unsettles the judgment, and gives a preternatural - brightness and a vivid exaltation to the contempts and the - admirations, to the loves and the hatreds, of the drinker; opium, on - the contrary, communicates serenity and equipoise to all the - faculties, active or passive; and, with respect to the temper and - moral feelings in general, it gives simply that sort of vital warmth - which is approved by the judgment, and which would probably always - accompany a bodily constitution of primeval or antediluvian health. - Thus, for instance, opium, like wine, gives an expansion to the heart - and the benevolent affections; but, then, with this remarkable - difference, that in the sudden development of kind-heartedness which - accompanies inebriation, there is always more or less of a maudlin and - a transitory character, which exposes it to the contempt of the - bystander. Men shake hands, swear eternal friendship, and shed - tears--no mortal knows why; and the animal nature is clearly - uppermost. But the expansion of the benigner feelings incident to - opium is no febrile access, no fugitive paroxysm; it is a healthy - restoration to that state which the mind would naturally recover upon - the removal of any deep-seated irritation from pain that had disturbed - and quarrelled with the impulses of a heart originally just and good. - True it is, that even wine, up to a certain point, and with certain - men, rather tends to exalt and to steady the intellect; I myself, who - have never been a great wine-drinker, used to find that half-a-dozen - glasses of wine advantageously affected the faculties, brightened and - intensified the consciousness, and gave to the mind a feeling of being - "ponderibus librata suis," and certainly it is most absurdly said, in - popular language, of any man, that he is _disguised_ in liquor; for, - on the contrary, most men are disguised by sobriety, and exceedingly - disguised; and it is when they are drinking that men display - themselves in their true complexion of character; which surely is not - disguising themselves. But still, wine constantly leads a man to the - brink of absurdity and extravagance; and, beyond a certain point, it - is sure to volatilise and to disperse the intellectual energies; - whereas opium always seems to compose what had been agitated and to - concentrate what had been distracted. In short, to sum up all in one - word, a man who is inebriated, or tending to inebriation, is, and - feels that he is, in a condition which calls up into supremacy the - merely human, too often the brutal, part of his nature; but the - opium-eater (I speak of him simply _as_ such, and assume that he is in - a normal state of health) feels that the diviner part of his nature is - paramount--that is, the moral affections are in a state of cloudless - serenity; and high over all the great light of the majestic intellect. - - This is the doctrine of the true church on the subject of opium, of - which church I acknowledge myself to be the Pope (consequently - infallible), and self-appointed _legate a latere_ to all degrees of - latitude and longitude. But then it is to be recollected that I speak - from the ground of a large and profound personal experience, whereas - most of the unscientific authors who have at all treated of opium, and - even of those who have written professionally on the _materia medica_, - make it evident, by the horror they express of it, that their - experimental knowledge of its action is none at all. - -I have now dealt with fallacies 1, 2, 3, and 5. The fourth Mr. Turner -gravely states in his book--and I am perfectly sure it is accepted as -seriously by his fellowers, _that the supply of opium regulates the -demand, and not the demand the supply_. He says at pp. 152, 153:-- - - Defenders of the [opium] policy vainly strive to shelter it behind the - ordinary operation of the trade laws of demand and supply. The - operation of these economic laws does not divest of responsibility - those who set them in motion at either end; for though it would be - absurd to speak of supply as alone creative of demand, _there is no - question but that an abundant and constantly sustained supply - increases demand whenever the article is not one of absolute - necessity_. When silk came by caravans across Central Asia, and a - single robe was worth its weight in gold in Europe, the shining fabric - was reserved for emperors and nobles, and no demand could be said to - exist for it among common people, whereas now the abundant supply - creates a demand among all classes but the very poorest. The - maid-servant who covets a silk dress may be literally said to have had - the demand _created_ in her case, by the ample supply of the material - which places it constantly before her eyes and renders it impossible - for her to obtain it. Only a few years ago there was no demand for - newspapers amongst multitudes who are now daily or weekly purchasers - of them. In this case the supply of penny and halfpenny journals may - be fairly said to have almost alone created the demand. Such - illustrations might be indefinitely multiplied. - -After that it may be said that the Birmingham jewellers and Manchester -merchants have only to send out to China any amount they please of their -wares, and they will find a ready market, the more the merrier. All their -goods will be taken off their hands; they will only have to take care that -the prices shall not be too exorbitant, for otherwise, as in the case of -the maid-servant, though the Chinese working classes may have helped to -_create_ the demand, they would be unable to avail themselves of the -supply. If that doctrine were sound, a mercantile firm could create as -extensive a trade as it desired, and that, too, in any part of the world. -Instead of sending out fifty thousand pounds worth this year, as it did -last, it would have only to export ten times the amount, and still the -demand would continue. The fact is, as every man well knows who is not -blinded by enthusiasm and looks at the subject by the light of cool reason -and common sense, that the effect of sending to China or elsewhere an -excessive quantity of merchandise, even though such merchandise were in -request there, would have the effect of glutting the market. It is only -where the demand exists, and the desire to possess the article, or where -the people want a particular class of thing, that the goods can be readily -and profitably disposed of. I am sure that if we sent double the quantity -of opium that we do to China, or, indeed, three times the amount, it would -be readily bought up by the natives, because there is a great demand there -for Indian opium, owing to its superior strength and better flavour. And -it must be remembered that China is a vast empire, and that the natives -cannot get as much of the Indian drug as they want. I had an opportunity -recently of speaking to a German gentleman established here in London, who -has been many years in the opium trade generally, who has made opium quite -a study, tasting and smelling it, as wine merchants do their wine, and he -declares that Indian opium has a perfume and aroma that is not found in -the Chinese or Persian drug, and that, in fact, the smell of the one is -comparatively agreeable, while that of the others is offensive. This, I -believe, is one of the reasons for the Chinese liking Indian opium. For my -own part I must say, that much as I dislike the odour of tobacco, I have a -greater aversion still to the effluvium of opium in any form or shape, and -I think this is also the case with all Europeans. In fact, opium smoking -is a practice peculiar to China. - -Nothing proves this so completely as the correspondence between Sir Robert -Hart and his various Sub-Commissioners of Customs, as set out in the -Yellow-Book to which I have so often referred. These Commissioners say -that the Indian drug is almost invariably used to mix with the Chinese -article to flavour and make it, so to speak, the more palatable. The -proposition which Mr. Storrs Turner lays down is simply preposterous, and -cannot for a moment be sustained. I do not wish to utter an offensive word -towards that gentleman personally, whose talents and energy are -unquestionable, and whom I hold in great esteem. Upon any subject but -opium he would be incapable of writing anything but sound sense, but -having opium on the brain, he starts theories that are wholly -unsustainable, which, I am sorry to say, his devoted followers accept as -gospel. But to return to the theory that supply creates the demand. By way -of illustration, Mr. Turner goes on to show that, previous to the removal -of the duty on newspapers, there were very few in the country, but that -the moment the duty was taken off, they multiplied, which he considers -proof that in this case the supply created the demand. That is most -fallacious. The demand for newspapers always existed, but, unfortunately, -owing to the oppressive taxes upon knowledge to which the press in former -times was subjected, the supply was limited. In those days even a weekly -newspaper was a great undertaking. An enterprising man in a country town -might start such a paper, but after a lingering existence it was almost -sure to die, not for want of readers, but because it was so heavily taxed -that readers could not afford to buy it, the price then being necessarily -high. First there was a penny duty on each copy of the newspaper. Next -there was a duty of so much the pound upon the raw material, which had to -be paid before it left the mill; and then there was a further duty upon -every advertisement; so that the unfortunate newspaper proprietor was met -with exactions on every side. A copy, even though an old one, of the -_Times_, or of any of the London morning papers, was in former days -eagerly sought for. In his "Deserted Village," Goldsmith, describing the -village ale-house, says:-- - - Where village statesmen talked with wit profound, - And news much older than their ale went round. - -And one can imagine an eager group in that ale-house trying to get a -glimpse of a London newspaper over the shoulders of the privileged holder. -But when these oppressive duties were removed, a different state of things -prevailed. The cost of starting and manufacturing a newspaper was reduced -to about one-fifth of what it was formerly. Every considerable town had -its daily and its weekly newspaper, because the demand had always existed, -whilst, owing to these prohibitive taxes, there was no supply. The craving -for news had always been present, and the moment these prohibitive duties -were struck off, the ambitious editor, or proprietor, saw his opportunity -and started a paper, not because the supply would create a demand, but -because he knew the demand already existed, and he printed just as many as -he thought he would find readers for, and no more. Had he printed more -than was required the excess would have lain on his hands as so much waste -paper. But according to Mr. Turner's theory, the more newspapers he -printed the more he would have sold! It will at once be recognised that -this theory of supply and demand is simply absurd. If it could be shown to -hold water for a moment, China, and other countries also, would be -inundated with articles that never were seen there before. There would be -no reason why China should not be largely supplied with ladies' bonnets -and satin shoes, which, we know, might lie there for a thousand years and -never be used. I have brought before you this notable theory of Mr. Storrs -Turner's, to show you the utterly worthless kind of arguments with which -the British public have been supplied, in order to support the silly, -unfounded, and most mischievous agitation against the Indo-China opium -trade. - -The next fallacy is number six, namely: _that all, or nearly all, who -smoke opium are either inordinate smokers or necessarily in the way of -becoming so; and that once the custom has been commenced it cannot be -dropped, and that the consumption daily increases_. That is not so at all. -It is altogether exceptional to find an inordinate opium smoker; my -reasons for saying so I have already given. I am supported in those views -by every English resident in China, amongst them by Dr. Ayres, whose -authority is simply unquestionable, and whose opinion on the point I have -set out at page 7. I have known hundreds of men who were in the daily -habit of smoking opium after business hours, and they never showed any -decadence whatever. Opium smoking is never practised during business -hours, except by very aged people or the criminal classes. This is an -absolute fact. The Chinese are too wise and thrifty to while away their -time in such luxurious practices during working hours. The opium pipe, as -a rule, is indulged in more moderately than wine or cigars are with us, -the Chinese being so extremely abstemious in their habits. I never saw any -such instances of over-indulgence as Mr. Turner alleges, and I could get -hundreds of European witnesses out in China and here in London who would -depose to the same fact. Frequently have I compared the small shop-keeping -and working people of China with the same classes here at home as regards -sobriety, industry, and frugality, and always, I regret to say, in favour -of the Chinese. - -It is absolutely untrue, as put forward by the Anti-Opium Society and -their secretary, Mr. Turner, that opium is so fascinating that, once a man -begins to use it, he cannot leave it off; natives will smoke it, on and -off, for two or three days, and not smoke it again for a week or more; but -the truth is, the habit is a pleasant and beneficial one, and few who can -afford it desire to discontinue smoking. The fact undoubtedly is, that if -opium smoking were productive of the terrible results that the -missionaries and the Anti-Opium Society allege, China would not be the -densely-populated country that it now actually is. China could not have -held its own as it has done so long and so successfully had all the people -been addicted to such a vice as dram drinking. The true way to look at -this aspect of the case is to suppose for a moment that, instead of being -"opium sots," as Mr. Storrs Turner puts it, the Chinese, "everywhere in -China, in all climates and all soils, in every variety of condition and -circumstance throughout the vast Empire," to adopt that gentleman's own -language, drank spirits freely. Should we then have the Chinese the -hard-working, industrious, thrifty, frugal people that we find them? I -trow not. Intemperance carries with it the destruction of its votaries, -but no baneful consequences attend opium smoking. Some thirty years ago, -as Sir Rutherford Alcock tells us, an American missionary declared that -there were twenty millions of opium smokers in China--all, no doubt, -induced to that immorality by the British Government and people--and that -two millions were dying annually from the effects of the vice! This -monstrous tale was implicitly believed in by Lords Shaftesbury and -Chichester. Yet we now have a Chinese official, Sir Robert Hart, -deliberately telling the Government of China, in his official Yellow Book, -that there are but two millions of smokers in the whole Empire; that -Indian opium supplies but a moderate quantity of the drug to but half of -that number; and that neither the health, wealth, nor prosperity of the -people suffers in consequence. - -This is what Don Sinibaldo de Mas says upon the subject:-- - - The most extraordinary of the advocates of the opium trade is the Earl - of Shaftesbury, President of the Committee organized in London for the - suppression of the traffic. I have not the slightest doubt as to the - _bona fides_ and excellent heart of the noble lord. There is something - grand and generous in entering the lists for the welfare and - protection of a distant and foreign nation, and manfully fighting for - it against the interests of one's own country and one's native land. I - sincerely admire men of such mettle and the country which can produce - them, but I regret that Lord Shaftesbury did not act with greater - caution, and that before entering upon this question he had not - studied it more carefully; especially do I regret that he did not - adopt a more moderate and dignified tone in the expression of his - opinions. Had he done so, he would have saved himself from the - reproach of having lent his name and sanction to a document disfigured - by statistical errors, some of which are opposed to common sense, and - also of having given gratuitous and undeserved insults to others who - differed from his opinions. - - He argues in his statement to the Queen's Government that opium - smoking annually kills two millions of people in China. How is it - possible that the noble Earl could for a moment imagine that every - year so many human beings voluntarily commit suicide! Two millions of - adults who destroy themselves to enjoy a pleasure! Does it not strike - His Lordship how absurd is such an antithesis as pleasure and death? - Can he believe that human nature in China is different to what it is - in Europe? Is it logical to give publicity to such strange assertions - without adducing the slightest proofs. If we inquire into the - accusations brought forward against the merchants and growers of - opium, we find the same discrepancy and the same injustice. It is a - mistake to imagine that the English alone trade in opium, for all - foreigners alike, especially the Americans, introduce and sell it. - - Lord Shaftesbury, in speaking of the value of the opium imported into - China, says that the merchants "rob" the Chinese. I scarcely know - which is the funnier, the idea expressed by the noble Earl, or the way - in which he expresses it. I can assure His Lordship that amongst the - merchants who make opium their business there are men of the highest - integrity, perfect and most accomplished gentlemen, who not only are - incapable of "stealing" anything, but who are equal to any living men - in noble sentiments, justice, and practical benevolence; I need only - mention one man, and do so because he is not now living. I refer to - the late Mr. Launcelot Dent, who, during a most trying and critical - time when this question first arose, was considered one of the most - interested men in the opium trade.... Everyone who has been in China - knows the generosity and the charity for which Mr. Launcelot Dent was - renowned. Having on one occasion travelled from India to Europe with - him, I saw many of his good deeds, but will only mention one, so as - not to wander too far from my subject. A Catholic missionary was - amongst the steerage passengers; Mr. Dent having seen this, without - saying a word to any person on the subject, took a berth for him in - the first cabin and paid the difference, begging me to ask him to take - possession. The missionary expressed much gratitude, but said that as - he had not a sufficient change of linen he would not feel at home in - the state room, especially as there were lady passengers. Mr. Dent - understood the difficulty, and having casually heard that the - clergymen intended to proceed to Jerusalem, begged of him to accept - the sum which the saloon cabin would have cost,[11] which the poor - missionary accepted with heartfelt thanks. - -I should like to know what Mr. Storrs Turner thinks of that. He objects to -British testimony, except when it coincides with his own views. There is -the evidence of a Spanish nobleman, a scholar, a traveller, and an -accomplished diplomatist, for him! I am afraid he will find the foreign -testimony quite as unpalatable as the home article. This Mr. Launcelot -Dent, by the way, was a member of the eminent firm of Dent and Co.--since -dissolved--which, Mr. Turner says, in his article in the _Nineteenth -Century_, were "legally smugglers." - -The next fallacy, number seven, is _that the Chinese Government is, or -ever was, anxious to put a stop to or check the use of opium amongst the -people of China_. That is one of the accepted propositions or dogmas of -the Anti-Opium people. There is another fallacy, number ten, which I will -dispose of at the same time. It is _that the opposition of the Chinese -officials to the introduction of opium into China arose from moral -causes_. There never was anything more fallacious or more distinctly -untrue than that the Chinese Government is, or ever was, anxious to put a -stop to the trade upon moral grounds. The sole object of the Government of -China in objecting to the importation of Indian opium into the country, as -I have stated already, and as everybody except the infatuated votaries of -the Anti-Opium Society believes, was to protect the native drug, to -prevent bullion from leaving the country, and generally to exclude foreign -goods. This Don Sinibaldo de Mas points out in his book written some five -and twenty years ago. - -If the Chinese Government really wanted to put a stop to or check the use -of opium, they would begin by doing so themselves. They would first stop -the cultivation of the poppy in their own country. We have it on the high -authority of Sir Robert Hart, that the drug was grown and used in China -long before foreigners introduced any there. The Chinese are emphatically -a law-abiding people, and if the Chinese Government really wished to put a -stop to the opium culture, they could do so without any difficulty, just -as our Government has put down tobacco culture in the United Kingdom. I -suppose that in Cornwall and Devon, and in some parts of Ireland--the -golden vein, for instance--tobacco could be grown most profitably. It -could be cultivated also in the Isle of Wight, and in many other parts of -the country. Why, then, is it not grown here? Simply because it is illegal -to do so, and the Government is strong enough to enforce the law. If a -farmer in Ireland or in England were to sow tobacco, the fact would be -soon discovered, and it would be summarily stopped. The same thing could -be done with even greater facility in China. Why, then, does not the -Government of China suppress the cultivation of the poppy there? Simply -because it does not desire to do so, because it derives a large revenue -from opium, both native and foreign, and because the smoking of the drug -is an ancient custom amongst the people, known by long experience to be -harmless, if not beneficial. If it were possible to put down opium smoking -in China, the people would assuredly resort to sam-shu, already so -abundant and cheap, and that would indeed cause China's decadence: for -then we should have the working classes there indulging in spirits, when -the quarrellings, outrages, and kicking of wives to death--which Mr. -Turner admits are never the result of opium smoking--would ensue. I only -wish we could turn our drunkards into opium smokers. If the change would -only save those wretched wives and their helpless children from -ill-treatment by their husbands and fathers, we should have secured one -valuable end. No Government will attempt to interfere with the fixed -habits of the people, especially where those habits have existed many -centuries, if not thousands of years, and where they are known to be not -injurious to themselves or the safety and stability of the State, and to -be, in fact, harmless. We have it from Sir Robert Hart's book, that as far -as can be ascertained, the probability is that there is about the same -quantity of the drug grown in China as is imported into it. That is -admittedly a mere approximation, and Sir Robert Hart gives no data for it, -save the returns of his Sub-Commissioners, each of which differs from the -other, and which he admits are not reliable. The information upon which -these Commissioners made up their returns is simply the gossip collected -by them at the Treaty Ports of China: no doubt the best, and, indeed, the -only, information which they could procure. But with the light thrown upon -the subject by Messrs. Baber and Spence, and numerous other independent -authorities, no one can doubt that there is at least three times the -quantity produced in China that is imported from abroad. - -Both the Customs and Consular reports on trade in China for the year 1880 -as well as 1881 bear testimony to the ever-increasing production of opium -in the northern and western provinces of China, and missionaries and -others who have recently made journeys in the interior report the poppy -crops to be much larger than before the Imperial decree purporting to -prohibit its cultivation. The report of the Customs' Assistant-in-charge -at Ichang for 1880 shows that the average annual import of the Indian drug -at that port does not exceed ten pikuls, while the native production in -the Ichang Prefecture is estimated to be over one thousand pikuls per -annum. Mr. W. Donald Spence, in his report on trade for 1880, gives an -estimate of the total crop of opium raised in Western China in 1880, which -is as follows:--Western Hupeh, two thousand pikuls; Eastern Szechuan, -forty-five thousand pikuls; Yunnan, forty-thousand pikuls; and Kweichow, -ten thousand pikuls; giving a total of ninety-seven thousand pikuls--as -much, in fact, for these districts as the whole amount of Indian opium -imported into China for that year. What his report for 1881 is I have -already shown you. This, it must be borne in mind, is the production of -Western China only. In Shantung, Chihli, the inland provinces, and -Manchuria it is extensively grown, and in all the other provinces smaller -quantities of the drug are produced. That nothing is being done to check -this widespread cultivation of the poppy is notorious. Messrs. Soltan and -Stevenson, who passed through Yunnan last year on their way from Bhamo to -Chingkiang, described the country as resembling "a sea of poppy"; and Mr. -Spence tells us that in 1880 and 1881 a greater breadth of land was sown -with poppies in Western Hupeh than in the previous years. In Manchuria, -which is a large territory forming part of the empire to the north-east of -China, and in the northern provinces of China proper, there was also a -general increase in the area under poppy cultivation. No efforts, in fact, -are being made to stop it. On this subject Mr. Spence, in his report for -1880, remarks:-- - - In Western Hupeh there has been no interference with opium farmers or - opium cultivation by the officials, nor, as far as I have been able to - ascertain, by any of the authorities of the provinces named in this - report. In Yunnan it receives direct official encouragement, and in - all the cultivation is free. Its production is regarded as a fertile - source of revenue to the exchequer, of pelf to officials and - smugglers, of profit to farmers and merchants, and of pleasure to all. - Nearly everybody smokes, and nearly everybody smuggles it about the - country when he can; and in this matter there is no difference between - rich and poor, lettered and unlettered, governing and governed. - -After this testimony, which is corroborated in the strongest manner by -many other and equally disinterested persons, who can pretend to say that -the Chinese Government has any real desire to put down the poppy -cultivation? - -Let us now see what Don Sinibaldo de Mas has to say upon this point. -Having gone into the history of the Indo-Chinese opium trade, and shown -that the sole object of the Chinese Government in objecting to that trade -was to prevent bullion from leaving the country, he says:-- - - It is totally wrong to suppose that the Mandarins are anxious to - prevent the introduction of opium into the country. Many of these - Mandarins smoke it; most of them, if not all, accept presents and - close their eyes at opium smuggling. With the exception of the famous - Lin-tsi-su and a few others who reside at Court, all the others, and I - think even Ki-Ying himself, have profited by this illegal traffic. Sir - I. F. Davis when in China as Minister Plenipotentiary frequently - called Ki-Ying's attention to the smuggling that was being carried on - under the connivance and encouragement of rural officials. - -I referred in my last lecture to a valuable paper read by Sir Rutherford -Alcock at a recent meeting of the Society of Arts. Everybody knows this -gentleman's abilities and his high character, which afford the most -perfect assurance that he would be incapable of asserting anything that he -did not know from his own experience, or from unquestionable sources, to -be true. He speaks also with authority. He may be taken to be, therefore, -a perfectly unbiassed witness. He has no personal interest in the -question, and there is no reason why he should state anything but what is -perfectly accurate. He says, in the paper I have mentioned:-- - - Whatever may have been the motive or true cause, about which there - hangs considerable doubt, it is certain that neither in the first - edicts of 1793-6, nor as late as 1832-4, when several Imperial edicts - were issued against the introduction of opium from abroad, no - reference whatever is made to the _moral ground_ of prohibition, so - ostentatiously paraded in later issues, and notably in Li Hung Chang's - letter to the Anglo-Opium Society last July. The reasons exclusively - put forward in the first of these edicts (in 1793) were that "It - wasted the time and property of the people of the Inner Land, leading - them to exchange their silver and commodities for the vile dirt of the - foreigner." And as late as 1836, when memorials were presented to the - Emperor, showing the connection of the opium trade with the - exportation of sycee, they generally regarded the question in a - political and financial character, rather than a moral light; and - certainly, in several edicts issued between 1836 and 1839, when Lin - made his grand _coup_, there is little, if any, reference to the evils - of opium smoking, but very clear language as to the exportation of - bullion. When we reflect that this "vile dirt," as I will presently - show, was being extensively cultivated in the provinces of China, and - largely consumed by his own subjects, we may be permitted to question - whether the balance of trade turned by the large importation of opium, - and the leakage of the sycee silver, so emphatically and angrily - pointed to in after years, was not the leading motive for the - prohibition of the foreign drug. We have it on authority, that "From - the commencement of the commercial intercourse down to 1828-29 the - balance of trade had always been in favour of the Chinese, and great - quantities of bullion accumulated in China. Since that date the - balance of trade had been in the opposite direction, and bullion began - to flow out of China. As silver became more scarce, it naturally rose - in value, and the copper currency of the realm (and the only one), - already depreciated by means of over-issues and mixture of foreign - coin of an inferior standard, appeared to suffer depreciation when - compared with its nominal equivalent in sycee; and the effects of this - change fell heavily upon a large and important class of Government - officers, and ultimately upon the revenue itself. Memorials were - presented to the Emperor on the subject, and the export of sycee was - prohibited." - -How, after that, it can be said for a moment that the Chinese Government -was actuated by moral considerations, or was really anxious to put down -opium smoking or opium culture, I cannot conceive. The truth is, and it is -so palpable that it really seems to me to require no advocacy whatever, -that the Government, as Sir Rutherford Alcock and Don Sinibaldo so -strongly put it, does not like to see so much bullion leaving the country. - -Now, Sir Rutherford Alcock, unlike the missionaries and the agents of the -Anti-Opium Society, has acquired his knowledge of opium and the opium -trade in the regular course of his ordinary duties, and has necessarily, -therefore, acquired an authentic knowledge of the subject. His testimony, -like that of Messrs. Spence, Baber, and a host of other unimpeachable -witnesses, comes under the head of the "best evidence." But it is said of -Sir Rutherford by the agents of the Anti-Opium Society, with the view of -discrediting his testimony, that he has changed his opinions; that -formerly he was opposed to the trade which he now defends. I do not -believe there is any solid truth in this assertion; but if there is, what -does the fact prove? Why, simply nothing at all. Show me the public man -who during the past forty or fifty years has not altered or modified his -opinions more or less. Sir Robert Peel, one of the greatest of modern -statesmen, when he was past sixty years of age, changed the opinions he -had held all his life upon free trade. Was he right or wrong in doing so? -If Sir Rutherford Alcock had at an earlier period of his life held -different opinions to those he now holds on the Indo-Chinese opium trade, -it is not unreasonable that on a closer study of the subject, and by the -strong light that has been thrown upon it within the past ten or fifteen -years, he should have modified or even altogether changed his opinions. -This is, again, another instance of the desperate efforts of the -Anti-Opium advocates to hold their ground and maintain their unfounded and -untenable theories. - -The Government of China have always been protectionists in the strictest -sense of the term. Their idea has been that China can support itself; that -the people can provide themselves with everything they want, and need -nothing from abroad. They will sell the foreigner as much of their produce -as he wishes to buy, and cheerfully take his gold in exchange, but they -will not buy from him if they can help doing so. This is the real end they -are aiming at; but they would not be at all so persistent, or put their -case so much forward as they do, were it not for the attitude taken up by -the missionaries and that most mischievous, intermeddling, un-English -confederacy the Anti-Opium Society, as revealed to them by _The Friend of -China_. The Government of China have in their employment Chinese clerks -and interpreters who are excellent English scholars. These men explain -everything about the objects of the Anti-Opium Society, and, whilst the -Mandarins laugh at the absurdities put forward by that association, they -are still quite ready to accept the Society as their ally. Hence Li Hung -Chang's letter to Mr. Storrs Turner, mentioned in Sir Rutherford Alcock's -paper; one would almost fancy that this letter had been written for Li by -Mr. Storrs Turner himself. No one knew better than Li Hung Chang that this -letter was one tissue of hypocrisy and mendacity. But, stay, there is one -part of it that is certainly true. Li says to Mr. Turner: "_Your Society -has long been known to me and many of my countrymen_." There can be no -doubt of the fact. Whilst despising Mr. Storrs Turner and his Society, and -cordially hating him and his fellow missionaries, Li Hung Chang and his -friends play into their hands and humour them in this matter to the top of -their bent. Their real object is to get rid of the Indian opium if they -can; or, if they cannot, to have a higher duty fixed upon it, so as to -reduce its supply; or, at all events, to augment their own revenues by the -higher duty. As matters stand at present, the Chinese Government obtains a -net revenue of over two million pounds sterling from the Indian drug, and -they derive, perhaps, half that amount from the duty on the home-grown -article. They have revenue cruisers constantly watching to put down opium -smuggling, and they adopt other rigid steps to prevent the practice; but -it is still carried on to a considerable extent, not by Englishmen or -other foreigners, mark you, but by their own countrymen. Very great -misconception, I may here say, prevails upon this point artfully spread -abroad by agents here of the Anti-Opium Society, but I shall sweep this -away before I close. The Chinese Government is quite willing to perpetuate -the Indo-China opium trade if it can only get the duty raised to suit its -purpose. Therein lies their whole object. Mr. Turner speaks about the -paternal character of the Chinese Government. In the _Peking -Gazette_--which is in some respects analogous to the _London -Gazette_--Imperial decrees are from time to time published. Amongst -others, there will appear proclamations addressed to the people, warning -them to abstain from this and that evil practice. But they have not the -least effect, nor is it expected that they will have effect. They are mere -shams, and are not heeded; yet they please the people. These proclamations -or injunctions are never seriously intended, and Mr. Turner knows this -perfectly well. Dr. Wells Williams mentions in his book that two thousand -years before Christ the manufacture of spirits was forbidden in China; yet -the trade still flourishes there. Spirits are still drunk in moderation -throughout China, just as opium is smoked. - -Sir R. Hart says that "Native opium was known, produced, and used long -before any Europeans began the sale of the foreign drug along the coast." -Mr. Watters, one of Her Majesty's Consuls in China, states that the poppy -is largely cultivated throughout Western China; Mr. Colborne Baber, who -has travelled through nearly the whole of China, not only confirms Mr. -Watters' statement, but says that from his own experience one-third of the -province of Yunnan is under opium culture. Mr. W. Donald Spence and a host -of others thoroughly well informed upon the question also give the -strongest corroborative testimony. Now, in the face of the statements of -such witnesses as these, can you credit for a moment Mr. Storrs Turner -when he says--believing only what he wishes to be true, but having no data -whatever for his statements--that it is only recently that opium has been -cultivated in China? Of all the existing nations of Asia, the only one -that can now be described as civilized is China; and this is the country -where Mr. Turner, because it suits his purpose, tells us that this -invaluable drug has been only _recently_ known. - -China may be said to be the garden of Asia. Opium has been grown -throughout the fertile plains of that immense continent for thousands of -years, and is it likely that the oldest and most civilized of all Asiatic -nations would be the last to introduce into their country the culture of -that drug to whose curative properties Mr. Storrs Turner bears such strong -testimony in the opening chapter of his book? The only reason that -gentleman could have had for making such a statement is simply, as I have -already intimated, to induce his readers to believe that the Chinese would -not have cultivated the drug, nor have used it for smoking, were it not -for the importation of Indian opium into China. Upon this part of my -subject, I may mention that a book has been written by a very learned man, -Dr. W. A. P. Martin, President of the Tungwen College at Peking, who shows -that China was the cradle of Alchemy, which was known there five hundred -years before it was ever heard of in Europe. Are these a people likely to -be ignorant of this indispensable medicine, as Mr. Turner characterizes -it, or to neglect its cultivation throughout their fertile country? I may -add that all, or nearly all, the medicines of the British Pharmacopoeia, -and a great many more also, have been known to the Chinese for hundreds, -if not thousands, of years. - -The eighth fallacy is, _that the British merchants in China are making -large fortunes by opium_. I have already, I think, pretty well disposed of -this, and I need not say much more upon the subject now. One of the great -points of the Anti-Opium Society and its supporters seems to be that the -British merchants are birds of prey, a set of rapacious and ravenous -creatures, without the feelings of humanity in their breasts, who have -gone out to China to make princely fortunes, after the manner of that -apochryphal youth who, on his departure from the paternal roof, is said to -have received this admonition from his canny sire, "Mak money, ma -boy--honestly if you can--but mak money"; that thus animated the British -merchant arrives in China like a hawk amid a flock of pigeons, and helps -himself to one of those princely acquisitions, which, to Mr. Storrs -Turner, seem to be as plentiful as blackberries in the flowery land, and -who, after having helped to demoralise and ruin the nation, gracefully -returns home to enjoy his ill-gotten gains. The best answer to this is the -amicable relations that now exist and have always existed between the -natives and these merchants. The British merchants, as a body, have no -interest in the opium trade; nor are any of them engaged in smuggling or -in any practices detrimental to the natives of China. In point of -education, thorough mercantile knowledge, strict integrity, and sound -practical Christianity, these gentlemen are second to no other body of men -in the British Empire. - -Another fallacy, or false assumption, number nine, which the advocates of -the Anti-Opium Society are fond of propagating, and which is as fully -believed in by themselves as by their deluded followers, is--_that the -discontinuance of the supply of opium from India would stop or check the -practice of opium smoking_. They fully believe that if they could only -succeed in suppressing the Indo-China opium trade they would deal such a -death-blow to this ancient custom, which prevails more or less over the -eighteen provinces of the Chinese empire, that we should in a very short -time hear of there being no opium smoking at all in China! That is as -great a delusion as was ever indulged in. Imagine a person saying that if -we ceased to ship beer, stout, and whiskey to Denmark, France, or Italy, -we should check the consumption of brandy or other alcoholic liquors -throughout Europe, and you have a pretty fair parallel to this assumption. - -Suppose it were possible to stop the supply of opium from British India, -and that such stoppage had in fact taken place, the result would be that -the Chinese would increase the cultivation of the poppy in their own -country still more than they have already done, and the Indian drug known -as "Malwa opium" would still continue to be imported into China, for the -British Government, even if desirous to do so, could not prohibit its -manufacture and exportation. The Portuguese, who were the first to import -Indian opium into China, would cultivate the drug, not only in their -Indian possession of Goa, but in Africa, where they have colonies. -Further, they would encourage its increased cultivation in the native -states of India, which produce the Malwa opium, and which, as I have just -said, we could not prevent. A great stimulus would also be given to the -cultivation of Persian opium. Hear, how I am borne out by Don Sinibaldo de -Mas, an authentic and thoroughly impartial witness. This is what he says, -in his very valuable book:-- - - It is another fallacy to say that if the East India Company were to - prohibit the cultivation of opium in her territories that the article - would disappear from China altogether. The poppy grows freely between - the equator and latitudes 30 deg. to 40 deg.; it is produced in large - quantities in Java, the Phillipines, Borneo, Egypt, and other places, - as well as in China itself, where for many years past some thousands - of chests are annually produced. It may be that the opium grown at - Java has perhaps a different taste from that grown at Malwa and - Benares, and may seem to be of inferior quality, but the consumers - would soon become accustomed to that, and would probably prefer the - former to the latter. Persons who are in the habit of smoking Havanna - dislike Manilla cigars, and those who generally smoke Manillas prefer - them to Havannas. At present opium is not exported from other - countries because Indian Opium is so cheap. - - What, then, may I ask, is the reproach constantly hurled at the East - India Company? That it derives an annual income by the culture of - opium of at least three millions of pounds sterling. Should the - Company prohibit the culture of the drug in order to allow other - nations to derive the emoluments arising from it? I who have travelled - in both upper and lower India, and know something of the country, am - persuaded that the people there are already over-taxed, and to demand - from them a substituted tax for those three millions would be a very - serious matter indeed. And for whom pray would this sacrifice be made? - To reduce the quantity of opium smoked in China? Most assuredly not; - for the Chinese would still smoke just as much. This sacrifice on the - part of England would only benefit those countries which would take up - the cultivation of opium in order to supply the Chinese markets from - which the Indian drug had been withdrawn. And what fault can be found - with the merchants? Is it not the Chinese who ask for opium, and who - buy it of their own free will, although not a single foreigner, either - by example or precept, encourages them to do so. Is it not the Chinese - who go out of their ports to the "Receiving Ships" to fetch it? Is the - Chinese nation composed of children, or of savages who do not know - right from wrong? Ought, for instance, the Queen of England to - undertake to redress Chinese habits, or let us say vices, and to - reform her Custom-house administration by watching the Chinese Coast? - By what right could the English Government or any other Government do - such things? If that is not what is wished, what is? Against whom and - against what is all this outcry? - - It is said that the receiving ships are anchored at the mouth of - rivers, that British war-ships anchor alongside of them, and that the - consuls know this. That is quite true. The consuls admit all this--in - fact, they often send their despatches by these very opium ships to - Hong Kong. How many times has it happened that the consuls have had - discussions with the Chinese governors respecting these receiving - ships? They say, "We do not protect these ships; why do you not drive - them away?" All this, I repeat, is notorious, and it is to be - regretted that it is so; because, under proper legal authorisation, - opium might be introduced into the Chinese Empire with such great - advantage to the Imperial treasury.... - - It cannot be expected that the English Government through its naval - commanders should prevent its subjects from carrying on a remunerative - commerce, whilst Americans, Dutchmen, Danes, Swedes, and Portuguese - would continue to carry on the trade with increased profit through the - withdrawal of the English. - -Were the supply of opium from British India discontinued we should have a -class of merchants who would form syndicates to buy up all the opium that -could be found, and Macao would become the great depot for Persian, -Javanese, and Malwa opium for the China market, so that we should have -probably four times the quantity of the foreign drug shipped to China that -is now imported into that country, and thus the alleged evils of opium -smoking in China would be intensified. By a stupid though well-meaning -policy, that ultimate demoralisation, degradation, and ruin which the -Anti-Opium Society allege is now being wrought upon the natives of China -by the existing Indo-China opium trade would be enormously accelerated, -whilst England and English missionaries would only earn the contempt of -the Chinese nation and the ridicule of the whole world. I have shown you -that the Government of China is not sincere in its professed desire to put -down opium smoking; for if it was we should never have had the poppy grown -so extensively as it is at present all over the empire. The evidence of -Sir Robert Hart alone upon this point puts the matter beyond the question -of a doubt. How, in the face of that gentleman's book, this Anti-Opium -agitation can continue I really cannot understand. He is an officer of the -Chinese Government, and he would be the last man to publish anything -damaging to the Government or people of China. Here have these Anti-Opium -agitators been forty years in the wilderness without making any progress, -but only getting deeper into the quagmire of error and delusion. Even now, -although defeated at all points, they persist, as I shall show by and by, -in obstructing public business in the House of Commons by again -ventilating their unfounded theories. - -As matters stand, this book of Sir Robert Hart's must show to every -impartial mind that the teaching of the Anti-Opium Society, from its -formation to the present time, has been fallacious, misleading, and -mischievous. Yet, in the face of this most damaging official Yellow-Book, -we are still calmly and seriously told from many platforms, by dignitaries -of the highest position in the Church, and by clergymen of all -denominations, that we are demoralising and ruining the whole nation, -because we send the Chinese a comparatively small quantity of pure and -unadulterated opium, which is beneficial rather than injurious to them. -But what does Sir Robert Hart, with all his official information, say? -That all this opium, amounting to about six thousand tons annually, is -consumed in moderation by one million of smokers, or one-third of one per -cent. of the whole population of China, estimating the number of people at -three hundred millions only. - -The missionaries and the Anti-Opium Society, in the face of facts which -directly contradict them, say that the Chinese Government has a horror of -opium; but they never tell us that that Government has a horror of -themselves. What was the celebrated saying of Prince Kung to the British -Ambassador? "Take away your opium and your missionaries," said he. Now the -Chinese Government does not hate opium; it derives a very large revenue -from the drug at present, and it is only anxious to increase the amount. I -have very little doubt that Prince Kung, and all the other Imperial -magnates, including Li Hung Chang, that strictest of moralists, revel in -the very Indian drug they affect so to abhor. But they do detest the -missionaries most cordially; so do the whole educated people of the -empire, and so do Chinamen generally. None know this better than the -missionaries themselves. That disgraceful book, written by a Mandarin, -called "A Death-blow to Corrupt Practices," which was, by the aid of his -brother Mandarins, extensively circulated throughout China, but too -plainly proves the fact. That infamous volume was aimed at the whole -missionary body in China, Roman Catholic as well as Protestant; it -attributed the foulest crimes, the most disgraceful and disgusting -practices to the missionaries. It was, in fact, the precursor of the -fearful Tientsin massacre; yet the missionaries tell us that if we will -only discontinue the Indo-China opium trade the millennium will arrive. I -may here observe that if opium was the terrible thing, and was productive -of so much misery to its votaries, as the Protestant missionaries and the -Anti-Opium Society would have us believe, it seems strange that no mention -of opium or opium smoking appears in this book. If half the outcry raised -against the Indo-Chinese opium trade were true, here was an excellent -opportunity for the writer to have inveighed against the wickedness of -foreigners in introducing the horrible drug into the country. If the -Gospel is objected to because of this Indian opium, what a fine occasion -for the author to have enlarged upon the iniquity. If the Chinese mind -had been in any way impressed with the evils proceeding from opium -smoking, can it be supposed for a moment that the author of this book, an -educated Mandarin--one of the _literati_, in fact--would have omitted the -opportunity of denouncing the missionaries and foreigners generally for -introducing the terrible drug into the country and making profit by the -vices and misery of the Chinese people? Does not the entire omission of -opium from this book prove most eloquently that there is no real truth in -the outcry raised by these missionaries against the opium trade? The real -fact, believe me, is this, the Chinese dislike and distrust the -missionaries not because opium is an evil but because they hate and -despise Christianity. From the Anti-Opium Society one never hears anything -about the removal of the missionaries; it is all "take away your opium." I -am perfectly sure that, if we agreed to exclude our missionaries from -China, the Government of that country would unhesitatingly admit Indian -opium into the country duty free. No greater proof can be adduced of this -than the zeal and persistency with which the Chinese Government recently -and successfully prosecuted the celebrated Wu Shi Shan case, which was in -the nature of an action of ejectment against a Protestant missionary body -at Foochow. The late Mr. French, the Judge of Her Majesty's Supreme Court -for China and Japan, tried the case, the hearing of which occupied nearly -two months. It cost the Chinese Government about one hundred thousand -dollars, or twenty thousand pounds; they were well satisfied with the -result, although the land they recovered was not worth a tenth of the -money. - -It is declared by Mr. Turner and the other advocates of the Anti-Opium -Society that we have treated the Chinese with great harshness; that we -have extorted the Treaty of Tientsin from them, and bullied them into -legalizing the admission of opium into the empire; that we began by -smuggling opium into China, and ended by quarrelling with the Chinese. It -must not be forgotten, on the other hand, how the Chinese have treated us. -For more than a century before we introduced opium into China, and began, -as it is said, to quarrel with the Chinese, we had been buying their teas -and silks, and paying for them in hard cash. During all that time we were -treated by the Mandarins with the greatest indignity. Our representatives -and our people were insulted, often maltreated, and sometimes murdered. As -to opium smuggling, about which so much is sought to be made by the -Anti-Opium people, there is one point that the writers and speakers upon -the subject seem to have forgotten. In the first place, I think I will -show you that smuggling, in the proper sense of the term, has never, in -fact, been carried on in China by Englishmen--or, indeed, by other -foreigners--at all. But even admitting, for argument's sake, that -smuggling in its ordinary acceptation did, in fact, exist, how does the -matter stand? It has been for centuries the recognized international law -of the civilized world that one nation is not bound to take cognizance of -the revenue laws of another. This principle has been carried out in past -times with the greatest strictness. For instance, there was once a very -large contraband trade done between England and France. When brandy was -heavily taxed, and when it was thought more of than it is now, smuggling -it into England was a very profitable business. It was the same as regards -silks, lace, and a great many other articles before free trade became the -law of this country. Our Government knew this very well, but they never -dreamt for a moment of sending a remonstrance to the French Government -upon the subject. Had they done so, the latter would probably have -replied: "We cannot prevent our people from doing this. We give them no -encouragement whatever. We have enough to do to prevent your people from -smuggling English goods into our country, and you must do your best on -your side to prevent our subjects from introducing French goods into -yours." For I suppose our people, carrying out the principle of -reciprocity, had some contraband dealings with French contrabandists on -their own account. That was the law for centuries, and it is so still. - -But of late years what is called "the comity of nations" has become more -understood, and there is a better spirit spreading between different -states on this subject, although, as I have said, the law is still the -same. If our Government knew that there was now an organized system of -smuggling carried on here with France, they would, I dare say, try to put -a stop to the practice, and would, at the least, give such information to -the Government of France as would put their revenue officers on their -guard, and I am sure that the French Government would act in the same way -towards us. That would be due to the better feeling that has arisen -between the two countries within the last forty years. The moment, -therefore, it was found that there was a considerable demand in China for -Indian opium, British and other vessels brought the article to China; and -there can be no doubt that they met with great encouragement from the -Chinese officials, but they got no assistance from us. The opium shippers -carried on the trade at their own risk. All this has been very clearly -shown by Don Sinibaldo de Mas. There was no actual smuggling on the part -of the owners of these vessels. The Chinese openly came on board and -bought and took away the opium, "squaring" matters, so to speak, with the -Mandarins. These so-called smugglers belonged to all nationalities. There -were Americans, Portuguese, and Germans, as well as English, engaged in -it. According to the international law of European countries, the Chinese -Government ought, under the circumstances, to have had a proper preventive -service, and so put down the smuggling. But, instead of this, the practice -was openly encouraged by the Chinese officials, some of them Mandarins of -high position. - -Now and then an explosion would occur; angry remonstrances would be -addressed to the British Government, and bad feeling between the two -nations would be engendered, the Chinese all along treating us as -barbarians, using the most insulting language towards us, and subjecting -our people, whenever opportunity offered, to the greatest indignities. The -missionaries have ignored all this. They appear to have satisfied -themselves so completely that we forced this trade upon the Chinese that -they have lost sight both of fact and reason. The very existence of an -opium-smuggling trade with China shows that the article smuggled was in -very great demand in that country. People never illegally take into a -country an article that is not greatly in request there. They will not -risk their lives and property unless they know large profits are to be -acquired by the venture, and such profits can only be made upon articles -in great demand. It was because there was found to be a demand for Indian -opium that this so-called contraband trade sprang up. This furnishes the -strongest proof that the Chinese valued the opium highly, and that it was -on their invitation that the drug was introduced. There is, I believe, a -considerable contraband trade now carried on in tobacco between Germany -and Cuba and England, just because the article is in demand here, and -there is a very high duty upon it. The fact is, that if the arguments of -the Anti-Opium people are properly weighed, they will be found, almost -without exception, to cut both ways, and with far greater force against -their own side. - -Now with respect to smuggling, it is right that I should clear up the -misconception that seems to prevail upon the subject. Whatever may have -been the practice previous to the Treaty of Nankin, which was signed on -the 29th of August 1842, and ratified on the 26th of June 1843--forty -years ago, I say it advisedly, and challenge contradiction, that _no -smuggling or quasi smuggling, or any practice resembling smuggling, has -been carried on in China by any British subject_ since the signing of that -treaty. Although no mention is made of opium in that convention, it is an -indisputable fact that from the time of the making of it until the Treaty -of Tientsin in 1858, Indian opium was freely allowed into the country at -an _ad valorem_ duty. This is shown by Don Sinibaldo de Mas, in his book, -and also by Sir Rutherford Alcock, in his valuable paper. No doubt the -Chinese themselves have since then smuggled opium into their country, and -are doing so still. They are, in truth, inveterate smugglers, and it has -been found impossible for the British authorities of Hong Kong to prevent -the practice. For the past thirty years laws have from time to time been -passed in the colony with the object of checking the practice, which have -not been wholly unsuccessful; for instance, some twenty-five years ago an -Ordinance was passed prohibiting junks from leaving the harbour between -sunset, and, I think, 6 a.m. on the following morning, and compelling -every outward-bound junk to leave at the harbour master's office a copy of -the "Manifest" before starting, and I have known many prosecutions for -breach of this Ordinance. - -Still smuggling by Chinamen goes on more or less, but not now, I think, to -any large extent. As for any connivance or participation in the practice -by the British authorities or the British people, and, indeed, I may say -the same for all foreigners in China, there is none whatever. I am fully -borne out in this statement by the _Friend of China_, which you will -remember is the organ of the Anti-Opium Society. It would appear that Sir -John Pope Hennessy, lately Governor of Hong Kong, made a speech last -autumn at Nottingham, on the occasion of the meeting of the Social Science -Congress, in the course of which he made some allusion to smuggling by the -British community of Hong Kong. I have not myself read the speech, but -collect this from the statement of the journal in question, which I shall -now read to you. This is the passage:-- - - The present governor of Hong Kong is extremely unpopular with the - British community under his jurisdiction. Into the occasion and merit - of the feud we do not pretend to enter, but in reproducing the - Governor's condemnation of the Colony it is only fair to note the fact - of the existing hostility between governor and governed. _We are - sorry, too, that Sir John did not state that these desperate smugglers - are of Chinese race. So far as we know there is no ground for - inculpating a single Englishman in Hong Kong in these nefarious - proceedings; the English merchant sells his opium to Chinese - purchasers, and there his connection with the traffic ceases._ - -So much for the delusion as to smuggling by British subjects in China. As -for the "Hoppo" of Canton, who farms from the Chinese Government the -revenue of the provinces of Kwantung and Kwangsi, and whose object it is -to squeeze as much as he can from the mercantile community of these -provinces during his term of office, he has a fleet of fast English-built -steam cruisers, heavily armed, ostensibly to put down smuggling, but -really to cripple the commerce of the port of Hong Kong, they keep the -harbour blockaded by this fleet of armed cruisers to prey upon the native -craft coming to and sailing from the colony. Wild with wrath at the -prosperity of Hong Kong, the Hoppo and his cruisers lose no opportunity of -oppressing the native junks resorting to the place. All those vessels they -think should go to Canton to swell the Hoppo's income. Many Chinese -merchants have put cases of oppression of the kind in my hands, where -those armed cruisers simply played the part of pirates, seizing -unoffending junks, taking them to Canton, and confiscating junk and cargo; -but I regret to say that only in a very few cases have I been able to -obtain redress. This state of things has been going on for the past -fifteen or twenty years, and should be put down by the British Government. -So far as respects the Chinese authorities, and the junk owners, and -native merchants, it is simply legalised robbery; whilst as regards the -British Government and people of the colony, foreigners as well as -natives, it is a system of insult and outrage--a very serious injury, and -a glaring breach of international law, which no European Government would -tolerate in another. I mention this to show how forbearing and -long-suffering the Government of Hong Kong and the Imperial Government -have been towards China during the continuance of this most nefarious and -unjustifiable state of things. This is in truth a very serious matter. -When Sir Henry Elliott took possession of Hong Kong in 1841 on behalf of -the Queen, he invited by proclamation the Chinese people to settle in the -place, promising them protection for their lives and property, upon the -faith of which the natives took their families and property to the colony. -But how can it be said now that their property is protected when this -piratical fleet, like a bird of prey, hovers round the colony, pouncing -down upon the native craft going to or leaving the port? - -To close this part of my subject, I may say in short, that the charges -brought by the Anti-Opium Society against the importation of Indian opium -into China are exactly on a par with the objections of a Society -established in France for the purpose of prohibiting the importation into -England of cognac, on the grounds that that spirit intoxicated, -demoralised, and ruined the English people. If any set of men in France -were fanatical and insane enough to set forth such views, they would be -laughed down at once. The answer to the objection to the brandy trade -would be, "That the English people manufacture and drink plenty of gin and -whisky, and if they, the French, discontinued sending them brandy the -English would simply manufacture and drink more spirits of their own -production." No two cases could be more alike. - -Before proceeding to the last of the fallacies by which the opponents of -the Indo-Chinese opium trade have been so long deluding society, I wish to -refer to the statements made by Mr. Storrs Turner in his book, and by the -advocates of the Anti-Opium trade, respecting the Treaty of Tientsin. It -is alleged that Lord Elgin, who bore the highest character as a statesman -and Christian gentleman, extorted the treaty from the Chinese, and forced -them to include opium in the schedule to that treaty. Mr. Turner, at p. 95 -of his book, typifies the conduct of England thus:-- - - The strong man knocks down the weak one, sets his foot upon his chest - and demands:--"Will you give me the liberty to knock at your front - door and supply your children with poison _ad libitum_?" The weak man - gasps out from under the crushing pressure--"I will, I will; anything - you please." And the strong man goes home rejoicing that he is no - longer under the unpleasant necessity of carrying on a surreptitious - back-door trade. - -This metaphor is really absurd, and has no application whatever. Were a -man so infamous as to act in the manner stated, it would be a matter of -little concern to him whether his poison entered by the front or the back -door, so long as he got paid for the article. The fact is, as I have -stated, that since the Treaty of Nankin, in 1842, opium has been openly -allowed in the country without any difficulty or objection. If there is -any point in this metaphor of Mr. Storrs Turner's at all, it applies not -to the insertion of opium in the tariff, but to the clause in the treaty -as to the admission of missionaries into China, for that was really the -bitter pill the Chinese swallowed. In 1858, when the Treaty of Tientsin -was being drawn up, the tariff upon British goods had to be settled. The -Chinese Commissioners, not only as a matter of course, and without any -pressure whatever, proposed to put down opium in the schedule at the -present fixed duty of thirty taels a pikul, but actually insisted upon -doing so. There was no necessity for using pressure at all, and none in -fact was used. It was included in the tariff just like other goods. Mr. H. -N. Lay, who jointly with Sir Thomas Wade, Her Majesty's present minister -at Pekin, was Chinese Secretary to Lord Elgin's special mission, and who -then, I believe, filled the important post in the Chinese service now -occupied by Sir Robert Hart, expresses his opinion on the subject as -follows:-- - - Statements have been advanced of late, with more or less of precision, - to the effect that the legalisation of the opium trade was wrung from - Chinese fears. At the recent meeting in Birmingham Lord Elgin is - credited, in so many words, with having "extorted" at Tientsin the - legalisation of the article in question. There is no truth whatever in - the allegation, and I do not think, in fairness to Lord Elgin's - memory, or in justice to all concerned, that I ought to observe - silence any longer. Jointly with Sir Thomas Wade, our present minister - in China, I was Chinese Secretary to Lord Elgin's special mission. All - the negotiations at Tientsin passed through me. Not one word upon - either side was ever said about opium from first to last. The revision - of the tariff, and the adjustment of all questions affecting our - trade, was designedly left for after deliberation and arrangement, and - it was agreed that for that purpose the Chinese High Commissioners - should meet Lord Elgin at Shanghai in the following winter. The Treaty - of Tientsin was signed on the 26th of June 1858; the first was - withdrawn, and Lord Elgin turned the interval to account by visiting - Japan and concluding a treaty there. In the meantime the preparation - of the tariff devolved upon me, at the desire no less of the Chinese - than of Lord Elgin. _When I came to "Opium" I inquired what course - they proposed to take in respect to it. The answer was, "We have - resolved to put it into the tariff as Yang Yoh_ (foreign medicine)." - This represents with strict accuracy the amount of the "extortion" - resorted to. And I may add that the tariff as prepared by me, although - it comprises some 300 articles of import and export, _was adopted by - the Chinese Commissioners without a single alteration_, which would - hardly have been the case had the tariff contained aught objectionable - to them. Five months after the signature of the Treaty of Tientsin, - long subsequently to the removal of all pressure, the Chinese High - Commissioners, the signatories of the treaty, came down to Shanghai in - accordance with the arrangement made, and after conference with their - colleagues, and due consideration, signed with Lord Elgin the tariff - as prepared, along with other commercial articles which had been drawn - up in concert with the subordinate members of the Commission who had - been charged with that duty. _The Chinese Government admitted opium as - a legal article of import, not under constraint, but of their own free - will deliberately._ - -Now Mr. H. N. Lay is a gentleman whose testimony is altogether -unimpeachable, and this is his statement. He explains the whole -transaction, and it is substantially and diametrically contrary to the -allegations of Mr. Turner and the Anti-Opium Society. His account of the -matter has the greater force, because I believe he is rather anti-opium in -his views than the opposite, and at the time of the treaty he was in the -service of the Chinese Government. The truth is, that we never should have -had the Chinese urging us to increase the duty had they not been supported -by the Anti-Opium Society. Mr. Laurence Oliphant was Lord Elgin's -secretary at the time of the Tientsin Treaty. This is what he says on the -subject:-- - - As a great deal of misconception prevails in the public mind upon this - subject, I would beg to confirm what Mr. Lay has said as to the views - of the Chinese Government in the matter. - - I was appointed in 1858 Commissioner for the settlement of the trade - and tariff regulations with China; and during my absence with Lord - Elgin in Japan, Mr. Lay was charged to consider the details with the - subordinate Chinese officials named for the purpose. On my return to - Shanghai I went through the tariff elaborated by these gentlemen with - the Commissioner appointed by the Chinese Government. When we came to - the article "opium," _I informed the Commissioner that I had received - instructions from Lord Elgin not to insist on the insertion of the - drug in the tariff, should the Chinese Government wish to omit it. - This he declined to do. I then proposed that the duty should be - increased beyond the figure suggested in the tariff; but to this he - objected, on the ground that it would increase the inducements to - smuggling._ - - I trust that the delusion that the opium trade now existing with China - was "extorted" from that country by the British Ambassador may be - finally dispelled. - -But Mr. Storrs Turner will doubtless still say, "Oh! these gentlemen are -Englishmen; you cannot believe them." I do not think, however, this kind -of objection will have much weight with my readers or the country at -large. - -And now, as I am on the political side of the question, I will say a few -words on the Indian aspect of the case. The Government of India is charged -by Mr. Storrs Turner and the Anti-Opium people generally with descending -to the position of opium manufacturers and merchants, and quotes an -alleged proposal of the late Lord Lawrence to drop the traffic, leaving -the cultivation and exportation of the drug to private enterprise, and -recouping itself from loss by placing a heavy export duty on the article. -If Lord Lawrence ever proposed such an arrangement, which I doubt very -much, I hardly think he could have carefully considered the question. No -doubt, in an abstract point of view, it is contrary to sound policy for -the Government of a country to carry on mercantile business, much less to -take into its own hands a monopoly of any trade, yet the thing has been -done for a great number of years, and is still practised by some -continental Governments without the existence of any special reason for so -doing. The Indo-China opium trade, however, is an entirely exceptional -one. When an exceptional state of things has to be dealt with, -corresponding measures must be resorted to. The opium industry in India is -an ancient one; and the exportation of this drug to China began under the -Portuguese, several centuries ago. Were the Government of India to adopt -the alleged proposals of Lord Lawrence, the result would be that a much -larger quantity of opium than is now produced in India would be turned -out, so that not only would the alleged evils now complained of by the -missionaries and the Anti-Opium Society be intensified, but the Government -of India would find its revenue greatly increased by its export duty on -the drug. This is very conclusively shown by Don Sinibaldo de Mas, a most -competent authority, who has studied the question deeply and can have no -possible object but the revelation of the truth. - -There are numerous objections to throwing open the Indian trade. As -matters now stand, the Government of India annually makes advances to the -opium growers, to enable them to produce the drug. These advances are made -at a low or nominal rate of interest. Let the Government once drop the -monopoly and throw open the trade, and then the small farmers--and they -form perhaps seventy-five per cent. of the whole, whether they cultivate -the poppy or any other crop--would be at the mercy of the usurers, who are -the curse of India. Thus the poor cultivator, instead of paying the -Government two or three per cent. interest for the advance, would have to -pay perhaps five times that amount, with a bill for law costs; and a much -larger bill staring him in the future, in case he should be so unfortunate -as not to be up to time with his payments. The usurers or Marwaris as I -believe they are called, would in such cases profit by the fruits of the -soil instead of the growers. As to the morality of the proposed change, I -do not see what could be gained by such an arrangement. If it is wrong to -derive a revenue from opium by direct, it is equally wrong to do so by -indirect means. Before closing this part of the subject, there is another -point I wish to say a few words upon. It is put forward by Mr. Turner in -his book, with great plausibility, and is, no doubt, accepted by his -disciples as fact, that every acre of land put under opium cultivation -displaces so much rice, the one being a poison, the other the staff of -life. This is perfectly fallacious; wherever rice is grown in China--and I -fancy it is the same in India--there are two crops taken in the year. Rice -is cultivated during the spring and summer months (that is, the rainy -season), for the grain only grows where there is abundance of water. - -The poppy thrives only in the dry season, that is, during the latter part -of the autumn and the winter, when the rice crops have been saved. The -poppy requires a rich soil, so that before planting it the farmers have to -manure the ground well; then, when the poppy crop has been secured, the -land is in good heart for rice, and so the rotation goes on. This I stated -in the first edition of this lecture; since then Mr. Spence's Report for -1881 has appeared which fully confirms my view. Thus much for the accuracy -of this statement of Mr. Storrs Turner. - -I come now to the last of the fallacies, follies, and fantasies, upon -which the huge superstructure of delusion put forward for so many years by -the Anti-Opium Society has been built. At once the least sustainable, it -is the one which carries the most weight with the supporters of that -Society, for it furnishes the _raison d'etre_ of their whole action. It is -_that the introduction of Indian opium into China has arrested the -progress of Christianity in that country, and that if the trade were -discontinued the Chinese would accept the Gospel_. No greater mistake, nor -more unfounded delusion than this could be indulged in; indeed, it seems -to me something very like a profanation to mix up the Indo-China opium -trade with the spread of the Gospel in the Empire of China. If the -objection to embrace Christianity because we send opium to that country -has ever, in fact, been made by natives, that objection was a subterfuge -only. - -The Chinese are an acute and crafty race; when they desire to attain an -object, they seldom attempt to do so by direct means, but rather seek to -gain their ends indirectly. They despise and hate Christianity, although -they will not tell you so, much less will they argue with you, or enter -into controversy upon the subject. They will rather try to get rid of it -by a side-wind. They are a very polite and courteous people, and -understand this style of tactics very well. I have no doubt whatever that -if the British trade in opium were suppressed to-morrow, and that no -British merchant dealt any longer in the drug, or sent a particle of it -into China, and if a missionary were to go before the Chinese and say, "We -can now show clean hands, our Government has stopped the opium trade," and -then were to open his book and begin talking to them of Christianity, he -would only be met with derisive laughter. "This man," they would say, -"thinks that because the English have ceased to sell us opium we should -all become Christians. If they sold us no more rice or broadcloth, we -suppose they would say that we should become Mahomedans." - -Knowing the cunning and keen sense of humour of the people, I have no -doubt they would use another argument also. There is a story told of a -Scotch clergyman who rebuked one of his congregation for not being quite -so moderate in his potations as he ought to be. "It's a' vera weel," -returned the other, who had reason to know that the minister did not -always practise what he preached, "but do ye ken how they swept the -streets o' Jerusalem?" The clergyman was obliged to own his ignorance, -when Sandy replied, "Weel, then, it was just this, every man kept his ain -door clean." And I can well fancy in the case I have supposed, an equally -shrewd Chinaman saying to the missionary, "What for you want to make us -follow your religion? Your religion vely bad one. You have plenty men -drink too muchee sam-shu, get drunk and fight, and beat their wives and -children. Chinaman no get drunk. Chinaman no beat or kill his wife. Too -muchee sam-shu vely bad. Drink vely bad for Inglismen; what for you don't -go home and teach them to be soba, plaupa men?" Believe me, the Chinese -know our little peccadilloes and are very well informed respecting our -doings here at home. - -We send but six thousand tons of opium annually to China, which, according -to Sir Robert Hart, who ought to be a reliable authority on the subject, -inflicts no appreciable injury upon the health, wealth, or extension of -the population of that vast empire. The truth is, that the alleged -objection of the Chinese against Christianity amounts simply to this: -because some of our people do what is wrong, and we are not as a nation -faultless in morals, we should not ask them to change their religion for -ours. Perfection is not to be attained by any nation or the professors of -any creed. If we had the ability, and were foolish enough to stop the -exportation of Indian opium to China, the natives of the country would -find some other reason for clinging to their own creeds and rejecting -Christianity. They could, and doubtless would, point to the fearful plague -of intemperance prevailing amongst us; they could also refer to the great -number of distilleries and breweries in the United Kingdom, to our Newgate -Calendar, and to the records of the Divorce Court. In short, they would -say, "You do not practise what you preach. What do you mean, then, by -trying to make Christians of us?" The same doctrine has been used over and -over again even in Christian countries, and it is lamentable to see -educated and intelligent men becoming victims to such a delusive mode of -reasoning. This sad hallucination on the part of the missionary clergymen -is the origin of the mischievous and very stupid agitation going on -against the Indo-China opium trade, but now rapidly, I believe and hope, -coming to an end. - -A few years ago I paid a short visit to Japan. Whilst I was at Tokio, the -capital, a lecture was given there by an educated Japanese gentleman, who -spoke English well and fluently. He introduced religion into his lecture, -and considered the question why the Japanese did not embrace Christianity. -"Our minds," said he, "are like blank paper; we are ready to receive any -religion that is good, we are not bigoted to our own, but we object to -Christianity because we do not consider it a good religion, because we see -that Christians do not reverence old age, and because they are so -licentious, and so brutal to the coolies." But these reasons are again -merely subterfuges. The Japanese do not smoke opium, and the very same -objection they urge against Christianity might also be used by the -Chinese. The Oriental mind is very much the same, whether Chinese, -Japanese, or Indian. Upon religious or political questions they well know -how to shift their ground. As to the Chinese embracing Christianity, I -trust the day will come when they will do so. They would then be the most -powerful nation in the whole world, and probably become our own best -teachers on religion and morals; but at present I see no immediate hope of -their conversion. I say this in view of the stand taken by the Protestant -missionaries on this opium question. Nothing, in my opinion, is more -calculated to impede the progress of missionary work than this most absurd -and unfounded delusion. The reason given by the missionaries for the -apparently small success which has hitherto attended their efforts, is -that the so-called iniquitous traffic in opium has been the one stumbling -block in their way. Put a stop to this villanous trade, they say, and the -Gospel will flourish like a green bay-tree. This sort of argument takes -with the missionaries themselves and with religious people generally, and -thus converts to the anti-opium policy are made. Yet all these statements -rest, I can assure you, on an entirely fallacious foundation. We are not -dealing with a savage but with a civilized people. You may change a -nation's religion, but you cannot alter its customs, and if China were -evangelised to-morrow the Chinese would still continue opium smokers. The -Reverend Mr. Galpin has hit the nail on the head when he said in his -letter to the missionaries of Peking:-- - - Looking at Christianity in the broad and true sense, as a great - regenerating force breathing its beneficent spirit upon and promoting - the welfare of all, of course the excessive use or abuse of opium and - every other thing, is a serious hindrance to its happy progress. But - this is a very different position from that of supposing that the - present apparently slow progress of mission-work in China is to be - attributed to the importation of Indian opium. China is a world in - itself, and the influence of Christian missions has hitherto reached - but a handful of the people, for there are many serious obstacles to - its progress besides opium. - -As before mentioned, the Roman Catholic missionaries have never complained -that their missionary labours were impeded by the opium trade. I had the -honour of being Solicitor at Hong Kong to a wealthy and important -religious community of that persuasion which has missionary stations all -over China, Formosa, and Tonquin, and might call the head of the order a -personal friend, yet I never heard a complaint of the kind from him or any -of his clergy. I was on very intimate terms with a Roman Catholic -gentleman who was in the confidence of the Catholic Bishop at Hong Kong, -and the Roman Catholic community generally, and I have had conversations -with him on missionary matters. He has never uttered such a complaint, -but, on the contrary, has always spoken of the success which attended the -Roman Catholic missions throughout China. In this connection it should not -be forgotten that the Chinese treat all foreigners alike; they know no -distinction between them--English, French, German, Spanish, Americans, -Portuguese, are to them one people. The victims of the Tientsin massacre -were, with the exception, I think, of a Russian gentleman, a community of -French nuns. The petition to the House of Commons set out in my first -letter emanated from the Protestant missionaries alone, and it has not, I -am well assured, been signed by a single Roman Catholic missionary. It is -plain, therefore, that this alleged obstacle to the spread of the Gospel -in China by the English and American missionaries is a monster of their -own creation, and has no real existence. Bishop Burden, of Hong Kong, the -missionary bishop for South China, who, although no authority on the opium -question, ought, on this point at all events, to be well informed, -estimates the number of Protestant converts in China at forty thousand, -and of Roman Catholics at one million. The disparity is great, but then it -should not be forgotten that Roman Catholic missions in China date from a -period probably two centuries earlier than Protestant missions. If out of -these forty thousand converts I allow five per cent., or two thousand, to -be really sincere and able to give a reason for the faith that is in them, -I believe that I am not underrating the precise number of true and _bona -fide_ converts which these missionaries have made. But knowing this as I -do, it is very far from my intention to cast blame upon the missionaries -in consequence. To those who understand the difficulties those devoted men -have to contend with in the progress of their labours, the wonder is not -that they have done so little, but that they have achieved so much. Upon -this point, I would say again, I am very far from attributing any blame to -our missionaries, save in so far as they have allowed themselves to be -cajoled by certain Chinese and others as to opium smoking. No one is more -sensible of their piety, learning, zeal, and industry; and a very sad task -it has been to me to impugn their conduct and controvert their views as I -have done. A good cause, however, cannot and ought not to be promoted by -falsehood; for such this Anti-Opium delusion amounts to, and nothing more, -and there can be no hope for more solid results from the missionary field -until it is swept from the missionaries' path. Two thousand sincere -converts after all is, in my belief, a great and encouraging result, -considering the tremendous obstacles our missionaries have to encounter in -overcoming in the first instance the prejudice of the Chinese against -foreigners, and then in displacing in their minds the idolatrous and -sensuous creed that has taken such firm root there, and become, so to -speak, engrained in the Chinese nature, and implanting in its stead the -truths of the Gospel. Each of these two thousand converts will prove, I am -well assured, like the grain of mustard seed that will fructify and in -time bring forth much fruit. But it must not be forgotten that China, in -the terse and apposite words of the Rev. Mr. Galpin, is "a world in -itself," containing as it does about a fourth of the whole human race. - -The custom of opium smoking has existed in the Empire of China from time -immemorial. You might as well try to reverse the course of Niagara as to -wean the Chinese from the use of their favourite drug. As to the Treaty of -Tientsin, it is unfair and ungrateful of the missionaries to speak of it -as they do. It did no more than reduce to a formal settlement a state of -things that had been for several years tacitly acquiesced in and agreed to -by the Chinese and British authorities and people. That treaty was -prepared with the greatest deliberation by an eminent statesman who was -singularly remarkable for his humanity and benevolence, assisted by able -subordinates who were in no way deficient in those qualities. The -missionaries seem to forget that this very Treaty of Tientsin, which they -so denounce, is the charter by which they have now a footing in China, -with liberty to preach the Gospel there. They would have no _locus standi_ -in China but for this sorely abused treaty. There is a special clause in -it drawn up by Lord Elgin himself, providing that we should be at liberty -to propagate Christianity in the country. That treaty is the missionaries' -protection. It is to it they would now appeal if molested by the Mandarins -or people of China. They cry it down for one purpose, and rely upon it for -another. I may here not inappropriately observe that the missionaries of -Peking seem to have been under a misapprehension as to the nature of this -treaty. From their petition to the House of Commons it would appear that -they were under the impression that some special clause legalizing the -importation of opium into China was introduced into it under pressure from -the British Government; but that was a mistake. There is no "clause" -whatever in the treaty on the subject of opium. The only place that the -word "opium" appears is in the schedule, where it is set down amongst -other dutiable articles, such as pepper and nutmegs, exactly as stated by -Mr. H. N. Lay. It is plain, then, that these missionary gentlemen had not -a copy of the Treaty of Tientsin before them when they drew up their -petition, and I doubt very much if any of them ever read the treaty at -all. They appear to have got the delusion so strongly into their heads -that the legalization of opium was wrung from the Chinese Government that -it seems they thought it quite unnecessary to read the treaty and took -everything for granted. - -I have now, I think, shown and fully refuted the fallacies which within -the past thirty years have crept into the minds of the opponents of the -Indo-China opium trade, dimming the faculties, blinding the reason, -warping the judgment, ministering to the prejudices, deluding the senses, -gratifying the feelings, until these fallacies have become so interwoven -and welded together as to form and culminate into one CONCRETE PLAUSIBLE, -FASCINATING, DEFAMATORY LIE! A cruel, false, and treacherous lie, that -misleads alike its votaries and its victims, and that, too, in the names -of religion and charity.--A lie circumstantial,--so highly genteel and -respectable,--so sentimental and pious,--so sleek and unctuous,--so -caressed and flattered,--so bravely dressed, and so beflounced and trimmed -with the trappings of truth, that even those who have bedecked the jade -fail to see the imposture they have created, so that the tawdry quean -struts along receiving homage as she goes, whilst plain honest TRUTH in -her russet gown wends her way unnoticed.--I have shown that this -Anti-Opium scare is a sham, a mockery, a delusion--a glittering piece of -counterfeit coin, which I have broken to pieces and proved to you that, -for all its silvery surface, there is nothing but base metal beneath. - -Let me now recapitulate. I have, I think, made it irrefutably clear-- - -1. That the Chinese are a civilized people, very abstemious in their -habits, especially as regards the use of opium, spirits, and stimulants of -all kinds. - -2. That there is and can be no analogy or comparison whatever between -opium eating and opium smoking, as each stands separate and apart from the -other, differing totally in the mode of use and their effects, and that -opium eating is not a Chinese custom. - -3. That an overdose of opium, like an excessive draught of spirits, is -poisonous and produces immediate death. - -4. That opium smoking is a harmless and perfectly innocuous practice, -unless immoderately indulged in, which rarely happens, as seldom, indeed, -as over-indulgence in tea or tobacco in England. - -5. That even when immoderately indulged, any depressing effects resulting -from opium smoking are removed simply by discontinuing the use of the drug -for a short period. - -6. That no death from opium smoking, whether indulged in moderately or -excessively, has ever occurred, and that death from such cause is a -physical impossibility. - -7. That opium smoking is a custom far less enslaving and more easily -discontinued than dram drinking or even tobacco smoking. - -8. That opium smoking is a luxury which can only be indulged in by those -who are well-to-do and is wholly out of the reach of the poor, and, save -in Western China and certain other districts, where the poppy is very -extensively cultivated and opium comparatively cheap, beyond the means of -the working classes. - -9. That opium smoking is a universal custom throughout the whole of the -immense empire of China, just as tea, wine, or beer drinking is with the -people of the United Kingdom, its use being limited only by the ability of -the people to procure the drug. - -10. That it is admitted by Sir Robert Hart, a high official of the Chinese -Government, that the greatest quantity of Indian opium of late years -imported into China is only sufficient to supply about one million of -people with a modicum of the drug, and that, in his own words, "neither -the finances of the State, nor the wealth of the people, nor the growth of -its population," can be specially damaged by a luxury which only draws -from five-pence to eleven-pence a-piece from the pockets of those who -enjoy it, and which is indulged in by a comparatively small number of the -Chinese people. - -11. That the poppy is extensively cultivated in all the provinces of China -proper as well as in Manchuria, and that there is probably three or four -times as much native drug produced annually in China as is imported from -abroad. - -12. That in the western parts of China, where the poppy is more -extensively cultivated and opium more generally smoked than in other parts -of the empire, no decadence whatever is produced in the mental or bodily -health, or the wealth, industry, and prosperity of the people, but on the -contrary, that these very people are peculiarly strong and vigorous. - -13. That the Chinese Government is not, and never was, sincere in its -professed desire to put down the practice of opium smoking in the empire, -which is evidenced by the fact that the poppy is largely cultivated -throughout the country, and that a revenue is derived by the Government -from the native drug. - -14. That Hong Kong being the great depot of Indian opium and the place -where the drug is most largely prepared for smoking purposes, and where -also the native population (about three-fourths of whom are adult males) -are in good circumstances, and therefore better able to indulge in opium -smoking than their countrymen in the mainland of China, is the place where -the alleged evils of opium smoking, if they existed, would be found in -their worst form, yet that _those evils are unknown there_. - -15. That the outcry, got up and disseminated for so many years past in -England against the Indo-China opium trade has not, and never had, any -substantial foundation; that such outcry has arisen from the complaints, -of the Protestant missionaries in China, which also are equally baseless, -those missionaries having been simply made dupes of by certain designing -and mendacious natives for purposes of their own, or of the Government of -China. - -16. That opium was inserted into the Schedule to the Treaty of Tientsin at -the express desire and request of the Chinese authorities; that Lord Elgin -wished and proposed to those authorities by his Secretary, Mr. Laurence -Oliphant, to place a higher duty than thirty taels on the drug, but that -the Chinese officials declined to do so, fearing that, if the duty were -raised, an impetus would be given to smuggling. - -17. That the career of the Anti-Opium Society has been signalized by a -continuous series of mistakes and blunders--commencing with the monstrous -figment (the invention of an American missionary) that there were twenty -millions of opium smokers in China supplied by the Indian drug, and that -_two millions of these smokers died annually from the practice_,--and that -the Anti-Opium confederacy is only kept alive by the continued reiteration -of exploded fallacies, sophistries, and mis-statements of the same nature. - -18. That the British merchants connected with China in the past and the -present were and are wholly free from the stigmas cast upon them by the -Anti-Opium Society, anent smuggling and the opium trade;[12] that, so far -from having acted wrongfully towards China and the Chinese, their conduct -towards both has been, and still is, emphatically characterized by honour -and rectitude, and by uniform courtesy and kindness; and that those -merchants, have deserved well of their country. - -19. That the Anti-Opium Society, from its formation to the present time, -has wrought nothing but mischief, crippling by its pragmatical efforts the -action of Her Majesty's Government, both here and in India and China, -abstracting by its mis-statements enormous sums of money from the -charitable and benevolent, and squandering that money in the propagation -of unfounded theories and injurious reflections against our -fellow-countrymen in China; and that the public should withdraw their -confidence from the Society, and cease to supply it with one farthing -more. - -20. That, save in respect of the blockade of Hong Kong by the armed -cruisers of the Hoppo or Revenue Farmer of the provinces of the two -Kwangs, which inflict great and bitter hardship upon the Chinese merchants -of Hong Kong and the junk owners who trade to that place, the British -nation, by its Government and people, has amply redeemed the promises made -to the people of China by Her Majesty's representative, Sir Henry Elliott, -on taking over Hong Kong, which is amply verified by the flourishing state -of that Colony, and its large, thriving, and contented Chinese population. - -21. That, whilst it is desirable to maintain the most amicable and cordial -relations with the Government of China and its various viceroyalties, that -most unjustifiable blockade by the Hoppo or Revenue Farmer of Canton -should be promptly suppressed; a matter which has only to be taken in hand -by Her Majesty's Consul at Canton, supported, if necessary, by the British -Minister at Peking, and firmly but courteously pressed upon the Viceroy -of the two Kwangs, who cannot but acknowledge the gross injustice and -cruel wrong inflicted on Hong Kong and its native merchants by those -cruisers, and who has the power and only wants the will to let right be -done. - -In the course of these lectures I have spoken of some of the vices of the -Chinese, and of our own also. The people of England have, however, many -virtues, the growth of centuries; one of these is a broad and liberal -charity, that pours forth a continuous stream of benevolence over the -whole world. It is a virtue that pervades all classes, from our honoured -Queen to the humblest of her subjects. It is not without a swelling heart -that one can walk through the streets of London and see the noble -charitable institutions surrounding him upon all sides, such as hospitals, -convalescent institutions, homes for aged and infirm people, educational -institutes, and such like, _supported by voluntary contributions_--living -evidences of the charity and benevolence of our people in the past and -present. Yet these splendid monuments but faintly testify to the flow of -munificence perpetually running its course around us. Observe how -liberally the public respond to the appeals made to it almost daily. Look -at the case of the persecution of the Jews in Russia, the famine in the -North of China, the distress and troubles in Ireland. Then, again, there -is the charity "that lets not the left hand know what the right hand -doeth," of which the world sees nothing, but which is known to go on -unceasingly, and which probably is the most liberal of all. The history of -the world, so far as I am aware, does not record a parallel to this in any -other nation or people. With such an active and unceasing charity going on -amongst us, we should take care that this beneficent stream is not -diverted into worthless channels, for that would be a matter concerning -the whole public. - -Now, though I hold in respect all the officers and supporters of the -Anti-Opium Society, who are actuated, I admit, by the best motives, and -whose characters for benevolence and good faith I do not question, I -cannot forbear from repeating that their crusade against the Indo-China -opium trade is as unjustifiable as it is mischievous, and is well -calculated to produce the results I have deprecated. It encourages the -Chinese Government to make untenable demands upon us, under false -pretences, and it is an unwarranted interference with an industry, wholly -unobjectionable on any but sentimental grounds, affording subsistence to -millions of our fellow-subjects in India. It aims, also, at cutting off -some eight or ten millions sterling from the revenue of that vast -dependency, now expended in ameliorating the condition of its dense -population. Furthermore, it offers to useful and legitimate legislation an -opposition and obstruction of the worst kind, seeing that it obtrudes upon -the Legislature its unfounded and exploded theories, to the displacement -or delay of really useful measures. - -I say that the Anti-Opium Society, in the course of its agitation for the -abolition of this Indo-China opium trade, is vilifying its countrymen and -blackening this country in the eyes of the whole world, so that the -foreigner can convict us out of our own mouths, and jibe at us for -hypocrisy and turpitude we are wholly innocent of, and for crimes we have -never committed.[13] I say that the history of this Society presents -nothing but a dreary record of energies wasted, talents misapplied, wealth -uselessly squandered, charity perverted, and philanthropy run mad. The -members of this Society never think, perhaps, of the mischief they have -done and are doing. Here has our Government been trying for the past seven -or eight years to agree upon a revised commercial treaty with the -Government of China, and here also, side by side, is an irresponsible -political body doing its utmost to cripple, paralyse, and defeat our -Government in its efforts, taking up, in fact, a downright hostile -attitude to the action of the Imperial and Indian Governments, by carrying -on an unauthorized unofficial correspondence with Li Hung Chang, the Prime -Minister, and the most influential public man in China, who is a master of -the arts of diplomacy, and who is doing his utmost to get the better of us -if he can in the matter of the Chefoo Convention. Here, I say, is this -society putting forward Li's audacious and misleading letter to its -secretary, Mr. Storrs Turner, as an embodiment of truth and justice. Is -this patriotic or proper on the part of this Anti-Opium Society? Should -that body, instead of setting itself up as a junto, with a quasi-official -standing, having a monopoly of all the virtues, be allowed by the -Government to carry on its mischievous organization any longer? I think -not. I believe there is no other country in the world--not even America, -where liberty has run to seed--where such an intermeddling, anti-national -and mischievous confederacy would be permitted to exist. Instead of trying -to thwart Her Majesty's Government, as it is doing, it should be the duty -of its members, of every Englishman interested in China, and, indeed, of -the whole country, to strengthen as far as possible the hands of the -Government in its endeavour to bring the pending negotiations for a -commercial treaty with China to a successful close. Yet what are the -present plans of this pragmatical body? In its latest publication, a -compilation of the most fallacious and misleading matter, bearing a title -meanly plagiarized from this book, it is announced that the following -motion stands upon the Order Book of the House of Commons, and is intended -to be moved in the Session for 1883, viz:-- - - That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that in - the event of negotiations taking place between the Governments of Her - Majesty and China, having reference to the duties levied on opium - under the Treaty of Tientsin, the Government of Her Majesty will be - pleased to intimate to the Government of China that in any such - revision of that treaty _the Government of China will be met as that - of an independent State, having the full right to arrange its own - import duties as may be deemed expedient_. - -What a modest proposition! The Queen's Ministers, it appears, cannot be -trusted in their negotiations with the Government of China, and Her -Majesty in consequence is to be asked to ignore her constitutional -advisers, and personally inform the Chinese Minister that his Government -shall be treated as an independent state, and so forth. In fact, this -proposal is tantamount to a vote, _pro tanto_ at least, of want of -confidence in the Government, which, I have little doubt, would be -rejected by an overwhelming majority of both sides of the House. I only -hope it will be pressed to a division, as the result, I believe, will show -to the country in an unmistakable manner, once and for all, the utter -insignificance of the Anti-Opium confederacy as a political body, the -falsity and mischief of its teaching, and prove the knell of its -existence. If motions like this were to be passed, it would be impossible -to carry on Her Majesty's Government. The matter is really too absurd to -be seriously dealt with by Parliament, and I bring it before my readers -more for the purpose of showing the downright folly, infatuation and -fanaticism which characterize this Anti-Opium confederation than for any -other purpose. To these political philanthropists and amateur statesmen I -would recommend these lines, which seem to me to meet their case -exactly:-- - - "No narrow bigot he, his reasoned view - Thy interest, England, ranks with thine, Peru; - War at our doors, he sees no danger nigh, - But heaves for all alike the impartial sigh; - A steady patron of the world alone, - The friend of every country--save his own." - -Of the missionaries themselves, beyond this opium craze that has -unfortunately possessed them, I have nothing to say except to their -credit. A more conscientious and deserving body of men this world has -never produced; under hardships, troubles, and unspeakable difficulties, -they have sped their way with courage and cheerfulness, undeterred by -dangers, great privations and hardships which nothing but their strong -faith and unflagging zeal in their sacred mission could have enabled them -to surmount. Of their ultimate success I entertain, perhaps, as little -doubt as they do themselves; but on this opium question the "zeal of their -house hath eaten them up," and they have unconsciously been playing the -game of the crafty heathen. Let them pursue their good cause, and not -allow themselves to be cajoled by their bitterest enemies; above all, let -them keep clear of politics. No clergyman ever improves by intermeddling -in such matters, but, on the contrary, by doing so he invariably becomes a -bad politician and a worse priest. Let these vast sums, subscribed for the -promotion of a chimera, be transferred to the missionaries' fund, so as to -improve the lot of these missionaries and give them a little more comfort -in the hostile climate and the bitter fight that is before them. "The -labourer is worthy of his hire," and it is starving the missionary work -not to pay its servants liberally, I should say most liberally. With -respect to the Rev. Mr. Storrs Turner, whose name I have so often -mentioned, and whose writings I have so frequently animadverted upon, I -had the pleasure of knowing him in China. No worthier or better gentleman, -and no more able and zealous missionary clergyman ever set foot there. In -referring to him and his writings as I have done, nothing was further from -my thoughts than to impute to him for a moment an unworthy motive. He is -in the first rank of the missionary clergymen who stood the brunt of the -battle, and is deserving of praise and honour. As yet the missionaries -have been like husbandmen tilling an unkindly soil, trying to produce -wholesome fruit where only gross weeds grew before; and although small -apparently has been the fruit as yet, the unfriendly soil has shown signs -of yielding, and I feel assured that the day will come when their labours -shall be rewarded with a plenteous harvest. - -I have now told the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth on -the opium question; certainly such has been my intention. In doing so I am -afraid I may have given pain to many good and excellent people; I know -that I have given pain to myself. I can only repeat that I have never -intended to impute a wrongful or unworthy motive to any of them. Those who -are and have been engaged in the Anti-Opium agitation are, I admit, -influenced by the best motives. I have myself throughout been solely -actuated by a desire to remove the unfounded delusions that have got -possession of these worthy people, which have done great injustice to our -fellow-countrymen in China, as well as to the benevolent British public, -which has kept this Anti-Opium Society provided with the funds that have -enabled them to carry on their operations, to the embarrassment of the -administration of our great Indian Entire. Personally, I say again, that I -have no interest whatever in the matter, nor have I any leaning towards -the interests of any of the merchants now engaged in the opium trade. My -hands in this matter are absolutely clean. In the preface to the first -edition of these lectures I have explained how and why I came to deliver -them; that is my explanation without any mental reservation whatsoever. I -have, I admit, a very strong feeling upon the subject, but so also have -those who differ from me; and I would ask those most excellent and -honourable people to remember that there are two sides to most -questions,--to imagine, if they can, that there are other persons, totally -opposed to their views, who are quite as honest in their convictions as -they are themselves,--to look upon me as one of those persons, and to -measure my feelings by the strength of their own. I say this because I -have heard that a rumour to the effect of my being in some way personally -interested in the Indo-China opium trade has been circulated. If such is -the case, this rumour has no foundation in fact. I cannot prevent the -dissemination of such reports; but they are, I repeat, utterly groundless. -Honest in my purpose, I can afford to treat them with unconcern, and can -justly add, whilst far from setting myself up as better than my -neighbours, that-- - - "I am arm'd so strong in honesty, - That they pass me by as the idle wind, - Which I respect not." - - - - -APPENDIX. - - - - -APPENDIX. - -_Being an Official Letter from the Hon. Francis Bulkeley Johnson, of the -firm of Jardine, Matheson, & Co., Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of -Commerce, to Charles Magniac, Esq., M.P., President of the London Chamber -of Commerce._ - - - Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, - Hong Kong, 22nd November, 1882. - -SIR,--The attention of the Committee of this Chamber has been called to -certain statements recently made in the United Kingdom regarding this -Colony, on what must unfortunately appear to the public mind to be -competent authority, but which are nevertheless unwarranted and -misleading. - -The statements referred to are, in the opinion of the Committee, -calculated not only to affect injuriously the reputation of the Colony, -but to damage its interests by prejudicing the policy of the Home -Government and the Imperial Parliament, when dealing with the settlement -of questions arising out of the close political and commercial relations -which the Island of Hong Kong from its juxta-position must necessarily -hold with the Empire of China. - -The Committee offers no apology for addressing you on this subject as it -ventures to believe that the promotion of British Commercial enterprise -abroad in all legitimate channels is one of the objects the London Chamber -of Commerce has in view, and, to that end, it is clearly desirable that a -true appreciation should prevail, not only among the members of your -influential Committee, but throughout the United Kingdom, as to the -position and character of British trade and traders in the Colonies and -foreign countries. - -In the course of an address on the Repression of Crime delivered at the -Social Science Congress, recently held in Nottingham, Sir John Pope -Hennessy, Governor of this Colony, now on leave of absence in England, is -reported to have said--I quote from the _Nottingham and Midland Counties -Daily Express_, of the 22nd September:--"In the little Colony under my -government one million sterling changes hands every month in the article -of opium. But, with commercial activity and profits, there comes an -increase of crime from opium, from its consumption, and from its -smuggling. Hong Kong wages a chronic opium war on a small scale with -China. A desperate class of men, the opium smugglers make the Colony the -base of their operations--they purchase cannon and ammunition there, they -fit out heavily armed junks and engage, within sight of the island, in -naval battles with the revenue cruisers of the Emperor of China. Sometimes -the Emperor's revenue officers are killed, sometimes the smugglers. Not -unfrequently wounded men of both sides are brought into the Colony. All -this gives rise to a class of crimes difficult for the Governor to -repress, difficult on account of the influence of those who profit by it, -whether they are local traders or the financiers of a Viceroy." - -The picture thus sensationally drawn is one which, from its great -exaggerations, gives an untrue representation of the state of things -prevailing in these waters, and cannot fail to lead to the formation of -wholly incorrect inferences as to the relations existing between the -population of this island, for the most part law-abiding and pursuing -honest and industrious callings, and the authorities of the neighbouring -mainland. - -Sir John Hennessy states that opium, to the extent of a million sterling, -_changes hands_ in this Colony every month, and this assertion as to the -magnitude of the trade was obviously made in order to show the vast and -wide-spread interests involved in it, and the influential protection -therefore likely to be afforded to a traffic which the general tenour of -the remarks just quoted cannot fail to lead ordinary readers to suppose is -to a very large extent, if not mainly, contraband. - -Your Committee will be able to judge from the following facts how far the -injurious imputation, thus plausibly insinuated, if not directly stated, -is to be justified by the actual position of affairs. - -The import of opium from India and Persia to Hong Kong and _the whole of -China_, for the year 1881 was-- - - Of Malwa, from Bombay 35,729 chests. - Bengal, from Calcutta 44,124 " - From Persia 6,763 " - ------ - Total 86,616 chests. - -of an approximate value of L10,000,000 sterling. - -With some slight and unimportant exceptions the whole of this opium, the -trade in which it is worthy of note is now practically monopolized by -British Indian firms, passes through this harbour, but by far the larger -proportion of it can only be classed under the head of Hong Kong trade in -the sense in which the traffic through the Suez Canal can be considered as -Egyptian trade. About one half of the quantity of opium I have named as -the entire import, is immediately sent on either in the original foreign -vessels conveying it here, or by other vessels, also foreign, to Shanghai, -where it is entered regularly at the Custom House under official foreign -superintendence. - -Of the remainder, about one half, that is to say, one quarter of the -whole, is shipped by foreign vessels to other treaty ports open to foreign -trade, where it is duly entered at the Customs. The local trade proper of -the Colony, whether for shipment to Macao or Canton by foreign and native -vessels, or in native bottoms, to non-treaty ports,--_i.e._ to ports and -places with which foreign vessels cannot trade,--for consumption on the -island, and for re-export in a prepared state to California and Australia, -or for smuggling purposes, embraces therefore about one fourth of the -entire export to China from India and Persia, or say, in quantity about -21,000 chests of an approximate value of L2,500,000, or about L200,000 per -month instead of L1,000,000 per month as asserted by Governor Hennessy. - -There being no Custom House at this port, it is impossible to obtain -thoroughly accurate statistics as to the disposition of the 21,000 chests -of opium which form the local trade of the Colony. As regards the local -consumption and export in a prepared state, it may be estimated that from -2,500 to 5,000 chests are boiled in the Colony every year, leaving a -balance of 16,000 to 18,500 chests to be accounted for. To suppose that -this quantity is taken into China by smugglers would be to disregard all -the known conditions of the trade and the fact that the preventive service -of the Chinese Empire is probably in point of espionage the most carefully -organized one in the world. On every road, in every village bordering on a -river or waterway, at every port, village, and fishing station along the -coast, there is a watchful Customs Station rendering it very difficult for -a boat of the smallest size to touch the shore without being overhauled -and made to pay levies purporting to be imperial or local dues. To what -extent such dues are honestly levied and declared, there is no means of -ascertaining. The Customs Stations are believed to be farmed out by the -provincial authorities to officials who pay for their appointments, and -although a service thus organized would be considered as a demoralized one -and its system unreservedly condemned according to Western ideas, it is -probable that the receipts of perquisites, and the partial remission of -duties by Customs officials who farm the revenue, is a _quasi_ recognized -practice acquiesced in by all classes throughout the Empire. - -With this system, however, the Colony and merchants of Hong Kong have no -concern, and for its results they are in no way responsible. As the vast -majority of the junks which leave the mainland with produce or arrive -there with imports, undoubtedly obtain from the local Custom Houses port -clearances and bills of entry, the large trade, whether in opium or other -goods, carried on between this port and places on the coast in native -bottoms, being thus subjected to the ordinary fiscal dues levied on the -China coast according to the practice of the Empire, is for the most part -a strictly legal one. - -Smuggling between this island and the mainland in goods other than opium -scarcely exists, as an evasion of the low _ad valorem_ duty of five per -cent. which is payable on entry at the treaty ports, and is probably the -maximum similarly leviable at other ports, would not compensate for the -heavy charges which must be incurred by transit over unusual routes even -if the ubiquitous Customs officials could be avoided. Opium, owing to its -portable character, the facility with which it can be hidden beneath water -without serious deterioration, and the high duty imposed upon it, is more -readily and profitably smuggled, but the returns which have been received -through the Native Custom House at Canton make it nearly certain that the -quantity which evades the payment of duty, either at the treaty ports or -the ports and places not open to foreign trade, is not greater than 2,000 -to 3,000 chests per annum. (See Parliamentary Papers--China No. 2, 1880.) -And the quantity thus estimated to be smuggled is not conveyed, as alleged -by Governor Hennessy, in junks heavily armed for the purpose, fighting -their way to the mainland through the revenue cruisers, but is concealed, -a few balls at a time, about the persons, and in the luggage of Chinese -passengers by the steamers plying between this port and Canton, and other -places on the coast, or in ordinary trading junks and fishing boats of -unpretentious character, or fast pulling boats propelled by a number of -rowers, or by various devices such as are practised by the persons who -evade the duties on tobacco in the United Kingdom. That the revenue -cruisers which surround this island keep up an effective blockade which -prevents the smuggling of opium on a much larger scale than at present -takes place, is probably true, and it is also true that Chinese junks and -boats in the estuary of the Canton river, which do not promptly submit to -be overhauled by the cruisers, are chased and brought to for examination, -if necessary, by being fired upon. The propinquity, however, of this -island to the mainland, so far from being a cause of injury to the Chinese -Customs Revenue, operates most advantageously for the collection of fiscal -levies upon the foreign trade of the southern coast of the Empire. Were -the island situated at a greater distance from the mainland than it is, or -did not exist in its present conditions as a free port under a foreign -government, the difficulties which would be placed in the way of the -Chinese authorities, when engaged in checking smuggling in opium, would be -much greater than they now are. Opium in that case would probably be -shipped in native vessels from more distant depots, such as Singapore, -Saigon or the French mediatized territory of Tonquin, to Chinese ports and -places, and it would be impossible for the revenue cruisers to watch the -entire line of their own coast as effectively as they are now able to -blockade this island in which the trade is centred and controlled. - -There is, therefore, no ground for Governor Hennessy's statement that this -Colony is engaged in chronic war with the neighbouring mainland, or for -his implied imputation that the course of its trade is injurious to the -Chinese fiscal revenue. On the contrary, the facts of the case show that -the physical conditions of the island of Hong Kong not only afford the -ready means by which the Chinese Government is enabled to protect its -legitimate revenue, but also unfortunately place it in the power of the -authorities of the province of Quangtung to surcharge the trade in foreign -goods, carried on in native vessels between Hong Kong and the southern -ports of China, with additional taxation in excess of that authorized by -the foreign treaties. - -With the view to make a representation to H.M. Government in support of -which it may hereafter be necessary to invite the good offices of your -Committee, this Chamber is now engaged in an investigation into the facts, -so far as they can be ascertained, relating to this alleged surcharge of -duties upon the Colonial trade for the collection of which, as well as for -the prevention of an illicit traffic in opium, there is reason to believe -the blockade of this island by Chinese revenue cruisers is maintained. - -So much as regards the general conditions of the trade of the Colony which -evidence the grave misrepresentations contained in the Nottingham address, -but in order to show conclusively, by official returns on matters of fact, -the groundlessness of the specific accusation made by Sir John Pope -Hennessy, your attention is invited to the annexed copies of -correspondence, with its enclosures, between the Colonial Government and -the Committee of this Chamber. - -In response to the request of the Committee, the Acting Colonial Secretary -under the direction of His Excellency the Administrator has furnished the -Chamber with the following documents, viz.:-- - - 1. Extracts from a Report by the Colonial Treasurer and Registrar - General upon the Opium Trade of the Colony. - - 2. Return from the Harbour Master, showing the character of the native - vessels engaged in Opium Smuggling and the number of cases of alleged - smuggling brought before the Marine Court since April 1877. - - 3. Return from the Captain Superintendent of Police, showing the total - number of attacks and seizures made by Customs Revenue Cruisers in the - neighbourhood of the Colony and reported to the Police since 1st - January 1877. - -The Colonial Treasurer's Report on the Opium Trade for 1876, confirms the -figures of the approximate estimate made by this Chamber from independent -sources and given above, as to the probable quantity of opium smuggled -into China from this Colony. - -The Harbour Master's Return shows that there is no special class of -vessels fitted out in the Colony and heavily armed for the purpose of -opium smuggling, as alleged by Governor Hennessy, and in the five cases -cited in the report which comprise the whole number brought before the -Marine Court in the course of five years, it will be seen that the -quantity of opium found in the vessels charged with being engaged in -illicit trade was so inconsiderable, as to make it obvious that the -concealment of opium took place in each case in an ordinary trading junk. -It is also clear from this Return that nothing is known in the Harbour -Master's Department of the armed organization for the purpose of opium -smuggling which is stated by Governor Hennessy to carry on a chronic war -with the Empire of China. - -The return from the Captain Superintendent of Police dealing with the -entire number of cases reported to the police authorities during the years -1878 to 1882 (inclusive) of seizures by Chinese Revenue cruisers and -affrays between the cruisers and native vessels on the neighbouring China -coast, is instructive. - -The number of cases is 23, but of these only 6 are reported to be -connected with the opium trade and the value of the opium seized varies -from $3 in one case to the maximum amount in another of $800, showing, in -confirmation of the Report by the Harbour Master to a similar effect, the -comparatively unimportant character of the opium smuggling which prevails -in these waters, and the absurdity of the allegation that there is a large -contraband trade conducted in heavily armed junks fitted for the purpose -in this harbour. - -The remaining 17 cases of seizures by revenue cruisers during five years -do not appear by the returns to have been connected with opium; 7 of them -were salt junks, 1 sulphur and saltpetre, 3 general cargo, and 2 sugar. In -4 cases the particulars of cargoes are not stated. - -The return shows the number of casualties with fatal results reported to -the police as having occurred in affrays between native vessels and the -revenue cruisers during the period of five years under review. Such -casualties have been 8 in number, but not one of them appears to have had -any connection with opium smuggling, or to have arisen out of any case of -contraband trading with which this Colony was concerned. - -In August 1878, a fisherman on the Hong Kong shore was accidentally killed -by a shot fired by a revenue cruiser when pursuing a junk ultimately -seized for some breach of Chinese regulations with general cargo on board. - -In May 1879, three men of a revenue cruiser were killed in an affray with -a junk carrying salt. As salt is not produced or prepared in this island, -this affray was not generated in the Colony or within Colonial waters. The -preparation of salt in China is conducted as a very strict monopoly by -means of Government licenses, and trade in it other than by duly -authorized persons is contraband. Serious affrays between salt smugglers -and revenue officers are well known to be common throughout the Empire, -they are frequently alluded to in the _Peking Gazette_, and in the case -referred to in the Police Report, the junk must have been passing from one -part of the territory of China to another part outside of British waters. - -On 28th November 1881, a man was killed in a boat which was conveying two -gentlemen of this Colony who were returning from a shooting expedition on -the mainland. Passing by a Customs Station on the Chinese side of the -channel the boat was ordered to heave to; not doing so promptly, musket -shots were fired at it and one of the crew was most unfortunately killed. -In this case there appears to have been no smuggling attempted. - -In April this year a man was killed on board a rowing boat in the narrow -channel separating Hong Kong from the mainland, and in June last two men -were killed outside British waters in a trading junk carrying sulphur and -saltpetre, which are contraband articles of trade in China. In neither -case does it appear that opium was concerned. - -With reference, therefore, to Sir John Pope Hennessy's allegations, which -were to the following effect:-- - - _a._--That this island is the base of operations for a class of - desperate men who carry on a large contraband trade in opium with - China; - - _b._--That for the purpose of carrying on that trade, junks heavily - armed with cannon are fitted out here and wage a chronic war with the - neighbouring Empire; - - _c._--That these junks engage, within sight of the island, in naval - battles with the Chinese Revenue cruisers resulting in large loss of - life on both sides; - -The facts are:-- - - _a._--There is no large contraband trade in opium carried on between - this Colony and the China coast. On the contrary, the opium smuggled, - considering the extent of the trade, is inconsiderable, and for the - most part is carried into China in small quantities, portable and - easily concealed, just as parcels of tobacco are smuggled into the - United Kingdom. - - _b._--That within the knowledge of the Harbour Master and the Colonial - police authorities no armed junks have been fitted out in this harbour - during the last five years for the purpose of opium smuggling. - Smuggling of opium, when attempted at all otherwise than by passengers - in the various steamers trading to the coast of China, is carried on - in ordinary trading junks or in rowing boats dependent for success in - their illicit trade upon their swiftness and small size. - - _c._--No such contests as those referred to in allegation _c_ have - taken place within the last five years, and no loss of life in - connection with opium smuggling during the same period has come under - the notice of the police. Any serious affrays attended with loss of - life which have occurred in the neighbourhood of this Colony between - native vessels and revenue cruisers, have been in connection with - contraband traffic in other articles on the adjacent China coast with - which, so far as is known, this Colony has had no concern. The only - instance reported by the police in which revenue officers have been - injured, was the case of the salt junk referred to above and shown to - be a purely Chinese affair. - -It may be added that on goods other than opium there is very little, if -any, illicit trade carried on between the Colony and the mainland, and -that no allegation has ever been made that foreigners are engaged directly -or indirectly in smuggling of any kind. - -In conclusion, the Committee cannot refrain from expressing regret that -Sir John Pope Hennessy having had the fullest opportunities, as Governor -of this island for five years, of obtaining accurate information with -regard to occurrences taking place and the state of affairs prevailing -here during his term of office, should have been led to make statements, -unfounded in fact and misleading in the inferences they are calculated to -raise, which could not fail to damage the character of the Colony, the -legitimate interests of which it might justly have been expected he would -have been most anxious to defend. - -Copies of this letter will be sent through His Excellency the -Administrator to Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the -Colonies, and to the various Chambers of Commerce in the United -Kingdom.--I am, Sir, your most obedient Servant, - - (Signed) F. BULKELEY JOHNSON, - _Chairman_. - - Charles Magniac, Esq., M.P., - President of the London Chamber of - Commerce, London. - - - - - LONDON: - PRINTED BY W. H. ALLEN AND CO., 13 WATERLOO PLACE. - - - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] "British Opium Policy, and its Results to India and China." - -[2] The loose control possessed by the Emperor over his officials was well -described by one of the most trusted ministers of the great Emperor Keen -Lung. He said to one of the Jesuit missionaries at Pekin, that "the -Emperor himself cannot put a stop to the evils that exist in the service. -To displace those officials who have misbehaved themselves, he may send -others, but instead of removing the evil they generally commit greater -exactions than their predecessors. The Emperor is assured that all is -well, whilst affairs are at their worst and the people are oppressed." - -[3] "China: a History of the Laws, Manners, and Customs of the People." - -[4] "The Middle Kingdom." A Survey of the Geography, Government, -Education, Social Life, Arts, Religion, &c., of the Chinese Empire, and -its Inhabitants. - -[5] As a matter of fact the skull of a Chinaman is fully double the -thickness of that of a European. - -[6] "The River of Golden Sand; the Narrative of a Journey through China -and Eastern Thibet to Burmah," by Capt. William Gill, R.E. - -[7] "The Principles and Practice of Medical Jurisprudence," by Alfred -Swaine Taylor, M.D., F.R.S. - -[8] I have a distant recollection of a syllogism with which schoolboys -once used to exercise the minds of their juniors, which ran, I think, -thus:-- - - Epimenides said all Cretans were liars, - Epimenides himself was a Cretan, - Therefore Epimenides was a liar,--therefore he was not a liar. - -[9] "L'Angleterre, la Chine, et l'Inde." I am indebted for a transcript of -the chapter in question to Mr. H. Henry Sultzberger, Merchant, of No. 10 -Cannon Street, City, who has taken such an interest in the opium question -that he had the chapter printed at his own expense; and also to M. -d'Audlan, a teacher of modern languages, for a translation of it. - -[10] "Annals of Chemical Medicine, including the Application of Chemistry -to Physiology, Pathology, Therapeutics, Pharmacy, Toxicology and Hygiene." - -[11] In those days about L100 sterling.--W. H. B. - -[12] The unfounded charge of smuggling by British merchants and foreigners -in Hong Kong has been completely refuted by the Honourable Francis -Bulkeley Johnson, the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of the Colony, -in a very able letter to Charles Magniac, Esq., M.P., the President of the -London Chamber of Commerce. This letter, which reached me just before -going to press, will be found set out _in extenso_ by way of Appendix. It -is full of valuable and interesting information on the Indo-China opium -trade, and is well worthy of careful study. - -[13] In a recent number of the _Temps_, England was flouted with playing a -humanitarian, hypocritical part towards Tunis, whilst we oppressed the -natives of China by forcing them to smoke opium, in order to augment the -revenue of the Indian Government. - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Truth about Opium, by William H. 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Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm -concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared -with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project -Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. -unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - diff --git a/44043.zip b/44043.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 9bc3005..0000000 --- a/44043.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/44043-8.txt b/old/44043-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index d7ccda0..0000000 --- a/old/44043-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7841 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Truth about Opium, by William H. Brereton - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Truth about Opium - Being a Refutation of the Fallacies of the Anti-Opium - Society and a Defence of the Indo-China Opium Trade - -Author: William H. Brereton - -Release Date: October 26, 2013 [EBook #44043] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TRUTH ABOUT OPIUM *** - - - - -Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive/American -Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - - THE TRUTH ABOUT OPIUM. - - - BEING A - - _REFUTATION OF THE FALLACIES - OF THE ANTI-OPIUM SOCIETY AND A DEFENCE - OF THE INDO-CHINA OPIUM TRADE_. - - - BY WILLIAM H. BRERETON, - LATE OF HONG KONG. - - - "_Let truth and falsehood grapple; who ever knew truth put to the worse - in a free and open encounter?_"--JOHN MILTON. - - - _SECOND EDITION._ - - - LONDON: - W. H. ALLEN & CO., 13 WATERLOO PLACE. - PUBLISHERS TO THE INDIA OFFICE. - - 1883. - - (_All rights reserved._) - - - - - LONDON: - PRINTED BY W. H. ALLEN AND CO., 13 WATERLOO PLACE. - - - - -PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. - - -In the preface to my first edition I expressed a hope that these lectures, -however imperfect, would prove in some degree instrumental towards -breaking up the Anti-Opium confederacy, and I have the satisfaction of -knowing that my anticipations have not been altogether disappointed. The -lectures were well received by the public and the press, and struck the -Anti-Opium Society and its versatile Secretary, the Rev. Mr. Storrs -Turner, with such consternation that, in the language of people in -difficulties, "business was discontinued until further notice." Mr. Storrs -Turner,--the motive power which kept the Anti-Opium machine working,--who -had hitherto been so active, aggressive, and demonstrative--a very -Mercutio in volubility and fertility of resource,--became suddenly silent, -mute as the harp on Tara's walls. He who once was resonant as the lion, -like Bottom the Weaver, moderated his tone, and roared from thenceforth -"gently as any sucking dove." Until the delivery of my lectures, no lark -at early morn was half so lively or jubilant. Letters to the newspapers, -articles in magazines, improvised lectures and speeches, flew from him -like chaff from the winnowing-machine. Heaven help the unlucky individual -who had the temerity to differ from him on the opium question, for Mr. -Storrs Turner would, as the phrase goes, "come down upon him sharp." - -This kind of light skirmishing suited him exactly; it kept alive public -interest in the Anti-Opium delusion, and no doubt brought grist to the -mill, without committing him to anything in particular, or calling for any -extraordinary draft upon his imagination or resources. He had only to -reiterate loud enough the cuckoo cry that his deluded followers had so -long recognised as the pæan of victory. But when my lectures were -delivered, and it was announced that they would be published, "a change -came o'er the spirit of his dream." Having for so many years had -practically all the field to himself, it had never occurred to him that -another and more competent witness from China, where all these imaginary -evils from opium smoking were alleged to be taking place,--who had had -better opportunities of learning the truth about opium than he could -possibly have had, and who had turned those opportunities to good -account,--should appear and refute his fallacies. This was a _dénouement_ -that neither he nor his Society was prepared for, and dismay and silence -prevailed in consequence in the enemy's camp. - - And the tents were all silent,--the banners unflown,-- - The lances unlifted,--the trumpet unblown. - -My lectures were delivered in February, 1882. The Rev. Mr. Storrs Turner -attended them and corresponded with me upon the subject. In those lectures -I criticized his book and pointed out its misleading features and -inaccuracies; but, recognizing the force of Sir John Falstaff's maxim, -that "the better part of valour is discretion," he never attempted to -controvert my case, nor justify himself or the Anti-Opium Society, who for -so many years had made such noise in the world. It was only in October, -1882,--eight months after my lectures had been delivered,--after an -article appeared in the _London and China Telegraph_, commenting on the -collapse of the Anti-Opium Society,--that Mr. Storrs Turner, like -Munchausen's remarkable hunting-horn, gave utterance to a few feeble -notes, to the effect that his Society was still alive; for he well knew -that all that I had stated in those lectures I could prove to the -hilt,--aye, ten times over. - -But if Mr. Storrs Turner has declined the contest, an acolyte of his, Mr. -B. Broomhall,--who appears to be the Secretary of the Inland China -Mission, and one of the "Executive Committee" of the Anti-Opium -Society,--comes upon the scene like King Hamlet's ghost, declaring that he -"could a tale unfold, whose lightest breath would harrow up your souls, -freeze the hot blood, and make each particular hair to stand on end." -Plagiarising, if not pirating, my title, with a colourable addition of the -word "Smoking," he produces, in November 1882, a compilation entitled "The -Truth about Opium-_Smoking_," rather a thick pamphlet, made up of excerpts -from all the writings and speeches, good, bad, and indifferent, that have -been published and delivered within the last thirty years on the -Anti-Opium side of the question, with some critical matter of his own, -from all of which it appears most conclusively that he, Mr. B. Broomhall, -is perfectly innocent of the subject he undertakes to enlighten the world -upon. I think I see through this gentleman and his objects pretty well. -With respect to the authors of these writings and speeches, I may say at -once that I hold them in as much respect as Mr. B. Broomhall does himself. -Some of them are very eminent men, who, apart from this opium delusion, -are ornaments to their country, and all, I have no doubt, are men of -spotless honour and integrity; but what, after all, does that prove? Why, -simply the _bona fides_ of these gentlemen, which no one ever questioned, -and nothing more;--that in writing those pamphlets and articles they -honestly believed they were giving utterance to facts and recording -circumstances which were true, and which it was for the good of society -should be widely known. The good and just man is as liable to be deceived -as he who is less perfect,--indeed, more so, for his very amiability and -guilelessness of heart allay suspicion and make him an easier prey to the -designing and unscrupulous. Not one of those gentlemen, save Sir -Rutherford Alcock, and one or two others, whose opinions are coincident, -in fact, with my own, have had any actual personal knowledge of the facts -they write about, and such a statement as the following might well be -printed in the front of each of their books or writings, viz.: "I have -read certain books and articles in newspapers, and heard speeches upon the -opium question, which I believe to be true, and on such assumption the -following pages are my views upon the subject." To prove to my readers the -utterly unreliable and deceptive character of Mr. Broomhall's compilation, -it is only necessary to refer to one passage, which will be found at page -122, where it is gravely put forward THAT THE INDIAN MUTINY WAS BROUGHT -ABOUT BY THE INDO-CHINA OPIUM TRADE! After that, Tenterden Steeple and the -Goodwin Sands will hardly seem so disconnected as has been hitherto -commonly supposed. But then the book is illustrated; there are the -pictures copied from the _Graphic_. There is the poppy, and there is the -opium pipe. Of course Mr. B. Broomhall knows all about opium smoking,--or -the illustrations would not be there. Mr. Crummles, with his "splendid tub -and real pump," could not have done better. - -As to Mr. B. Broomhall's remarks respecting my book I have very little to -say; there is nothing in them. Like Mr. Storrs Turner, he has found it a -poser, and has said very little respecting it. When your opponent gets the -worst of an argument, if he does not honestly acknowledge his -discomfiture, he generally follows one of two courses--either he loses his -temper and takes to scolding, or he suddenly discovers something -wonderfully funny in your arguments which no one else was able to detect. -Mr. B. Broomhall eschews the former, but adopts the latter course. He -selects a paragraph or two, and says, "That is ludicrous," but he never -condescends to enlighten his readers as to where the fun lies, or in what -the drollery consists. - -But, although Mr. B. Broomhall makes light of my book, he has thought -proper to imitate its title. He evidently thought there was nothing -ludicrous in _that_. This was very "smart," but smartness is a quality not -much appreciated on this side of the Atlantic. As my book had dealt a -heavy blow to the Anti-Opium Society, and a cheap edition might prove -still more damaging, an opposition book, with a similar title, might so -confuse the public as to be mistaken for mine. Imitation has been said to -be the sincerest flattery, but I dislike adulation even when administered -by the Anti-Opium Society. This gentleman and his compilation bring very -forcibly to my mind the profound Mr. Pott, of the _Eatanswill Gazette_, -who, having written a series of recondite articles on _Chinese -Metaphysics_, brought his lucubrations to the notice of his friend, Mr. -Pickwick. That gentleman ventured to remark that the subject seemed an -abstruse one. "Very true," returned Mr. Pott, with a smile of intellectual -superiority, "but I crammed for it--I read up the subject in the -_Encyclopædia Britannica_. I looked for metaphysics under the letter M, -and for China under the letter C, and combined the information." This -seems to be the sort of process by which Mr. B. Broomhall has arrived at -his knowledge on the opium question, and with similar results. I do not -wish to be too hard upon this gentleman, who, after all, may have been -only a cat's-paw in the matter--for it must not be forgotten that there is -Mr. Storrs Turner in the background; but he himself, on reflection, must, -I think, admit that it was going a little too far to introduce into his -compilation a parody--which some might call a vulgar parody--on one of the -verses of Bishop Heber's very beautiful and world-renowned Missionary -Hymn. I will not give my readers the "elegant extract," but they can find -it for themselves at page 117. - -I have in this edition amplified the matter and given extracts from the -Reports of Mr. William Donald Spence, Her Majesty's Consul at Ichang, and -Mr. E. Colborne Baber's _Travels and Researches in Western China_, which -throw a flood of light upon the opium question. I have also quoted from a -very valuable work of Don Sinibaldo de Mas, an accomplished Chinese -scholar, formerly Spanish Minister to the Court of Peking, published in -Paris in 1858, which in itself is a complete vindication of the opium -policy of Her Majesty's Government in India and China, and an able -refutation of the unfounded views of the Anti-Opium Society; and I believe -this edition of _The Truth about Opium_ will be found a very complete -defence of the Indo-China opium trade. - -_30th January 1883._ - - - - -PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. - - -The following lectures were given in pursuance of a determination I came -to some six years ago in Hong Kong, viz. that if I lived to return to -England I should take some steps, either by public lectures or by the -publication of a book, to expose the mischievous fallacies disseminated by -the "Anglo-Oriental Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade." About -that time nearly every mail brought out newspapers to China containing -reports of meetings held in England condemnatory of the Indo-China opium -trade, at which resolutions were made containing the grossest -mis-statements and exaggerations as to opium-smoking, and also the most -unfounded charges against all parties engaged in the opium trade, showing -clearly, to my mind, that not one of the speakers at those meetings really -understood the subject he spoke about so fluently. I have now, happily, -been able to carry out my intention. Unfortunately, I was deprived of the -opportunity of delivering these lectures in Exeter Hall, which was not -only more central than St. James's Hall, but where I could have selected a -more convenient hour for the purpose than the only time the Secretary of -the latter Company could place at my disposal, the reason being that the -Committee of Exeter Hall refused to allow me its use for the purpose of -refuting the false and untenable allegations of the Anti-Opium Society, an -act of intolerance which I think I am justified in exposing. I trust, -however, that any drawback on this account will be compensated for by the -publication of the lectures. I am well aware that this volume has many -imperfections, but there is one respect in which I cannot reproach myself -with having erred, and that is, in having overstepped the bounds of truth. -I have the satisfaction of knowing that all I have stated in the lectures -is substantially true and correct, and with such a consciousness I -entertain a confident hope that they will prove in a humble way -instrumental towards breaking up the Anti-Opium confederacy, the objects -of which are as undeserving of support as they have proved mischievous in -their tendency. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - -LECTURE I. - -Objects of the Lectures.--Lectures based upon principle and not upon -grounds of expediency.--Lecturer's knowledge of the Opium question derived -from actual acquaintance with the facts, acquired during nearly fifteen -years' residence in Hong Kong.--Opium smoking as practised by the Chinese -perfectly innocuous, beneficial rather than injurious.--Opinion of Dr. -Ayres.--Charges made by the Anti-Opium Society and its supporters false -and unfounded.--Alleged knowledge of the members and supporters of the -Anti-Opium Society founded on hearsay evidence of the worst and most -untrustworthy character.--Lecturer not acting in the interests of the -British merchants in China, nor of any other party or person.--Has no -personal interest in the Opium question, and is actuated only by a desire -to dispel the false and mischievous delusions spread abroad in England by -the Anti-Opium Society.--British and other foreign residents in China hold -opposite views to those disseminated by the Anti-Opium people.--British -merchants as a body have no interest in the trade.--China a great Empire -as large as Europe, with a much greater population.--Country and people of -China described.--Impossible to demoralize and debase such a people.--Opium -smoking a general custom throughout the eighteen provinces of China.-- -Reasons for the prolonged existence of the Anti-Opium Society.--False -charges of the Anti-Opium Society respecting the Indo-China Opium trade -more fully formulated.--Petition to the House of Commons of the Protestant -Missionaries at Peking.--Refusal to sign it of the Rev. F. Galpin.--If -half those charges were true the British residents in China would be the -first to raise their voices against the Opium trade.--Official Yellow -Book published by Sir Robert Hart, the Inspector-General of Chinese -Customs, negatives the allegations of the members of the Anti-Opium -Society and the Protestant Missionaries.--Roman Catholic Missionaries make -no complaint against the Indo-China Opium trade.--Allegations of the -Anti-Opium Society that British trade with China has suffered from the -alleged forcing of Opium upon China untrue.--Friendly relations between -the British merchants in China and the Chinese people.--Englishmen more -esteemed by the Chinese than any other nation.--Hong Kong described.-- -Government of China described.--Hong Kong the head-quarters of the -Indo-China Opium trade, Chinese residing there have better means of -procuring the drug than elsewhere--no sufferers from Opium smoking found -there.--Exposure by Dr. Ayres, the Colonial Surgeon of Hong Kong, of the -fallacy that Opium smoking, although indulged in for years, cannot be -dropped without injury to the system.--Fallacy of comparing the Chinese -with the savages of Central Africa by the Secretary of the Anti-Opium -Society exposed.--Archdeacon Gray, a resident for twenty years at Canton, -silent, in his recent work on China and her people, as to the alleged -iniquity of the Indo-China Opium trade.--Character of the Chinese as -described by various authors.--Chinese a frugal and abstemious people.-- -Opium smoking less injurious than beer or tobacco.--Charges of the -Anti-Opium Society based upon fallacies; those fallacies detailed.-- -Alleged objections of the Chinese to receive the Gospel on account of the -Indo-China Opium trade the merest subterfuge, and utterly absurd and -untenable.--The opinion of the late John Crawfurd, Esq., F.R.S., formerly -Governor of the Straits Settlements.--His Dictionary of the Indian Islands -and Adjacent countries. - - Pages 1-49 - - -LECTURE II. - -Hearsay testimony upon which charges of the Anti-Opium Society founded -explained.--Chinese a polite people and treat Missionaries courteously, -but despise Christianity, and will not tell Missionaries the truth about -Opium.--Respectable Chinese would become an object of scorn and disgrace -to their fellow-countrymen if they embraced Christianity.--Professing -Chinese Christians in most cases impostors.--Heathen Chinese as a rule -more trustworthy than so-called Christian converts.--Missionary clergymen -in China have not the confidence of the Chinese people, and draw their -information as to Opium smoking from polluted sources.--Difference between -Missionary clergymen in China and the clergymen of all denominations in -England as regards knowledge of the people they live amongst.--Missionaries -in China wholly responsible for the imposture prevailing in England as to -Opium smoking in China.--Although the Chinese are a spirit-drinking -people, they never drink to excess.--Drunkenness unknown amongst -Chinese.--Chinese-American treaty a sham as regards Opium.--Sir J. H. -Pease, M.P., duped by the "bogus" clause as to Opium.--His speech on the -Opium question in 1881.--Chinese smoke Opium wherever they go.--As much -Opium imported into China now as before the sham treaty.--Opium a luxury -which only the well-to-do can freely indulge in.--Explanation of the means -by which unfounded statements respecting Opium are propagated.--Apologue -by way of example.--Proof of the state of things explained by the apologue -furnished by the Rev. Storrs Turner and Dr. Ayres.--First fallacy, that -the poppy is not indigenous to China, but has been recently introduced -there, presumably by British agency, and the second fallacy, that Opium -smoking in China is now and always has been confined to a small -per-centage of the population, but which, owing to the importation into -the country of Indian Opium, is rapidly increasing, refuted and the truth -fully stated.--Testimony of Mr. W. Donald Spence and Mr. E. Colborne -Baber, and Sir Rutherford Alcock. - - Pages 50-100 - - -LECTURE III. - -Third and fifth fallacies upon which the members of the Anti-Opium Society -and its supporters are misled.--Opium eating and Opium smoking contrasted -with spirit drinking.--Valuable curative properties of Opium.--Spirit -drinking produces organic and incurable diseases, is a fruitful cause of -insanity, and leads to ruin and destruction.--The like effects admittedly -not due to Opium.--Opium eating and Opium smoking totally distinct.-- -Whatever the effects of Opium eating, Opium smoking perfectly innocuous.-- -Anti-Opium advocates cunningly try to mix the two together.--Disingenuous -conduct in this respect of the Rev. Storrs Turner--Mr. Turner so great an -enthusiast as not to be able to see the difference.--Testimony of Dr. -Eatwell as to the use of Opium.--Difference between Opium eating and -Opium smoking explained in the case of tobacco smoking.--Tobacco taken -internally a deadly poison, harmless when smoked.--Medical testimony as to -the poisonous quality of tobacco and its alkaloid, nicotine.--Opium a -valuable medicine, without any known substitute.--Anti-Tobacco Smoking -Society, once formed the same as the Anti-Opium Society, put down by the -common sense of the community, the like fate awaits the Anti-Opium -Society.--Testimony of Dr. Sir George Birdwood, Surgeon-General Moore, Sir -Benjamin Brodie, Dr. Ayres, and W. Brend, M.R.C.S., as to Opium.--Small -quantity of Indian Opium imported into China.--Enormous amount of spirits -consumed in the United Kingdom.--Anti-Opium Society blind to the latter, -energetic as to the former a purely sentimental grievance.--Fallacy of -Anti-Opium Society that supply creates demand refuted and exposed.-- -Remaining fallacies refuted.--Effects of suppression of Indo-China Opium -trade.--Missionaries detested in China.--Indian Opium welcomed.--Saying of -Prince Kung.--Treaty of Tientsin explained and defended.--Erroneous -notions of the Protestant Missionaries as to that treaty.--Abused by -Missionaries, yet the treaty the Missionaries only charter.--Testimony of -H. N. Lay and Lawrence Olyphant.--Spurious copy of De Quincey's -"Confessions of an Opium Eater," published by Anti-Opium people.-- -Testimony of Don Sinibaldo de Mas, formerly Spanish Minister in China, a -powerful defence of the Indo-China Opium trade.--Policy of the Indian -Government as regards Opium wisest and best.--Alleged proposal of Lord -Lawrence to alter that policy.--Fallacy involved in such proposal -exposed.--Abrogation of Indo-Opium trade injurious if not destructive to -the spread of the Gospel in China.--False charge of smuggling by British -merchants in China exposed and refuted.--Un-English policy of the -Anti-Opium Society exposed.--Recapitulation.--Benevolence of the British -public.--Necessity for seeing that it is not diverted into worthless -channels.--Anti-Opium Society, mischievous, presenting a melancholy record -of energies wasted, talents misapplied, wealth uselessly squandered, -charity perverted, and philanthropy run mad.--Society should be dissolved -and its funds transferred to Missionaries.--Missionaries should not mix up -Christianity and Opium.--Missionaries defended and encouraged. - - Pages 101-174 - - -APPENDIX. - -Official Letter of Francis Bulkeley Johnson, Esq., of the firm of Jardine, -Matheson & Co., of Hong Kong and China, Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber -of Commerce, to Charles Magniac, Esq., M.P., the President of the London -Chamber of Commerce, respecting the charge of smuggling against the -British merchants in China, and giving particulars of the Indo-China Opium -trade. - - Pages 177-183 - - - - -THE TRUTH ABOUT OPIUM. - - - - -LECTURE I. - - -The object of these lectures is to tell you what I know about opium -smoking in China--a very important subject, involving the retention or -loss of more than seven millions sterling to the revenue of India, and -what is far more precious, the character and reputation of this great -country. With respect to the former, I would simply observe that I do not -intend to deal with the question on mere grounds of expediency, strong as -such grounds unquestionably are, for, if I believed that one-half of what -is asserted by the "ANGLO-ORIENTAL SOCIETY FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF THE -OPIUM TRADE," as to the alleged baneful effects of opium smoking upon the -Chinese, were true, I should be the first to raise my humble voice against -the traffic, even though it involved the loss, not of seven millions -sterling, but of seventy times seven. But it is because I know that these -statements and all the grave charges made by the supporters of that -society, and repeated from day to day, against the Government of India and -the Government of this country, and also against the British merchants of -China, to be not only gross exaggerations but absolutely untrue--mere -shadowy figments, phantasies, and delusions--that I come forward to draw -aside the curtain, and show you that behind these charges there is no -substance. Were my knowledge of the opium question derived merely from -books and pamphlets, articles in the newspapers, and ordinary gossip, I -would not venture to trespass upon your time and attention, because in -that respect you have at your disposal the same means of information as I -have myself. But I come before you with considerable personal experience, -and special knowledge of the subject, having lived and practised as a -solicitor for nearly fifteen years in Hong Kong, where I had daily -experience, not only of the custom and effects of opium smoking, but also -of the trade in opium in both its crude and prepared state. I had there -the honour of being solicitor to the leading British and other foreign -firms, as well as to the Chinese, from the wealthy merchant to the humble -coolie; so that during the whole of that period down to the present time I -have had intimate relations in China with foreigners and natives, -especially with those engaged in the opium trade. Under these -circumstances I had daily intercourse with the people from whom the best -and most trustworthy information on the subject of opium and opium smoking -could be obtained, and my experience is that opium smoking, as practised -by the Chinese, is perfectly innocuous. This is a fact so patent that it -forces itself upon the attention of every intelligent resident in China -who has given ordinary attention to the subject. The whole question at -issue is involved in this one point, for if I show you that opium smoking -in China is as harmless, if, indeed, not more so, as beer drinking in -England, as I promise you I shall do most conclusively, then _cadit -quæstio_, there is nothing further in dispute; the Indo-Chinese opium -trade will then stand out--as I say it does--free from objection upon -moral, political, and social grounds, and the occupation of the Anti-Opium -agitators, like Othello's, will be gone. It is true that the opponents of -the Indo-Chinese opium trade interlard their case with political matters -wholly beside the question; this they do to make that question look a -bigger one than it really is, so as to throw dust in the eyes of the -public and impose upon weak minds. For instance, they drag in the -miscalled "Opium War" and ring the changes upon it. That war, whether -justifiable or not, cannot affect the points at issue. It is an -accomplished fact, and it is idle now to introduce it into the present -opium question. And though I shall be obliged to go pretty fully into the -whole controversy, I ask you to keep your minds steadily fixed upon the -real question, which is briefly this: Is opium smoking, as practised in -China, detrimental to health and morals, and if so, does the Indo-Chinese -opium trade contribute to these results? - -I may now at the outset assure you that I do not give expression to my -views in the interests of the merchants of China, whether native or -foreign, or on behalf of any party whatsoever; nor do I come before you -with any personal object, because neither directly nor indirectly have I -any pecuniary or personal concern in the opium question, nor, indeed, in -any commercial matter in Hong Kong or China. I simply find that unfounded -delusions have taken possession of the public mind upon the subject, which -have had most mischievous consequences, and are still working much evil. -These I wish to dispel, if I can. Furthermore, I have delivered and -published these lectures at my own cost, unaided by any other person, so, -I think, under these circumstances, that I have some right to be regarded -as an impartial witness. - -I am aware of no subject, involving only simple matters of fact, and -outside the region of party politics, upon which so much discussion has -been expended, and about which such widely different opinions are -prevalent, as this opium question. On the one side, it is said that, for -selfish purposes, we have forced and are still forcing opium upon the -people of China; that the Indian Government, with the acquiescence and -support of the Imperial Government, cultivates the drug for the purpose of -adding seven or eight millions sterling to its revenue, and, with full -knowledge of its alleged baneful consequences to the natives of China, -exports it to that country. A further charge, moreover, is brought against -the British merchants, that they participate in this trade for gain, or, -as it is put by the Rev. Mr. Storrs Turner, formerly a missionary -clergyman at Hong Kong, but now and for many years the active and -energetic Secretary of the Anti-Opium Society, to enable them to make -"princely fortunes." That is the favourite expression of Mr. Turner, who -finds, no doubt, that it takes with certain small sections of the public, -readier to believe evil of their own countrymen than of the people of -other countries, under the belief, perhaps, that in doing so they best -display the purity and disinterestedness of their conduct. - -The Anti-Opium Society and its supporters assert as an incontestable fact -that opium smoking is fatal, not only to the body but to the soul; -meaning, I suppose, that the custom is destructive to the physical, and -demoralising to the moral nature of its votaries, and that the opium -traffic is regarded by the people of China with such horror that it -prevents the natives from receiving the Gospel from those who help to -supply them with this drug, viz., the British people. It is alleged that -the use of opium demoralises the Chinese, that it ruins and saps the -manhood of the whole nation, with a host of concomitant evils, to which I -shall by and by refer more particularly, the whole involving the utmost -turpitude, the greatest guilt and the worst depravity on the part of -England and the English Government, and still more especially on that of -the Indian Government and the British merchants in China. Here I may -observe, in passing, that if the objection to opium on the part of the -Chinese is so strong, it is rather remarkable that they should not only -greedily purchase all the Indian opium we can send them, but cultivate the -drug to an enormous extent in their own country. The Anti-Opium Society -and its supporters further say that opium culture and opium smoking are of -comparatively recent origin in China; and although they do not directly -allege that we have introduced those practices, there is throughout all -their writings and speeches "a fond desire, a pleasing hope" that the -readers or hearers of their books and speeches will form that opinion for -themselves. I should tell you that those who hold directly contrary views -consist of all the British residents in China, with the exception of some -of the Protestant missionaries (of whom I desire to speak with respect), -comprising the British merchants, their numerous assistants (an educated -and most intelligent body), professional men, traders of all classes, and -also all the other foreign merchants and residents in the country--German, -American, and others, for there are many nationalities to be met with in -China, who with the British form one harmonious community. - -Take all these men, differing in nationality and religious persuasions as -they do, and I venture to say that you will not find one per cent. of them -who will not tell you that the views put forward by these missionaries and -the Anti-Opium Society are utterly preposterous, false, and unreal--who -will not declare that opium smoking in China is a harmless if not an -absolutely beneficial practice; that it produces no decadence in mind or -body, and that the allegations as to its demoralising effects are simply -untrue. Those who have taken a special interest in the subject know that -the poppy is indigenous to China, as it is to the rest of Asia, that opium -smoking is and has been a universal custom throughout China, probably for -more than a thousand years; that this custom is not confined to a few, but -is general amongst the adult male population; limited only, in fact, by -the means of procuring the drug. That is my experience also; it is -corroborated by others, and therefore I may assert it as a fact. I have -used the adjective "Protestant" because, although there are a great number -of Roman Catholic and some Greek missionaries in China, no complaint -against the opium trade has ever to my knowledge been made by one of these -missionaries. - -Now, why is this belief so prevalent? Because those foreign residents -daily mix with the Chinese, know their habits and customs, hear them talk, -sell to them, and buy from them, and being aware, as they all are, of the -controversy going on here about opium, and the strenuous efforts that are -being made in this country to prevent the Indian Government from allowing -opium to be imported into China, they take a greater interest in the -subject, and examine the question more carefully than they otherwise -might. They, I say, being on the ground and knowing the very people who -smoke opium and who have smoked it for years, without injury or decay to -their bodily or mental health, have irresistibly come to the same -conclusion as I have. For myself, I may say that I have taken a very great -interest in the subject, particularly during the past five or six years. I -have tried in vain to find out those pitiable victims of opium smoking who -have been so much spoken of in books, in newspapers, and on public -platforms. Day after day I have gone through the most populous parts of -Hong Kong, which is a large city, having about one hundred and fifty -thousand Chinese inhabitants--in both the wealthiest and poorest quarters. -I have daily had in my office Chinese of all classes, seeing them, -speaking to them, interrogating them upon different subjects, and I have -never found amongst them any of these miserable victims to opium smoking. -On the contrary, more acute, knowing, and intelligent people than these -very opium smokers I have rarely met with. - -Now, Hong Kong may be said to be, and is, in fact, the headquarters in -China of the opium trade. It is there that all the opium coming from India -and Persia is first brought. It is, in fact, the entrepôt or depôt from -which all other parts of China are supplied with the drug. Furthermore, it -is the port whence "prepared opium," the condition in which the drug is -smoked, is mostly manufactured and exported to the Chinese in all other -parts of the world, for wherever he goes, the Chinaman, if he can afford -it, must have his opium-pipe. Moreover, the Chinese of Hong Kong get much -better wages and make larger profits in their trades and businesses than -they could obtain in their own country; and can, therefore, better afford -to enjoy the luxury of the pipe than their own countrymen in China. So -that if opium smoking produced the evil consequences alleged, Hong Kong is -unquestionably the place where those consequences would be found in their -fullest force. They are not to be found there in the slightest degree. One -fact is worth a thousand theories, and this I give you as one which I -challenge Mr. Storrs Turner or any other advocate of the Anti-Opium -Society to disprove. I will now show you how I am corroborated. I have a -witness on the subject whose testimony is simply irrefragable. Dr. Philip -B. C. Ayres, the learned and efficient Colonial Surgeon, and Inspector of -Hospitals of Hong Kong, confirms my statement in the strongest possible -manner. That gentleman has held the important office I have mentioned for -about ten years. Previous to taking up his appointment at Hong Kong he had -been on the Medical Staff of India, where he had made opium and opium -eating--for the drug is not smoked in India--a special study. In Hong Kong -he has had abundant opportunities of studying the effects of opium smoking -and making himself thoroughly acquainted with the wonderful drug, such -opportunities, indeed, as few other medical men have ever had. It is part -of his daily duties to inspect the Civil Hospital of Hong Kong,--a -splendid institution open to all nationalities, and conducted by able -medical men,--the Gaol, the Chinese Hospital, called the Tung Wah, which -is under exclusive Chinese management, and all other medical institutions -in the Colony. Thus a wide field of observation is presented to him. I may -add here that Dr. Ayres is the only European physician who has succeeded -in removing the prejudice among the better class of the Chinese against -European doctors and in obtaining a large native practice. This fact -speaks volumes as to his general abilities as well as to his professional -attainments and his means of acquainting himself with the social life of -the Chinese. In his annual Report presented to the Government of Hong Kong -for the year 1881, a copy of which, I believe, is now, or ought to be, in -the pigeon-holes of the Colonial Office in Downing Street, there is the -following passage:-- - - I have come to the conclusion that opium smoking _is a luxury of a - very harmless description_, and that the only trouble arising from its - indulgence is a waste of money that should be applied to necessaries. - Eight mace is equivalent to an ounce and twenty-nine grains, a - quantity of opium sufficient to poison a hundred men, smoked by one - man in a day, and this he has been doing for twenty years: that is to - say, he has consumed in smoke in that time about one thousand pounds - sterling, and for this indulgence he has to deny himself and his - family many absolute necessaries. The list of admissions contains - thirty-five opium smokers, and the amount smoked between them daily - was eighty-four mace and a half, or seven dollars worth of opium. The - result of my observations this year is only to confirm all I said on - the subject of opium smoking in my report for 1880. - -Again, Dr. Ayres has published from time to time in the "_Friend of -China_," the organ of the Anti-Opium Society, various interesting papers -on medical subjects. This is what he says in an article which will be -found at length at p. 217 of vol. 3 of that journal:-- - - My opinion of it is that it [opium smoking] may become a habit, _but - that that habit is not necessarily an increasing one_. Nine out of - twelve men smoke a certain number of pipes a day, just as a tobacco - smoker would, or as a wine or beer drinker might drink his two or - three glasses a day, without desiring more. _I think the excessive - opium smoker is in a greater minority than the excessive spirit - drinker or tobacco smoker._ In my experience, the habit does no - physical harm in moderation.... I do not wish to defend the practice - of opium smoking, but in the face of the rash opinions and exaggerated - statements in respect of this vice, it is only right to record that no - China resident believes in the terrible frequency of the dull, - sodden-witted, debilitated opium smoker met with in print, nor have I - found many Europeans who believe they ever get the better of their - opium-smoking compradores in matters of business. - -Let Mr. Storrs Turner refute this, if he can. If he cannot, what becomes -of his book[1] published in 1876, which may be called the gospel of the -Anti-Opium Society, with which I shall make you better acquainted by and -by. And what should become of the Anti-Opium Society itself, which has -wasted on its chimerical projects hundreds of thousands of pounds--the -contributions of the benevolent British public, which might have been -spent in alleviating the misery and distress in this vast metropolis, or -been otherwise usefully applied. - -The Government of Hong Kong, for the purposes of revenue, has farmed out -the privilege or monopoly of preparing this opium and selling it within -the colony, and I dare say you will be surprised to hear that the amount -paid by the present opium monopolist for the privilege amounts to about -forty thousand pounds sterling a year. To elucidate this, I should tell -you, that opium as imported from India, Persia, and other places is in a -crude or unprepared state. In this condition it is made up in hard round -balls, each about the size of a Dutch cheese, but darker in colour. To -render it fit for smoking it has to be stripped of its outer covering, -shredded, and boiled with water until it becomes a semi-fluid glutinous -substance resembling treacle in colour and consistence. In this state it -is known as "prepared opium." As such it is put up into small tins or -canisters, hermetically sealed, so that it can be exported to any part of -the world. Now, I have been the professional adviser of the opium farmer -for at least ten years, and from him and his assistants I have had -excellent opportunities of learning the truth about opium. I have thus -been able to get behind the scenes, and so have had such opportunities of -acquainting myself with the subject as few other Europeans have possessed. -I knew the late opium farmer, whom I might call a personal friend, -intimately from the time of my first arrival in China. When I call him the -opium farmer I mean the ostensible one, for the opium monopoly has always, -in fact, been held by a syndicate. My friend was the principal in whose -name the license was made out, and who dealt with the wholesale merchants, -carried on all arrangements with the Government of the Colony, and -chiefly managed the prepared opium business. I knew him so intimately and -had so many professional dealings with him, irrespective of opium, that I -had constant opportunities of becoming acquainted with all the mysteries -of the opium trade. Now the conclusion to which my own personal experience -has led me I have told you of before, and I have never met anyone who has -lived in China, save the missionaries, whose experience differed from -mine. I have tried to find the victims of the so-called dreadful drug, but -I have never yet succeeded. - -Many people in this country, I dare say, owing to the false and -exaggerated stories which have been disseminated by the advocates of the -Anti-Opium Society, think that if they went to Hong Kong they would see -swarms of wretched creatures, wan and wasted, leaning upon crutches, the -victims of opium smoking. If they went to the colony they would be greatly -disappointed, for no such people are to be met with. On the contrary, all -the Chinese they would see there are strong, healthy, intelligent-looking -people, and, mark my words, well able to take care of themselves. I don't -suppose there were five per cent. of my Chinese clients who did not, to a -greater or less extent, smoke opium. I have known numbers, certainly not -less than five or six hundred persons in all, who have smoked opium from -their earliest days--young men, middle-aged men, and men of advanced -years, who have been opium smokers all their lives, some of them probably -excessive smokers, but I have never observed any symptoms of decay in one -of them. I recall to mind one old man in particular, whom I remember for -more than fifteen years; he is now alive and well; when I last saw him, -about two years ago, he was looking as healthy and strong as he was ten -years before. He is not only in good bodily health, but of most -extraordinary intellectual vigour, one of the most crafty old gentlemen, -indeed, that I have ever met; no keener man of business you could find, or -one who would try harder to get the better of you if he could. The only -signs of opium smoking about him are his discoloured teeth, by which an -excessive smoker can always be detected, for immoderate opium smoking has -the same effect, though in a less degree, as the similar use of tobacco, -the excessive smoking of which, as I shall by and by show you, is the more -injurious practice of the two. The Chinese, as a rule, have extremely -white teeth--the effect, perhaps, of their simple diet, and their -generally abstemious habits. They are proud of their teeth, which they -brush two or three times a day, so that there is no difficulty in -distinguishing heavy smokers from those who smoke in moderation. It is -easy to compare the one with the other, and I may state that although the -former be not often met with, he will be found to be not a whit inferior -to the other in wit or sharpness. The old gentleman I have referred to, -like many others of his countrymen, will settle himself down of an -evening, when the business of the day is over, and enjoy his opium pipe -for two or three hours at a stretch, yet, notwithstanding this terrible -excess, as the Anti-Opium people would say, he continues strong and well. -Nay, more, he has two sons of middle age, healthy, active men, who indulge -in the pipe quite as regularly as their aged father. I have known many -others like these men, but have never seen or heard of any weakness or -decay arising from the practice. - -Now, I have told you that the British merchants in China hold the same -views as I do upon the opium question. But it may be said that the -merchants are interested persons, and in point of fact Mr. Storrs Turner -says as much in his book. And, of course, he would have it inferred that -what _they_ allege or think on the subject should not have any weight, -because they are the very persons in whose interest this so-called -iniquitous traffic is being carried on, and that, therefore, they would -not say anything likely to dry up their fountain of profit. I only wish -for the sake of my fellow-countrymen that all these declarations about -princely fortunes were true. Hills look green afar off, but when you -approach them they are often found as arid as the desert; and, -unfortunately, like Macbeth's air-drawn dagger, these splendid visions are -not "sensible to feeling as to sight," but simply _princely fortunes_ of -the mind "proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain." Mr. Turner mentions -in his book one eminent firm in particular, the oldest and probably the -greatest in China or the far East, a firm respected throughout the whole -mercantile world, whose public spirit, boundless charity, and general -benevolence are proverbial, whom he stigmatizes as "opium merchants," and -who are, of course, making the imaginary "princely fortune" by opium. Now -if that gentleman had taken the least trouble to inquire before he -launched his book upon the world, he would have found that the firm he -refers to in such terms had had little or nothing to do with opium for at -least twenty years. That is not, perhaps, a matter of much importance. If -he had taken the trouble to make further inquiry, he could have had no -difficulty in ascertaining, what I tell him now as a fact, and one within -my own personal knowledge, that the only merchants in China who are making -large profits out of opium are just two or three firms, who, by the -undulations and fluctuations inseparable from commerce, have got the bulk -of the trade into their hands, and that all the other British merchants -throughout China, and all the foreign merchants, Germans, Americans, and -others, have really little or nothing to do with the opium trade at all. -Of course, merchants now and then will have to execute orders for opium -for a constituent who may require a chest or two of the drug, but that is -only in the course of business, and is not attended with any profit to -speak of. And I am perfectly sure that if it were possible to put a stop -to this opium traffic, which is said to be the source of so much profit to -many, that, saving the two or three firms I have mentioned, the -suppression of the trade would make no difference to the other firms. This -gross blunder of Mr. Storrs Turner is characteristic of the general -inaccuracy of his book. Before casting odium upon an eminent firm common -decency, if not prudence, to say nothing of good taste, should have -induced him to make careful inquiries upon the subject. This, it is clear, -he has not done, and, as if to make matters worse, although his book -appeared so long ago as 1876, in an article published in the "Nineteenth -Century" for February 1882, he has again gratuitously referred to this -firm in terms as unjustifiable as they are absolutely unfounded. He -couples the firm with another house now dissolved, and says, "they were -legally smugglers, but the sin sat lightly upon their consciences." Very -pretty this for a minister of the Gospel and the Secretary of the -Anglo-Oriental Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade. The -statement, even if true, was wholly unnecessary for the professed object -of the writer, and why he made it is best known to himself. This is the -gentleman by whose persistent efforts those fallacious and mischievous -views upon the opium question have during the past eight years been -mainly forced upon the public, and to whom the prolonged existence of that -most mischievous organization, the Anti-Opium Society, is due. He is the -Frankenstein who has created the monster that has deceived and scared so -many excellent people. I will show you that this monster is but a poor -bogey after all, with just as much form and substance as that with which -Mrs. Shelley affrights her readers in her clever romance. On the other -hand, do not let it be thought, as I believe has been said by some -enthusiasts, that it is owing to the British merchants in China having -discovered that opium is an unclean thing, and to their having washed -their hands of all participation in the traffic, that the trade has fallen -into the hands of a few, who of course would, by parity of reasoning, be -set down as very unscrupulous people. That is a fallacy, and, what is -more, it is an untruth. I do not believe there is a British firm, or a -firm of any other nationality, in China, which would not, if the -opportunity presented itself, become to-morrow "opium merchants," as Mr. -Turner expresses it, if they thought the trade would prove a source of -profit, because they hold, with me, that the opium traffic is a perfectly -proper and legitimate one, quite as much so as traffic in tobacco, wine, -or beer; and a thousand times less objectionable than the trade in ardent -spirits. - -Before proceeding further, it is important that I should bring to your -notice some particulars about China and its people. It is actually -necessary to do so, to enable you to grasp the facts and see your way well -before you. Although the opium question ought to be a simple one, yet, -owing to the sophistries and misrepresentations of the Anti-Opium Society, -and in particular of its Secretary and living spirit, Mr. Storrs Turner, a -wide field is opened to us across which it will be necessary to lead you -to chase the phantom off the plain. The public here are very apt to think -of China as if it were a country like Italy, France, or England. They -never dream for a moment of the immense empire which China actually is. -Perhaps if they did, and could take in the whole situation, they would be -slower to believe the extraordinary stories which are spread about our -_forcing_ opium upon the Chinese, and, by doing so, demoralizing the -nation. We forget, as we grow old, much that we have learned in our youth, -especially geography, and I daresay many a schoolboy could enlighten -myself and others upon that particular branch of education. China, it -must be remembered, is a country which cannot be compared with France, -Spain, or England, for it is a vast empire, as large as Europe, with a -population some fifty or sixty millions greater. Now, what a stupendous -feat to be able to storm, as it were, that enormous empire, and for a -handful of British merchants to succeed in forcing opium upon, and, by -doing so, debasing the whole of this wonderful people. Yet this is what is -alleged by the anti-opium philanthropists and by Mr. Storrs Turner, who is -their priest and prophet, and so his enthusiastic disciples believe, to -whom I would merely say,--"Great is thy faith." These plain facts are not -brought forward by the Anti-opium people. The public are addressed and -pleas are put forward for their support on the ground that we are dealing -with a country of the like extent as our own, inhabited by a primitive -semi-civilized people. No greater fallacy, no more downright untruth could -be put forward. The Chinese are not only a civilized but an educated -people. Until quite recently there were more people in the British -Islands, in proportion to their population, who could neither read nor -write than in China. - -It must be borne in mind that the empire of China comprises eighteen -provinces, quite large enough to form eighteen separate kingdoms. I am -speaking now of China Proper, and am leaving out Thibet, Mongolia, and -Manchuria, immense countries to the West, North-West, and North of China, -and also the vast possessions of China in Central Asia, all forming part -of that great empire. Many of these eighteen provinces are larger than -Great Britain; one of them is equal in extent to France. Although there is -in one sense a language common to the whole country, yet not only has each -province a dialect of its own, different from that of the others, but it -has, so to speak, innumerable sub-dialects. Dialect, perhaps, is hardly -the correct word; it is more than a dialect, for not only each province, -but each district or county, has a dialect, differing so essentially from -each other that the people of one province, or one district, can, in most -instances, no more make themselves colloquially understood by those of -another than a Frenchman could make himself intelligible to an Englishman, -if neither knew the language of the other. You will often find people -living in villages not more than fifteen or twenty miles apart who cannot -converse with one another. I have seen in my own office a man belonging to -the province of Kwang-tung, in the south of China, unable to speak in -Chinese to a native of the adjoining province of Fuh-kien. In this case -the native villages of these two were not more than ten miles apart, and -the only medium of conversation was the barbarous jargon in which -Europeans and Chinese carry on their dealings, called "pidgin English"--a -species of broken English of the most ridiculous kind. Now, when you take -into account that each province differs in language from each other--for -that is really what the case practically comes to--that they have separate -dialects in each province, and also, to a certain extent, different -customs and certain prejudices, I ask you, does it not appear a gigantic, -if not an impossible, task for England, a small and distant country, to be -able to demoralize, debase, and corrupt the people of each of these -eighteen provinces? Yet that is really the allegation of the Anti-Opium -Society against their own country, this small and distant England! - -I have said that there are customs peculiar to each of these provinces, -but there are others common to all; one of them is opium smoking; another, -I am sorry to say, is hatred and contempt of foreigners. They one and all -agree in regarding foreigners as an inferior race, whose customs, -language, and religion they despise. Among the common people every -foreigner, of whatsoever nationality, is called "Fan-Qui," or "foreign -devil." The designation of foreigners amongst the better classes of people -is "outer barbarian." No better instance could I give you than this to -show the strong prejudice held by the whole nation against foreigners. -"Fan-Qui" is still the term used by the lower orders to denote foreigners, -even in the British colony of Hong Kong. To remedy this state of things, -at the time of the making of the Treaty of Tientsin in 1858 (which is the -existing treaty between the two nations), Lord Elgin, the author of the -treaty, had very properly a stipulation inserted that the term "outer -barbarian" should no longer be applied to British subjects. Now, when you -take into account that not only are these three hundred and sixty millions -of people spread over an enormous empire, having a prejudice common to all -parts alike against foreigners, as well as their own prejudices against -each other, forming eighteen separate provinces or kingdoms, speaking -different languages, is it reasonable to suppose that they would, so to -speak, simultaneously adopt the practice of opium smoking when introduced -by the despised foreigner? If these people still despise our customs, as -they do our religion, as they do everything, in fact, belonging to us, how -can it be said that we are forcing this foreign drug upon them to their -destruction? - -I have already mentioned that the custom of opium smoking is common to all -the people of these eighteen provinces. Whether they live in the valleys -or on the hills they smoke opium. Now Mr. Turner is a great enemy of opium -smoking; he is its determined opponent, and I do not think I wrong him--I -certainly do not mean to do so--when I describe him as a person strongly -prejudiced against the practice. The best, the wisest, and ablest among us -have prejudices, and it is casting no stigma upon that gentleman to say -that he has his. When I make you better acquainted with his book, which I -shall soon do, you will, I think, agree with me on this point. When people -have those strong prepossessions they are prone not to judge facts fairly; -they see things, in short, through a false medium. That which to an -ordinary person appears plain and clear enough, to one under the influence -of prejudice stands out in different colours, and is passed over as untrue -or misleading; sometimes, however, the plain truth will leak out, in spite -of prejudice. It is laid down by legal text writers that truth is natural -to the human mind, that the first impulse of a man if interrogated upon a -point is to tell the truth, and that it is only when he has had time to -consider, that he is inclined to swerve from it. Now in this book of Mr. -Turner's, at p. 13, he confirms my statement. This is what he says. I need -not read to you the previous part, because the context does not alter the -sense of my quotation. He is arguing against the allegation of pro-opium -people that opium has a beneficial result in counteracting the effects of -malaria and ague, and he says:-- - - These curious arguments are two. First, that the universal - predilection of the Chinese for opium is owing to the malarious - character of the country; secondly, that the use of opium is a - wholesome corrective to the unwholesome, even putrid, food which the - Chinese consume. The reply to the first is that the country over which - opium is smoked is in area about the size of Europe, and includes, - perhaps, an equal variety of sites, soils, and climates, great plains - level as our own fen district, and mountainous regions like the - Highlands of Scotland. Ague is almost unknown in many of the - provinces--_yet everywhere, in all climates and all soils, in every - variety of condition and circumstance throughout that vast empire, the - Chinese smoke opium_. - -Now that is the testimony of the Rev. Storrs Turner, the most strenuous -and, as I believe, the ablest advocate against the Indo-China opium trade. -But then he adds:-- - - But nowhere do they all smoke opium. The smokers are but a per-centage - greater or smaller in any place. - -Well, nobody ever said they all did smoke opium. Females, as a rule, do -not smoke, and children don't smoke. It is only the grown men, and those -who can afford to buy the drug, who smoke it. China, for its extent and -its vast and industrious population, is still a poor country. Although its -natural resources are considerable, the great bulk of the people are in -poor circumstances. It is only those above the very poor who can afford to -smoke opium occasionally, and only well-to-do people who are able to do so -habitually. Opium smoking is, in fact, a luxury in which, every Chinaman -who can afford it indulges more or less, just as English people who have -sufficient means drink tea, wine, and beer, or smoke tobacco. The effects -of opium smoking are no more injurious than are those articles, in daily -use in England, nor is its use more enslaving. On the contrary, from my -own observation, I feel persuaded that those who habitually drink wine or -spirits are far more liable to abuse and become enslaved to the habit than -the smoker of opium. This, as you are now aware, is confirmed by the great -authority of Dr. Ayres. Yet Mr. Storrs Turner, in the face of that most -damaging admission, and his disciples would have the British public -believe that by supplying the Chinese with a small quantity of opium, -which is used and grown largely in almost every province, district, and -village of China, we are demoralizing and degrading the whole people. Now, -if this practice of opium smoking has existed, and does exist, throughout -these eighteen provinces, over this large and mighty empire, as Mr. Storrs -Turner admits, can it be urged for a moment that England has had anything -to do with it more than that Englishmen, in common with other foreigners, -have imported for the last forty or forty-five years a quantity of the -drug very much less than that actually grown in China itself? I say she -has not. I say that opium smoking has existed for a thousand years or -more, and that its use by the natives of China is simply limited by the -extent of their purchasing power. But how is it that such divergent -opinions can exist between Englishmen living in China and certain -Englishmen here at home? My answer is, that the former, the English -residents in China, derive their knowledge on the subject from actual -experience formed from personal intercourse with the natives, from seeing -with their own eyes, and hearing with their own ears; whilst people in -England obtain their information from hearsay only. Hearsay testimony is -their sole guide; and, as I shall show you by and by, this hearsay -evidence is of the worst and most unreliable kind. But still the question -remains why this should be so; why is it that among the educated and -intelligent people of England, in an age when newspapers are universal, -and books of travel cheap and plentiful, that such an extraordinary -difference of opinion should exist? I will now give you the explanation of -these opposite views. - -The first is this:--China is ten thousand miles away. If that country were -as near to us as the Continent of Europe, to which it is equal in extent, -the people of England, including all these Anti-Opium advocates, would be -of the same mind as their countrymen in China. The field of the imposture -would then be so close to us that the delusion could no longer be -sustained--if, indeed, under such circumstances it could ever have -existence--it would be seen through at once. If it were sought to prove -that we were corrupting and demoralizing the whole of the natives of the -Continent by selling them spirits, beer, or opium, and if the persons who -did so were to pity, patronize, and caress those people as if they were an -inferior race, and but semi-civilized, as the anti-opium people do with -the Chinese,--the persons who attempted to act in such an extraordinary -manner would be scoffed at as visionaries, if not downright fools; yet the -parallel is complete. Indeed, taking into account the existing prejudices -of the Chinese against foreigners, the sound sense of the people of China -and their frugal and abstemious habits, there should be less difficulty in -effecting such wonderful results in Europe than in China. Perhaps, -however, the best illustration of this is that afforded by the present -agitation here in England, under the leadership of Sir Wilfrid Lawson -against the liquor traffic. The evils of intemperance, unlike those -alleged against opium smoking, are real evils, and are admitted to be so -by all. Everyone is agreed upon this point; yet a large portion of our -revenue, amounting to some twenty-six millions sterling, is derived from -taxes upon spirits, wine, and beer, the abuse of which produces these -evils. Sir Wilfrid Lawson is as determined a foe to the Indo-China opium -trade as he is to the liquor traffic. Why does he not apply the same rule -to the one as to the other? Why does he ask the Government to forego the -eight millions derived from opium in India, and not demand the abrogation -of these spirit, wine, and beer duties which are derived from so wicked a -source here in England? He and his Anti-Opium friends would, if they -could, prohibit the cultivation and exportation of opium in India, why do -not he and his fellow teetotallers call upon the country to prohibit the -manufacture of alcoholic liquors? Some few months ago an Anti-Opium -meeting took place at, I think, Newcastle, attended by Sir Wilfrid Lawson. -In the course of a facetious speech the Honourable Baronet, becoming -serious, made quite light of this ridiculously small sum of eight millions -sterling derived from the opium trade, and declared that he who did not -believe that a substitute for it could be found was a "moral -atheist"--whatever that may mean. Why does he not call upon the Government -to forego the sum of twenty-six millions derived from alcohol, which is -not more to England, if indeed so much, as the eight millions are to -India, and declare that any person who said we could not find a substitute -was a "moral atheist"? I answer thus: because the one concerns matters -here at home with which he and the rest of the public are well acquainted, -whilst the other relates to affairs ten thousand miles away, about which -he and they know little or nothing. Sir Wilfrid and his followers very -well know that if they advocated the abolition of the duties on spirits, -wine, and beer, they would be simply scoffed at by the public as fools and -visionaries, and that, on the other hand, if they required all our -distilleries and breweries and all public-houses to be closed, they would -be treated as downright lunatics; but it is quite different as regards -India and China. With matters in those countries these enthusiastic -gentlemen can and do disport themselves very much as they please, -oblivious to the plainest facts. - -The second is this:--There is, here in England, that powerful association, -"_The Anglo-Oriental Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade_," -whose sole object is to attain the end which its name imports, the -abolition of the Indo-China opium trade, on the alleged ground that it is -demoralizing and ruining the natives of China. That Society, I deeply -regret to say, is supported by some of the most influential people in -England--noblemen, archbishops, and other dignitaries of the Church, -clergymen of all denominations, people justly and deservedly commanding -the respect of their fellows--but who, on this opium question, simply know -little or nothing, who implicitly believe all that is told to them by the -agents of that Society, but otherwise have no knowledge of the facts. When -it is taken into account that this body has immense funds at its command, -that it has the support of a large part of what is known as the "religious -world," and that the Society has branches and agencies ramified throughout -the whole country, the reader will not fail to perceive how this -extraordinary hallucination, these false and unfounded delusions -respecting opium smoking, have got possession of the public mind. In -former times we have had associations formed for the purpose of carrying -out great public objects and of disseminating knowledge necessary for the -country to comprehend those objects; but you will find that for the most -part these societies have dealt with acknowledged and existing facts. For -instance, there was the "Anti-Corn Law League." The purposes of that -league were understood by everyone; the main facts were admitted because -they existed here in England and were patent to all. It was only a matter -of opinion between two great political parties whether they should be -dealt with in one particular way or not. That league was formed for a -great national object; but the Anti-Opium Society of which I am speaking -has been got up to carry out the opinions of a few individuals, most -respectable, I admit, but at the same time most enthusiastic--I may say, -indeed, fanatical--holding views the most incorrect and delusive upon a -subject with which they are most imperfectly acquainted. - -Meantime, this Society, through its ubiquitous and indefatigable -Secretary, who may be called the "Head Centre" of the confederacy, and its -other agents, is for ever on the alert. Let any gentleman who has bad -experience of opium smoking, whether in India or China, write to the -newspapers; let him read a paper at a meeting of any of our scientific -bodies disputing the alleged facts of the opium-phobists, and he is marked -out as a prey. Sir Rutherford Alcock, whose high character, thorough -knowledge of China, and great abilities are well known, with a view of -putting the opium question before the public in a correct and proper -light, published an able and, indeed, unanswerable article in the -"Nineteenth Century" for December 1881 ("Opium and Common Sense"), when -Mr. Storrs Turner plunged into print with a counter article in the number -for February 1882 of the same Review ("Opium and England's Duty"), to -which I have already alluded. This article purports to be an answer to the -former one, but it is nothing of the kind, for it is a mere _rechauffé_ of -his book, and wholly fails in its alleged purpose. Again Sir Rutherford -Alcock, with the same laudable object, early in 1882, read an able and -interesting paper on the opium question before the Society of Arts. It was -listened to by many scientific gentlemen and others. Sir Rutherford knows -the truth about opium, and he told it in his paper. The Rev. Storrs Turner -was there; he knew the damaging revelations which Sir Rutherford Alcock -had made, and so much afraid was he of the effects of the fusillade, that -to rally his dismayed followers he improvised a meeting of his most -devoted disciples two or three days afterwards at the Aquarium. I venture -to say there was not a pro-opium advocate present at his meeting I do not -think the meeting was ever advertised--I certainly saw no advertisement of -it in the newspapers--and Mr. Turner, on that occasion, exhorted his -followers to hold fast to the true faith, refuting in the way, no doubt -most satisfactory to himself and his audience, the facts, figures, and -arguments of Sir Rutherford. So it is with articles and letters in the -newspapers. Many gentlemen well-informed upon the opium question have -published letters dealing with this question on the pro-opium side; -whereupon Mr. Turner and other anti-opium advocates at once pounce down -upon them, and repeat the same old stale exploded stories about -demoralization and what not. But latterly, and since the first edition of -these lectures was published, Mr. Turner has preferred to carry on the -anti-opium agitation more quietly, for I think I have thrown cold water -upon the zeal of him and his friends. His plan now is to get together in -private conclave a few medical gentlemen and others whose opinions he has -first made sure of; certain resolutions are then produced ready cut and -dry, which are passed with acclamation and inserted in the newspapers. -This sort of thing deceives nobody but the infatuated dupes of the -Anti-Opium Society, for whose edification they are principally intended; -just as the American orator, though speaking to empty benches in Congress, -made what his constituents at Bunkum considered a capital speech. - -All these anti-opium articles, speeches, and resolutions are based upon -the same model. They assume certain statements as existing and -acknowledged facts which have never been proved to be such, and then -proceed to draw deductions from those alleged facts. This style of -argument can scarcely be praised for its fairness; it certainly places -those who hold contrary views, and who object to employing similar -tactics, at a disadvantage. This is especially remarkable in Mr. Storrs -Turner's article in the "Nineteenth Century." There the writer, taking all -his facts for granted, plunges at once _in medias res_, and proceeds to -enlighten his readers with all the confidence of the pedagogue who, strong -in his axioms and postulates, explains to his admiring pupils the -mysteries of the "Asses' Bridge." The English people have hitherto had -little or no knowledge of the opium question, save what they hear through -the Anti-Opium Society, in whose teaching some of them put faith, if only -for the reason that they are mostly clergymen and others of high -character. And here I may observe that, supposing the pro-opium advocates, -or perhaps I should more correctly say the general public, had a counter -society to disseminate their opinions, that they had organised a committee -with command of ample funds, and had officers to carry out their views, -this Anglo-Oriental Society would be strangled in three months; for -fiction, however speciously represented, cannot hold its own against fact. -There is an old saying that "what is everybody's business is nobody's -business," and so it has been with the pro-opium side of the question. The -foreign merchants in China, as a body, have no interest in the Indo-China -opium trade. They would not care if the trade were to be suppressed -to-morrow, and therefore they take no active part in opposing the -Anti-Opium Society. The general public also take little or no interest in -the matter, and it is really only those who are actuated by a sense of -duty, or who, like myself, have followed the question, and who, from -practical acquaintance and a thorough research into all its bearings, take -more than ordinary interest in the subject, who think of refuting the -monstrous misrepresentations of the anti-opium people. Therefore it is -that the other side have had practically the whole field to themselves. -Upon the like conditions any imposture could for a time be successfully -carried on. The days of the anti-opium agitation are, however, happily -drawing to a close. A flood of light from various sources has within the -past year been thrown upon the subject. The unwholesome mists of -ignorance, prejudice, and fanaticism are clearing away, and the truth -about opium is becoming visible at last. And here I would observe that in -using the word "imposture" I do not mean to impugn the motives of any of -the good and benevolent people who support this Society. I speak of the -thing, not of those who have created or are supporting it. - -I have before slightly touched upon the charges brought against the -British Government and the British nation respecting opium. I will -formulate them more particularly now; as the subject cannot, I think, be -thoroughly understood unless I do so. I have read Mr. Storrs Turner's book -and his reply to Sir R. Alcock, very carefully; I have read anti-opium -speeches delivered in London, Manchester, Leeds, and London upon the -subject; they all come to the same thing--one is a repetition of the -other. As I understand the matter, this is what the charges of the -Anti-Opium Society amount to. It is alleged that opium smoking, once -commenced, cannot be laid aside, that it poisons the blood, reduces the -nervous and muscular powers, so that strong men under the use of opium -speedily become debilitated and unfit for labour; that opium smoking -paralyses the mind as well as the body, and produces imbecility, or at -least mental weakness; that it so demoralises the people using it, that it -converts honest and industrious men from being useful members of society -into lazy, dishonest scoundrels; that it saps the manhood and preys like a -cankerworm upon the vitals of the Chinese people, injuring the -commonwealth and threatening even the existence of the nation if the -custom of opium smoking be not stopped, which, it is alleged, can be -effected only by the supply of opium from India being discontinued. It is -urged, in fact, that the sale of Indian opium to the Chinese is a crime -not only against the people of China but against humanity; that much, if -not all, of the misery and crime prevalent throughout China are due, -either directly or indirectly, to the use of opium; and for all these -fearful results England is held responsible. It is further said, that the -sale of British opium to the Chinese interferes with legitimate commerce, -creating, it is alleged, so much bitterness in the native mind against the -English nation, that the Chinese refuse to buy our goods. And, above all, -it is contended that the Indo-China opium trade impedes the progress of -Christianity, the Chinese refusing to accept the Gospel from a people who -have such terrible crimes to answer for as the introduction of Indian -opium into China. Since the days of Judge Jeffereys never was there such a -terrible indictment, nor one so utterly unfounded as happily it is. In -fact, all the objections that in old times were made against negro slavery -have been brought forward against this harmless and perfectly justifiable -Indo-China opium trade. Indeed Mr. Storrs Turner, in his article in the -"Nineteenth Century," coolly places the two in the same category, and -modestly proposes that the revenue from opium should be discontinued, and -that England should compensate the Indian Government for the loss, just as -she did the slave owners. It is astonishing how liberal your political -philanthropist can be in the disposal of other people's money. Well, I had -always thought that the Government of India, for the past sixty years at -least, had been actuated by one great and prominent object--the -amelioration, the happiness, and prosperity of the teaming millions -committed to its care, and I think so still. I have always believed that -the Imperial Government, no matter which party was from time to time in -power, had the prosperity, honour, and dignity of their country at heart, -and were influenced by a sincere desire towards all the world to be just -and fear not, and to diffuse as much happiness as possible amongst our own -people, and all other nations and races with whom we became associated all -over the world, and I remain of that opinion still. Some fifty years ago -we washed the stain of slavery from our hands, performing that great act -of justice from a pure sense of duty, without any outside pressure, and -also without shedding a drop of blood. This act was unique, for at the -time slavery existed in every country, and had so existed for thousands of -years. We know that, thirty years later, a similar achievement cost a -kindred nation a long and bloody war, and an aggregate money expenditure -far exceeding our own national debt--the growth of centuries. That feat of -ours showed what the mind and heart of this great nation then were, and I -do not believe that we have since degenerated. Since then we have spent -many millions of money in sweeping slavery from the seas and in -endeavouring to put an end to that accursed evil throughout the world. In -doing this our pecuniary loss has been the least of our sacrifices. We -have spent more than money. We have lost in the struggle the lives of some -of the best and noblest of England's sons. These are acts worthy of a -great nation; compared with them the objects of the Anti-Opium Society -sink into utter insignificance. The sublime and the ridiculous could not -be brought more vividly face to face. - -For the last fifty years there has been one feeling predominant in the -minds of the people of England, and that is a manly, generous anxiety to -protect the weak against the strong all over the world. Yet these foul and -untenable charges against England are now spread broadcast by this -Society, whose only warrant for doing so are the statements made to them -by a handful of fanatical missionary clergymen, whose unfounded and -fantastic views are accepted as so much dogma which it would be heresy to -doubt. Why, if we were guilty of but half the wickedness attributed to us, -it would not require this Anti-Opium Society to cry it down; the nation -would rise as one man to crush it for ever. There is not a British -merchant in China who would not raise his voice against it, aye, though he -was making that princely fortune which Mr. Turner refers to in his book; -for let me assure you that your fellow-countrymen in China, who are but -sojourners in that land, as they all hope to end their days at home, have -as warm a love for their country and as keen a sense of their country's -honour and dignity as any set of Englishmen residing here at home, however -high their station and great their wealth. - -To prove to you, if indeed further proof is necessary, that I have not -overstated the case as regards the extreme views of the missionaries and -the Anti-Opium Society, I will give you their latest production. It comes -from the fountain-head, and takes the form of a petition of "the Ministers -of the Gospel in China" to the House of Commons. This petition was -prepared by the Missionaries of Peking, and is a gem in its way. It would -never do to put the reader off with a mere extract, so I give it _in -extenso_. It was drawn up and sent round for signature during the past -summer, and appeared in the Shanghai and Hong Kong newspapers. This is the -document:-- - - _To the Honourable_ - THE BRITISH HOUSE OF COMMONS. - - The petition of the undersigned Missionaries of the Gospel in China - humbly sheweth: - - That the opium traffic is a great evil to China, and that the baneful - effects of opium smoking cannot be easily overrated. It enslaves its - victim, squanders his substance, destroys his health, weakens his - mental powers, lessens his self-esteem, deadens his conscience, unfits - him for his duties, and leads to his steady descent, morally, - socially, and physically. - - That by the insertion in the British Treaty with China of the clause - legalizing the trade in opium, and also by the direct connection of - the British Government in India with the production of opium for the - market, Great Britain is in no small degree rendered responsible for - the dire evil opium is working in this country. - - That the use of the drug is spreading rapidly in China, and that, - therefore, the possibility of coping successfully with the evil is - becoming more hopeless every day. In 1834 the foreign import was - twelve thousand chests; in 1850 it was thirty-four thousand chests; in - 1870 it was ninety-five thousand chests; in 1880 it was ninety-seven - thousand chests. _To this must be added the native growth, which, in - the last decade, has increased enormously, and now at least equals, - and according to some authorities doubles, the foreign import._ - - That while the clause legalizing the opium traffic remains in the - British Treaty, the Chinese Government do not feel free to deal with - the evil with the energy and thoroughness the case demands, and - declare their inability to check it effectively. - - That the opium traffic is the source of much misunderstanding, - suspicion, and dislike on the part of the Chinese towards foreigners, - and especially towards the English. - - That the opium trade, by the ill name it has given to foreign - commerce, and by the heavy drain of silver it occasions, amounting, at - present, to about thirteen million pounds sterling annually, has - greatly retarded trade in foreign manufactures, and general commerce - must continue to suffer while the traffic lasts. - - That the connection of the British Government with the trade in this - pernicious drug excites a prejudice against us as Christian - missionaries, and seriously hinders our work. It strikes the people as - a glaring inconsistency, that while the British nation offers them - the beneficent teaching of the Gospel, it should at the same time - bring to their shores, in enormous quantities, a drug which degrades - and ruins them. - - That the traffic in opium is wholly indefensible on moral grounds, and - that the direct connection of a Christian Government with such a trade - is deeply to be deplored. - - That any doubt as to whether China is able to put a stop to opium - production, and the practice of opium smoking in and throughout her - dominions should not prevent your Honourable House from performing - what is plainly a moral duty. - - Your petitioners, therefore, humbly pray that your Honourable House - will early consider this question with the utmost care, take measures - to remove from the British Treaty with China the clause legalizing the - opium trade, and restrict the growth of the poppy in India within the - narrowest possible limits. - - Your Honourable House will thus leave China free to deal with the - gigantic evil which is eating out her strength, and creates hindrance - to legitimate commerce and the spread of the Christian religion in - this country. - - We also implore your Honourable House so to legislate as to prevent - opium from becoming as great a scourge to the native races of India - and Burmah as it is to the Chinese; for our knowledge of the evil done - to the Chinese leads us to feel the most justifiable alarm at the - thought that other races should be brought to suffer like them from - the curse of opium. - - We believe that, in so doing, your Honourable House will receive the - blessing of those that are ready to perish, the praise of all good - men, and the approval of Almighty God. - - And your petitioners will ever pray. - -The thoughts that occurred to me after reading this petition were -these:--First it struck me that the missionaries, like the unfortunate -Bourbons, "had learnt nothing and forgotten nothing." I thought next of -the wonderful solicitude shown by these missionaries for the mercantile -interest. "By the ill name the opium trade has given to foreign commerce," -they say, "the trade in foreign manufactures and general commerce has been -retarded, and must continue to suffer while the opium traffic lasts." -Well, it is remarkable that this complaint is not made by the people whose -interests are alleged to have so suffered, but by missionary clergymen, -who ought to know little or nothing upon the subject; they are not -merchants, and associate very little with mercantile men, either native or -foreign, and certainly, if they minded their own business, could not -possibly have that knowledge of mercantile affairs with which they appear -to be so familiar. The persons who ought to know whether foreign -manufactures or foreign trade have fallen off owing to the opium traffic, -are the foreign merchants resident in China, whose especial duty it is to -look after those interests, yet these gentlemen, strange to say, have made -no complaint of the kind. Those merchants are directly concerned in -foreign manufactures and general commerce either as principals or as -agents for absent principals in England and elsewhere; they, in fact, -exclusively manage foreign trade in China. There is a chamber of commerce -in Hong Kong and another in Shanghai, whose members are all keen men of -business, actively alive to their own and their constituents' interests, -and in constant communication with similar mercantile bodies at home; -moreover, there are excellent daily papers published in both these places, -where such grievances, if they existed, could be freely ventilated; yet -the missionaries of the Gospel in Peking would have the House of Commons -and the world believe that the foreign merchants in China, who are always -wide-awake, are blind to their own interests and slumbering at their -posts. Now why have not these merchants ever complained that commerce has -suffered from the opium traffic? Why, simply because there is no -foundation in fact for such complaint. I am afraid that with the -missionaries who make this most unfounded statement the "wish was father -to the thought." Every man ought to know his own business best, and you -will generally find that when a stranger professes great interest in your -affairs, and presses upon you gratuitous advice upon the subject, he is -not really actuated by a desire to promote your interests, but has some -other and totally different object in view. So it is with these missionary -gentlemen at Peking. There is just one other point connected with this -remarkable Petition to which I would call attention. Evidently feeling the -ground slipping from under their feet, the framers, adding another string -to their bow, extend their sympathies beyond China, and take British -Burmah under their patronage. Indeed, it seems to me that these missionary -clergymen of Peking would, if they could, not only supersede the Viceroy -of India in his management of the Indian Empire, but even Her Majesty the -Queen and her immediate Government. - -I should here, however, in justice to the entire missionary body, say, -that _all_ of them are not so deluded as their brethren at Peking. There -is one bright, particular star, at least, which shines through the -Egyptian darkness that enshrouds the rest. The Reverend F. Galpin, of the -English Methodist Free Church, is a respected missionary clergyman at -Ningpo, an important port on the east coast of China. He, unlike most of -his brethren at other places in that country, when asked to sign this -curious petition, very properly declined to do so. All honour to Mr. -Galpin. He was not afflicted with the midsummer madness of his brethren at -Peking. Were all the Protestant missionaries in China like him, we should -not have heard of these absurd and monstrous stories respecting the -Indo-China opium trade, and there would, perhaps, be larger and better -results from the missionary's labours. This is the manly, sensible, and -dignified reply of Mr. Galpin:-- - - The REV. J. EDKINS and others, Peking. - - SIR,--I beg to acknowledge receipt of a copy of your circular, dated - June 24th, with form of petition to the British House of Commons - against the importation of Indian opium, and also to express my - sympathy with the spirit and motives that have suggested the petition; - but, at the same time, I must also express disapproval of the proposed - petition, and disbelief of many of the statements contained therein. - - Looking at Christianity in the broad and true sense, as a great - regenerating force breathing its beneficent spirit upon and promoting - the welfare of all, of course the excessive use or abuse of opium, and - every other thing, is a serious hindrance to its happy progress. _But - this is a very different position from that of supposing that the - present apparent slow progress of mission-work in China is to be - attributed to the importation of Indian opium._ China is a world in - itself, and the influence of Christian missions has hitherto reached - but a handful of the people, for there are many serious obstacles to - its progress besides opium. - - Then, again, I beg to express my hearty dissent from the idea - presented in the petition, that the Chinese people or Government are - really anxious to remove the abuse of opium. The remedy has always - been, as it is now, in their own hands. - - Neither do I believe that if the importation of Indian opium ceased at - once, the Chinese Government would set about destroying a very - fruitful means of revenue. On the contrary, I feel sure that the - growth of Chinese opium would be increased forthwith. - - I therefore beg to return the petition in its present form, with the - suggestion that Christian missionaries had better direct their - attention to, and use their influence upon, Chinese. - - Yours truly, - F. GALPIN, - _English Methodist Free Church_. - - Ningpo, 15th July. - -No doubt these most estimable and respectable but infatuated gentlemen -suppose that their petition will have some weight with the Legislature. I -believe and hope it will, but not exactly of the kind expected; for I -shall be surprised indeed, if it be not treated as it deserves, _i.e._ as -a downright contempt of the House of Commons; for it seems to me to be an -insult to the common sense not only of the House in its collective -capacity, but of every individual member. In saying this I am far from -attributing to these missionary clergymen a wilful intention to state what -they knew to be untrue, nor to insult or mislead the Legislature, for I am -assured that one and all of them would be incapable of so doing. I am sure -they thoroughly believe every word they have stated to be true; but then -it must be remembered that the effect upon the public mind and the injury -done to society by the publication of fallacious and untrue statements, -are in no way lessened because their authors suppose those statements to -be, in fact, true and correct. - -I have shown you that Mr. Turner admits that opium smoking is common all -over China. But, he says, the Chinese do not all smoke. In his book he -affirms that it is only in recent years that opium has been grown in -China. This is the passage, it occurs at page 2:--"Indigenous in Asia, the -first abode of the human species, the poppy has long been cultivated in -Egypt, Turkey, Persia, and _recently_ in China and Manchuria. It is well -known in our gardens, grows wild in some parts of England, and is -cultivated in Surrey for the supply of poppy heads to the London market. -From the time of Hippocrates to the present day _it has been the -physician's invaluable ally in his struggles against disease and death_." - -This is about the most remarkable statement I have ever read. The greater -includes the less, and if the poppy is indigenous to Asia it is, of -course, indigenous also to China and Manchuria, which with the other -dominions of China comprise fully one-fourth of the entire Asiatic -continent. This, indeed, Mr. Storrs Turner does not deny in terms, but it -is plain he wished his readers to believe that the poppy was _not_ -indigenous to those countries, and was only recently introduced there. The -passage involves that sort of fallacy which Lord Palmerston termed "a -distinction without a difference." As to the poppy being indigenous to the -whole of Asia and notably to the most fertile parts of it, _e.g._ China -and Manchuria, there can be no doubt, and therefore no difference, but -the distinction is that it is only of late years that it has been -_cultivated_ in those countries. The poppy may grow wild over a continent, -but be cultivated only in a part. I will show you by-and-by, upon -excellent authority and by the strongest grounds for inference, that the -poppy is not only indigenous to China, but has been cultivated there for -various purposes other than for medical ones and for smoking, certainly -for two thousand, and probably for four or five thousand years. An -ordinary reader, especially one not familiar with the geography of Asia, -would conclude from this passage in Mr. Turner's book that China and -Manchuria were not in Asia at all, but that of late years the poppy had -been introduced into those countries from that continent. Thus much for -the Gospel of the Anti-opiumists. - -I now confront Mr. Storrs Turner with another book, which everyone must -admit is of greater authority than his. It is a book published towards the -close of 1881 by a high official of the Chinese Government, then Mr. but -now Sir Robert Hart, G.C.M.G., the Inspector-General of Chinese Customs, a -man who knows China and the Chinese better, perhaps, than any living -European. That gentleman tells a very different tale about opium to what -the Anti-Opium Society has hitherto regaled the world with. This book is -an official one, issued from the Statistical Department of the -Inspector-General of Chinese Customs at Shanghai for the use and guidance -of the Chinese Government. It stands upon a very different footing to the -volume published by Mr. Turner, the paid secretary and strenuous advocate -of the Anti-Opium Society. Sir Robert Hart has entire control over the -revenue of China as far as regards foreign trade. At every treaty port -open to foreign vessels there is a foreign Commissioner of Customs, and -Sir Robert Hart is the supreme head of these commissioners. He is a man -deservedly trusted and respected by the Chinese Government; a man of -learning and talents, and I need hardly add of the very highest character, -and, I believe, he is one of the most accomplished Chinese scholars that -could be found. He says that opium has been grown in China from a remote -period, and was smoked there before a particle of foreign opium ever came -into the country. This is the passage from his--the now famous -yellow-book:-- - - In addition to the foreign drug there is also the native product. - Reliable statistics cannot be obtained respecting the total quantity - produced. Ichang, the port nearest to Szechwan, the province which is - generally believed to be the chief producer and chief consumer of - native opium, estimates the total production of native opium at - twenty-five thousand chests annually; while another port, Ningpo, far - away on the coast, estimates it at two hundred and sixty-five - thousand. Treating all such replies as merely so many guesses, there - are, it is to be remarked, two statements which may be taken as facts - in this connection: the one is that, so far as we know to-day, the - native opium produced does not exceed the foreign import in quantity; - _and the other that native opium was known, produced, and used long - before any Europeans began the sale of the foreign drug along the - coast_. - -So much for Mr. Storrs Turner's bold assertion that it is only recently -that opium has been cultivated in China; the obvious inference which he -wished the reader to draw from it being that it was the importation of the -Indian drug into China that induced the natives to plant opium there. Now, -with respect to that most unfounded charge of the Chinese disliking the -English for introducing opium into their country, and British commerce -declining in consequence, I assure you that all that is simply moonshine. -These statements are not merely false assumptions, they are simply untrue. -No one who has had any experience of China and its people, does not know -perfectly well, that of the whole foreign trade with China the British do -at least four-fifths; not only have we the lion's share of the trade, but -it is an unquestionable fact that of all the nations who have made -treaties and had dealings with China, the British are and have been for -many years the most respected by the Chinese people. It is, I say, an -indisputable fact, that notwithstanding all our past troubles about -smuggling and our wars with China, which Mr. Turner is so fond of dilating -upon, that at this day, by high and low, rich and poor, from the mandarin -to the humble coolie, England is held in higher regard than any other -nation. If trade with China has in any way declined, the fact is traceable -to other and different causes, which it is not my province to enter upon. - -Now, why are England and Englishmen thought so well of by the Chinese? It -is simply because the British merchants and British people in China have -acted towards the Chinese, with whom they have been brought into contact, -with honour and rectitude--because in their intercourse with the natives -they have been kind, considerate, and obliging--because, instead of -resenting the old rude and overbearing manners of the Chinese officials -and others, they have returned good for evil, and shown by their -conciliatory bearing, and gentlemanly and straightforward conduct, that -the British people are not the barbarians they had been taught to believe. -By such means the British residents in China have gone far to break down -the barrier of prejudice towards foreigners behind which the people of -that country had hedged themselves, thus preparing the way for the labours -of the missionaries and making, in fact, missionary work possible. If -further proof were wanting that the British are held in high estimation by -the people and the Government of China, it will be found in the fact, that -our own countryman, Sir Robert Hart, who before entering the service of -the Chinese Government had been in the diplomatic service of his own -country, now occupies the high and honourable position of -Inspector-General of Chinese Customs, and is, I may add, the trusted -counsellor of the Government of China. - -It is not very long since the Governor of Canton paid a visit to the -Governor of Hong Kong; such an act of courtesy to Her Majesty's -representative on the part of so great a Chinese magnate was until then, I -believe, unprecedented. The constant exclamation of the great mandarin as -he was being driven through the streets of Hong Kong was--"What a -wonderful place! What a wonderful place!" in allusion to the fine -buildings, the wide and clean streets,--a strong contrast to those of -Canton--and the dense and busy population around him. And yet more -recently, that is during the summer of 1882, a greater personage still -paid an official visit to the Hon. W. H. Marsh, who during the absence of -Sir George Bowen, the Governor, worthily administers the affairs of the -colony--I refer to the present viceroy of the provinces of Kwantung and -Kwangsi, commonly called the "two Kwangs," an official only next in -importance to His Excellency Li Hung Chang, the Governor of Petchili. Do -you think we should have such a state of things if we were demoralizing -and ruining the people of China, as is alleged by the Anti-Opium Society, -or if, indeed, the Chinese people or Government had any real grievance -against us. - -Upon this point I cannot refrain from mentioning an incident that occurred -soon after I arrived in China. A respectable Chinaman asked me to prepare -his will. He gave me for the purpose, written instructions in Chinese -characters, which I had translated. On reading the translation I found his -instructions very clearly drawn up, but what was gratifying to me, and -what is pertinent to my subject, was the following passage, with which he -commenced them:--"Having," said he, "under the just and merciful laws -administered by the English Government of Hong Kong, amassed in commerce -considerable wealth, I now, feeling myself in failing health, wish to make -a distribution of the same." There are thousands like that Chinaman in -Hong Kong, and also in Shanghai, and in all the treaty ports of China. In -speaking as this man did, he was only giving expression to the feelings of -all his countrymen who have had dealings with the English in China. Are -such feelings on the part of these Chinese consistent with the -consciousness that we are enriching ourselves by ruining the health and -morals of their countrymen, as is most wrongfully put forward by the -Anti-Opium Society and its allies the Protestant missionaries? No; they -bespeak perfect confidence, respect, and gratitude towards us; for -oppressed and plundered as the Chinese have been by their own officials, -there is no other people on the face of the earth who more thoroughly -appreciate justice and equity in the administration of public affairs; -thus it is that they respect the British rule, which they have found by -experience to be the embodiment of both. - -There are very few, perhaps, in this country who know what Hong Kong -really is. It is now a flourishing and beautiful city, standing upon a -site which, but the other day, was a barren rock. Commerce with its -civilising influence has transformed it into a "thing of beauty," "an -emerald gem of the _eastern_ world." Forty years ago, the English -Government sent out a commissioner to report upon the capabilities of the -place for a town or settlement. He sent home word that there was just room -there for _one_ house. He little dreamt that upon that barren inhospitable -spot within a few years would be realised the poet's dream when he -wrote:-- - - Oh, had we some bright little isle of our own - In a blue summer ocean far off alone, - Where a leaf never dies, midst the still blooming bowers, - And the bee banquets on through a whole year of flowers. - -He little thought that on that very site there would soon be many -thousands of houses, some of them palatial buildings, including many -Christian churches and some heathen temples, for liberty of conscience -reigns there supreme; with a Chinese population of over one hundred and -fifty thousand. These people are all doing well. Some of them are wealthy -merchants; many of them are shop-keepers; others are artificers; and a -very large number of them are labourers or coolies. There is no pauperism -in the colony. The people there are all well-to-do, or able to live -comfortably, and, what is more, they are all happy and contented. A -comparatively small body of police preserves the peace of the colony; for, -thanks to a succession of wise and able governors, local crime has been -reduced to a minimum; serious offences are very rare amongst the regular -inhabitants. It is the criminal classes from the mainland which really -give trouble, for Hong Kong labours under the disadvantage of being close -to two large cities on the Pearl River--Canton and Fatchan, notorious for -piratical and other criminal classes. You might send a child from one end -of the town to the other without fear of molestation. Indeed, the natives -themselves are the very best police; for, take the Chinese all round, they -are the most orderly and law-abiding people in the world. They respect the -British Government as much as the British people do themselves. They bring -their families to Hong Kong, settle down there, and make themselves -perfectly at home, finding more security and happiness there than they -ever could attain in their own country; because in Hong Kong there is and -has always been perfect equality before the law for every man, -irrespective of race, colour, or nationality. The life and property of -every man there is secure. This is not the case in China. - -These are the fruits of commerce which brings peace and plenty in its -train, which sweeps aside the dust of ignorance, fanaticism, and -superstition--which has reclaimed the deserts of Australia and North -America, and spread flourishing cities there, where law and order, truth -and justice, peace and happiness, religion and piety are established. -These are the achievements of British merchants who have won for our -Sovereign the Imperial diadem she wears, and made their country the -mistress of the world. These are the people who have done all this, and -better still, made the name of England honoured and respected throughout -the whole world, and sent the Gospel into every land. Yet those very men -Mr. Storrs Turner and other anti-opium fanatics would cover with obloquy, -because, forsooth, some British merchants have been concerned in this -perfectly justifiable Indo-Chinese opium trade. - -Mr. Turner in his book speaks of the Chinese Government as a paternal -Government, which, the moment it finds any practices on foot injurious to -the people, at once takes steps to put them down. I tell you, as a fact, -that a more corrupt Government,[2] so far at least as the Judges and high -Mandarins downwards are concerned, never existed in the whole world. There -is no such thing as justice to be had without paying for it; if it is not -a misnomer to say so, for this so-called justice is bought and sold every -day. Corruption pervades the whole official class. I could detail facts as -to the punishment of the innocent and the escape of the guilty, which came -under my own observation, that would make one's flesh creep. This is why -the Chinese of Hong Kong respect so much the British Government, whose -rule is just and equitable. - -Now there is another point which I wish more particularly to impress upon -you, it is this: Anyone hearing of the alleged dreadful effects upon the -Chinese of opium smoking, and our wicked conduct in forcing the drug upon -them, and making them buy it whether they wish to do so or not, would -think that these Chinese were a simple, unsophisticated people, something -like the natives of Madagascar,--a people lately rescued from barbarism by -missionaries; that they were a weak race, without mental stamina or -strength of mind--a soft simple, easily-persuaded race. These are some -more of the erroneous views which the Anti-Opium Society tries to impress -upon the public mind, and which its Secretary, Mr. Storrs Turner, in -particular, artfully endeavours to inculcate. To prove that this is so, I -have only to read you a passage from his work. But before doing so, let me -assure you that there is not a more astute, active-minded, and knowing -race of people under the sun than the Chinese. For craft and subtlety I -will back one of them against any European. At page 3 you will read:-- - - More opium is consumed in China than in all the rest of the world, and - nearly the whole of the opium imported into China is shipped from - Calcutta and Bombay. The East and the West, England, India, and China, - act and re-act upon each other through the medium of poppy-juice. - Simple mention of the relations which these three great countries bear - to the drug is enough to show that a very grave question is involved - in the trade. England is the grower, manufacturer, and seller; India - furnishes the farm and the factory; China is buyer and consumer. The - question which obviously arises is this, Is it morally justifiable and - politically expedient for the English nation to continue the - production and sale of a drug so deleterious to its consumers? Before, - however, we enter upon a consideration of this question, we must - explain how it has come to pass that the British nation has got into - this unseemly position. Otherwise, the fact that the British - Government is actually implicated in such a trade may well appear - incredible. If, for instance, any minister could be shameless enough - to suggest that England should embark on a vast scale into the - business of distillers, and with national funds, by servants of - Government, under inspection and control of Parliament, _produce and - export annually ten or twenty millions' worth of gin and whisky to - intoxicate the populous tribes of Central Africa, he would be greeted - by a general outcry of indignation. Yet the very thing which we scout - as an imagination, we consent to as a reality._ We are maintaining our - Indian Empire by our profits as wholesale dealers in an article which, - to say the best of it, is as bad as gin. - -Now, is that a fair parallel? Is it honest or just to place the civilized, -wise, and educated Chinese in the same category with the barbarous natives -of Central Africa? This, I assure you is but a fair specimen of the -misleading character of Mr. Turner's book and an example of the teaching -by which people are made the dupes of the Anti-Opium Society. This is the -language which Mr. Storrs Turner applies to his country and countrymen to -gratify himself and his fanatical followers. China, though a heathen, is a -civilized nation. The civilization of the Chinese does not date from -yesterday. When England was inhabited by painted savages, China was a -civilized and flourishing Empire. When ancient Greece was struggling into -existence, China was a settled nation, with a religion and with laws and -literature dating back to a period lost in the mist of ages. When -Alexander, miscalled the Great, fancied he had conquered the world, and -sighed that there was no other country to subdue, the mighty Empire of -China, with its teeming millions, and a civilization far superior, taken -altogether, to any that he had yet known, was a flourishing nation, and -happily far away from the assaults of him and his conquering force. Five -thousand years ago, as the Rev. Dr. Legge, the Professor of Chinese at -Oxford, tells us, the Chinese believed in one God and had, in fact, a -theology and a system of ethics known now as Confucianism, certainly -superior to that of Greece or Rome. They had then and still have a written -language of their own, in which the works of their sages and philosophers -are recorded. There are books extant in that language for more than three -thousand years ago. In a learned and very interesting book, written by Dr. -Legge, entitled "The Religions of China," it is shown that the Chinese, -not only of to-day, but of five thousand years ago, were a great nation. -Was it then, I again ask, honest or fair of the Rev. Storrs Turner, who is -himself no mean Chinese scholar, to mislead his readers by making use of -so forced and inapplicable a comparison? Can there, in fact, be any -analogy whatever between the Indo-China opium trade, even supposing that -the smoking of the drug were as deleterious to the system as is alleged, -and sending whisky from England to the savages of Central Africa? No man -could have known better than Mr. Turner that his simile was false and -misleading, for he has lived in China for many years. An ordinary person -reading that gentleman's book would swallow this simile as one precisely -in point, and end by feeling horrified at the iniquities we were -perpetrating in China, which is, no doubt, the exact result that he looked -for. I recently met a lady with whom I had been in correspondence for some -time on professional business. In the course of conversation we happened -to speak about opium, and the moment the subject was mentioned she turned -up her eyes in horror and declared that she was ashamed of her country for -the wrong it was inflicting upon the natives of China. Mr. Turner's -wonderful parallel between the civilized Chinese and the African savages -had plainly produced its desired effect upon her. I very soon, however, -undeceived her on the point, as I have since had the pleasure of doing -with many others labouring under the like delusions. I am sorry to say -that it is with the gentler sex that our Anti-Opium fanatics make their -most profitable converts. I honour those ladies for their fond delusion, -which shows that their hearts are better than their heads; that their good -intentions run in advance of them, and make them ready victims. Well, -well, I trust their charity will soon be diverted into worthier channels. -Unfortunately, the minds of many in England have become imbued with the -same erroneous belief, which is entirely owing to the mischievous teaching -of the Anti-Opium Society, and to the powerful machinery that this Society -has available for disseminating its doctrines. I am sorry, indeed, to have -to allude thus to Mr. Storrs Turner and his book, for I respect him as a -clergyman, a scholar, and a gentleman; but I cannot avoid doing so, for -certain it is that if you mean to refute Mahomedanism you cannot spare -Mahomed or the Alkoran. - -I have already told you something as to the character of the Chinese -generally. I will now mention from authority some more specific -characteristics of these people, because it is really important that you -should thoroughly understand what manner of men these Chinese are, for -that is a matter going to the root of the whole question. If I show you, -as I believe I shall be able to do most conclusively, that the Chinese are -as intelligent and as well able to take care of themselves as we are, with -far more craft and subtlety than we possess, you will, I think, be slow to -believe that they are silly enough to allow us to poison them with opium, -as it is alleged we are doing. A stranger mixture of good and evil could -hardly be met with than you will find in the Chinese--crafty, -over-reaching, mendacious beyond belief, double-dealing, distrustful, and -suspicious even of their own relations and personal friends; -self-opinionated, vain, conceited, arrogant, hypocritical, and deceitful. -That is the character that I give you of them; but it is the worst side of -their nature, for they have many redeeming qualities. I will now place -before you their character from another and a more competent authority. -The Venble. John Gray, D.D., was, until recently, for about twenty-five -years, Archdeacon of Hong Kong, but during the greater part, if not the -whole of that time, he was the respected and faithful incumbent of the -English Church at Canton, where he resided. Now Dr. Gray, who is still in -the prime of life, is a learned and able man; a keen observer of human -nature; a sound, solid, sensible Churchman, and so highly esteemed for his -excellent qualities, that I do not think any Englishman who ever lived in -China has left a more honoured name behind him than he has. He mixed a -great deal amongst the Chinese as well as amongst his own countrymen. He -also travelled much in China, and there really could not be found a more -competent authority as to the character of the Chinese people; and indeed -as to all matters connected with China. In 1878 he published a valuable -and trustworthy book.[3] It is not the production of a person who has -merely made a flying visit to China; but it is the work of an old and -sagacious English resident in that country, a profound thinker and -observer, of a man who has studied deeply and made himself thoroughly -acquainted with his subject. He says, at p. 15, vol. i.:-- - - Of the moral character of the people, who have multiplied until they - are "as the sands upon the sea-shore," it is very difficult to speak - justly. The moral character of the Chinese is a book written in - strange letters, which are more complex and difficult for one of - another race, religion, and language to decipher than their own - singularly compounded word-symbols. In the same individual virtues and - vices apparently incompatible are placed side by side--meekness, - gentleness, docility, industry, contentment, cheerfulness, obedience - to superiors, dutifulness to parents, and reverence to the aged, are, - in one and the same person, the companions of insincerity, lying, - flattery, treachery, cruelty, jealousy, ingratitude, and distrust of - others. - -This is the character which an English clergyman and scholar gives of the -Chinese. Dr. Gray was not a missionary, and it is to the missionary -clergymen generally that the extraordinary and delusive statements -respecting opium which I am combating are due; the reason for which I -shall by and by give you. I hold these missionary gentlemen in the very -highest respect. In their missionary labours they have my complete -sympathy, and no person can possibly value them as such more than I do, -nor be more ready than I am to bear testimony to the ability, piety, -industry, and energy which they have always displayed. But they are not -infallible, and when they forsake or neglect their sacred functions, and -enter the arena of politics; when they cast aside the surplice and enter -the lists as political gladiators, they are liable to meet with opponents -who will accept their challenge and controvert their views, and have no -right to complain if they now and then receive hard knocks in the -encounter. They are enthusiastic in their sacred calling; but that fact, -whilst it does them honour, shows that their extraordinary assertions as -to the opium trade should be received with caution, if not distrust. They -are the men who are responsible for the unfounded views which have got -abroad on this question. - -Now, is it not significant that Dr. Gray, whom the people of Canton -esteemed and respected more than any European who has lived amongst them, -except, perhaps, the late Sir Brooke Robertson (who was more Chinese than -the Chinese themselves), should have said nothing against opium in that -valuable and exhaustive work of his? Is it not passing strange that this -shrewd observer of men and manners, this intelligent English clergyman, -who has passed all these years at Canton, which, next to Hong Kong is the -great emporium of opium in the south of China, should be silent upon the -alleged iniquities that his countrymen are committing in that country? Dr. -Gray is a patriotic English gentleman. Can you suppose for a moment, that -if we were demoralizing and ruining the people of the great city of -Canton, and above all, that we were impeding the progress of the Gospel in -China, that his voice would not be heard thundering against the iniquity? -Dr. Gray is an earnest and eloquent preacher as well as an accomplished -writer; yet his voice has been silent on this alleged national crime. Is -it to be thought that, if there were any truth in the outcry spread abroad -by Mr. Storrs Turner and the Anti-Opium Society, he would have omitted to -have enlarged upon the wickedness of the opium trade when writing this -book upon China and the manners and customs of the Chinese? Is it not -remarkable that he has said not a word about that wickedness, and that all -these alleged evils arising from the trade are only conspicuous in his -book by their absence? And here I would ask, is not the silence of Dr. -Gray on this important opium question, under all the circumstances, just -as eloquent a protest against the anti-opium agitation, as if he had given -a whole chapter in his book denouncing the imposture? - -But to return to the character of the Chinese. Dr. Wells Williams, a -missionary clergyman of the highest character, who, being a missionary, I -need hardly say, does not hold the views that I do, has written another -admirable book upon China.[4] In it he has described the Chinese character -very fully. He first tells us, at page 2 of the second volume, what one, -Tien Kishi--a popular essayist--thinks of foreigners. - - "I felicitate myself," he says, "that I was born in China, and - constantly think how different it would have been with me if I had - been born beyond the seas in some remote part of the earth, where the - people, far removed from the converting maxims of the ancient kings - and ignorant of the domestic relations, are clothed with the leaves of - plants, eat wood, dwell in the wilderness, and live in the holes of - the earth. Though born in the world in such a condition, I should not - have been different from the beasts of the field. But now, happily, I - have been born in the 'Middle Kingdom.' I have a house to live in, - have food and drink and elegant furniture, have clothing and caps and - infinite blessings--truly the highest felicity is mine." - -That is still the opinion of every Chinaman respecting foreigners, save -those at Hong Kong, Shanghai, and the other treaty ports of China who, -having intermixed with foreigners, have found that their preconceived -notions respecting them were untrue, but they are but a handful, a drop in -the ocean; yet these are the people who, it is said, at our bidding and -instigation, are ruining their prospects and their health by smoking our -opium. Dr. Williams further says of them, at page 96 of the same volume:-- - - More ineradicable than the sins of the flesh is the falsity of the - Chinese and its attendant sin of base ingratitude. Their disregard of - truth has, perhaps, done more to lower their character in the eyes of - Christendom than any other fault. They feel no shame at being detected - in a lie, though they have not gone quite so far as to know when they - do lie, nor do they fear any punishment from the gods for it. Every - resident among them and all travellers declaim against their - mendacity. - -I shall give you by-and-by instances--actual facts known to myself, to -prove that every word Dr. Williams has said is true; and further, that the -Chinese will indulge in falsehood, not merely for gain or to carry out -some corrupt purpose, but for the mere pleasure of romancing, or to -gratify and oblige a friend. Dr. Williams then goes on to moralize, and -admits that the Chinese have a great many virtues as well as a great many -very foul vices. Unquestionably they have a great many virtues, aye, and -virtues of sterling character, and amongst these are commercial honour and -probity. For commercial instincts and habits I place them next to the -British. In their affection for their parents, their attachment to the -family homestead, their veneration for the aged and the virtuous, they -surpass every other nation. These are not the class of men to allow -themselves to be befooled with opium. Another virtue they possess, and it -is one very pertinent to the subject of this lecture, is abstemiousness; -they are positively the most frugal, self-denying, and abstemious people -on the face of the earth. - -Not only are the Chinese abstemious in their use of opium, but also as -regards alcoholic liquors. It is not, I think, generally known that there -is a species of spirit manufactured, and extensively used throughout -China, commonly called by foreigners "sam-shu." It is very cheap, and -there is no duty upon it in Hong Kong, nor is there any, I believe, in -their own country. I suppose a pint bottle of it can be bought for a -penny. It is a sort of whisky distilled from rice. The Chinese use it -habitually, especially after meals, and I do not think there is a single -foreign resident of Hong Kong, or any of the Treaty Ports, who does not -know this fact. The practice in China is, for the servants of Europeans to -go early to market each morning and bring home the provisions and other -household necessaries required for the day's use. I have seen, in the case -of my own servants, the bottle of sam-shu brought home morning after -morning as regularly as their ordinary daily food. Yet I never saw one of -my servants drunk or under the influence of liquor. What is more than -that, although sam-shu is so very cheap and plentiful, and is used -throughout the whole of Hong Kong, I never saw a Chinaman drunk, nor ever -knew of one being brought up before the magistrate for intemperance. I -cannot say the same thing of my own countrymen. Does not that form the -strongest possible evidence that the Chinese are an extremely steady and -abstemious race? Yet these are the people whom Mr. Storrs Turner would put -in the same category as the savages of Africa? Well, then, is it likely -that a people so abstemious in respect of spirit drinking would indulge -to excess in opium, especially if the drug has the intoxicating and -destructive qualities ascribed to it by the missionaries? - -The Chinese, I have also said, are a very frugal people. Six dollars, or -about twenty-four shillings of our money, per month are considered -splendid wages by a coolie. On two dollars a month he can live -comfortably. He sends, perhaps, every month, one or two dollars to his -parents or wife in his native village; for generally a Chinaman, be he -never so poor, has a wife, it being there a duty, if not an article of -religion, for the males, to marry young. The remainder they hoard for a -rainy day. Now, I say again, if the Chinese are such abstemious and frugal -people, and that they are so is unquestionable, does not the same rule -apply to opium as to spirits? The truth of the matter is, that it is a -very inconsiderable number of those who smoke opium who indulge in it to -any considerable extent--probably about one in five thousand. When a -Chinaman's day's work is over, and he feels fatigued or weary, he will, if -he can afford it, take a whiff or two of the opium pipe, seldom more. If a -friend drops in he will offer him a pipe, just as we would invite a friend -to have a glass of sherry or a cigar. This use of the opium pipe does good -rather than harm. Those who indulge in it take their meals and sleep none -the worse. The use of the pipe, indeed, wiles them from spirit drinking -and other vicious habits. My own belief is that opium smoking exercises a -beneficial influence upon those who habitually practise it, far more so -than the indulgence in tobacco, which is simply a poisonous weed, having -no curative properties whatever. I have seen here in England many a youth -tremble and become completely unhinged by excessive smoking, so terrible -is the effect of the unwholesome narcotic on the nervous system when it is -indulged in to excess; indeed I have heard it often said that excessive -indulgence in tobacco frequently produces softening of the brain: such a -result has never proceeded from opium smoking. - -I have stated in my programme of these lectures that the views put forward -by the "Anglo-Oriental Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade" -were based upon fallacies and false assumptions, which account for the -many converts the advocates of that Society have made. I have now to tell -you what these fallacies and false assumptions are. In fact, these explain -pretty clearly how it has come to pass that so many otherwise sensible, -good, and benevolent people have been led astray on the opium question. - -The first of these fallacies is, _that the poppy is not indigenous to -China, but has been recently introduced there, presumably by British -agency_. The truth being that the poppy is indigenous to China, as it -admittedly is to Asia generally, and has been used in China for various -purposes for thousands of years. - -The second is, _that opium smoking in China is now and always has been -confined to a small per-centage of the population, but which, owing to the -introduction into the country of Indian opium, is rapidly increasing_. The -fact being that the custom is, and for many centuries has been, general -among the male adults throughout China, its use being limited only by the -ability to procure the drug. - -The third is, _that opium smoking is injurious to the system, more so than -spirit drinking_. The truth being that the former is not only harmless but -beneficial to the system, unless when practised to an inordinate extent, -which is wholly exceptional; whilst spirit drinking ruins the health, -degrades the character, incites its victims to acts of violence, and -destroys the prospects of everyone who indulges to excess in the practice. - -The fourth is, _that the supply of opium regulates the demand, and not the -demand the supply_. When I come to consider this in detail, I think I -shall rather surprise you by the statements in support of this -extraordinary theory put forward by Mr. Storrs Turner in this wonderful -book of his. The use of so utterly untenable a proposition shows to what -extremes fanatical enthusiasts will resort in support of the hobby they -are riding to death; how desperate men, when advocating a hopeless cause, -will grasp at shadows to support their theories. When such persons wish a -certain state of things to be true and existing, they never stop to -scrutinize the arguments they use in support of them. If Mr. Storrs Turner -had not opium on the brain to an alarming extent, and was writing by the -light of reason and common sense, he would no more dream of putting -forward such a theory than he would entertain the faintest hope of finding -any person silly enough to believe in the doctrine. - -The fifth fallacy is, _that opium smoking and opium eating are equally -hurtful_. The fact being that there is the widest difference in the world -between the two practices, as I shall hereafter conclusively prove to you. -Upon this point, I may tell you, that Mr. Storrs Turner, in the appendix -to his book, gives numerous extracts from evidence taken on various -occasions as to opium _eating_, which has no relevancy to opium smoking; -not that I am even disposed to admit that even opium eating in moderation -is a baneful practice, the medical evidence on the subject being at -present very conflicting. And here I may appropriately say, that although -an overdose of opium may cause death, the mere _smoking_ of the drug in -any quantity will not do so. No case of poisoning by opium smoking has -ever been reported or heard of; such a thing, in fact, is a physical -impossibility. I daresay this may surprise some people, but it is, -nevertheless, an irrefragable fact. - -The sixth is, _that all, or nearly all, who smoke opium are either -inordinate smokers or are necessarily in the way of becoming so, and that -once the custom has been commenced it cannot be dropped; but the victim to -it is compelled to go on smoking the drug to his ultimate destruction_. -That, I shall show you, upon the best evidence, is altogether untrue, -thousands of Chinese having been to my knowledge habitual and occasional -opium smokers, who showed no ill effects whatever from the practice, -which, by the way, is far more easily discontinued than the use of -alcoholic liquors. - -The seventh is, _that the Chinese Government is, or ever was, anxious to -put a stop to the custom, or even to check the use, of opium amongst the -people of China_. This is one of the most ridiculous and unfounded notions -that ever entered the mind of man. There is a saying that "none are so -blind as those who will not see," and here, I shall show you, is the -strongest proof of the adage. - -The eighth is, _that the British merchants in China are making large -fortunes by opium_. The fact being that the Indo-China trade is profitable -to a very few merchants only, whilst the British merchants as a body have -no interest in the trade whatever. This is a pet fallacy of Mr. Storrs -Turner, and he has shown throughout his book, and notably in his article -in the "Nineteenth Century," a determination to make the most of it. He -has evidently persuaded himself that some large English firms have made -enormous fortunes by the drug, and he seems to have made up his mind never -to forgive the enormity. - -The ninth is, _that the discontinuance of the supply of opium from British -India would stop, or effectually check, the practice of opium smoking in -China_. The fact being that the suppression of the present Indo-China -opium trade, if indeed it were possible to suppress it, would have -precisely the contrary effect. I shall prove to you clearly, that if the -Indo-China opium trade, as at present carried on, were put an end to, such -an impetus would be given to the importation of opium into China as would -enormously add to the consumption of the drug, and that then British and -other merchants who have now no dealings in opium, would in such case -become largely engaged in the trade; whilst opium smuggling, the cause of -so much strife and unpleasantness in past times, would again become -general upon the coast of China. - -The tenth is, _that the opposition of Chinese officials to the -introduction of opium into China arose from moral causes_. The fact being, -as every sane man acquainted with China knows, that the true reason for -such opposition was a desire to protect and promote the culture of native -opium to keep out the foreign drug, and thus prevent the bullion payable -for the latter from leaving the country. - -Last, but by no means least, is the fallacy and fond delusion, _that the -introduction of Indian opium into China has arrested and is impeding the -progress of Christianity in that country, and that if the trade were -discontinued, the Chinese, or large numbers of them, would embrace the -Gospel_. The fact being, that opium smoking has had nothing whatever to do -with the propagation of Christianity in China, any more than rice or -Manchester goods, as I confidently undertake to show you when I come to -deal more fully with this outrageous fallacy. I will only now observe that -it is a remarkable fact, that while China is covered with a network of -Roman Catholic missionaries, some of whom I had the pleasure of knowing -quite intimately, I have never heard of a similar complaint having been -made by any of them, but, on the contrary, have always known them to speak -triumphantly of their great success in their missionary labours; but then -it must be remembered that these Roman Catholic missionaries, greatly to -their credit, throw their whole soul into their work, and devote their -whole time to their missionary labours, never mixing in politics or -interfering with matters of State. These are the figments which have got -hold of the Anti-Opium mind, from which has sprung the monstrosity put -forward by the Anti-Opium Society. I shall, in future lectures, return to -these fallacies, and dispose of each in turn. - -I will close this lecture by giving you the testimony of a very high and -entirely impartial authority as to the innocuous effects of opium, which -strongly confirms all that I have already stated. The late John Crawfurd, -F.R.S., was a _savant_ of high reputation in England, throughout the East, -and, I believe, in Europe. He was the contemporary and intimate friend of -the late Sir Benjamin Brodie, the eminent surgeon. Mr. Crawfurd had, -previous to 1856, been Governor of the three settlements of Singapore, -Penang, and Malacca. He resided for a great number of years in the far -East, studying there the country and people; he visited Siam, Java, -Borneo, and the Phillipine Islands, making himself thoroughly acquainted -with those places, the Malay peninsula, and various other countries in the -Indian Ocean and China Sea. In 1820 he published, in London, "A History of -the Indian Archipelago" (then comparatively but seldom visited by, and -less known to, Europeans), a work, I understand, of considerable merit. -Thirty-six years afterwards, that is, in the year 1856, having during the -interval spent seven years in travelling through India and otherwise -making himself perfectly acquainted with his subject, he published "A -Dictionary of the Indian Islands and Adjacent Countries." The book was -brought out in London by the well-known firm of Bradbury and Evans, and I -have it now before me. It was lent to me by a friend since the first -edition of these lectures was published. It is an interesting and valuable -volume, affording abundant evidence of the learning, research, vast -information and talents, and the studious and energetic character of the -writer. The book was published many years before this wonderful -confederation "The Anglo-Oriental Society for the Suppression of the Opium -Trade" sprang into existence, and, indeed, before there was any -considerable controversy upon the opium question. The opinions of this -eminent man on the subject of opium should, therefore, be viewed as wholly -unbiassed, for it is certain that he had no selfish ends to gratify. -Turning to the word "Opium" at page 313, we find the following:-- - - Opium is at present largely consumed in the Malayan Islands, in China, - in the Indo-Chinese countries, and in a few parts of Hindustan, much - in the same way in which wine, ardent spirits, malt liquor, and cider - are consumed in Europe. Its deleterious character has been much - insisted on, but generally, by parties _who have had no experience of - its effects_. Like any other narcotic or stimulant, the habitual use - of it is amenable to abuse, and as being more seductive than other - stimulants, perhaps more so; but this is certainly the utmost that can - be safely charged to it. Thousands consume it without any pernicious - result, as thousands do wine and spirits, without any evil - consequence. I know of no person of long experience and competent - judgment who has not come to this common-sense conclusion. Dr. Oxley, - a physician and a naturalist of eminence, and who has had a longer - experience than any other man of Singapore, where there is the highest - rate of consumption of the drug, gives the following opinion:--"The - inordinate use, or rather abuse, of the drug most decidedly does bring - on early decrepitude, loss of appetite, and a morbid state of all the - secretions; but I have seen a man who had used the drug for fifty - years in moderation, without any evil effects; and one man I recollect - in Malacca who had so used it was upwards of eighty. Several in the - habit of smoking it have assured me that, in moderation, it neither - impaired the functions nor shortened life; at the same time fully - admitting the deleterious effects of too much." There is not a word of - this that would not be equally true of the use and abuse of ardent - spirit, wine, and, perhaps, even tobacco. The historian of Sumatra, - whose experience and good sense cannot be questioned, came early to - the very same conclusion. The superior curative virtues of opium over - any other stimulant are undeniable, and the question of its - superiority over ardent spirits appears to me to have been for ever - set at rest by the high authority of my friend Sir Benjamin Brodie. - "The effect of opium, when taken into the stomach," says this - distinguished philosopher, "is not to stimulate but to soothe the - nervous system. It may be otherwise in some instances, but these are - rare exceptions to the general rule. The opium eater is, in a passive - state, satisfied with his own dreamy condition while under the - influence of the drug. He is useless but not mischievous. It is quite - otherwise with alcoholic liquors."--"Psychological Inquiries," p. 248. - - It may be worth while to show what is really the relative consumption - in those countries in which its use is alleged to be most pernicious. - In the British Settlement of Singapore, owing to the high rate of - wages, and the prevalence of a Chinese population, the consumption is - at the rate of about three hundred and thirty grains, or adult doses, - a year for each person. In Java, where the Chinese do not compose - above one in a hundred of the population, and where wages are - comparatively low, it does not exceed forty grains. Even in China - itself, where the consumption is supposed to be so large, it is no - more than one hundred and forty grains, chiefly _owing to the poverty - of the people, to whom it is for the most part inaccessible_. It must - not be forgotten, that some of the deleterious qualities of opium are - considerably abated, in all the countries in question, by the manner - in which it is prepared for use, _which consists in reducing it to a - kind of morphine and inhaling its fumes in this state_. Moreover, - everywhere consumption is restricted by heavy taxation. The opium of - India pays, in the first instance, a tax which amounts to three - millions sterling. The same opium in Singapore, with a population of - sixty thousand, pays another impost of thirty thousand pounds; and, in - Java, with a population of ten millions, one of eight hundred thousand - pounds. _Not the use, then, but the abuse, of opium is prejudicial to - health_; but in this respect it does not materially differ from wine, - distilled spirits, malt liquor, or hemp juice. There may be shades of - difference in the abuse of all these commodities, but they are not - easily determined, and, perhaps, hardly worth attempting to - appreciate. There is nothing mysterious about the intoxication - produced by ordinary stimulants, because we are familiar with it; but - it is otherwise with that resulting from opium, to which we are - strangers. We have generally only our imaginations to guide us with - the last, and we associate it with deeds of desperation and murder; - _the disposition to commit which, were the drug ever had recourse to - on such occasions, which it never is, it would surely allay and not - stimulate_. - - - - -LECTURE II. - - -I closed my first lecture with a list of fallacies, upon which the -objections to the Indo-China opium trade, and the charges brought against -England in relation to that trade, are founded, stating that I should -return to them and dispose of each separately. I also said in the earlier -part of my lecture, that the extraordinary hallucinations which had taken -hold of the public mind, with respect to opium smoking in China, arose, -amongst other causes, from the fact that the public had formed their -opinions from hearsay evidence, and that of the very worst and most -untrustworthy kind. I say untrustworthy because hearsay evidence, although -in general inadmissible in our law courts, may be in some cases very good -and reliable evidence. As this point goes to the root of all these -fallacies and false assertions, and the delusions based upon them, I wish -to show you why hearsay evidence is, in this case, of the worst and most -unreliable kind. In the first instance, I would refer you to the general -character of the Chinese for mendacity and deceit, admitted by all writers -upon the subject of China and the Chinese, and supported by the general -opinion of Europeans who have dwelt amongst them. Now, I am far from -saying that every Chinaman is necessarily a liar, or habitually tells -untruths for corrupt purposes. The point is, rather, that the Chinese do -not understand truth in the sense that we do. The evidence of Chinese -witnesses in courts of justice is notorious for its untrustworthy -character. The judges are not generally contented with the direct and -cross-examination to which witnesses are ordinarily subjected by counsel, -but frequently themselves put them under a searching examination, and -generally require more evidence in the case of Chinese than they would -if Europeans were alone concerned. - -From my acquaintance of the Chinese I can say that they are a very -good-natured people, especially when good-nature does not cost them much; -but they are also a very vindictive people, as, I suppose, most heathen -nations are. I have known cases where, to gratify private malice, or to -obtain some object, the reason for which would be hard for us to -appreciate, a Chinaman has got up a charge without foundation in fact, but -supported by false witnesses, who were so well drilled and had so -thoroughly rehearsed their parts that it was hard to doubt, and almost -impossible to disprove, the accusation. By such means innocent men have -been condemned and sentenced to severe punishments, or been unjustly -compelled to pay large sums of money. I have, on the other hand, known -cases which, according to the evidence brought before me, appeared -perfectly clear and good in law; but on taking each witness quietly into -my own office, and going through his evidence, the whole fabric would -tumble down like a pack of cards; so that, although my client's case might -still be intrinsically good, the witnesses he brought in support of it -knew nothing about it beyond what they had heard from others. It would -turn out that they had been told this by one person, that by another, and -so on, throughout the series of witnesses, not one of them would have any -actual knowledge of the alleged facts. In cases like these there would -probably be no corrupt motive whatever. - -While upon this point I may allude to another peculiar phase in the -Chinese character. They are so addicted to falsehood that they will -embellish truth, even in cases where they have the facts on their own -side. On such occasions they like to add to their story a fringe of -falsehood, thinking, perhaps, that by doing so, they will make the truth -stand out in brighter colours and appear more favourable in the eyes of -the Court and the Jury. Another Chinese peculiarity is the following:--If -you put leading questions to a Chinaman upon any particular subject, that -is to say, if you interrogate him upon a point, and by your mode of doing -so induce him to think that you are desirous of getting one particular -kind of answer, he gives you that answer accordingly, out of mere -good-nature. In these instances his imagination is wonderfully fertile. -The moment he finds his replies afford pleasure, and that there is an -object in view, he will give his questioner as much information of this -kind as he likes. Not only is this the case with the common people, -corresponding to the working or the labouring classes here, but the habit -really pervades the highest ranks of Chinese society. It is mentioned in -Dr. Williams's work, how the Chinese as a people think it no shame in -being detected in a falsehood. It is very hard to understand, especially -for an Englishman, such moral obtuseness. We are so accustomed to consider -truth in the first place, and to look upon perjury and falsehood with -abhorrence, that it may seem almost like romancing to gravely assure you -of these facts. - -If I relate a few short anecdotes which are absolutely true, and in which -I was personally concerned, I may put the matter more clearly before you. -A Chinese merchant, now in Hong Kong, once instructed me to prosecute a -claim against a ship-master for short delivery of cargo, and from the -documents he gave me, and the witnesses he produced, I had no hesitation -in pronouncing his case a good one, although I knew the man was -untruthful. When we came into court, knowing my client's proclivities, my -only fear was that he would not be content with simply telling the truth, -but would so embellish it with falsehood that the judge would not believe -his story. I therefore not only cautioned him myself in "pidgin English," -but instructed my Chinese clerk and interpreter to do so also. My last -words to him on going into court were, "Now mind you talkee true. Suppose -you talkee true you win your case. Suppose you talkee lie you losee." The -man went into the witness-box, and I am bound to say that on that occasion -he did tell the truth, and nothing but the truth, but I could plainly see -by his manner and bearing that the task was a most irksome one. When he -left the box, after cross-examination, I felt greatly relieved. The -defendant, who, I am glad to say, was not an Englishman, although he -commanded a British ship, told falsehood after falsehood. There could be -no doubt about this, and the judge, Mr. Snowden, the present Puisne Judge -of Hong Kong, at last ordered him to leave the box, and gave judgment for -my client. Notwithstanding this satisfactory result, I saw that the -plaintiff was still dissatisfied. I left the court and he followed me -out. He still seemed discontented, and had the air of an injured man. When -we got clear of the court he actually assailed me for having closed his -mouth and deprived him of the luxury of telling untruths. "What for," said -he, "you say my no talkee lie? that man have talkee plenty lie." I -replied, "Oh, that man have losee; you have won." But with anger in his -countenance, he walked sullenly away. - -Now I will tell you another--and a totally different case. The judge on -this occasion was the late Sir John Smale, Chief Justice of Hong Kong. It -was an action brought by a Chinese merchant, carrying on business in -Cochin China, against his agent in Hong Kong, a countryman of his, who had -not accounted for goods consigned to him for sale. The plaintiff put his -case in my hands. When it came into court the defendant was supported by -witnesses who seemed to have no connection whatever with the -subject-matter of the suit. They, however, swore most recklessly. In -cross-examination one of the witnesses completely broke down. The Chief -Justice then stopped the case, and characterized the defendant's conduct -"as the grossest attempt at fraud he had ever met with since he had come -to China," and, under the special powers he possessed, sent the false -witness to gaol for six weeks. The person so punished for perjury proved -to be what we would call a Master of Arts. He was, in fact, an expectant -mandarin, ranking very high in China. I should tell you that in that -country there is no regular hereditary nobility, nor any aristocracy save -the mandarin or official class. The fact is, and in view of Mr. Storrs -Turner's comparison of the Chinese with the savages of Central Africa, I -may here mention it, that in China--where these simple, innocent -"aborigines," as it suits the anti-opium advocates to treat them, -flourish--education is the sole criterion of rank and precedence. They -have a competitive system there, which is undoubtedly the oldest in the -world. This man, as I said, was a Master of Arts, and would, in regular -course, have been appointed to an important official post and taken rank -as a mandarin. He was, I believe, at the time of his sentence, one of the -regular examiners at the competitive examinations of young men seeking for -employment in the Civil Service of the Empire. When the case ended, I -dismissed it from my mind. But, to my great surprise, six or seven of the -leading Chinamen of Hong Kong waited upon me on the following day, and -implored of me to get this man out of gaol. They declared that the whole -Chinese community of Hong Kong felt degraded at having one of their -superior order, a learned Master of Arts, consigned to a foreign prison. -They assured me that this was the greatest indignity that could have been -offered to the Chinese people. I replied that the fact of the prisoner -being a man of education only aggravated his offence, that he had -deliberately perjured himself in order to cheat my client, and that the -foreign community considered his punishment far too lenient, for had he -been a foreigner he would have got a far more severe punishment. But they -could not see the matter in that light, and went away dissatisfied. They -afterwards presented a petition to the Governor, praying for the man's -release, but without success. My object in narrating this to you is to -show the utter contempt which the Chinese, not only of the lower orders, -but of the better class, have for the truth. I could supplement these -cases by many others, all showing that the Chinese do not regard the -difference between truth and falsehood in the sense that we do. - -To illustrate more clearly what I have told you, I will read to you a -short passage from a leading article in the "China Mail," a daily -newspaper published in Hong Kong. The date of the paper is the 3rd of -October 1881. The editor is a gentleman who has been out there for twenty -years; he is a man of considerable ability and knows the Chinese character -perfectly, and I may also mention that he is a near relative of Mr. Storrs -Turner. This is what he says:-- - - The question of the reliability of Chinese witnesses is one which is - continually presenting itself to all who have anything to do with - judicial proceedings in this colony, and as jurors are usually saddled - with the responsibility of deciding how far such evidence is to be - credited in most serious cases, the subject is one which appeals to a - large body of residents. An eminent local authority, some time since, - gave it as his opinion that he did not think a Chinese witness could - give accurate evidence, even if the precise truth would best suit his - purpose. This is doubtless true to some extent, and it bears directly - on one phase of the discussion, viz. that of reliableness, so far as - strict accuracy of detail is concerned. But a witness may be regarded - as the witness of truth although he fails in that extremely precise or - accurate narration of facts and details which goes so far to - strengthen truthful testimony. What is meant here by reliability of - witnesses, however, is their desire to tell what they _believe_ to be - the truth. It has been somewhere said, by one of authority on Chinese - matters, that it is not particularly surprising that the Chinese, as a - people, are so widely known as economisers of the truth, when their - system of government is carefully considered. For a Chinaman, life - assumes so many phases, in which a good round lie becomes a valuable - commodity, that the only surprise remaining is, that he is ever known - to tell the truth. - -That is exactly what I have already said. It would occupy too much time to -read the rest of the article, which is ably written, but the portion I -have quoted tends to show the unreliability of Chinese witnesses, even in -a solemn Court of Justice. - -Now, I think, I have shown you that our Celestial friends present rather -an unpromising raw material from which to extract the truth. Yet these are -the men from whom the missionaries derive their information as to those -wonderful consequences from opium smoking which, the more greedily -swallowed, are the more liberally supplied, thus affording an illustration -of Mr. Storrs Turner's extraordinary theory of supply and demand, of which -I shall have to speak more by and by. Having exhibited to you the well of -truth from which credible evidence is sought to be obtained, I have now to -turn to the other side of the question and describe the character and -competence of those who draw their facts from that source, and from whom -the general public have mainly derived their knowledge of opium and opium -smoking. - -As regards the missionaries, I have stated already that I hold them in the -very highest respect, and they are well deserving of it, and, indeed, of -the consideration of the whole community. Were I to state anything to -their prejudice or disadvantage, further than what I assert as to their -fallacious views and unjustifiable conduct on the opium question, I should -certainly be speaking without warrant; for a more respectable, -hard-working, or conscientious body of gentlemen it would be difficult to -find. Perhaps they are the hardest worked and worst paid class of any -foreigners in China. They have a work to perform, the difficulty of which -is but partially understood in this country; that is, the task of -converting to Christianity these heathen people, who think Confucianism -and the other religions engrafted upon it which they follow, and which -seem to suit their temperament, immeasurably superior to ours; who point -to our prophets and sages as men of yesterday, and look with comparative -contempt upon our literature, laws, and customs. The real difficulty of -the situation lies in these facts; believe me, that it is as absurd as it -is untrue to say that opium has had anything to do with the slow progress -of Christianity in China. Missionary clergymen in China are really not the -best men to get at the facts of the opium question. If a foreigner, here -in England, were to ask me in which quarter he would be likely to obtain -the best information regarding the manners and customs of the English -people, I should certainly advise him to get introductions to some of our -working clergy of all denominations, because they are the people's trusted -friends and advisers, sharing in their joys and sympathizing in their -sorrows, their wants and necessities. They are educated and matter-of-fact -men, just the class of persons to afford sound and accurate information as -to the country and people. This, I believe, will be generally admitted. -The same rule would not apply to our missionary clergymen in China; for -they, unlike our clergy at home, are not the trusted friends and advisers -of the Chinese people, and, knowing really very little of the inner life -of the people, cannot be said to sympathize in their wants and -necessities. No doubt there have been some admirable books written on -China by missionary clergymen, such as the "Middle Kingdom," from which I -have already quoted, and Dr. Doolittle's work; but everyone who has lived -long in China takes all their statements on every point affecting their -missionary labours, and upon many other matters also, _cum grano_. So far -as the manners and customs of the Chinese can be understood from their -outdoor life, literature, and laws, they are competent judges enough; but -as they are not admitted into Chinese society, and do not possess the -confidence of the people, they cannot be accepted as authorities on the -inner social life of the natives, so far as regards opium-smoking. They -have not at all the same status as regards the Chinese that English -clergymen have in respect to their own countrymen here in England; and if -a friend were to put such a question to me respecting China and the -Chinese, the last people I would refer him to for information would be the -missionary clergymen. These missionary gentlemen, if they were at home in -England, would, no doubt, have their livings and vicarages, and would take -their place with the regular clergy of the country. But in China things -are totally different. There the people not only despise them, but laugh -at the creed they are trying to teach. The simplicity of the Gospel is too -cold for them. Teeming with the marvellous as their own religions do, no -other creed seems acceptable to them that does not deal in startling -miracles and offer a continuous supply of supernatural feats. Anyone who -reads Dr. Legge's book, on the religions of China, will see this at once. -The Chinese have an accepted belief three or four thousand years older -than Christianity, and they are well aware of the fact. Despising -Europeans, as they do, and looking upon themselves as a superior race, it -is not likely that the Chinese will take missionary clergymen into their -confidence, or afford them any trustworthy information about private or -personal matters. In short, there is no cordiality between the Chinese and -the missionaries. - -Still our Chinese friends are a very polite people, and no doubt they are -and will continue to be outwardly very civil to missionaries, and, -although they may consider them impudent intruders, will give courteous -answers to their questions; but it does not follow that they will give -_true_ answers. A respectable Chinaman, such as a merchant, a shopkeeper, -or an artizan, would consider himself disgraced among his own community if -it were known that he had embraced Christianity, or even entertained the -thought of doing so. I do not think that, long as I was in China, I had a -single regular Chinese client who was a Christian. All my native -clients--merchants, shopkeepers, clerks, artizans, and coolies, and I have -had professional dealings with thousands of them--were heathens. In very -rare instances Chinese professing Christianity will be found holding -respectable positions; but, I regret to say, I do not believe that any of -such people are sincere. I had myself a clerk in my office for about -twelve years; he was a young man educated at St. Paul's College, in Hong -Kong. The College is now closed, but when in existence the pupils there -got an excellent education, and were also well clothed and fed. They were -not only taught Chinese, as is the case in Chinese schools, but also to -read and speak English well. When he went to the school he was not more -than seven or eight years old, and left it probably when he was fourteen -or fifteen. He was an excellent clerk, a highly intelligent young fellow, -and wrote and spoke English well. Now, if ever there were a case where a -lad might be expected to be a sincere convert this was the one. He had -been strictly brought up as a Christian, went to church, and read the -Bible regularly, and, indeed, was far more kindly treated in the College -than English lads are in many schools in this country. Even that boy was -not a sincere convert. - -When about eighteen years of age he got married, as is the custom with the -youth of China. On informing me of his intention, he asked me to procure -from the Superintendent of Police the privilege of having "fire crackers" -at his wedding, a heathen custom, supposed to drive away evil spirits. I -reminded him that I had always believed him a Christian; when he said, -"Oh! it's a Chinese custom." However, I got him the privilege. But instead -of being solemnized in the church, which he had been in the habit of -attending when a pupil in St. Paul's College, according to the rites of -the Church of England, his marriage ceremony was celebrated in Chinese -fashion, a primitive proceeding, and certainly heathen in its form. He -never went near the church at all. A few days afterwards I remarked to him -that he had not been married in the church. He laughed, and said, "that as -he and his wife were Chinese they could only be married according to -Chinese custom." - -Let me give another story in point. I knew a man in Hong Kong who, owing -to the difficulty of finding suitable natives who understood English, was -for a long time the only Chinese on the jury list. He spoke English fairly -well. He was educated at a school presided over by the late Rev. Dr. -Morrison, the learned sinologue, who had lived in Hong Kong before my -time. His school was an excellent one, and had turned out some very good -scholars. I have seen this man go into the jury-box, and often too, into -the witness-box, and take the Bible in his hand and kiss it -ostentatiously. I used to think he was a sincere Christian, and was glad -to see so respectable a Chinaman (for he held a responsible position in a -bank) acknowledge in public that he was a Christian. But that man, I -afterwards discovered from the best possible authority, was at heart a -heathen; he always had idols, or, as we call them, "Josses," in his house. -He also was a Christian in name, and nothing more. - -There was another man educated in Dr. Morrison's school. Dr. Legge knew -him very well, and was a sort of patron of his. I suppose it is pretty -well known that polygamy is a custom in China, and that it is quite an -exception for a Chinese in any decent position there not to have three, -four, or more wives; the more he has the greater his consequence among his -countrymen. This man, as a matter of fact, had three wives, and when his -so-called first wife died, he was in a great fright lest Dr. Legge should -discover that he had two more wives, for it is customary that the other -wives should attend the funeral of the first as mourners. Now these are -the sort of converts, for the most part, to be met with in China. As a -rule, they are far less honest and more untruthful than their heathen -countrymen, and many Europeans in consequence will not take converts into -their service. In proof of this statement I will here give you an extract -from a very able article which appeared in the "Hong Kong Daily Press," an -old and well conducted newspaper, of the 31st October 1882. This is it:-- - - They [the missionaries] secure some adherence to the Christian - religion, no doubt, but what is the value of the Christianity? It - possesses, so far as we have been able to judge, neither stamina nor - backbone. Foreigners at Hong Kong, and at the Treaty Ports, fight shy - of Christian servants, a very general impression existing that they - are less reliable than their heathen fellows; and with regard to the - Christians in their own villages and towns, there is always a - suspicion of interested motives. - -Are these Chinese converts the class of the Chinese from which truth is to -be gleaned? Is the testimony of such people of the slightest value? Yet -these are the persons from whom the missionaries derive their knowledge of -opium smoking and its alleged baneful effects. I venture to say that among -all the so-called Christian converts in China you will not find five per -cent. who are really sincere--all the rest profess Christianity to obtain -some personal advantage. These so-called converts are generally people -from the humblest classes, because, as I have mentioned, people of the -better class, such as merchants, shopkeepers, and tradesmen, not only -consider their own religion superior to the Christian's creed, but they -would be ashamed to adopt Christianity, as they would thus be disgraced -and make themselves appear ridiculous in the eyes of their neighbours; -and they are a people peculiarly sensitive to ridicule. I will not say -that there are not some true converts to be found among Chinese -congregations; if there are none, the missionary clergymen are certainly -not to blame, for they are indefatigable in their exertions to make -converts, proving also by their blameless lives the sincerity of their -professions. As I have said, the difficulty attending their efforts is -enormous. It must be remembered that in China we are not teaching -Christianity to the poor African, or the semi-civilised native of -Madagascar or the Fiji Islands; but that we are dealing with civilized -men, who consider their own country and literature, customs and religion, -far superior to those of England or of any other country in the world. The -Chinese are so convinced of this, that the very coolies in the streets -consider themselves the superiors of the foreign ladies and gentlemen that -pass, or whom, perhaps, they are carrying in their sedan chairs. - -I hold the missionaries altogether responsible for the hallucination that -has taken possession of the public mind on the opium question. With the -Bible they revere in their hands, they think the Chinese should eagerly -embrace the doctrine it inculcates, and, unable to account for their -failure, they readily accept the subterfuge offered by certain Chinese for -not accepting Christianity or attending to their teaching. They feel that -it is, or may be, expected of them in this country, that they should have -large congregations of native proselytes, such as, I believe, the -missionaries have in Madagascar, and in like places, forgetting that no -parallel can be drawn between such races and the Chinese. The Protestant -missionary clergymen in China are, not unnaturally, anxious to account for -their supposed failure in that large and heathen country. They would not -be human if they were not. The better class of Chinese, as I have said, -will not listen to a missionary, or argue with him. They do not want to -hear lectures on Christianity, and grow impatient at any disparaging -remark about their own religion. They simply say, "We have a religion that -is better than yours, and we mean to stick to it." The missionaries, -however, think they ought to have better success. They are, no doubt, -indefatigable in their labours, and as they do not meet with the results -that ought, they consider, to follow from their labours, and as their -sanguine minds cling to any semblance of excuse for their shortcomings, -they accept the stale and miserable subterfuge, to the use of which their -converts are prompted by the Mandarins, that the Indo-China opium trade is -vicious, and that before Christianity is accepted by the country, the -trade in question must be abolished. This transparent evasion of the -Chinese appears to me to bear too strong a family likeness to the famous -"confidence trick," with which the police reports now and then make us -acquainted, to be entertained for a moment. - -The Chinese, knowing the weakness of the missionaries, play upon it; and -one of the best instances I can give you that they are successful is -this:--They tell them that the Chinese Government objects to the opium -trade upon moral grounds; but it never occurs to the missionaries to -retort and say, "If so, why does your Government not prevent the -cultivation of opium throughout China? In the provinces of Yunnan and -Szechuen, and all over the Empire, indeed, enormous crops of opium are -raised every year; why does not your Government, knowing, as you say, that -the effects of opium are so fatal, put a stop to the growth of the -deleterious drug?" This question would prove rather a difficult one to -answer, though the Mandarins, skilful casuists as they are, would no doubt -invent some specious one which might impose upon their interrogators. The -mental vision of our missionary friends is so limited to one side only of -the question, that even here they might be taken in by the astute natives. -It is only of late that the Chinese Government has taken up the moral -objection, and the reason, I believe, it has done so is because it has -found out the weak side of the missionaries, probably through _The Friend -of China_, published at Shanghai. - -When it is taken into account that of late years the average quantity of -Indian opium imported into China is about one hundred thousand chests, -each of which, for all practical purposes, may be called a hundredweight, -and that the price of each of these chests landed in China is about seven -hundred dollars, and that the whole works up to something like sixteen -millions sterling, the strong objection of the Mandarin classes to allow -such a large amount of specie to leave the country becomes intelligible. -Rapacious plunderers as they are, they see their prey escaping them before -their very eyes, and are powerless to snatch it back. These sixteen -millions, they think, would be all fair game for "squeezing" if we could -only keep them at home. For although China is an immense empire, with -great natural resources, it is still a poor country as regards the -precious metals. No doubt an economist would tell these Mandarins: "It is -true we sell you all this opium, but then we give you back again all the -money you pay for it, with a great deal more besides, for the purchase of -your tea and silk." But a Mandarin would only laugh at such an argument. -"Ah," he would say, "you must have tea and silk in any case; you can't do -without them. We want to get hold of your silver and give you none of ours -in return." That is the true cause, or one of the true causes, of the -objection of the Government of China to the importation into that country -of Indian opium. - -The missionaries, or at all events the greater number of them, have -adopted the view, that if they could only put a stop to the importation of -Indian opium into China the evangelization of the country would be a -question of time only; and in one sense, indeed, this would be true; but -the time would not be near, but very distant. The Chinese have a keen -sense of humour, and if the British would allow themselves to be cajoled -by the specious arguments with which the religious world here is -constantly regaled about the opium question, so far as to put a stop to -the traffic, such a feeling of contempt for English common sense, and in -consequence for the religion of Englishmen, would ensue, that the spread -of the Gospel in China would be greatly retarded indeed. The truth about -opium is so clear to those who trust to the evidence of their senses, and -who look at facts from a plain common sense point of view, that they -cannot for a moment see that there is any connection whatever between -opium and Christianity. It seems to me that those gentlemen who adopt the -anti-opium doctrine, and scatter it abroad, are only comparable to the -monomaniac, who, sane upon every subject but one, is thoroughly daft upon -that. No better example of this can I give you than by referring to a -speech made by a gentleman deservedly respected by the community, whom I -have always considered as one of the hardest-headed men sitting in the -House of Commons, possessing sound common sense upon all subjects save -that of opium. I refer to Sir J. W. Pease, the Member for South Durham. -In the year 1881 the usual anti-opium debate came on in the House of -Commons. Sir J. W. Pease delivered a speech on the occasion denunciatory -of the Indo-China trade, in the course of which he referred to the treaty -recently made between China and America, one of the clauses of which -provides that American ships shall not import opium into China, and that -no Chinaman shall be allowed to import opium into America, where there is -a large Chinese population, especially in San Francisco. The treaty -relates to other matters, and this clause is, so to speak, interpolated -into it, for a purpose I shall now explain. It was intended to appear as a -sort of _quid pro quo_, for whilst America, in fact, gave up nothing, -though she affected to do so, she obtained some commercial advantages by -the treaty. This is the clause:-- - - The Governments of China and of the United States mutually agree and - undertake that Chinese subjects shall not be permitted to import opium - into any of the ports of the United States; and citizens of the United - States shall not be permitted to import opium into any of the open - ports of China. This absolute prohibition, which extends to vessels - owned by the citizens or subjects of either Power, to foreign vessels - employed by them or to vessels owned by the citizens or subjects of - either Power, and employed by other persons for transportation of - opium, shall be enforced by appropriate legislation on the part of - China and the United States, and the benefits of the favoured claims - in existing treaties shall not be claimed by the citizens or subjects - of either Power as against the provisions of this article. - -I happened to be weather-bound in Rome when I first read, in a Hong Kong -paper, that amusing and deceptive treaty, which was made in 1880. Knowing -thoroughly the situation, and all the facts connected with the Indo-China -opium trade, I undertake to assure you that so far, at least, as regards -this opium clause, that treaty was simply a farce. With the single -exception of a line of mail packet steamers between Hong Kong and San -Francisco, America has few or no steamers trading in the China seas. She -has protected her mercantile marine so well that she has now very little -occasion for exercising her protection. She has no vessels trading between -India and China, and never has had any, and, as a matter of fact, no -American ships carry one ounce of opium between India or China, or to the -port of Hong Kong, or have carried it for many years, if, indeed, any -American vessel has ever done so. Nor is there, indeed, at present the -slightest probability that her ships will ever convey opium between India -and China. America, in fact, might, with as much self-denial, have -undertaken not to carry coals to Newcastle as Indian opium to China. There -are regular lines of British steamers plying between the ports of Bombay, -Calcutta, and Hong Kong, by which all Indian opium for the China trade is -carried direct to its destination. - -I declare that anything more absurd, deceptive, and dishonest never formed -the subject of an international treaty. The whole affair was so utterly -false and misleading that the first thing I did after reading the treaty -was to cut it out from the newspaper and forward it, with an explanatory -letter, to the "Times," the usual refuge of the aggrieved Briton. This -deceptive clause was intended simply to mislead the simple, benevolent, -good-natured John Bull, already, as the framers of the treaty no doubt -supposed, half-crazed on the anti-opium movement. A better specimen of -American smartness and Chinese astuteness could hardly be conceived than -this crafty and fallacious clause. America has no opium to sell or import, -and can, therefore, afford to be extremely generous on the point. It is -just possible, however, that at a future day opium may be produced in the -South-Western States, in which case the American Government--I will not -say the American people, for I hold _them_ in great respect--will -endeavour to wriggle out of this precious treaty, just as they are now -trying to do as regards the Panama convention with this country, when the -possibility that gave rise to it is likely to become a reality. The -stipulation that Chinese subjects should not be permitted to import opium -into any of the ports of the United States is of course absolute nonsense. -If the American Government had really intended to prohibit opium from -being imported from China, or elsewhere, into their country they should -not have confined the prohibition to Chinese subjects, but have extended -it to all nationalities; in fact, to have made opium, save for medical -purposes, contraband. To explain this point more clearly, you will -remember what I have mentioned before, that the exclusive right to -manufacture crude opium into the form used for smoking, called in China -"prepared opium," is farmed out. The present farmer pays the Government of -Hong Kong two hundred and five thousand dollars, or forty thousand pounds -a year for the monopoly. The reason why he pays so large a sum for this -privilege is because of the facilities it affords him for exporting it to -other places, and not merely to get the exclusive right of preparing and -selling the drug in Hong Kong, for if that were all the benefit to be -derived from the monopoly he would not give so large a rent for it. The -greater source of profit arises from the circumstance that the Chinese -must have the beloved stimulant wherever they roam. If you go to -Australia, the Philippine Islands, the Straits, Borneo, or the town of -Saigon in French Cochin China, or wherever else dollars are to be made, -you will find Chinese in abundance. Go to the South Seas, go to the -Sandwich or the Fiji Islands, you will discover the Chinese happy and -prosperous, and you will always see in their houses the opium pipe. The -advantage of having the exclusive privilege in Hong Kong of preparing and -selling opium consists in this, that it is the terminus of an American -line of steamers which ply between that port and San Francisco. It is also -the port from which British lines of steamers run to Australia, Tasmania, -and New Zealand. These packets always take with them consignments of -prepared opium ready for smoking, because at these places there are large -and well-to-do Chinese communities who can afford to indulge in the -national luxury of opium smoking. I have already told you that I was for -about ten years solicitor for that opium firm, and I happen to know a -great deal about the prepared opium trade through that medium. The Chinese -in California, where there is an immense number of those people, do not -consume less, I should say, in the course of a year than one hundred -thousand pounds worth of prepared opium. As is the case in Hong Kong, the -Chinese have better means to buy the drug there than they would have at -home. They get high wages, keep shops, are excellent tradesmen, and can -live and make money where a European would starve. They are all, in fact, -well-to-do, and wherever a Chinaman has the money he must have his opium -pipe. Therefore the privilege of supplying the Chinese in California, -Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania, and in the South Sea Islands, where -are large China colonies, is enjoyed by the opium farmer of Hong Kong, -because he has the means of shipping the drug by steamers direct to those -places, thus out-distancing all other competitors. This trade, -notwithstanding that wonderful treaty, is still going on, and not one -ounce of opium less than was shipped before its ratification is now being -carried to San Francisco, and in American bottoms too, for the treaty only -says that no _Chinaman_ shall import opium into America; there is no -prohibition against Americans or Europeans doing so. What the opium farmer -now does, if indeed he has not always done so, is to get an American or -other merchant in Hong Kong to ship the drug for him in his own name, -handing him, the opium farmer, the bill of lading. The opium is -accordingly shipped in the name of Brown, Jones, or Robinson, and on its -arrival at San Francisco the opium farmer's consignee takes possession of -it, and it is distributed by him among his countrymen in that flourishing -city. - -If Sir J. W. Pease were not an enthusiast, ready to swallow without -hesitation everything which seems to tell against the opium traffic, and -to disbelieve everything said or written on the other side of the -question, he would have seen through all this as a matter of course. This -is what he said about the treaty in the speech I have referred to, having -first delivered a philippic on the enormities and terrible wickedness of -the traffic:-- - - Only last year a treaty was entered into between the United States and - China, and one of the articles of that treaty distinctly stated that - the opium trade was forbidden, and that no American ship should become - an opium trader--a fact which showed that the Chinese authorities were - honest in their expressed desire to put an end to the trade. - -Sir J. W. Pease is the most confiding of men; to my mind the treaty should -be construed in a very different sense. Sometimes, when we want to convey -our sentiments to another, we do so indirectly. There is a very well -understood method of attaining that object. Instead of opening your mind -to Mr. Jones, who is the object of your intended edification, you will in -Mr. Jones's presence address your remarks to Mr. Brown; but in reality, -although you are speaking to the latter, you are speaking at the former. -Now the whole object of this precious article of the treaty was to play a -similar piece of finesse. Both nations well understood what they were -about; they were simply trying to hoodwink and make fools of John Bull by -putting into the treaty this false and hypocritical clause, which, as -between themselves, each party well knew meant nothing to the other. Here -is Sir J. W. Pease, a sensible and astute man of business, with his eyes -open, yet, blinded by his good nature and anti-opium prejudice, falling -into the trap set for him, and allowing himself to be deceived by this -transparent piece of humbug, and quoting in the House of Commons this -"bogus" treaty as evidence that the Indo-China opium trade is so infamous -that the American Government intended, so far as they were concerned, to -put a stop to it, and that the Chinese Government wish to abolish it on -moral grounds. I give you this as an example of the lengths to which -otherwise sensible gentlemen will go when smitten with opium-phobia, and -how oblivious they become under such circumstances to actual facts. -Imagine how his Excellency Li Hung Chang, that very able Chinese -statesman, and those smart American diplomatists who have thus posed as -anti-opium philanthropists, must have enjoyed the fun of being able to so -completely bamboozle an English member of Sir J. W. Pease's reputation! - -Now, although I have exposed this Americo-Chinese juggle, I am far from -meaning to cast the slightest imputation upon Sir J. W. Pease, whose -personal character I in common with the whole country hold in the very -highest respect. I am well assured that in bringing forward his motion in -the House of Commons he was actuated by a sense of duty, and the very -purest motives, and that in referring to the treaty in question he fully -believed in its _bona fides_; upon this point I am at one with his warmest -admirers. No one deservedly stands higher as a philanthropist and -Christian gentleman, and, save as regards this opium delusion, no man has -ever made a nobler use of an ample fortune than he. - -I may speak in the same terms of the venerable and universally-respected -nobleman who is the president of the Anti-Opium Society, whose whole life -has been devoted to the welfare of his fellow men, especially those who -stood most in need of his help. I referred in the first edition of this -lecture to a Most Reverend Prelate, honoured and beloved both by his own -countrymen, and, I believe, the whole Christian world, who is also, I -deeply deplore, a believer in the anti-opium delusion, but in doing so -nothing was farther from my intentions than to lay aside for a moment the -respect that was due to him as a man and a high dignitary of the church. I -revere and honour him and admire his great and noble qualities as much as -any man living. Born and brought up as I have been in the Church of -England, and sincerely attached to its doctrine and teaching, having near -and dear relatives, too, ministers of that church, the last thing I would -be capable of doing is to harbour an unkind thought, or utter a -disrespectful word, against any of her clergy, much less one of her most -honoured prelates. These three good and upright men are, I am sorry to -say, but types of a great many other most estimable people, many of them -ornaments to their country, who through the purity and overflowing -goodness of their hearts, have been dragged into the vortex of delusion -set afloat by the Anti-Opium Society--who allow themselves to be cajoled -and victimised--led by the nose, in fact, by anti-opium fanatics, who, -cunning as the madman and perfectly regardless of the means they resort to -in the prosecution of what they consider right, bring to their aid the -zeal of the missionary and the power for mischief which superior education -and mis-directed talents confer. This is what rouses one's indignation and -compels me to pursue the unpleasant task of discrediting and otherwise -painfully referring to men whom, apart from this wretched opium delusion, -I honour and respect. - -Upon this point I cannot refrain from referring to a gentleman of high -standing, who had formerly been in China, and really ought to have known -better. That gentleman went so far as to write a letter to the "Times," in -which he said that out of one hundred missionaries in China there was not -one who would receive a convert into his church until he had made a vow -against opium smoking. Bearing in mind that all these so-called converts -made by these one hundred missionaries belong for the most part to the -very poor, if not to the dregs of the people, I should think no missionary -clergyman would find much difficulty in obtaining such a pledge. He has -only to ask and to have. If a clergyman in a very poor neighbourhood in -the East End of London proposed to his congregation that they should -promise never to drink champagne, he would receive such a pledge without -difficulty from one and all; but if any kind person were afterwards to -give them a banquet of roast beef and plum-pudding, with plenty of -champagne to wash those good things down, I am afraid their vow would be -found to be very elastic. - -So it is with the congregations of these missionary clergymen; there is -not an individual amongst them who would refuse to enjoy the opium pipe if -he got the chance, however much they might declaim against the practice to -please the missionary. Opium, as the missionaries must well know, is a -luxury that can only be indulged in by those who have the means of paying -for it. Now, while twopence or threepence may appear to us a very -insignificant sum, such will not be the opinion of a very poor person. -Threepence will purchase a loaf of bread. So it is with the Chinese, -especially those residing in their own territory. There is only one class -of coin current in China. It is known by Europeans as "cash." Ten should -equal a cent, or a halfpenny, but owing to the inferiority of the metal -they are made of, twelve or thirteen usually go to make one cent of -English money, so that ten cents, or fivepence of our money, would be -about one hundred and thirty cash. A poor Chinaman possessing that sum -would think that he had got hold of quite a pocketful of money, and so it -would prove, so far as regards a little rice or salt fish, which forms -part of most Chinamen's daily food; but were he so foolish as to indulge -in opium, a few whiffs of the pipe would soon swallow up the whole. And -then there arises the difficulty of getting the cash, so that it is really -only people having command of a fair amount of money who can afford to -indulge, habitually at all events, in the luxury of the pipe. - -Now with respect to the alleged evil effects of opium smoking, you will -constantly hear stories from missionary sources of wretched people, the -slaves of the opium pipe, crawling to the medical officers of missionary -hospitals, who are to a certain extent missionaries themselves, and asking -to be cured of the terrible consequences of their indulgence in opium -smoking. The medical officer at each of these missionary institutions, a -victim himself, in most cases, to the delusions set afloat, accepts their -story, pities the men, and takes them into the hospital; and, believing -that if they do not get a moderate indulgence in opium smoking they will -pine away and die, the good, easy man, full of kindness and simplicity, -gives them a liberal allowance, which his patients are delighted to get. -Knowing the bent of mind of the confiding doctor, they fill him with all -kinds of falsehoods as to the evils attendant upon opium smoking in -general, which he swallows without a particle of doubt. The truth, -however, is that those men who go with such tales to the medical -missionary are in most, if not all, cases simply impostors, generally -broken-down thieves, sneaks, and scoundrels--the very scum of the people. -No longer having energy even to steal, they are driven off by their old -associates, to starve or die in a gaol. These men are the craftiest, the -meanest, and the most unscrupulous on the face of the globe. They well -know all that the missionaries think about opium smoking, and, like the -accommodating Mr. Jingle, they have a hundred stories of the same kind -ready to pour into the ears of their kind-hearted benefactors, who become -in turn their victims. Much merriment, I have no doubt, these scamps -indulge in amongst themselves at the good doctor's expense; for the -Chinese are not deficient in humour, and have a keen sense of the -ludicrous. These people crawl to one of the hospitals; the doctor is -delighted with their stories, for they confirm all he has written home or -published, perhaps in _The Friend of China_. He communicates with the -missionary; their stories are sent home, and the patients get for three or -four weeks excellent food and comforts, including plenty of opium, before -they are turned out as cured. The lepers have been cleansed and made -whole, but only to enable them to prey once more upon the industrious -community. I may here observe that there are no missionary hospitals in -Hong Kong, and so we never hear of those wonderful stories happening in -that place, yet, if such stories were true, it is there that the strongest -corroboration of them should be found, for, although there is no -missionary hospital in the colony, there is the large and well-managed -civil hospital, as also the Chinese Tung-Wah Hospital, both of which are -subject to the inspection of Dr. Ayres. - -Such are the tales, and such the authors who have caused much of this -clamour about opium smoking. There is scarcely a particle of truth in any -one of those stories. No man can indulge in opium to such an extent as to -harm himself unless he possesses a fair income, and if such a person -became ill from over-indulgence, he would not go to a foreign hospital, -but would send for a doctor to treat him at his own house. It is only the -broken-down pauper, thief, or beggar, who, in his last extremity, seeks -admission to the hospital. - -Dr. Ayres was the first to expose this imposture. On arriving at Hong Kong -he found it had been the custom there to allow such of the prisoners in -the gaol as were heavy smokers a modicum of prepared opium daily,--it -having been supposed by his predecessors that without it such prisoners -would pine away and die. Dr. Ayres, however, knew better; and he at once -put an end to the custom. He would not allow one grain of opium or other -stimulant to be given to any prisoner, however advanced a smoker he might -be. The result was that the hitherto pampered prisoners moaned and -groaned, pretending, no doubt, to be very ill; but after a little time -they got quite well. The Doctor has published his experiences on this -subject in the _Friend of China_. - -These persons know what pleases the missionaries, and so they detail to -them all kinds of horrible stories respecting opium smoking, which, as I -have before stated, are pure inventions. Trust a Chinaman to invent a -plausible tale when it suits his purpose to do so. The missionaries do not -smoke opium themselves, and have, therefore, no means of refuting the -falsehoods thus related to them, or of testing their accuracy. They simply -believe all these stories, and send them on to head-quarters in London, to -be retailed by eloquent tongues at Exeter Hall and elsewhere. I have no -doubt that every mail brings home numbers of apparently highly -authenticated tales of this kind, every one of which is baseless. Thanks -to the modern excursion agents, and to the present facilities for -travelling, gentlemen can easily take a trip to China, and if any of them -happen to have opium on the brain, they will take letters of introduction -to missionary clergymen. On their arrival at Hong Kong they will perhaps -be shown over the Tung-Wah hospital, where they see a number of wretched -objects labouring under all kinds of diseases; they will go away fully -impressed with the belief that all the patients shown to them are victims -of opium smoking. They are then taken to an opium shop, or as the -missionaries like to call it, an "opium den"--though why an opium-smoking -shop should be so termed, and a dram shop in London called a "gin palace," -I cannot understand--and are there shown half a dozen dirty-looking men, -mostly thieves and blackguards, all smoking opium, and as they are quiet -and motionless, they come to the conclusion that they are all in a dying -state, having but a few days more to live. If they knew the facts, they -would find perhaps that the very men they were commiserating were just -then quietly planning a burglary or some piratical expedition for that -very night. These kind of travellers go out to China with preconceived -notions, and are quite prepared to believe anything and everything, -however absurd or monstrous, about opium smoking. They will spend two days -at Hong Kong, three at Canton, two or three at Shanghai. They will take -copious notes at these places, omitting nothing, however incredible or -absurd, that is told them, and return home with a full conviction that -they have "done China," when in reality they have only done themselves, -and that, too, most completely. If they have the _cacoethes scribendi_ -strong upon them, they will probably write a book upon the subject; and so -the miserable delusion is kept up. - - 'Tis pleasant, sure, to see one's name in print; - A book's a book, although there's nothing in't. - -Mr. Turner, in his volume, gives what he calls "a little apologue," with -the object of showing how the Indian Government injures China by supplying -it with opium. If you will allow me, I will give you a short one, too. Let -us suppose a young gentleman, well brought up, and a member of that -excellent institution, the "Young Men's Christian Association," where he -has heard the most eloquent speeches on the wickedness of this country in -permitting the Indo-Chinese opium trade, and thus encouraging opium -smoking--for your anti-opium agitator thinks it the height of virtue and -propriety to drag his country through the mire on every occasion that -presents itself. Let us call him Mr. Howard; it is a good name, and was -once owned by a most benevolent man. He makes up his mind to go out to -China and to see for himself the whole iniquity; for, despite his strong -faith in his clerical mentors at Exeter Hall, he can hardly believe that -his own countrymen could really be the perpetrators of such dreadful -wickedness as he has been told. He takes a letter of introduction to a -missionary gentleman at Hong Kong, and another to a mercantile firm there. -He expects, on his arrival, to see the streets crowded with the -wretched-looking victims of the opium-pipe, crawling onwards towards their -graves, whilst the merchant who is making his princely fortune by this -terrible opium trade drives by in his curricle, looking complacently at -his victims, just as a slave-owner of old might be expected to have gazed -at his gangs of serfs wending their way to their scene of toil. Not seeing -any but active, healthy-looking people, he concludes that the miserable -creatures he is looking out for are in hospital, or lying up in their own -houses. He calls upon Messrs. Thompson and Co., the mercantile firm to -which he is accredited, and is well received by one of the partners, who -invites him to stop at his house during his stay in Hong Kong--for our -fellow-countrymen in China are the most hospitable people in the world. -Mr. Howard declines, as he intends putting up at Mr. Jenkins's, his -missionary friend. The great subject on his mind is opium, so he comes to -the point at once, and asks, "Is there much opium smoked in the colony?" -"Oh, plenty," answers Mr. Thompson; "two or three thousand chests arrive -here every week." "Do you sell much?" Mr. Howard asks. "No; we haven't -done anything in it these many years," is the response. "Do many people -smoke?" continues Howard, following up his subject. "Oh, yes: every -Chinaman smokes." "But where are all the people who are suffering from -opium smoking?" again asks the inquirer, determined to get at the facts. -"Ha, ha, ha!" laughs Mr. Thompson, but that gentleman is writing letters -for the mail, and has not much time at his disposal. "Here, Compradore," -he says, addressing a Chinese who has been settling an account with one of -the assistants, "this gentleman wants to know all about opium smoking." -The Compradore is the agent who conducts mercantile transactions between -the foreign firms and the Chinese; he resides on his master's premises, -and is usually an intelligent and keen man of business, and, I may also -add, an inveterate opium smoker. The two try to make themselves -understood. Mr. Howard repeats the same questions to the Compradore that -he had just put to Mr. Thompson, and receives similar replies. -Disappointed and surprised, Howard calls with his letter of introduction -upon the missionary, to whom he tells what he has heard from Messrs. -Thompson & Co. "Ah," says the missionary, "they wouldn't give you any -information there; they are in the opium trade themselves." But Mr. Howard -tells him that Thompson had assured him that they had not been in the -trade for years. "Ah," returns the missionary, "you must not believe what -_he_ says. His firm is making a princely fortune by opium." "But where are -the smokers?" asks Howard. "Oh, I will show them to you." He then calls -Achun his "boy." "This gentleman," he says to the latter, "wants to know -about opium smoking. Take him to the Tung-Wah and to an opium shop, you -savee?" "Yes, my savee" (meaning "I understand"), returns Achun, who is, -of course, a devout convert, but who, notwithstanding, often in private -indulges in the iniquity of the pipe. On they go to the Tung-Wah, which is -the Chinese hospital before referred to, where he is shown some -ghastly-looking men, all either smoking the "vile drug" or having opium -pipes beside them. Two or three are shivering with ague; another is in the -last stage of dropsy; another is in consumption, and so on. They are all -pitiable-looking objects, wasted, dirty, and ragged. Poor Mr. Howard -shrinks away in horror. "Are all these men dying from opium smoking?" he -asks of his guide. "Yes, ebely one; two, tlee more day dey all die. Oh! -velly bad! olla men dat smokee dat ting die," says the person questioned, -well knowing that what he has said is false, and that the poor creatures -before him are only honest, decent coolies in the last stages of disease, -who until they entered the hospital may never have had an opium pipe in -their mouths. "Their poverty and not their will consented." They had been -admitted but a few days before to the Tung-Wah, where the Chinese doctor -in charge had prescribed for them opium smoking as a remedy for their -sickness and a relief for their pains. Poor Mr. Howard leaves the hospital -bitterly reflecting upon the wickedness of the world and of his own -countrymen in particular. As for Mr. Thompson, he is set down for a false -deceitful man, a disgrace to his country, who should be made an example -of. He and his guide then proceed to the opium shop. I shall, however, -proceed there before them, and describe the place and its occupants. -Opposite to the entrance door are two well-dressed men, their clothes -quite new, their heads well shaven, and having attached to them long and -splendid queues. These men are lying on their sides, vis-à-vis, with their -heads slightly raised, smoking away. If it were not for their villainous -countenances they might pass for respectable shopkeepers. They are two -thieves, who have just committed a burglary in a European house, from -which they carried off three or four hundred pounds' worth of jewellery, -and they are now indulging in their favourite luxury on the proceeds. They -have also exchanged their rags for new clothes, got shaved and trimmed, as -Mr. Howard sees them. Now, wherever an extreme opium smoker is met, he -will in general be found to be one of the criminal classes. In this shop -there are three other men smoking. They are stalwart fellows, but -dirty-looking, as they have just finished coaling a steamer, and are -begrimed with coal dust. As the daily expenses of a steamer are -considerable, it is a great object with sea captains to get their vessels -coaled as quickly as possible, so that they may not be delayed in port. -The men employed upon this work are usually paid by the job, and probably -each will receive half-a-dollar for his share. They work with -extraordinary vigour, and by the time they have finished they are often -much distressed, and are inclined to lie down; their hearts, perhaps, are -beating irregularly, and their whole frame unhinged. Being flush of money, -for half-a-dollar, or two shillings, is quite a round sum for them, they -have decided to go to the opium shop, and, by having a quiet whiff or two, -bring the action of their hearts into rhythm, and restore themselves to -their ordinary state. These poor coolies are honest fellows enough. They -work hard, and are peaceful, unoffending creatures. Hundreds of them are -to be seen hard at work every day in Hong Kong. - -The interior of the opium shop is as described when Mr. Howard enters with -the missionary's servant. The moment the two well-dressed thieves see -them, their guilty consciences make them conclude that the one is a -European, and the other a Chinese detective in search of them. They close -their eyes and pretend to be in profound slumber. They are really in -deadly fear of apprehension, for escape seems impossible. Mr. Howard asks -his guide who they are. "Oh, dese plaupa good men numba one; dey come dis -side to smokee. To-day dey smokee one pipe; to-mollow dey come and smokee -two, tlee pipe; next dey five, six; den dey get sik and die. Oh, opium -pipe veely bad; dat pipe kill plenty men." "You say they are good, -respectable men?" says Mr. Howard. "Yes, good plaupa men; numba one Chinee -genlman." "Oh, is not this a terrible thing?" says Mr. Howard, compressing -his lips, breathing heavily, and vowing to bear witness, on his return to -London, to all the villainy he fancies he has seen. The three men begrimed -with coal-dust, although they appear only to be semi-conscious, are in -reality taking the measure of Mr. Howard, and enjoying a quiet laugh at -his expense. One exclaims, referring to his chimney-pot hat, "Ah ya! what -a funny thing that Fan-Qui has got on his head!" The other replies, "It's -to keep the sun away." "How funny!" retorts the first speaker, "we wear -hats to keep our heads warm; they wear hats to keep their heads cool." -"Oh," returns the other speaker, "the Fan-Qui have such soft heads that if -they did not keep the sun off the little brains they have would melt away; -and they would die, or become idiots."[5] Mr. Howard, seeing them in their -dirty condition, concludes that they are some of the wretched victims of -opium smoking, in the last stage of disease, and leaves with his -conductor, pitying them from the depths of his heart; his pity, however, -is as nothing compared to the contempt with which these supposed victims -to the opium pipe regard him and his chimney-pot hat. As he leaves he asks -his guide, "Does the keeper of the opium shop expect a gratuity?" "Oh," -returns the other, "supposee you pay him one dolla, he say, tankee you." -Mr. Howard accordingly gives a dollar to the man, who looks more surprised -than grateful, and he leaves the shop, satisfied that he has at last seen -the true effects of opium smoking in China. He returns to the missionary, -to whom he relates the horrors he has seen, makes copious notes of them, -and vows to enlighten his countrymen at home upon the subject. As for his -guide Achun, this person loses no time in returning to the opium shop, -where he compels the keeper of it to share with him the dollar he has just -received, and, having so easily earned two shillings, he quietly reclines -on one of the couches and takes a whiff or two of the pipe, the more -enjoyable because it is forbidden fruit. Thus the benevolent British -public is befooled by these ridiculous stories about opium. - -Now as Achun is a representative character, many like him being in the -service of missionaries and other foreigners throughout China, I will give -you a further specimen of the way such persons cheat and delude their -masters. Achun, in whom Mr. Jenkins, the missionary, places implicit -confidence, has of late been much exercised as to his "vails," for Chinese -servants are quite as much alive to the perquisites of their office as -Jeames, John Thomas, or any others of our domestics here in England. -Indeed, I may safely lay it down as a rule that, like cabmen, domestic -servants will be found the same all over the world, "one touch of nature -makes the whole world kin," and no sooner have you engaged your Chinese -"boy" than his mind is at once set working as to the amount of drawbacks, -clippings, and parings over and above his wages he may safely count upon -in his new place. Achun is dissatisfied with the commission or drawback -allowed him by Chook Aloong, the shopkeeper or compradore, who supplies -Mr. Jenkins's family with provisions and other household necessaries; he -is allowed only ten per cent. of the monthly bill, and he considers that -in all fairness he should get double that amount. Thus impressed, he makes -energetic remonstrances on the subject to Chook Aloong, who is firm and -will give no more than ten per cent. Achun is equal to the occasion. Now -Mr. Jenkins and his family are simple and frugal in their dietary, but -there are some articles of food they insist upon having of the best kind, -in consequence of which their compradore sends them those articles and, -indeed, all others of unobjectionable quality. Eggs which are not -absolutely fresh, and meat, though it be game, if in the slightest degree -"up," they will have none of. Achun well knows all this, and he has -determined to have Chook Aloong displaced. Having himself a partiality for -eggs, he begins operations by daily appropriating to his own use some of -those fresh eggs and substituting stale ones in their stead. In the like -manner, instead of letting the family have the beef, mutton, and fowls -nice and fresh as they are delivered, he holds them over until the bloom -of freshness has departed. This state of affairs occasions some commotion -in the family circle. The boy is sent for and shown that the eggs are bad -and the meat "high"; he expresses great concern, and declares that he will -forthwith call upon the compradore and compel him to make good the damage -already done, and supply proper provisions in future. Mr. Jenkins, though -angry, is not implacable, and is willing to believe that some mishap has -occurred; for how could his old and trusted compradore treat him so badly? -His hopes are, however, disappointed, for again and yet again the meat is -bad, and, worse still, the eggs are--well, not fresh. The climax is -reached one morning when poor Mr. Jenkins, in breaking his egg, finds, not -the usual bright yellow yolk and spotless albumen within, but a young -chick almost fledged. Horror and disgust seize him, the old Adam -over-masters him for a moment, and, full of wrath, he roars for the boy. -Achun appears the very picture of innocence, when Mr. Jenkins, ashamed of -his outburst of wrath and now quite calm explains the _contretemps_. He -has even in the reaction regained some of his good humour. "Look here, -Achun," he says, showing the chick, "this is too bad, you know. Supposee I -wanchee egg,--can catchee him; supposee I wanchee chicken--can catchee -chicken. No wanchee egg and chicken alla same together." Achun perceives -the joke, and knowing his master's weakness, says, "Oh, ho, massa, velly -good, dat belong numba one. 'No wanchee egg and chicken alla same -togedda,'" continues the cunning rascal, repeating his master's words, "Oh -velly funny, velly good, massa, ho! ho! ho!" Mr. Jenkins is pleased at the -mild flattery of his boy, who has now advanced a step or two in his -estimation. "Oh, massa, dat man, Chook Aloong, velly bad man," continues -Achun when his merriment had subsided. "Him smokee too much opium pipe; he -no mind his pidgin plaupa, he smokee alla day." "Oh! ho! is that the way?" -asks the missionary, a new light dawning for the first time upon him. "And -so Chook Aloong is an opium smoker?" "Ye-s," replies Achun, prolonging the -word. "Too much opium, plenty opium. More betta you get anoda compado -sah--some good plaupa man dat no smokee." "Very well, Achun," says Mr. -Jenkins with a sigh. "It is plain I must get somebody else. Find me out -some other man, and, mind, he must not smoke opium." "Hab got, massa," -returns the boy delighted with his success. "Hab got velly good man, him -numba one good compado"; and in walks the person indicated, who has been -listening outside all the time. "This belong Sam Afoong, him do all ting -plaupa," the fact being that this very Sam Afoong is the greatest cheat in -the whole market. "Oh, you're the man," says Mr. Jenkins. "I hope you -don't use opium." "Oh no, sah," returns the other, who is in fact an -inveterate smoker, "my neba smokee; dat opium pipe velly bad. It hab kill -my fadda, my six bludda, my----." But here he is stopped by a signal from -Achun, who saw that his friend, in familiar parlance, was "laying it on -too thickly." Sam Afoong vows to supply the best of good things, and does -so, and the Jenkins family are no longer troubled with bad provisions; but -had the lady of the establishment gone through the formality of weighing -every joint of meat that her new compradore supplied, she would have found -that every pound was short of two or three ounces, for thus Sam Afoong -recouped himself for the large per-centage bestowed on Achun. - -To prove that the missionaries are deceived in the way I have described I -will refer you to a passage in Mr. Storrs Turner's own book, where even he -admits that one of his own converts, who had assured him that he never -smoked, and no doubt had pledged himself never to do so, was found -regaling himself with the iniquity. At p. 32 Mr. Turner says, "I have -caught a man smoking who had only half an hour before denied to me that he -was a smoker, and condemned the habit." Yet such are the men from whom the -missionaries derive their information about opium smoking. For further -proof of this I will quote again from Dr. Ayres' article, in _The Friend -of China_. This is what he says:-- - - At the Tung Wah Hospital the stranger may at any time see the most - dreadful and ghastly-looking objects in the last stages of scrofula - and phthisis smoking opium, who had never previously in all their - lives been able to afford the expense of a pipe a day, yet the - European visitor leaves the establishment attributing to the abuse of - opium effects which further inquiry would have satisfied him were due - to the diseases for which the patients were in hospital. From what I - have seen there, there is no doubt that the advanced consumptive - patient does experience considerable temporary relief to his difficult - breathing by smoking a pipe of opium, though it is a very poor quality - of drug that is given to patients at the Tung Wah Hospital. - -Thus, as I have shown, it has come to pass that whilst the missionary -clergymen, owing to their sacred calling and their unquestionably high -character, are accepted in England as the most reliable witnesses and -entitled to the greatest credit, they are really the men who are the very -worst informed upon the opium question which they profess to understand so -thoroughly. They are, in fact, the victims of their own delusions. But -saddest fact of all, these missionary gentlemen, with the best intentions -and in the devout belief that by carrying on this anti-opium agitation -they are helping to remove an obstacle to the dissemination of the Gospel -in China, are of necessity by so doing obliged to neglect more or less the -very Gospel work they are really so desirous to spread, leaving the -missionary field open to their Roman Catholic rivals. - -The information placed before the public here in England upon the opium -question, tainted as it is at the very fountain head, is sent forward from -hand to hand, meeting in its filtrations from China to this country with -impurity after impurity, until it reaches the form of the miserable trash -retailed at Exeter Hall, or by the agents of the Anti-Opium Society. It is -an accepted adage that "a story loses nothing by the carriage." The maxim -becomes, more strongly pointed when it is remembered that the opium tales -partake so much of the marvellous, and that the various transmitters of -those accounts are, in almost every instance, fanatical believers in the -supposed wickedness of the Indo-Chinese opium trade. I am quite sure that -out of every thousand people who believe in the anti-opium delusion, you -will not find two who have ever set their foot in China, or know anything -with respect to the alleged evils they denounce, except from the -unreliable sources I have mentioned. Such people, as a rule, are by far -the most violent and uncompromising opponents of the Indo-Chinese opium -trade. The people I describe generally speak with such an air of authority -on the question, that an ordinary person would suppose they had personally -witnessed all the evils they describe. If you ask one of them in what part -of China he has lived, or when and where he has seen the horrors he speaks -of, he will jauntily tell you, "Oh, I have heard Mr. A. or the Rev. Mr. B. -explain the whole villainy at Exeter Hall." Another will say he has read -Mr. Storrs Turner's great work upon opium smoking, with which I have -already made you somewhat acquainted. When General Choke rebuked Martin -Chuzzlewit for denying that the Queen lived in the Tower of London when -she was at the Court of St. James, Martin inquired if the speaker had ever -lived in England. "In writing I have, not otherwise," responded the -General, adding, "We air a reading people here, Sir; you will meet with -much information among us that will surprise you Sir." Just so. These -anti-opium enthusiasts have been in China in writing, and understand the -opium question upon paper only--a few months in Hong Kong or Canton, freed -from missionary influence, would soon disillusionize them. I remember -hearing a story once of a most estimable gentleman who had the misfortune -to be the defendant in an action for breach of promise. The plaintiff's -counsel, who had a fluent tongue and a fertile imagination, painted him in -such dreadful colours, and so belaboured him for his alleged heartless -conduct towards the lady that the gentleman so denounced, persuaded for -the moment that he was really guilty, rushed out of court, exclaiming, "I -never thought I was so terrible a villain before." That is just the kind -of feeling that first comes over one upon hearing of those opium-smoking -horrors; for it must not be forgotten that the indictment of the -Anti-Opium Society, and of its secretary Mr. Storrs Turner in particular, -not only includes the Imperial Government, and the Government of India, -during the past forty years, but all the British merchants connected with -the Chinese trade, and, indeed, the entire British nation. - -Before proceeding to deal with the fallacies I have enumerated, it is -necessary that I should again address a few words to you on the subject of -evidence, so as to enable you to discriminate between the value of the -various witnesses who have attempted to enlighten public opinion on the -subject before us. I dislike very much to trouble the reader with dry -professional matters, but, under the circumstances, I cannot avoid doing -so. It is a rule of law which will, I think, commend itself to the common -sense of everybody, that the evidence to be adduced on a trial should be -the best that the nature of the case is susceptible of, rather than -evidence of a subsidiary or secondary nature, unless, indeed, no better be -forthcoming. In determining matters of fact, the best witnesses would be -held to be those who have become acquainted with those facts in the course -of their ordinary employment, or in the performance of their professional -duties, rather than mere amateurs or volunteers, whose knowledge is -derived from accident or casual observation only. For illustration, let us -suppose the case of a collision at sea between two steamers, A and -B,--that previous to and at the time of the collision, besides the usual -officers and seamen in charge of A, there were on deck the steward of the -vessel and a passenger. Now, the best witnesses on board of A as to the -catastrophe would not be the two latter, although they saw the whole -occurrence, but the men who were in actual charge of the navigation of the -ship, viz. the look-out man in the bows--whose duty it would be to watch -for rocks or shoals, or any ship or vessel ahead, and to give immediate -notice to the officer of the watch and the man at the wheel of the -presence of such object;--the officer of the watch, usually stationed on -the bridge;--and the man at the wheel. Why? Because, it being the peculiar -duty of the first two men to look out for and avoid striking on rocks or -shoals, or coming into collision with any other vessel, and the duty of -the third man not only to keep a look out but to steer as directed by the -officer on the bridge, they necessarily paid more attention to, and had -their intellects better sharpened in respect to such matters than the -others, who had no such duty cast upon them. The next best witnesses would -be the other seamen during whose watch the accident occurred, their duty -being generally to attend to the management of the ship, her sails and -cordage, and obey the orders of the officer of the watch, but who, not -having immediate connection with the steering and course of the vessel, -would not be expected to have the same accurate knowledge of the -circumstances that led to and occurred up to the time of the collision as -the first three. The least valuable witnesses would be the steward and the -passenger, for the reasons already mentioned. Applying these rules to the -question now before us, it follows that the testimony of such a man as Dr. -Ayres--some of which I have given you already--and of others which I shall -lay before you, should have far greater weight and be more reliable than -that of ordinary persons having no special knowledge or experience of -opium or its effects, nor any opportunity of obtaining such knowledge, -much less any duty cast upon them to acquire it, _e.g._ missionaries and -other persons unconnected with native and foreign merchants, and having no -duties to perform which would bring them into constant intercourse with -the Chinese community. - -The first of these fallacies which have so much tended to warp the -understanding of these Anti-Opium people is this: "That the poppy is not -indigenous to China, but has been recently introduced there, presumably by -British agency." With this let us take the second fallacy, viz.: "That -opium smoking in China is now and has always been confined to a small -per-centage of the population, but which, owing to the introduction of -Indian opium, is constantly increasing." Here I would first inquire--what -is the poppy? To this question one person would say, It is the plant that -produces that deadly drug, morphia. Another would answer, It is the herb -from which laudanum is made; and a third would say, It is the plant which -supplies opium, smoked so much in China and eaten so largely in India. -These answers would all be correct enough, so far as they go; but they -would not be complete, for there are many other uses to which the poppy is -applied besides all these. That valuable plant produces not only opium, -but an oil used for lighting and for edible purposes, the Chinese using -the oil to mollify their daily rice and other food, mixing it also very -commonly with another and richer quality of oil. The seeds, when the oil -is expressed, are given to cattle, or allowed to rot and form manure. If -the oil is not expressed, the seeds can be worked up into cakes. From the -capsules medicine is made, and lastly, the stalks and leaves when burnt -produce potash. Mr. William Donald Spence, one of Her Majesty's Consuls in -China, to whose valuable "Report on the Trade of the Port of Ichang, and -the Opium-culture in the Provinces of Szechuan and Yunnan," I shall -presently introduce you, knows all this as matter of fact, and, indeed, I -am mainly indebted to him for the information I now give you. It is -admitted by Mr. Storrs Turner that the poppy is indigenous to China, and -when it is remembered that the people of that country are and have been -for thousands of years the most civilized in Asia,--that agriculture is -considered the most honourable industry in the country, as evidenced by -the annual practice of the Emperor to turn over the earth with the plough -at the beginning of Spring,--that the Chinese are skilled husbandmen, and -of most frugal and thrifty habits, it becomes a matter of irresistible -inference that those people must have known that most useful plant, the -poppy, and must have cultivated it for economic purposes long before opium -was known in Europe. Sir Robert Hart, in his Yellow Book, says "that -native opium was known, produced, and used _long before_ any Europeans -began the sale of the foreign drug along the coast." Compare that with the -misleading passage at page 2 of Mr. Storrs Turner's book, where he says -"that the poppy had long been cultivated in Egypt, Turkey, Persia, India, -and _recently_ in China and Manchuria," and ask yourselves what credit you -can give to that gentleman as a trustworthy guide on the subject of opium. -Here is Sir Robert Hart, a great Chinese authority, practically admitting -that three or four hundred years ago at the least native opium was grown -and produced in China, and Mr. Storrs Turner, in this fallacious statement -of his, trying to induce his readers to infer that the drug was only -recently produced in that Empire! The reader can choose between these -authorities for himself. Now the fact is, that in very ancient Chinese -works mention is made of the poppy. In the "History of the Later Han -Dynasty" (A.D. 25-220), the brilliant colour of the poppy blossom, of the -charms of the juice, and the strengthening qualities of the seeds of the -plant, formed the themes of Chinese poets as far back as a thousand years, -and probably much farther. The poet Yung T'aou, of the T'ang dynasty (A.D. -618-907), celebrates the beauty of the flower. The poet Soo Cheh (A.D. -1039-1112), dwells, in an ode, on the curative and invigorating effects of -the poppy seeds and juice, and another poet, Soo Sung, of the same period, -praises the beauty of the plant, which he speaks of as being grown -everywhere in China. I am not a Chinese scholar, but I have high authority -for these statements. You will thus clearly perceive that opium is a -native plant, that its various uses have for many centuries been known to -the Chinese, and that the British are in no way responsible for the -introduction of opium into China, much less for the practice of smoking -the drug. - -I have mentioned Mr. W. Donald Spence as one of Her Majesty's Consuls in -China. Now, every foreign resident in that country knows who and what -those consular gentlemen are; but I do not think the public here in -England are equally well informed upon the subject, because it is only -natural that they should confound them with the ordinary British Consuls -at the European and American ports; but that would be a very great -mistake, for the two sets of Consuls form quite distinct and separate -bodies. The Consuls at the latter ports are no doubt highly respectable -gentlemen, often indeed, men who have distinguished themselves in science -and literature, or in the army or navy, but still they are simply -commercial agents of the British Government, and no more, having little or -no diplomatic or other duties to discharge. The Consular Service of China -stands upon a totally different footing. In this country Her Majesty's -Consuls are not only commercial agents, but are trained diplomatists, -entering the service in the first instance as cadets, after passing most -difficult competitive examinations. They are always Chinese scholars, many -of them holding high rank as such. The Consuls have very important -diplomatic duties to discharge, and have also magisterial duties to -perform towards their countrymen in China, all of which demand qualities -of a high order, and which only superior education and careful training -enable them to discharge. England has acquired by treaty ex-territorial -rights, as regards her own subjects, in the ports of China thrown open to -her commerce, known as "Treaty ports," the most important of which are the -exclusive right to hear and determine all civil and criminal cases against -British subjects. These onerous and important duties are performed by Her -Majesty's Consuls at those ports. These gentlemen, indeed, have more power -in many respects than is possessed by the Queen's Ambassadors and -Ministers Plenipotentiary at the various Courts in Europe. They have, in -fact, all the powers now vested in the Judges of Her Majesty's High Court -of Judicature here in England, as well as the powers possessed by the -Judges of the Admiralty, Probate, and Bankruptcy Courts. Further, and in -addition to all these multifarious duties, they are Her Majesty's special -commercial agents at these treaty ports, with the usual jurisdiction over -British ships, their officers, and crew. It is, therefore, a matter of the -first necessity that the persons in whom such tremendous powers are placed -should not only be gentlemen of the very highest characters and assured -abilities, but men of superior education specially trained to fill these -important positions and discharge the varied and onerous duties -appertaining to them. Such are the present British Consuls in China, and -such they have been in the past. There is not, I believe, in this or any -other country, a more highly-educated, intelligent, and efficient body of -men to be found. If any proof of these high qualities is required, it will -be furnished in the fact that notwithstanding the difficult, delicate, and -onerous duties cast upon them, no instance of their abuse of these powers -has ever occurred. I certainly know of none. I am only here stating, I -assure you, what is actually true. It has, indeed, always been to me a -marvel that no complaints--no political entanglements, no troubles--have -arisen from the abnormal state of things arising out of our commercial and -political relations with China, and the extraordinary and exceptional -powers necessarily entrusted to our Consular Agents in that Empire in -consequence. We can now look back, after a quarter of a century of -experience, and congratulate ourselves that all our complicated machinery -has worked so well, that no clouds obscure the vista, and that our present -position in China is one of serenity and sunshine; that we stand upon the -very best terms with the Chinese Government from the central authority at -Peking to all its ramifications throughout the vast empire. Nothing, in -fact, blurs the landscape, save the miserable opium phantom created by our -own countrymen, the missionaries, and magnified to a monster of large -dimensions by the "Chinese jugglers," who here in England keep the -machinery of the Anti-Opium Society in motion. These happy results are due -to Her Majesty's Diplomatic and Consular Service in China, controlled by -Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in England. -And here I cannot but remind you of that distinguished veteran statesman -Sir Rutherford Alcock, formerly Her Majesty's Minister to the Court of -Peking, to whose wise and far-seeing policy much of the present happy -relations with China is due. There is not an English resident in China -who cannot bear testimony to the splendid talents and genuine patriotism -which has marked his career in that vast and interesting country. There is -no greater authority living upon Anglo-Chinese affairs than he, especially -as regards the period of the famous treaty of Tientsin, some of whose -testimony on these points I will lay before you. After a long and -honourable career he is now in England enjoying his well-earned repose, -and is, happily, a powerful living witness to the fallacies I am now -trying to efface. - -Now, one of the ablest and most accomplished men at present in the -Diplomatic and Consular Service of China is Mr. W. Donald Spence, Her -Majesty's Consul at Ichang, a port on the Yangtze, to whom I have before -shortly referred. This gentleman, in the year 1881, paid a visit to -Chungking, the commercial capital of Szechuan in Western China. Whilst -there he availed himself of the opportunity to make inquiries and -investigations into the commercial products of that immense province, and -especially into the cultivation of native opium, the extent and condition -of opium culture in Western China, and the attitude respecting it of the -Chinese Government, and on the effect of opium smoking on the people of -those provinces where it appears that habit is all but universal. It was -his especial duty to make these investigations. No better proof could be -produced as to the abilities of this gentleman than this valuable document -on the subject presented by him to Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of -State for Foreign Affairs which Mr. Spence, in his covering letter to Lord -Granville modestly styles "his Report on the Trade of the Port of Ichang -for the Year 1881." If anyone will read the whole of this Report--and it -will well repay careful perusal--he will pronounce it, I think, one of the -ablest and most admirable State papers that have ever been penned. In -giving you some extracts from it I will, therefore, ask you to treat the -author of it, not as a mere hireling, having an interest in certain -matters which it is desirable to place in a particular light, as the -agents of the Anti-Opium Society would, no doubt, have you believe, but as -the honest statement of an upright, high-minded, honourable English -gentleman, of superior talents and a cultivated mind, who values truth -above everything, who can have no other object in the matter but to do -what is honest, just, and right, and who on this question of opium smoking -tells the truth and nothing but the truth to Her Majesty's Minister. This -is what he says as to the cultivation of the poppy in Szechuan:-- - - Of all the products of Szechuan, the most important nowadays is native - opium. In September last year it was my fortune to be sent on the - public service to the commercial metropolis of Szechuan, Chungking. I - was four months in the province. In the course of that time I visited - parts of the great opium country, questioned many people regarding - opium culture, consumption, and export, and carefully noted the - observations and conclusions on these subjects come to by Mr. Colborne - Baber and Mr. E. H. Parker during their official residence there, with - a view to giving, as far as possible, exact information in my Trade - Report on a matter of great commercial, and no little political, - interest at the present moment. The cultivation of the poppy is - carried on in every district of Szechuan except those on the west - frontier, but most of all in the Prefectures of Chungking Fu and - Kweichow Fu. In all the districts of Chungking Fu, south of the - Yang-tsze, and in some of the districts of Kweichow Fu, north of that - river, it is the principal crop, and, in parts, the only winter crop - for scores upon scores of square miles. The headquarters of the trade - are at the city of Fuchow, in the first of these prefectures, and, in - a considerably less degree, at Fengtu, a district city in Kweichow Fu. - Baron Richthofen, writing in 1872, says that the poppy then was - cultivated only on hill slopes of an inferior soil, but one sees it - now on land of all kinds, both hill and valley. Baron Richthofen - himself anticipates this change when he says:--"The Government may at - some time or other reduce the very heavy restrictions, and if Szechuan - opium then should be able to command its present price at Hankow, the - consequence would be an immediate increase in the area planted with - the poppy." Since he wrote, the area given to the poppy has much - increased, though not from the cause alleged. Being a winter crop, it - does not interfere with rice, the food staple of the people, - displacing only subsidiary crops, such as wheat, beans, and the like. - When it is planted in paddy and bottom lands, which nowadays is often - the case, it is gathered in time to allow rice or some other crop to - follow. It can hardly be said of Szechuan that the cultivation of - opium seriously interferes with food supplies. The supply of rice - remains the same, and the opium produced, less the value of the crops - it replaces, is so much additional wealth to the province. - - I shall presently show that opium is a more remunerative crop than its - only possible substitutes, beans or wheat, and no per-centage of the - opium crop being due to the landlord, its cultivation has been greatly - stimulated in consequence. Of late years, however, in the districts I - have named as being in winter one vast poppy-field, owners of land - have become alive to the value to occupiers of the opium crop, and - have stipulated for a share of it in addition to their share of the - summer crop. Rents, in fact, where opium is in universal cultivation, - have practically doubled. Before leaving the subject of tenure, I may - add that, in the event of non-payment of rent from causes other than - deficient harvests, the landlord helps himself to the deposit in his - hands. In bad years remissions are willingly made by the Government to - owners of the land-tax, and by owners to occupiers of the - rent-produce. - -Now you will remember that this very province of Szechuan, where such -extensive cultivation of the poppy is carried on, is the largest and most -distant of all the provinces of China; it is one of the westernmost of the -eighteen provinces of the empire, being bordered on the west by Thibet. -Until quite recently Szechuan was about as accessible to Englishmen as -Moscow was fifty years ago, a _terra incognita_, in fact, to Europeans, so -that it cannot be pretended for one moment that the introduction into -China of Indian opium has had anything to do with the cultivation of the -drug there. Indian opium could hardly ever have found its way into the -province, which is not less than one thousand two hundred miles from the -sea. It is only since the opening of the port of Ichang in the adjoining -province of Hupeh, which took place in April 1877, that the district has -become at all accessible. But let us return to Mr. W. Donald Spence. This -is another extract from his report:-- - - The poppy is now grown on all kinds of land, hill slopes, terraced - fields, paddy and bottom lands in the valleys. Since 1872, when Baron - Richthofen visited the province, a great change has taken place in - this respect, for it appears to have been cultivated then on hill - lands only. All the country people whom I asked were agreed that opium - is most profitably grown on good land with liberal manuring. In India - it is best grown on rich soil near villages where manure can be easily - obtained, and the Szechuan cultivator has found this out for himself. - Poppy cultivation, as practised in Szechuan, is very simple. As soon - as the summer crop is reaped the land is ploughed and cleaned, roots - and weeds are heaped and burnt, and the ashes scattered over the - ground; dressings of night soil are liberally given. The seeds are - sown in December, in drills a foot and a half apart. In January, when - the plants are a few inches high, the rows are thinned and earthed up - so as to leave a free passage between each: the plants are then left - to take care of themselves, the earth round them being occasionally - stirred up and kept clear of weeds. In March and April, according to - situation, the poppy blooms. In the low grounds the white poppy is by - far the most common, but red and purple are also grown. As the - capsules form and fill, dressings of liquid manure are given. In April - and May the capsules are slit and the juice extracted. The raw juice - evaporates into the crude opium of commerce increasing in value as it - decreases in weight. - -Mr. Spence then goes on to compare the value of the wheat with the opium -crop, showing that the cultivation of the latter is just twice as -profitable as the former. Space will not allow me to give you full -extracts on this subject, but, as some portion of it is germane to this -part of my lecture, I give a short extract on the point:-- - - It must be remembered, too, that every single part of the poppy plant - has a market value. The capsules, after the juice has been extracted, - are sold to druggists, and made into medicine; oil is expressed from - the seeds, and largely used for lighting and adulterating edible oils; - the oil-cake left in the oil-press is good manure, as are also the - leaves; and the stalks are burnt for potash. Against these advantages - opium is subject to a rent, and requires, for profitable cultivation, - plenty of manure; whereas wheat, when followed by a summer crop, pays - little or no rent, and gets, in general, no manure. Into the relative - profits of opium and wheat both Mr. Baber and Mr. Parker have gone - very carefully, and their results correspond, in the main, with my own - observations. - -I will now give you a short account of opium-culture in the province of -Yunnan, a more inaccessible part of China still perhaps than Szechuan. Mr. -E. Colborne Baber, like Mr. Spence, belongs to the diplomatic service, and -is now the secretary of the British Legation at Peking. All that I have -stated as to Mr. Spence applies alike to him. He is a gentleman in whom -the most implicit confidence should be placed. In 1877 he travelled -through Western Szechuan, having, in his own words, on the morning of the -8th July in that year, passed the western gate of Ch'ung-Ch'ung "full of -the pleasurable anticipations which precede a plunge into the unknown." -Having finished his journey through Szechuan, he struck into Yunnan, -following the route of Mr. Grosvenor's mission. He has recounted his -adventures in a most valuable and interesting book, written in such a -pleasing and graphic style, that the reader, when looking at it for -reference only, is irresistibly compelled to read further. His book has -been published by the Royal Geographical Society, and is well worthy of -general perusal. It is one of the few readable books of travel to be met -with nowadays. There is very little respecting opium culture in the -volume, but what there is upon the subject is very much to the point. This -is what he says:-- - - Of the sole agricultural export, opium, we can speak with some - certainty. We were astounded at the extent of the poppy cultivation - both in Szechuan and Yunnan. We first heard of it on the boundary line - between Hupah and Szechuan, in a cottage which appears in an - illustration given in the work of Captain Blakiston, the highest - cottage on the right of the sketch. A few miles south of this spot - the most valuable variety of native opium is produced. - - In ascending the river, wherever cultivation existed we found numerous - fields of poppy. Even the sandy banks were often planted with it down - to the water's edge: but it was not until we began our land journey in - Yunnan that we fairly realised the enormous extent of its production. - With some fear of being discredited, but at the same time with a - consciousness that I am under-estimating-the production, I estimate - that the poppy-fields constitute a third of the whole cultivation of - Yunnan. - - We saw the gradual process of its growth, from the appearance of the - young spikelets above ground in January, or earlier, to the full - luxuriance of the red, white, and purple flowers, which were already - falling in May. In that month the farmers were trying the juice, but - we did not see the harvest gathered. We walked some hundreds of miles - through poppies; we breakfasted among poppies; we shot wild ducks in - the poppies. Even wretched little hovels in the mountains were - generally attended by a poppy patch. - - The ducks, called locally "opium ducks," which frequently supplied us - with a meal, do really appear, as affirmed by the natives, to stupefy - themselves by feeding on the narcotic vegetable. We could walk openly - up to within twenty yards of them, and even then they rose very - languidly. We are not, however, compelled to believe, with the - natives, that the flesh of these birds is so impregnated with laudanum - as to exercise a soporific influence on the consumer. They are found - in great numbers in the plain of Tung-ch'uan, in Northern Yunnan, and - turn out to be the _Tadorna vulpanser_. - - In the same district, and in no other, we met with the _Grus cinerea_, - an imposing bird, which is also a frequenter of opium-fields. - - The poppy appeared to us to thrive in every kind of soil, from the low - sandy borders of the Yang-tyu to the rocky heights of Western Yunnan; - but it seemed more at home, or at any rate was more abundant, in the - marshy valleys near Yung-ch'uan, at an elevation of seven thousand and - sixty feet (seven thousand one hundred and fifty feet according to - Garnier). - - I am not concerned here with the projects or prospects of the Society - for the Abolition of Opium: _if, however, they desire to give the - strongest impetus to its growth in Yunnan, let them by all means - discourage its production in India_. - -Now I have given you some very important evidence upon the two fallacies -before us; but perhaps, after all, the best testimony upon the subject is -that of Mr. Turner himself. He says, at page 13 of his book:-- - - "Everywhere, in all climates, on every soil, in every variety and - condition of circumstances throughout that vast empire, the Chinese - smoke opium, but nowhere do they all smoke. The smokers are but a - per-centage, greater or smaller in different places." - -I quite agree with him on this point. But here the question arises, where -is the drug procured which is smoked in every part of the eighteen -provinces of this vast Empire, equal in extent to Europe? Surely not from -abroad, because that great China authority, Sir Robert Hart, tells us in -his Yellow Book that all the Indian and Persian opium imported into China -is sufficient only to supply one third of one per cent. of the population -with a small portion annually of the drug. Not from India, because there -are many provinces in China--and a province there means a territory as -large as Great Britain--into which a particle of the Indian drug has -seldom or never been introduced. Whence, then, comes the great bulk of the -drug to satisfy all these smokers? Surely it must be from Chinese soil, -from the opium fields surrounding their own homes, which are to be seen in -every province of the Empire. - -Let us now return to the Yellow-book of Sir Robert Hart, to which I have -referred in the former lecture, and which seems to me to afford all the -evidence on this subject that is really wanted. It is admitted on both -sides that opium smoking is more or less prevalent throughout every -province of China, on every soil, whether in the valleys or on the hills -and mountains. Sir Robert Hart sent out a circular to the foreign -Commissioners of Customs at all the Treaty Ports in China, Hainan, and -Formosa,--two large islands lying respectively off the south and -south-east coast of China,--and the returns show that there are many -opium-smoking shops in each of these Treaty Ports, and that the gross -quantity of Indian and other foreign opium imported into China is about -one hundred thousand chests. Those returns also reveal the fact that in -almost every case foreign opium is used for mixing with the native drug, -which is of inferior quality and, there can be no doubt, invariably -adulterated; that a large amount of native opium is grown and sold; and -that the custom of opium smoking is more or less universal. Suppose we -take the case of Canton, as being a very large city. We may find, perhaps, -two or three hundred opium shops there, but the people who attend them are -not the better class of Chinese. They are exactly the same class of people -who frequent the drinking shops of London and other large cities in -England. The respectable, well-to-do people in Canton, who can afford to -keep the drug in their own houses, would not enter an opium shop any more -than a respectable person here would frequent a public-house. If a -stranger in London looked into the public-houses and saw men and women -drinking there, he would come to a false conclusion if he thought that -none but such people drank beer, spirits, or wine. We know that in almost -every private house here there is more or less liquor of all kinds kept -and consumed. The drinking shops furnish a mere indication of the amount -of alcoholic liquors drunk in a town. It is exactly the same with the -opium shops. They show the prevalence of the custom throughout the -country. If you find two hundred opium shops in Canton, and I am sure -there are not fewer there, you may be not less certain that opium is -smoked in the great majority of private and business houses in Canton. It -is the same in all the Treaty Ports. The opium-smoking shops in China may -be counted by hundreds and thousands, because China is as large as Europe, -and more populous. - -Sir Robert Hart's Report, although to a certain extent an anti-opium one, -is in this and other respects very valuable, and forms in itself a -complete answer to the false and unfounded allegations of the Anti-Opium -Society. It is not likely that he would exaggerate the amount of opium -grown or smoked in China; the inference, indeed, would be that he, as an -official of the Chinese Government, would do just the contrary. There are -a great many other important ports in China besides the twenty ports with -which foreigners are not allowed to trade, and from which, indeed, they -are rigidly excluded; and in the interior of the country there are immense -and numerous cities and towns, large, thriving and densely populated, -where the opium pipe is used as freely as the tobacco pipe is with us. The -provinces in which opium is most grown are Szechuan and Yun-Nan, two of -the largest of the eighteen provinces constituting China proper. They are -the two great western provinces; but it is also grown in the eastern and -central provinces, in fact, more or less, all over the country. Though -there are no certain statistics, there cannot be a doubt that opium -smoking is more prevalent in the interior provinces than on the coast, -because it is there that the most opium is grown, and it is but reasonable -to infer that where opium is largely cultivated, especially in a country -like China, having no railroads, and few ordinary roads, there you will -find it to be most cheap and abundant, and therefore most consumed. Upon -this point I would refer to a most authoritative work by the late lamented -Captain Gill, R.E.,[6] whose barbarous murder the whole country deplored. -At page 235 of vol. ii. Captain Gill says:-- - - As we had such vague ideas of the distance before us we were anxious - to make an early start, but we were now in Yunnan, the province of - China in which there is more opium smoked than in any other, and in - which it is proportionately difficult to move the people in the - morning. There is a Chinese proverb to the effect that there is an - opium pipe in every house in the province of Kweichow, but one in - every room in Yunnan, which means that men and women smoke opium - universally. - -That is the report of a man who was not only a sagacious and close -observer of all that he saw in his interesting journey, but who was wholly -impartial and disinterested on the subject of opium smoking. Sir Robert -Hart does not purport to give in this book correct returns of the quantity -of opium smoked or imported, much less of the quantity grown in China. The -replies of his subordinates at the different ports, many of them seven -hundred or a thousand miles apart, all concur in speaking of the great -difficulties they had in getting any figures at all. They are, therefore, -not to be taken as absolutely trustworthy, and Sir Robert candidly admits -that they are mere approximations. Before I had seen his book I had made a -calculation of the probable number of opium smokers in China, on the -assumption that the population of China proper was three hundred and sixty -millions, and that the custom was universal, limited only by the means of -procuring the drug; and I arrived at the conclusion that there were in -China three millions of habitual smokers, and about the same number of -occasional smokers. Mr. Lennox Simpson, Commissioner at Chefoo, in reply -to Sir Robert Hart's circular, says, at page 13 of the Yellow Book: - - Much difficulty has been experienced in eliciting answers to the - various questions put to the native opium shops and others, all - viewing with suspicion any inquiries made, evidently fearing that some - prohibition is about to be put on the trade, or that their interests - are in some way to suffer. _Hence some of the figures given in the - return can scarcely be considered reliable, although every pains has - been taken to collect information._ - -These commissioners are all gentlemen of good standing and education, and -they have a great many subordinates under them, so that they possess means -of collecting information such as no foreigner, not engaged in the public -service of China, could possibly command. Mr. Francis W. White, the -Commissioner at Hankow, replied: - - Owing to the entire absence of all reliable figures, the amount of - opium put down as produced within the province and within the empire - yearly, must be taken as approximate only. I have been careful to - collect information from various sources, and this has been as - carefully compared and verified as means will allow. - -Mr. Holwell, the Commissioner at Kiukiang, wrote: - - The total quantity of unprepared native opium, said to be produced - yearly in the province of Kiangsi, I find it next to impossible to - ascertain with any degree of certainty. Native testimony differs. - -I will point out by-and-by the reason why these returns are so unreliable. -The most extraordinary of them all are the returns of Mr. E. B. Drew, the -Commissioner at Ningpo, and Mr. H. Edgar, the Commissioner at Ichang. The -former estimates the entire quantity of native opium grown and consumed in -China at two hundred and sixty-five thousand chests, the latter at only -twenty-five thousand--less than a tenth of Mr. Drew's estimate. In the -face of all these discrepancies, Sir Robert Hart takes an arbitrary -figure, and says, in effect, there is at least as much opium produced in -China itself as is imported into China. With the knowledge I have of the -Chinese and the opium trade generally, from the calculations I have made, -and by the light thrown upon the question by Sir Robert Hart's Yellow -Book, and the Reports of Messrs. Spence and Baber and others, I am induced -to come to the conclusion that two hundred and sixty-five thousand chests -is much nearer the mark than a hundred thousand chests. - -The reason the Chinese opium dealers have been so reticent in affording -information to the Commissioners of Customs at these Treaty Ports is, that -they are afraid to do so, fearing if they gave correct information, they -might in so doing furnish to the Mandarins reasons for "squeezing" them, -or for placing taxes and other restrictions on their trade; for the -Government officials in China, from the highest to the lowest, are, as I -have before said, the most corrupt, cruel, and unscrupulous body of men -in the whole world. Mr. Storrs Turner has told us that the Chinese -Government is a paternal one, exercising a fatherly care of its people, -and always exhorting them to virtue. Nothing can be more fallacious than -this. Theoretically, there is much that is good in the system of -government in China, but practically it is quite the reverse. There is -little sympathy between the supreme Government and the great body of the -people. The Emperor, his family, and immediate suite, are all Tartars, -quite another race from the Chinese, differing totally in customs, -manners, dress, and social habits. The Governors or Viceroys are pretty -much absolute sovereigns within their own provinces. Each has under him a -host of officials, commonly known as Mandarins, who are generally the most -rapacious and corrupt of men; their salaries, in most cases, are purely -nominal, for they are expected to pay themselves, which they well -understand how to do. Their system of taxation is irregular and -incomplete, and the process of squeezing is openly followed all over the -country. There is nothing a Chinese dreads so much as disclosing his -pecuniary means, or, indeed, any information that might furnish a clue to -them. If he admitted that he cultivated fifty acres of opium, or bought a -hundred pikuls of opium in a year, his means and his profits could be -arrived at by a simple process of arithmetic, and although he might feel -sure that, so far as Sir Robert Hart and the foreign Commissioners under -him were concerned, no wrong need be apprehended, yet he is so distrustful -and suspicious, that he would fear lest the facts should reach the ears of -the higher Chinese officials through the native subordinates in the -Commissioners' Offices. - -A Chinaman, therefore, will never tell the amount or value of his -property, or the profits he is making by his business. He fears being -plundered; that is the simple fact. I know a respectable man in Hong Kong, -the possessor of considerable house property there, a man who would be -called wealthy even in England. Some years ago, when at Canton, where he -had a house, a Mandarin suddenly arrested and put him into prison. What a -Chinese prison is you will find in Dr. Gray's book. It is not the place -where a paternal Government ought to house the worst of criminals, or even -a wild beast. The man had committed no crime, and had done nothing -whatever to warrant this treatment; in vain he asked what he had been -imprisoned for, and demanded to be confronted with his accusers, if there -were any. His gaolers shrugged their shoulders and gave him no answer. He -was kept there for two or three months. Ultimately he received a hint, -which he recognized as an official intimation, that unless he came down -handsomely, as the phrase is, and that speedily, he would lose his head. -He took the hint, made the best bargain he could, and ultimately had to -pay seventy thousand dollars, or about fourteen thousand pounds, for his -release. There never was any accusation brought against him. - -I knew another man, living at Swatow, who had made a great deal of money -in trade. He bought a large piece of foreshore at that place, which he -reclaimed and turned into profitable land. A military Mandarin living -there thought him a fair object for a squeeze; the same process was gone -through as in the case I have before mentioned; but this man, not having -the same wisdom as the other, held fast to his dollars. The result was -that a false charge of kidnapping, alleged to have been committed twenty -years before, was brought against him, and he was taken out and beheaded. -That is the way money is raised by the governors and their subordinates in -China. So much for Mr. Turner's benign and paternal Government. There is -no regular Income Tax in China, but there is a Property Tax levied in the -way I have mentioned. The Chinese authorities will let a man go on making -money for many years, and when they think he has accumulated sufficient -wealth for their purpose, they pounce down upon him and demand as much as -they think they can extort. That is the reason the Chinese opium dealers -are so reticent when inquiries are made concerning opium. If the -Commissioners at the Treaty Ports had got fair returns, I have no doubt -that it is not a hundred thousand pikuls of native opium that Sir Robert -Hart would have estimated as the quantity of opium grown in China, but -probably four or five times that amount. - -Here, again, I must quote from Mr. Spence's report. Nothing can possibly -show better the prevalence of opium smoking in the provinces of Szechuan -and Yunnan and Hupah, they being about equal in extent to France, Spain, -and Portugal. This is what he says on the prevalence of opium smoking in -those provinces:-- - - Before giving an estimate of the amount of opium produced in Szechuan, - I must refer, in explanation of the large figures I shall be obliged - to use, to the extraordinary prevalence of the habit of opium smoking - in Western Hupei, in Szechuan, and in Yunnan. It prevails to an extent - undreamt of in other parts of China. The Roman Catholic missionaries, - who are stationed all over Szechuan to the number of nearly one - hundred, and who, living amongst the people, have opportunities of - observation denied to travellers, estimate that one-tenth of the whole - male adult population of the province smoke opium. Mr. Parker, after - travelling all over the thickly-settled parts of the province, - estimates the proportion of smokers thus:-- - - Per cent. - Labourers and small farmers 10 - Small shopkeepers 20 - Hawkers, soldiers 30 - Merchants, gentry 80 - Officials and their staffs 90 - Actors, prostitutes, thieves, vagabonds 95 - - I agree with Mr. Parker that the proportion of smokers varies in - different classes according to their means and leisure, but I feel - sure his estimate of the per-centage amongst the labouring classes is - much too low. One of the most numerous class of labourers in China is - the coolie class, day labourers who live by picking up odd jobs, - turning their hands to any kind of unskilled work that may be offered. - Certainly more than half of them smoke. Of the labouring classes who - are not "coolies," as a whole this much may be said--they only have - money at stated intervals; and when out of a gang of forty or fifty - workmen or sailors only four or five smoke opium, it does not mean - that only ten per cent. are smokers. In all probability half of the - whole gang squandered their wages the day they got the money, and have - nothing left to buy opium or anything else until the job or voyage for - which they have been engaged is finished. - - For example, of my junk crew on my voyage to Chungking, only four - smoked opium regularly, but seven others who had spent all their wages - before we started smoked whenever I gave them a few cash. The total - abstinence of a British sailor at sea for months on end proves - nothing; it is what he will do when he has ten pounds in his pocket, - and is in a street with fifteen public-houses, that decides his - sobriety. So of workmen in the west of China, a large number smoke - opium when they have money, and do the best they can when they have - none. Whatever be the exact per-centage of the opium smokers in - Szechuan in the whole population, it is many times larger than in the - east. - -Now, after all this absolutely irrefutable testimony, many might think it -unnecessary to go further. They little know, however, how strong a hold -fanaticism takes of the human mind; they little think how difficult it is -to eradicate a fascinating LIE from the mind, once its glittering -meretricious form has got hold of it and supplanted wholesome truth. I -have, therefore, to deal not only with those whose minds are as a sheet of -white paper, but with those in whom the fallacious seeds that beget error -and fanaticism have been sown and taken firm root. I will now give you an -extract from Sir Rutherford Alcock's paper, which is deserving of careful -study:-- - - I may say here, that although most of the staple arguments and - misleading opinions on opium and its disastrous effects come from the - missionaries in China, whose good faith I do not question, there is no - stronger protest against exaggerated and sensational statements on - record than has been supplied by one of their number, the late Dr. - Medhurst, of whom it has been truly said, he was "one of the most - able, experienced, zealous missionaries in China." Opposed in - principle to the opium trade in all its aspects, his statements will - be readily accepted as unimpeachable evidence. The following remark - appears in an official paper, forwarded to the Chief Superintendent of - Trade of Hong Kong in 1855. Alluding to a speech of an American - missionary who had visited England, and was reported to have told the - British public "that the smokers of the contraband article have - increased from eight to fifteen millions, yielding an annual death - harvest of more than a million," and further characterizing the - traffic as "staining the British name in China with the deepest - disgrace," Dr. Medhurst observes, "_such statements do great harm; - they produce a fictitious and groundless excitement in the minds of - the religious and philanthropic public at home, while they steel - against all reasonable and moderate representations the minds of the - political and mercantile body abroad. The estimate given has not even - the semblance of truth; it is an outrageous exaggeration._" And yet in - a memorial presented to Lord Clarendon by two distinguished and justly - respected noblemen, the Earls of Shaftesbury and Chichester, on the - extent of the opium trade in 1855, these, and still more "outrageous - exaggerations" appear with the authority of their names. Lord - Shaftesbury officializes the estimate that twenty millions of Chinese - are opium smokers, and assumes that of this number one-tenth, that is, - two millions, die yearly, and states it as "an appalling fact." - Appalling, indeed! But what if it be a mere figment of the - imagination, and absolutely devoid, as Dr. Medhurst says, of a - semblance of truth? - -This is the way the benevolent British public have been cajoled and misled -for the last twenty years, or more, by opium-phobists. No wonder that the -Anti-Opium Society can raise fifty thousand pounds so easily, for the -British public is a benevolent one, and will subscribe its gold readily -where what they believe a proper object presents itself. Sad, indeed it -is, that in the present case its munificence represents, not merely so -much money lost, but vast sums recklessly squandered in a mischievous -agitation, that whilst it tends to sap and ruin one of the loveliest of -all virtues--that charity that endureth long and is kind--paralyses -missionary labour, prejudices the trade and revenue of our great Indian -Empire, and defames our country in the eyes of the whole world. Sad, sad -also to see that venerated nobleman, Lord Shaftesbury, after his long and -honourable career, and so many other good and eminent men, made the -victims of such miserable delusions. - -I think it is now clear, both from the testimony I have adduced, and from -Mr. Turner's own admission, that the poppy is not only indigenous to -China, but that it has been cultivated there from time immemorial, and -that opium is smoked generally throughout China, the only limit to its use -being the means of procuring the drug. - - - - -LECTURE III. - - -In my last lecture I dealt with the fallacy that the poppy is not -indigenous to China, but has recently been introduced there presumably by -British agency, and that opium smoking in China was confined to a small -percentage of the people, which had been steadily increasing since the -introduction into China of Indian opium. - -I now proceed to discuss fallacy number 3, which is, that "_opium smoking -is injurious to the system, more so than spirit drinking_." I think I -shall be able to show most clearly that exactly the reverse is the case. -With this it will be convenient to take fallacy number 5, which is a -kindred one, namely, that "_opium smoking and opium eating are equally -hurtful_." This fallacy lies at the root of the opium controversy, for it -alone has enabled the Anti-Opium agitators to give plausibility to their -teaching and to obtain some hold, as they lately had, upon the public -mind. There is, in truth, about as much difference in the two practices as -there is between drinking, say, a pint of ardent spirits and bathing the -surface of one's body with the same stimulant. Before proceeding further, -it may be stated that opium is admitted by physicians in all countries to -be an invaluable medicine, for which there is no known substitute. Mr. -Storrs Turner says that from the time of Hippocrates to the present day it -has been the physician's invaluable ally in his struggles against disease -and death. - -Pereira thus describes the drug:-- - - Opium is undoubtedly the most important and valuable remedy of the - whole Materia Medica. For other medicines we have one or more - substitutes, but for opium none,--at least in the large majority of - cases in which its peculiar and beneficial influence is required. Its - good effects are not, as is the case with some valuable medicines, - remote and contingent, but they are immediate, direct, and obvious, - and its operation is not attended with pain or discomfort. Furthermore - it is applied, and with the greatest success, to the relief of - maladies of everyday occurrence, some of which are attended with acute - human suffering. - -This is the description given of opium in Dr. Quain's _Dictionary of -Medicine_ recently published:-- - - Opium and morphia naturally stand first and still hold their place as - our most potent and reliable narcotics, all the more valuable because - almost alone in their class they are also endowed with powerful - anodyne action, in virtue of which they may relieve pain without - causing sleep. Valuable as it is in all forms of insomnia, opium is - especially indicated in typhus fever and other acute disorders, when - delirium and prolonged wakefulness seem to endanger life. The - principal drawback to opium is the digestive disturbance following its - use, and the fact that, as toleration is very rapidly established, - gradually increasing doses are needed to check the counteracting - influence of habit. - -The Anti-Opium Society and their followers allege that dram-drinking is -not only less baneful than opium-smoking, but they say that the latter -practice so injures the constitution, and has such extraordinary -attractions for those who indulge in it, that it is impossible to get rid -of the habit, and that, in effect, whilst drunkards can be reformed, opium -smokers cannot. This is absolutely untrue. The reverse is much nearer the -mark. The effect upon the system of constant spirit drinking, leaving -actual drunkenness and its consequences aside, is that it produces organic -changes in the system, by acting upon what medical men call the -"microscopic tissues," of which the whole human frame is made up; also -poisoning the blood, which then, instead of being a healthy fluid coursing -freely through the frame and invigorating the entire system, flows -sluggishly, producing organic changes in the blood vessels, inducing -various diseases according to the constitution and tendencies of the -individual. Three of the most usual diseases to which the habitual dram -drinker is subject are liver disease, fatty degeneration of the heart, and -paralysis. There is not a medical student of three months' experience who -could not, if you entered a dissecting-room, point you out a "drunkard's -liver." The moment he sees that object he knows at once that the wretched -being to whom it belonged had, by continued indulgence in alcohol, ruined -his constitution and health, and brought himself to an untimely end. There -is another serious consequence arising from habitual drinking. Not only -does the habit irreparably ruin the general health so that cure is -impossible, but it induces insanity, and I believe I am not beyond the -mark in stating that fifty per cent. at the least of the lunatics in our -various asylums throughout the country have become insane from -over-indulgence in alcohol. Dr. Pereira, in his celebrated _Materia -Medica_, states that out of one hundred and ten cases occurring in male -patients admitted into the Hanwell Lunatic Asylum in 1840, no fewer than -thirty-one were ascribed to intemperance, while thirty-four were referred -to combined causes of which intemperance was stated to be one; and yet Mr. -Turner and his disciples say that spirit drinking is a lesser vice than -opium smoking! - -I need not remind you of the consequences to others besides the actual -victims to spirit drinking, for that is unfortunately told too eloquently -and but too vividly brought before us every day in the public newspapers. -You will find that those acts of violence, those unfortunate cases that -make one shudder to read, happening daily in this country--kicking wives, -sometimes to death, beating and otherwise ill-using helpless children, -violently attacking unoffending people in the streets--all are the -results, more or less, of spirit drinking. Even the missionaries admit -that opium smoking does not produce any of these evils. As I have said -before, truth is natural to the human mind, and will reveal itself, even -where it is not directly relevant to the purpose. Mr. Turner does not -venture to dispute this in his book, and I would call your attention to -the passage. He says on page 33:-- - - Even between drunkenness and opium smoking there are perceptible - distinctions. We must allow that opium smoking is a much more pacific - and polite vice. The opium sot does not quarrel with his mate nor kick - his wife to death; he is quiet and harmless enough while the spirit of - the drug possesses him. - -That is all true so far as the fact goes, but if an insinuation is -intended that the Chinaman gets violent after the effect of the drug has -passed away, there is no foundation for it in fact. The Chinaman takes -opium just because he likes it, and knowing it will act at once as a -pleasing sedative and a harmless stimulant. A man who is working hard all -day in a tropical climate, whether at bodily or mental work, finds, -towards the close of the day, his nervous system in an unsettled state, -and looks for a stimulant, and the most harmless and most effectual one he -can find is the opium pipe. When opium and opium smoking are better -understood--and I believe the subject is now but imperfectly known by most -medical men in this country--I feel convinced that the faculty will -largely prescribe opium smoking, not merely as a substitute for dram -drinking, but as a curative agency, that in many cases will be found -invaluable. In this I am borne out by an eminent medical authority, to -whom I shall refer by-and-by. The regular and habitual opium smoker is -seldom or never found to indulge in spirits at all. Stimulants of all -kinds are so freely taken here that people never look upon them as a -poison; but in point of fact they are a terrible poison, and a very active -one, too. Another medical work of very great authority is that by Dr. -Taylor.[7] It has always received the greatest attention in courts of law; -and it is also held in the highest estimation by the medical profession. -At page 315, under the head of "Poisoning by Alcohol," he says:-- - - The stomach has been found intensely congested or inflamed, the mucous - membrane presenting in one case a bright red, and in another a dark - red-brown colour. When death has taken place rapidly, there may be a - peculiar odour of spirits in the contents; but this will not be - perceived if the quantity taken was small, or many hours have elapsed - before the inspection is made. The brain and its membranes are found - congested, and in some instances there is effusion of blood or serum - beneath the inner membrane. In a case observed by Dr. Geoghegan, in - which a pint of spirits had been taken and proved fatal in eight - hours, black extravasation was found on the mucous membrane of the - stomach; but no trace of alcohol could be detected in the contents. - The action of a strong alcoholic liquid on the mucous membrane of the - stomach so closely resembles the effect produced by arsenic and other - irritants, as easily to give rise to the suspicion of mineral irritant - poisoning. A drawing in the museum collection of Guy's Hospital - furnishes a good illustration of the local action of alcohol. The - whole of the mucous membrane of the stomach is highly corrugated and - is of a deep brownish-red colour. _Of all the liquids affecting the - brain this has the most powerful action on the stomach._ A case of - alcoholic poisoning of a child, æt. seven, referred to me by Mr. - Jackaman, coroner for Ipswich, in July 1863, will serve to show the - correctness of this remark. A girl was found at four o'clock in the - morning lying perfectly insensible on the floor. She had had access to - some brandy, which she had swallowed from a quartern measure, found - near her empty. She had spoken to her mother only ten minutes before, - so that the symptoms must have come on very rapidly. She was seen by - Mr. Adams four hours afterwards. She was then quite insensible, in a - state of profound coma, the skin cold, and covered with a clammy - perspiration. There had been slight vomiting. The child died in twelve - hours, without recovering consciousness, from the time at which she - was first found. - -So far Dr. Taylor, a most competent authority on the subject, as showing -what a poison alcohol is. Now alcohol, as I have before mentioned, effects -an organic change in the system, which opium, if smoked, or even if eaten -does not; and when spirits are indulged in to a very considerable extent, -the disease produced is absolutely incurable, because it is impossible for -any medical skill to give a man new tissues, new blood, a new stomach, or -a new liver, where the whole substance and material of all has undergone a -complete and ruinous change. Now, the case as regards opium is totally -different, because, no matter how much one may indulge in opium, whether -in eating or smoking, the effects produced are always curable. This is so -as regards opium eating; in respect to the infinitely less exciting -practice of opium _smoking_, the rule applies with very much greater -force. A man may smoke opium inordinately until, from want of appetite and -impaired digestion, he seems sinking into the grave; he is, however, only -labouring under functional derangement, which is always curable. The use -of opium in any form produces no organic change in the system whatever. -Excessive eating or smoking opium may impair the appetite and digestion, -but that will be all. I have very competent medical authority for saying -this. This fact places opium and alcohol in two entirely different -categories. The one, if eaten in moderation, is, I believe, harmless, if -not beneficial; while, as to the smoking of the drug, it is absolutely -innocuous;--but if alcohol be freely though not inordinately used, it will -prove, sooner or later, destructive to the system, acting upon the frame -as a slow poison, which must eventually end, as experience shows, in ruin -and death. De Quincey tells us in his _Confessions_ that he ate opium with -impunity for eighteen years, and that it was only after eight years -_abuse_ of opium eating that he suffered in any way from the practice. - -I will now give you another extract from Dr. Pereira's book. At page 446, -under the heading "Consequences of Habitual Drunkenness," he says:-- - - The continued use of spirituous liquors gives rise to various morbid - conditions of system, a few only of the most remarkable of which can - be here referred to. One of these is the disease known by the various - names of _delirium tremens_, _d. potatorum_, _oinomapria_, &c., and - which is characterized by delirium, tremor of the extremities, - wakefulness, and great frequency of pulse. The delirium is of a - peculiar kind. It usually consists in the imagined presence of objects - which the patient is anxious to seize or avoid. Its pathology is not - understood. It is sometimes, but not constantly, connected with or - dependent on an inflammatory condition of the brain, or its membranes. - Sometimes it is more allied to nervous fever. Opium has been found an - important agent in relieving it. Insanity is another disease produced - by the immoderate and habitual use of spirituous liquors. - -Now I do not think that, much as they have abused opium smoking, any of -the Anti-Opium writers have ever alleged insanity to be an effect or -concomitant of opium smoking. It must therefore be taken as generally -admitted that opium smoking, or even opium eating, does not produce -insanity. We have, then, this undisputed fact, viz. _that insanity and -acts of violence do not result from opium smoking, whilst they are -unquestionably produced by spirit drinking_. - -I had recently some conversation on the subject of opium with a medical -friend who has been in large practice in London, for twenty years. I had -previously spoken to him frequently on the same subject, and he has been -kind enough to give me his views in a very interesting and concise manner. -This opinion, I may tell you, is not paid for, or prepared merely to -support a particular purpose, as in the case of trials in the law courts. -It is purely spontaneous. We all know that professional men, whether -doctors, lawyers, surveyors, and others, are all more or less prone to -take the views of the party requiring their services, and they, -accordingly, will give opinions more or less coinciding with those views. -It does not, however, follow that the persons doing so are guilty of any -moral wrong, or that they write or state what they do not believe to be -true; on the contrary, they have a complete faith in the statements they -make. The natural bent of the mind is to lean towards the views urged by -one's patient or client; and thus two physicians or lawyers of the highest -standing and character will be found to hold different opinions. But this -statement with which I have been furnished stands on an entirely different -footing. There can have been no bias in the mind of the writer; it is -simply the result of study and experience. I have the most perfect -confidence in this gentleman's opinions. He is Mr. William Brend, M.R.C.S. -He says:-- - - There is no organic disease traceable to the use of opium, either - directly or indirectly, and whether used in moderate quantities or - even in great excess. In other words, _there is no special disease - associated with opium_. Functional disorder, more or less, may be, and - no doubt is, induced by the improper or unnecessary use of opium; but - this is only what may be said of any other cause of deranged health, - such as gluttony, bad air, mental anxiety.... - - However great the functional disorder produced by opium, even when - carried to great excess, may be, the whole effect passes off, and the - bodily system is restored in a little while to a state of complete - health, if the habit be discontinued. Alcohol, when taken in - moderation, unquestionably benefits a certain number of individuals, - but there are others whose systems will not tolerate the smallest - quantities; it acts upon them like a poison. But in the case of all - persons when alcohol is taken in excess disease is sooner or later - produced; that disease consists of organic changes induced in the - blood-vessels of the entire system, more especially the minute - blood-vessels called the capillaries; these become dilated, and - consequently weakened in their coats, and eventually paralyzed, so - that they cannot contract upon the blood. The result of this is - stagnation, leading to further changes still, such as fatty - degeneration of all the organs; for it must be remembered that alcohol - circulates with the blood, and thus finds its way into the remotest - tissues. The special diseases referrable to alcohol, besides this - general fatty degeneration, are the disease of the liver called - "cirrhosis," and very frequently "Bright's disease of the kidneys." - Here, then, we have a great and important difference between opium and - alcohol. The second great difference grows out of the first. It is - this:--I have said that if alcohol be taken in excess for a certain - length of time, depending to some extent upon the susceptibility of - the individual, organic change, that is disease, is inevitable; but - the saddest part of it is that it is real disease, not merely - functional disorder; so that if those who have yielded to that excess - can be persuaded to abandon alcohol entirely the mischief induced must - remain. The progress of further evil may be staved off, but the system - can never again be restored to perfect health. _The demon_ has taken a - grip which can never be entirely unloosed. Herein there is the second - great difference between the use of opium and of alcohol in excess. - - If what I have said of opium eating be true, common sense will draw - the inference that opium smoking must be comparatively innocuous, for - used in this way, a very small quantity indeed of the active - constituents find their entrance into the system. Its influence, like - tobacco, is exerted entirely upon the nervous system, and when that - influence has passed off it leaves (as also in the case of tobacco) a - greater or less craving for its repetition; but as organic disease is - not the result, I see no reason why opium smoking in moderation - necessarily degrades the individual more than does the smoking of - tobacco. - -Here I will give you another extract from Mr. Storrs Turner's book, which -tells against his case very strongly indeed. How he came to insert it I -can only understand on the principle I have already mentioned, that truth -is inherent to the human mind and will reveal itself occasionally even -though it has to struggle through a mountain of prejudice and of warped -understanding. This is it, from the evidence of Dr. Eatwell, First -Assistant Opium Examiner in the Bengal service; it will be found on page -233:-- - - Having passed three years in China, I may be allowed to state the - results of my observation, and I can affirm thus far, that the effects - of the abuse of the drug do not come very frequently under - observation, and that when cases do occur, the habit is frequently - found to have been induced by the presence of some painful chronic - disease, to escape from the sufferings of which the patient has fled - to this resource. That this is not always the case, however, I am - perfectly ready to admit, and there are doubtless many who indulge in - the habit to a pernicious extent, led by the same morbid impulses - which induce men to become drunkards in even the most civilised - countries; but these cases do not, at all events, come before the - public eye. It requires no laborious search in civilized England to - discover evidences of the pernicious effects of the abuse of alcoholic - liquors; our open and thronged gin-palaces, and our streets afford - abundant testimony on the subject; but in China this open evidence of - the evil effects of opium is at least wanting. As regards the effects - of the habitual use of the drug on the mass of the people, I must - affirm that no injurious results are visible. The people generally are - a muscular and well-formed race, the labouring portion being capable - of great and prolonged exertion under a fierce sun, in an unhealthy - climate. Their disposition is cheerful and peaceable, and quarrels and - brawls are rarely heard amongst even the lower orders; whilst in - general intelligence they rank deservedly high amongst Orientals. I - will, therefore, conclude with observing, that the proofs are still - wanting to show that the moderate use of opium produces more - pernicious effects upon the constitution than does the moderate use of - spirituous liquors; whilst, at the same time, it is certain that the - consequences of the abuse of the former are less appalling in their - effect upon the victim, and less disastrous to society at large, than - are consequences of the abuse of the latter. - -Could any evidence against the allegations of the Anti-Opium Society be -stronger than this? Have I not now a right to say, "Out of the mouth of -thine own witness I convict thee!" - -My own observation goes to show that opium smoking is far more fascinating -than opium eating, and that the opium smoker never relapses into the opium -eater. Opium eating, as I think I have already stated, is unknown in -China. I think these statements put the question as regards opium smoking, -opium eating, and spirit drinking in a very different light to what the -advocates of the Anti-Opium Society throw upon the subject. The latter -talk of the importation of Indian opium into China as the origin of the -custom of smoking the drug, or, at the least, that it has made the natives -smoke more than they otherwise would have done. There is no truth in such -representations. Let us take the year 1880, for instance, and adopting the -figures given by Sir Robert Hart, and concurred in by the British -merchants, which I take to be quite correct, that the amount of opium -imported into China from India was in that year one hundred thousand -chests, each chest weighing a pikul, which would amount to about six -thousand tons. Distribute those six thousand tons over the whole of China, -which, as I have before so often said, is as large as Europe, and with a -population amounting to three hundred and sixty millions, and you will -find it gives such a trifling annual amount to each person, that Sir -Robert Hart cannot mark from its use any damage to the finances of the -State, the wealth of its people, or the growth of its population. In the -United Kingdom, where we have less than a tenth of the population of -China, there were two hundred thousand tons of alcohol--whisky, gin, -brandy--and one thousand and ninety millions four hundred and forty-four -thousand seven hundred and sixteen gallons of wine and beer consumed in -that year. If all these spirits, wine, and beer were mixed up so as to -form one vast lake--one huge "devil's punch-bowl"--there would be -sufficient liquor for the whole population of the United Kingdom to swim -in at one time. But if the tears of all the broken-hearted wives, widows, -and orphans that flowed from the use of the accursed mixture were -collected, they would produce such a sea of sorrow, such an ocean of -misery as never before was presented to the world. Yet philanthropists and -Christian people in this country give all their time, energies, and a -great deal of their money to put down this purely sentimental grievance in -China, and shut their eyes to the terrible evils thundering at their own -doors! - -The whole purpose of Mr. Storrs Turner's book, and of the Anti-Opium -Society, is to write down opium smoking in China, with the ultimate view -of suppressing the Indo-China opium trade; and no man living is better -aware than Mr. Turner that opium eating is not a practice with the -Chinese; indeed, I doubt if it is known in China at all. Yet, knowing all -this, he puts forward the outrageous theory that opium smoking and opium -eating are equally injurious; it therefore becomes a matter of the first -importance that the great difference between these two practices should be -clearly shown. In the appendix to Mr. Turner's book there is a mass of -evidence, of which a large portion is quite beside the question, for it -applies exclusively to opium eating--a practice, I assert and will clearly -show, is totally different from, and a thousand times more trying to the -constitution than opium smoking. Dr. Ayres says that opium smokers can -smoke in one day as much opium as would, if eaten, poison one hundred men, -and Dr. Ayres is a very great authority on the subject; for not only has -he a large practice among the better classes of Chinese, all of whom are, -more or less, opium smokers, but his daily duties bring him into contact -with the criminal classes, who are most prone to excessive sensual -indulgence of this kind. - -This is what Dr. Ayres says upon the subject in his article in the _Friend -of China_:-- - - As regards opium smoking, no prisoner who confessed to be an opium - smoker has been allowed a single grain in the gaol. Neither has he had - any stimulant as a substitute, and I do not find there has been any - evil consequence in breaking off this habit at once, nor that any - precaution has been necessary, further than a closer attention to the - general health. Several very good specimens of opium smokers have come - under observation; one was the case of a man whose daily consumption - had been two ounces a day for nineteen years, and who was allowed - neither opium nor gin, nor was he given any narcotic or stimulant. For - the first few days he suffered from want of sleep, but soon was in - fair health, and expressed himself much pleased at having got rid of - the habit.... In my experience, the habit does no physical harm in - moderation. In the greatest case of excess just mentioned at the gaol, - a better-nourished or developed man for his size it would be difficult - to see. - -So far as regards opium _eating_, the best medical authorities are divided -as to whether opium eating or drinking in moderation is injurious to the -system at all. In any case, opium eating is not the question before us, -nor the subject of these lectures, which is opium smoking in China. Mr. -Storrs Turner gives, in his appendix, at page 240, extracts from some -statements of Lieut.-Col. James Todd, who says:-- - - This pernicious plant (the poppy) has robbed the Rajpoot of half his - virtues, and while it obscures these it heightens his vices, giving to - his natural bravery a character of insane ferocity, and to the - countenance which would otherwise beam with intelligence an air of - imbecility. - -That entirely relates to the _eating_ of the drug by the Rajpoots of -India, and has no connection or analogy to opium smoking by the Chinese. -There is another quotation on the same page from Dr. Oppenheim, given in -Pereira's _Materia Medica_ as follows:-- - - The habitual _opium eater_ is instantly recognised by his appearance: - a total attenuation of body, a withered, yellow countenance, a lame - gait, &c. - -And so on. This, as you see, applies to opium eating only. There are many -other instances of the effects of such use of opium given in the appendix, -which, after these two quotations, it is useless to further repeat. -Indeed, so far as relevancy to his subject goes, Mr. Storrs Turner might -just as well have introduced into his book medical or other testimony as -to the effects of gluttony or spirit drinking. It suits his purpose, -however, to mix up the two practices, so as to confuse and mislead his -readers. Dr. Oppenheim's statement, by the way, is completely refuted by -Dr. Sir George Birdwood, a distinguished physician, whose long residence -in Bombay,--where there is a Chinese colony, most, if not all, of whom are -habitual smokers of the drug,--and whose thorough acquaintance with the -effects of opium eating and opium smoking, entitle his testimony to the -very highest consideration. Again, at p. 8 of Mr. Turner's volume, -reference is made to De Quincey's book on opium eating, intituled, "The -Confessions of an English Opium Eater." Could anything be more -disingenuous than this? De Quincey was an opium eater, not an opium -smoker. Here is the passage from Mr. Turner's book to which I have -referred:-- - - Those "Confessions," which are not confessions, but an _apologia pro - vitâ suâ_, an elaborate essay to whitewash his reputation and varnish - over the smirching blot of a self-indulgent habit by a glitter of a - fascinating literary style. - -Now did anyone ever hear of such an extraordinary explanation of De -Quincey's motives in publishing that volume? De Quincey, he says, in -effect, was ashamed of the practice of opium eating, and wrote the book as -an excuse for his conduct, so horrible, disgraceful, and debasing, -according to Mr. Storrs Turner, is--not opium eating, observe you, -but--opium smoking. How fallacious are such arguments I think I shall make -apparent to the most simple mind. If a man has the misfortune to have -contracted a disgraceful habit, such, for instance, as over-indulgence in -spirit drinking, the very last thing he would think of doing is to publish -a book upon the subject, and thus acquaint the whole world with his -infirmity. Yet this is what Mr. Turner alleges against De Quincey. But, in -point of fact, he is altogether wrong in supposing that De Quincey was -ashamed of opium eating; if he had been, he unquestionably would not have -written his book, which, by the way, is one of the most fascinating -volumes in our literature. Previous to the publication of it, probably -there were not half a dozen people who knew that he, De Quincey, was an -opium eater, and in the preface to the work, he says, "that his -self-accusation does not amount to a confession of guilt." I know Mr. -Turner to be a gentleman utterly incapable of wilfully acting -disingenuously, much less of stating intentionally what he knew to be -untrue; but he is so blinded by prejudice, his naturally clear intellect -is so warped and distorted, and his faculties and reasoning powers are so -perverted, by this opium question, and his duties towards the Anti-Opium -Society, that he either does not see the difference between the two -things,--opium smoking and opium eating,--or, aware of that difference, -thinks himself justified in classing them together, as they both proceed -from opium, and thus he would persuade himself and his readers that they -are equally baneful. But in this book of his he takes De Quincey, the -opium eater, who confesses to having eaten three hundred and twenty grains -a day, and compares him with an opium-smoking Chinaman who smoked one -hundred and eighty grains a day; the difference between eating three -hundred and twenty grains and smoking one hundred and eighty grains a day -being about as a thousand is to one, in fact, in such case it would be -simply the difference between life and death; and yet Mr. Storrs Turner -would strive to mix up the two practices, so that the incautious reader -might infer that the effects of the one were as injurious as those of the -other. Such is the class of arguments with which the Anti-Opium Society -and its credulous supporters have been satisfied, and upon which the whole -religious world, the country, and the legislature are called upon to come -to the rescue of injured humanity, and abolish this Indo-China opium -trade. - -Now, as De Quincey is on the _tapis_, I cannot refrain from exposing a -very disgraceful piece of deception which has been practised upon the -public by some of the agents or supporters of the Anti-Opium Society since -the first edition of my Lectures appeared. This work of De Quincey, as I -have intimated, is a very entertaining book; it is the first of a series -of fourteen volumes by the same author, published in 1880 by the eminent -firm of Adam and Charles Black, of Edinburgh; the price of each volume is -two shillings, which is very moderate indeed, taking the character and -quality of the letterpress, the paper, and general "get up" into account, -for, as for the copyright, it has expired. Although Mr. Storrs Turner has -mis-described the book as a penitential effort on the part of De Quincey, -I am afraid that the effect of its perusal on most readers would be to -induce them rather to become opium eaters than repel them from the -practice, as will be manifest from an extract which I shall shortly give -the reader. The truth is, De Quincey, who knew human nature very well, -lived by his pen, and was actuated more by the desire to amuse than reform -his readers--for, say as you will, a well presented comedy will be always -more popular with the multitude than a tragedy, however skilfully -performed. Now, I am far from impugning the main features of our author's -"confessions," but in saying that in writing this very fascinating and -original book he went extensively into the picturesque, and drew largely -on his imagination, no person who will afford himself the pleasure of -reading the book can, I think, deny. Now, some very zealous agent or -advocate of the Anti-Opium Society, fearing that the effect of this work -of De Quincey's--brought as it has been into notice in connection with -this controversy by Mr. Turner's and my own book--might be to induce the -reading public to think that opium, after all, was not so terrible a drug -as the Anti-Opium agitators represent, has set himself to the ignoble task -of so garbling the work, and importing into it other matter of his own, as -to represent opium eating as the most terrible, fearful, and demoralizing -practice in the world, and then printing the concoction and flooding the -country with the impudent travesty at the very moderate charge of one -penny. All the entertaining and diverting passages have been suppressed, -and some wretched stuff inserted. It is called on the title page "The -Confessions of an Opium Eater; the famous work by Thomas De Quincey. -Copyright edition." The whole is nothing more than a burlesque--and a very -bad one indeed--of the real volume. In the first place, there is a lie -upon the face of it, as the copyright has expired, and it is not in any -respect a copy of the original; and secondly, it barely contains one-sixth -of the matter of the actual volume, and has "counterfeit" stamped upon -every page. It was exposed at the various book-stalls of Messrs. W. H. -Smith and Son, in London, and, I believe, also throughout the country. I -myself bought two copies at the Charing Cross station a few months ago, -but I believe the delectable piece of literary forgery has since been -withdrawn. I daresay, however, it has, to a great extent, answered its -purpose, _i.e._ to poison the minds of its readers on the Opium question, -by making it appear that opium is a terrible poison, and that the smoking -of it is more injurious than the excessive indulgence in alcohol. This -"pious fraud" has done a grievous wrong to the memory of a great English -author, Thomas De Quincey--whose pure and classic English adorns our -language--and also an injury to the general public who have advanced their -money for the penny lie upon false pretences. The whole affair is just as -defensible a proceeding as that of some tenth-rate dauber who, having -copied (?) a masterpiece of Sir Joshua Reynolds, or some other great -master of the English school, had the miserable caricature oleographed, -and flooded the country with the imposture, in the hope of inducing the -public to believe that true copies of the originals were offered to them. -But these Anti-Opium fanatics do not stick at trifles, and, in their -insane desire to make right appear wrong, do not hesitate to defame the -dead and vilify the living. I have mentioned this incident to show my -readers the unscrupulous efforts these people will resort to in order to -impose their fictions upon the public. - -Now, leaving De Quincey and his book for the present, let us see what Dr. -Ayres says upon the difference between opium eating and opium smoking. In -his article in _The Friend of China_, from which I have already quoted, he -says:-- - - I have conducted my observations with much interest, as the effects of - opium eating are well known to me by many years' experience in India, - and I have been surprised to find the opium smoker differs so much - from the opium eater. _I am inclined to the belief that in the popular - mind the two have got confused together. Opium smoking bears no - comparison with opium eating._ The latter is a terrible vice, most - difficult to cure, and showing rapidly very marked constitutional - effects in the consumer. - -Dr. Ayres was quite right, the two have got mixed up together, thanks to -Mr. Storrs Turner and his confrères. To further explain the difference -between opium eating and opium smoking, let us take the familiar instance -of tobacco smoking. It is not, I think, generally known that tobacco, -taken internally, is a violent and almost instantaneous poison. A very -small quantity of it admitted into the stomach produces speedy death, and -it is a wonder to some medical men that its use has not been made -available by assassins for their foul and deadly purposes. Tobacco has no -medicinal properties; it is simply known to chemists and physicians as a -poison. Its alkaloid, or active principle, is nicotine, a poison of so -deadly and instantaneous a nature as to rank with aconite, strychnine, and -prussic acid. Of the four, indeed, it takes the lead. In Taylor's "Medical -Jurisprudence," to which I have already referred, it is laid down at page -321, under the head of "Poisoning by Tobacco":-- - - The effects which this substance produces when taken in a large dose, - either in the form of powder or infusion, are well marked. The - symptoms are faintness, nausea, vomiting, giddiness, delirium, loss of - power in the limbs, general relaxation of the muscular system, - trembling, complete prostration of strength, coldness of the surface - with cold clammy perspiration, convulsive movements, paralysis and - death. In some cases there is purging, with violent pain in the - abdomen; in others there is rather a sense of sinking or depression in - the region of the heart, passing into syncope, or creating a sense of - impending dissolution. With the above-mentioned symptoms there is - dilatation of the pupils, dimness of sight with confusion of ideas, a - small, weak, and scarcely-perceptible pulse, and difficulty of - breathing. Poisoning by tobacco has not often risen to medico-legal - discussion. This is the more remarkable as it is an easily accessible - substance, and the possession of it would not, as in the case of other - poisons, excite surprise or suspicion. In June, 1854, a man was - charged with the death of an infant, of ten weeks, by poisoning it - with tobacco. He placed a quantity of tobacco in the mouth of the - infant, with the view, as he stated, of making it sleep. The infant - was completely narcotized, and died on the second day.... Tobacco owes - its poisonous properties to the presence of a liquid volatile - alkaloid, _nicotina_. - -Whilst under the head "Nicotine," on the same page, he says:-- - - This is a deadly poison, and, like prussic acid, it destroys life in - small doses with great rapidity. I found that a rabbit was killed by a - single drop in three minutes and a half. In fifteen seconds the animal - lost all power of standing, was violently convulsed in its fore and - hind legs, and its back was arched convulsively. - -In Dr. Ure's "Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures, and Mines," it is laid -down, at page 250, under the head of "Nicotine":-- - - This alkaloid is the active principle of the tobacco plant.... - Nicotine is a most powerful poison, one drop put on the tongue of a - large dog being sufficient to kill it in two or three minutes. - -So much for tobacco and its alkaloid as deadly poisons; yet we all know -that, unless indulged in to an inordinate extent, tobacco smoking is a -perfectly harmless practice, almost universally indulged in; the exception -now being to find a man, young or old, gentle or simple, who is not a -tobacco smoker. Most of our greatest thinkers, philosophers, poets, -statesmen, and mathematicians smoke it, and in most cases, I believe, with -advantage. Indulged in moderately, it does no injury to the constitution, -but I should rather say its effects are curative and beneficial; you will -rarely find a heavy tobacco smoker a drunkard or even a spirit drinker. -Yet this plant, which gives comfort and delight to millions of people, is -a deadly poison if taken internally in even a minute quantity in its -natural or manufactured state. So it is with opium; the habitual eating of -it may be injurious, but the smoking is not only innocuous, but positively -beneficial to the system. It is a complete preservative against dram -drinking and drunkenness, for whilst it produces similar but far more -agreeable effects on the nervous system than wine, it does not, like -alcohol, poison the blood, destroy the health, and lead to ruin, disgrace, -and death. Of course, opium-smoking, like every other luxury--tea, wine, -spirits, beer, tobacco--may be abused, but the few who indulge excessively -are infinitesimally small as compared with the many who abuse the use of -alcoholic liquors. As to opium eating, an overdose produces death, but the -opium smoker can indulge in his luxury from, morning till night without -any apparent injury. It is plain, therefore, that opium smoking and opium -eating cannot be classed in the same category at all, but stand apart -quite separately and distinctly. - -I may here again appropriately refer to Sir Wilfrid Lawson's speech at the -Anti-Opium meeting at Newcastle. In the course of his remarks, the speaker -referred with some humour to an Anti-Tobacco-smoking Society, a once -active organization. At a meeting of this body held at Carlisle, it -appears that the chief orator,--an energetic person, with wonderful powers -of imagination and a fluent tongue, quite another Mr. Storrs -Turner--having exhausted his power of vituperation in denouncing the -Virginian weed and its terrible effects upon its votaries, alleged in -particular that tobacco smoking tended to shorten human life, but here he -was interrupted by one of the audience, a jovial middle-aged north -countryman, who said, "I don't know that Mr. Lecturer, for my father -smoked till he was eighty!" "Ah!" exclaimed the other, quite equal, as he -thought, to the occasion, "your father's case was an exceptional one; he -was an unusually strong, healthy man. Anyone who sees you, his hale, -hearty son, must know that. Had he not been a tobacco smoker he would have -lived much longer." "I don't know that either," returned the countryman, -"for he is alive and well and still smokes tobacco." Now had Sir Wilfrid -delivered that speech at a meeting formed to protest against the theories -of the Anti-Tobacco Society, he would assuredly have scored; but, as -matters stood, I must claim his speech as one made in favour of my views -upon the opium question; for, to use a famous formula, I would say to the -honourable baronet, "Would you be surprised to hear that I can produce to -you, not only an aged father and son who are opium smokers, but a father, -son, and grandson all living who follow that practice, and have done so -all their lives without injury to health?" - -But enjoyable as tobacco smoking may be, I contend that, to the Asiatic at -least, opium smoking is not only a more agreeable but also a far more -beneficial practice. Tobacco has no curative properties, but is simply a -poison; opium is the most valuable medicine known; where all other -sedatives fail its powers are prominent. As an anodyne no other medicine -can equal it. There is one property peculiar to opium, that is that it is -non-volatilizable, or nearly so. If a piece of opium is put on a red-hot -plate, it will not volatilize; that is, it will not disappear in the form -of vapour, which by chemical means can be preserved in order to resume or -retain its original character. But it will be destroyed by combustion; the -heat will consume it in the same manner as it would destroy a piece of -sugar or any other non-volatilizable body; whereas a substance that is -volatilizable, like sulphur, on being subjected to the same process, -instead of being destroyed, is simply given out in vapour, and by proper -means may be caught again and reformed in the shape of sulphur. So when -you place opium into a pipe and put the pellet to the lamp, the effect of -the combustion is to destroy the active property of the opium; the smoker -takes the smoke thrown off into his mouth, which he expels either through -the mouth or nostrils. The only way, therefore, he can get any of the -active property of the opium into his system is by smoking it like -tobacco. Now tobacco, on the contrary, is volatilizable, but the poison is -so volatile, and escapes so freely through the bowl of the pipe in the -shape of vapour, and is so rapidly expelled from the mouth, that no harm -is produced by the process of smoking the deadly poison, the natural -recuperative power of the frame neutralizing the effects of the noisome -vapour. The difference between opium and tobacco smoking appears to be -this:--In the one case you take into your mouth the mere smoke of a -valuable aromatic drug, which, when passed into the stomach in proper -quantities as a medicine, has powerful curative properties, the smoke when -expelled leaving no substance behind it, but in its passage exerting a -pleasant and perfectly harmless stimulating effect upon the nerves. - -In the case of tobacco, the fumes with the volatilized substance of a foul -and poisonous weed having no curative properties whatever, and having the -most loathsome and offensive smell to those who have not gone through the -pain and misery necessary to accustom themselves to them, is taken into -the mouth. Nicotine, the alkaloid of tobacco, is simply a deadly and rapid -poison, useful only to the assassin. Morphia, the alkaloid of opium, is -only poisonous when taken in an excessive quantity; whether used -internally or injected under the skin, it is the most wonderful anodyne -and sedative known. I fully believe that, when medical men come to study -opium and opium smoking more fully, it will become the established opinion -of the faculty that opium smoking is not only perfectly harmless, but that -it is most beneficial, so that it may ultimately not only put down spirit -drinking, but perhaps supersede, to a great extent, tobacco. But few -medical men in this country have as yet made opium a special study. They -only know its use and properties as described in the British Pharmacopeia; -many even of those who have practised in the parts of India where the drug -is eaten do not, it seems, as yet fully understand all its properties. Dr. -Ayres himself admits that he was astonished after his arrival in Hong Kong -to find the great difference between the effects of smoking and eating the -drug. I may here remind my readers that we have, or had once, an -Anti-Tobacco-smoking Society, just as there is now an Anti-Opium-smoking -Society. The former had so many living evidences of the absurdities -alleged by its supporters against the use of tobacco, that the agitation -was laughed down and has either died a natural death or has only a -moribund and spasmodic existence; but had the place where the alleged -enormity of tobacco smoking was practised been Africa, I think the Society -would have died a much harder death, or at all events shown more vitality. -The Anti-Opium Society would have shared the same fate long ago were it -not that the scene of all the alleged evils is China, ten thousand miles -away, and the witnesses against their absurd allegations live the same -distance from us. But still, believe me, the Anti-Opium Society's days are -numbered: it is doomed, and, like the Anti-Tobacco craze, will be numbered -soon amongst the things that were. I flatter myself that in the delivery -and publication of these lectures I have given the agitation a heavy blow -and great discouragement. - -I had some time ago the advantage of reading a very interesting and -remarkable letter in the "Times" by Sir George Birdwood, to whom I have -already referred; he has had more than fourteen years' experience in India -as a medical man, and has made the opium question a special study. I think -his testimony is worth a great deal more than that of any layman, however -learned or talented; the one has both theoretical and practical knowledge -of his subject, the other at best is only a theorist. Believe me, the -Roman poet knew human nature well when he said, "Trust the man who has -experience of facts." The paper, which is a learned and interesting one, -is too long to read, but here is an extract from it:-- - - My readers can judge for themselves from the authorities I have - indicated; but the opinion I have come to from them and my own - experience is, that opium is used in Asia in a similar way to alcohol - in Europe, and that, considering the natural craving and popular - inclination for, and the ecclesiastical toleration of it and its - general beneficial effects, and the absence of any resulting evil, - there is just as much justification for the habitual use of opium in - moderation as for the moderate use of alcohol, and indeed far more. - - Sir Benjamin Brodie is always quoted as the most distinguished - professional opponent of the dietetical use of opium; but what are his - words (_Psychological Enquiries_, p. 248):--"The effect of opium when - taken into the stomach is not to stimulate, but to soothe the nervous - system. It may be otherwise in some instances, but these are rare - exceptions to the general rule. The opium eater is in a passive state, - satisfied with his own dreamy condition while under the influence of - the drug. He is useless but not mischievous. It is quite otherwise - with alcoholic liquors." Opium smoking, which is the Chinese form of - using the drug--for which the Indian Government is specially held - responsible--is, to say the least in its favour, an infinitely milder - indulgence. As already mentioned, I hold it to be absolutely harmless. - I do not place it simply in the same category with even tobacco - smoking, for tobacco smoking may, in itself, if carried into excess, - be injurious, particularly to young people under twenty-five; but I - mean that opium smoking in itself is as harmless as smoking - willow-bark or inhaling the smoke of a peat-fire or vapour of boiling - water.... I have not seen Surgeon-General Moore's recent paper on - opium in the _Indian Medical Gazette_, but I gather from a notice of - it quoted from the _Calcutta Englishman_, in the _Homeward Mail_ of - the 14th of November last, that it supplies a most exhaustive and able - vindication of the perfect morality of the revenue derived by the - Indian Government from the manufacture and sale of opium to the - Chinese. He quotes from Dr. Ayres, of Hong Kong: "No China resident - believes in the terrible frequency of the dull, sodden-witted, - debilitated opium smoker met with in print;" and from Consul Lay:--"In - China the spendthrift, the man of lewd habits, the drunkard, and a - large assortment of bad characters, slide into the opium smoker; hence - the drug seems chargeable with all the vices of the country." Mr. - Gregory, Her Majesty's Consul at Swatow, says Dr. Moore never saw a - single case of opium intoxication, though living for months and - travelling for hundreds of miles among opium smokers. Dr. Moore - directly confirms my own statement of the Chinese having been great - drunkards of alcohol before they took to smoking opium. I find also a - remarkable collection of folk-lore (_Strange Stories from a Chinese - Studio_, by Herbert A. Giles), evidence in almost every chapter of the - universal drinking habits of the Chinese before the introduction of - opium among them, notwithstanding that the use of alcohol is opposed - to the cardinal precepts of Buddhism. What Dr. Moore says of the - freedom of opium smokers from bronchial thoracic diseases is deserving - of the deepest consideration. I find that, on the other hand, the - Chinese converts to Christianity suffer greatly from consumption. The - missionaries will not allow them to smoke, and, as they also forbid - their marrying while young, after the wise custom, founded on an - experience of thousands of years of their country, they fall into - those depraved, filthy habits, of which consumption is everywhere the - inexorable witness and scourge. When spitting of blood comes on, the - opium pipe is its sole alleviation. - -Now Dr. Birdwood is not only well informed upon the opium question, but is -certainly one of the ablest opponents of the Anti-Opium agitation who has -yet appeared. His letters in the "Times" created quite a sensation, and so -alarmed Mr. Storrs Turner that he left no means untried to neutralize -their effects. At this point a bright idea occurred to him. Finding that -there was a general consensus of opinion against him amongst English -medical men and other competent authorities that the outcry against opium -was groundless, he hit upon the brilliant expedient of discrediting them -all, by the assertion that Englishmen are so prejudiced that they are not -to be believed. This is what he says on the subject in his famous article -in the _Nineteenth Century_ having in a previous passage imagined a case -in which China was the plaintiff and Great Britain the defendant:-- - - The baneful effects of the opium vice are established by universal - experience. One may apply to it the theological maxim _Quod semper - quod ubique, quod ab omnibus_. Two considerations will show that the - opposition of a few dissentient voices does not detract from the - general conclusion. Most of these are quite clear on the point that - opium is bad for everybody but Chinese. They would be horrified at the - suggestion that opium should be freely used in England and approve the - efforts or supposed efforts of the Indian Government to keep it out of - the way of the natives of India. On another point these dissentients - are all alike; _every one of them is prejudiced in favour of the - defendant in the case before us. They are all Englishmen._ No French - or German medical man, no single Chinese authority has been quoted to - testify to the innocence of opium. Some of these apologists are opium - merchants, who aver that the drug by which they make their wealth is a - boon and a blessing to China; or it is a gentleman employed in the - India Office who considers opium smoking as safe as "twiddling one's - thumbs." - -Could the force of folly or fanaticism go further than that? All -Englishmen are prejudiced. I wonder, did it ever occur to Mr. Storrs -Turner that _he_, being an Englishman, might be a little prejudiced -also--on the other side of the question. Yes; Dr. Ayres, Dr. Eatwell, -Surgeon-General Moore, Dr. Birdwood, and a host of other eminent medical -men standing in the front rank of their profession, Sir Rutherford -Alcock, Mr. Colborne Baber, Mr. W. Donald Spence, and others are not to be -believed--because they are Englishmen! Were they Germans or Frenchmen, -they would, of course, be entitled to the fullest credence. Like the -priest and prophet of Crete, Mr. Storrs Turner holds that all his -countrymen are liars.[8] But, stay, do I not remember that gentleman's -holding a select conference of English medical men, about October 1882, -when certain resolutions were drawn up condemnatory of opium? Surely, yes. -The invitations were issued by the Earl of Shaftesbury. I should like to -ask Mr. Storrs Turner were the medical and other gentlemen then present -Englishmen or foreigners? If I do not greatly err they were _all_ -Englishmen. Does Mr. Storrs Turner consider those gentlemen worthy of -credit? I rather think he does: so that Mr. Turner's creed runs thus: -"Englishmen are to be believed so long as they agree with me on the opium -question. When they differ from me on that subject they are not to be -believed at all." Mr. Turner is fond of treating his readers to -theological maxims. I will now give him a legal one which, I think, is -applicable to his case. It runs thus, translated into plain English: "_He -is not to be heard who alleges things contrary to each other_." Of course, -the reader has seen that Mr. Turner's sneer at "the gentleman employed in -the India Office," is at Sir George Birdwood, whose pungent articles in -the _Times_ have inflicted such damage on his cause, and whose efforts in -the interests of common sense and truth he would wish to suppress. - -As Mr. Turner's tastes are exotic, I will furnish him now with some -_foreign_ testimony that may perhaps astonish him. For many years previous -to 1858, Don Sinibaldo de Mas had been the Envoy-Extraordinary and -Minister Plenipotentiary of the Court of Spain at Pekin. That nobleman had -travelled much in China, India, Java, Borneo, and Malacca, having learned -the Chinese language the better to enable him to utilize his travels in -those places. In 1858 he published a book[9] in the French language on -China and the Chinese, making special reference to the opium question, to -which he has devoted one very interesting chapter exclusively. The book -was brought out in Paris, and has never, that I am aware of, been -translated into English. Now about the last person from whom one would -expect to obtain testimony of the kind is a Spaniard. Yet so it is. This -book of Don Sinibaldo de Mas is, indeed, one of the most powerful -vindications of British policy in India and China that has yet been -written. I hardly think even Mr. Storrs Turner can accuse this gentleman -of partiality, or object to his testimony as being influenced by personal -motives. This is part of what he says on the subject:-- - - I may say, in the first instance, that personally neither as a private - individual nor as a public functionary have I ever been in the - slightest degree interested in this (opium) trade, for be it noted - that Spanish vessels have never imported into China a single chest of - opium. I consequently approach this subject with complete - impartiality. I have known the Chinese at Calcutta, Singapore, Penang, - Malacca, Manila, and in many parts of their own country, where I - acquired a sufficient knowlege of the Chinese language to enable me to - converse with the natives and make myself fully acquainted with the - opium question, which I believe I understand, and may be considered - thoroughly unbiassed in my opinions. - - Opium has been preached against and denounced as a veritable poison, - and it has been looked upon as a crime in those who have made the drug - an object of commerce or gain. A memorial embodying those views, - signed by many missionaries and supported by the Earl of Chichester, - was presented to Queen Victoria. A meeting was also held in London, - composed of philanthropic gentlemen, presided over by the Earl of - Shaftesbury, when a petition to the Queen embodying the same object - was drawn up; this document I shall refer to more particularly later - on. Lastly, some members of the House of Lords and Commons spoke - against the sale of opium. On the other hand, Christian merchants - established in China, many men of eminence, such as Sir J. F. Davis - and others of the highest respectability, have maintained that the - smoking of this drug has less deletorious effects than the use of - fermented liquors. I will endeavour to explain this question in all - good faith and impartiality. In the maritime towns of India, Malacca, - Java, the Philippines, Borneo, and Sooloo the Chinese are at liberty - to smoke opium where and when they please, and can buy it cheaper than - they can in Canton or Shanghai, not to mention the inland towns: yet - it is a well-known fact that in all these countries, notwithstanding - their unwholesome climates, the opium-smoking Chinese are remarkably - healthy and strong. These very opium smokers are employed as farm - labourers, masons, and porters, enduring great fatigue and performing - the most arduous labours; they have acquired such an excellent - reputation as colonists that efforts have been made during the last - few years to induce them to settle in Lima and Cuba. The percentage of - deaths amongst these people does not exceed the usual rate, and I must - confess that having known numbers of Chinese emigrants in the various - countries I have mentioned, I have never heard of a single death or of - any serious illness having been caused by opium smoking. - - It was only on my first arrival in China that I was made aware of the - dire effects this narcotic is said to produce, and that the vapour - inhaled by opium smokers was designated a poison; _I must add that in - none of the different parts of China which I have visited has it come - to my knowledge that death has resulted from opium smoking_. Having - asked several natives whom I thought worthy of credence whether they - had ever heard of a death having occurred from the habit, they - answered me that it might have happened to a very inordinate smoker, - but only in the event of his being suddenly deprived of the - indulgence. One Chinaman related how he had witnessed such a case. He - had known an inveterate opium smoker who had become extremely poor, - and was found insensible and almost lifeless; some good-natured person - passing by puffed some fumes of opium into his mouth, which - immediately seemed to revive him, and enabled him shortly to smoke a - pipe himself, which most effectually recalled him to life. I admit - that opium is in itself a poison, but let me ask what changes does not - fire produce in the various substances which it consumes? - -I should like to know what does Mr. Storrs Turner think of that. Here is a -highly-educated Spanish gentleman, speaking Chinese well, living amongst -the natives, studying their habits, especially as regards their use of the -opium pipe, declaring that the practice is innocuous. Now, supposing that -instead of smoking opium these Chinese in Malacca, Java, Borneo, and the -Philippines were addicted to the habitual use of spirits, wine, or even -beer, instead of opium, can any intelligent being suppose for a moment -that they would be the patient, strong, healthy, hard-working people that -Don Sinibaldo De Mas found them, and which they still are? - -Let us refer to Mr. W. Donald Spence's testimony as to the _effects_ of -opium. I quote again from his Report of the trade of Ichang for 1881:-- - - As to the effect of this habit on the people, amongst whom it is so - widespread, there is but one opinion. Baron Richthofen, the most - experienced traveller who ever visited Szechuan, after noticing the - extraordinary prevalence of the habit, says:--"In no other province - except Hunan did I find the effects of the use of opium so little - perceptible as in Szechuan." Mr. Colborne Baber, who knows more of the - province and its people than any living Englishman, says: _Nowhere in - China are the people so well off, or so hardy, and nowhere do they - smoke so much opium_. To these names of weight I add my own short - experience. I found the people of Szechuan stout, able-bodied men, - better housed, clad, and fed, and healthier looking than the Chinese - of the Lower Yang-tsze. I did not see amongst them more emaciated - faces and wasted forms than disease causes in all lands. People with - slow wasting diseases such as consumption are, if they smoke opium, - apt to be classed amongst the "ruined victims" of hasty observers, and - amongst the cases of combined debility and opium smoking I saw, some - were, by their own account, _pseudo_-victims of this type. There were - some, too, whose health was completely sapped by smoking combined with - other forms of sensual excess. And no doubt there were others weakened - by excessive smoking simply, for excess in all things has its penalty. - But the general health and well-being of the Szechuan community is - remarkable; to their capacity for work and endurance of hardship, as - well as to the material comforts of life they surround themselves - with, all travellers bear enthusiastic testimony. - -Now, allow me to ask the reader, can he suppose for a moment that if the -people of Szechuan were prone to spirits, or even to beer drinking, in the -same way as they are given to opium smoking, should we have the same -results? Would those people be "so well off and so hardy," so stout, -able-bodied, and so much "better housed, clad, and fed, and healthier -looking than the Chinese of the Lower Yang-tsze?" I think not. What, then, -is the fair conclusion to draw from such a state of things? Why, only that -opium smoking is a harmless if not a beneficial practice, unless when -indulged in to an inordinate extent, which, it is now plain, is entirely -exceptional. I think I am not far from the truth in saying that for one -excessive opium smoker to be met with in China you will find in this -country a hundred cases, at the least, of excessive indulgence in -alcohol--the effects of this being incurable, whilst it is quite otherwise -as regards excessive indulgence in opium. The inference, then, I think, is -that so far as regards any evil effects from opium smoking, they are out -of the range of practical politics and should be relegated to the region -of sentiment alone. - -I will now give you a passage from a valuable work by the learned Dr. J. -L. W. Thudichum, Lecturer to St. George's Hospital,[10] which will throw -a good deal of light upon this part of my subject. At pp. 88 and 89 of the -second volume he says:-- - - The medical uses of opium have been so well known through all - historical times that it is a matter for surprise to find that they - are not better appreciated in the present day. In this, as in many - other matters, we are in fact only gradually emerging from the - condition of those dark times during which, amongst many good things, - the knowledge of opium, for example, was lost.... These and other - considerations led me to look about for a more convenient mode of - producing the effects of morphia without its inconveniences or even - dangers. I know from the experiments of Descharmes and Benard (_Compt. - Rend._, 40, 34) that in opium-smoking a portion of the morphia is - volatilized and undecomposed, and I therefore experimentalized with - the pyrolytic vapours of opium, first upon myself, then upon others; - and when I had made myself fully acquainted with the Chinese method of - using the drug, I came to the conviction that here one of the most - interesting therapeutical problems had been solved in the most - ingenious and at the same time in the most safe manner. I held in my - hand a power well-known and used largely by Eastern races, yet its use - neglected, ignored, denounced, and despised by the entire Western - world. - -In other and non-professional words, Dr. Thudichum has found opium smoking -not only harmless but a valuable curative practice. - -As to Chinese evidence on this question I could, had I thought proper, -have adduced the testimony of some really trustworthy Chinese merchants -and traders, which would have fully borne out all that I have stated as to -the innocuous effects of opium smoking. I have refrained from doing so, -because such evidence, however strong and reliable, would, I feel assured, -be impugned as untrustworthy by the agents of the Anti-Opium Society and -missionaries, who on their part would, no doubt, in the best faith and -with good intentions, I admit, bring out counter testimony of so-called -Christian converts and other natives of a wholly unreliable character. One -of these persons, called Kwong Ki Chiu, styling himself "late a member of -the Chinese Educational Commission in the United States," has written, or -purported to have written, from Hartford, in Connecticut, a letter on this -question to the _London and China Telegraph_. The statements in this -document are exaggerated, misleading, and, in many respects, actually -untrue. I doubt very much if the letter was ever, in fact, written by a -Chinaman at all, and suspect it was produced either here in London by some -agent or advocate of the Anti-Opium Society and forwarded to Mr. Kwong Ki -Chiu for signature, or that it was written by some American missionary. At -any rate, it is plain that the writer has no real knowledge of the subject -of his letter. To prove this is so it is only necessary to refer to one -passage, in which the writer proceeds to show that opium is to a beginner -more alluring than tobacco or spirits. He says:-- - - There is this also to be said as to the difference between the two - stimulants: opium is much the more stimulating, and therefore more - dangerous. It is also much more agreeable and fascinating. Not every - person likes the taste of liquor; the flavour of tobacco is agreeable - to very few persons at first: _but everyone, of whatever nationality, - finds the fragrance of the smoking opium agreeable and tempting, so - that I have no doubt that if opium shops were opened in London as in - China, the habit would soon become prevalent even among Englishmen_. - -Now this is not true. Every foreigner who has lived in China knows it to -be quite the opposite. During my long residence in Hong Kong I have never -known a single instance of an Englishman, or any other foreigner, being an -opium smoker, although I have met with many who had smoked a few pipes by -way of experiment. All have assured me that the vapour was nauseous, and -produced no pleasurable sensations whatever. The fact that Europeans -dislike the fumes of opium, and never indulge in the opium pipe, shows -that Mr. Kwong Ki Chiu, who has doubtless been since his childhood under -missionary tutelage, and therefore interdicted from the use of the drug, -knows nothing reliable upon the subject he writes about so glibly. At a -proper time and place, I should be prepared to treat Mr. Storrs Turner to -such native testimony upon this subject as would make him open his eyes -very wide and put him and his disciples to confusion and flight. - -Let me now give you an extract from a despatch of Sir Henry Pottinger, -formerly Her Majesty's Governor-General and Minister Plenipotentiary in -China, written by him some fifty years ago to the Principal Secretary of -State for Foreign Affairs. It is very important, showing, as it does, the -pains that have been taken by Her Majesty's Government at home and her -representatives in China so long ago to ascertain if there were any truth -in the theory that opium smoking was injurious to the health and morals of -the Chinese:-- - - I cannot admit in any manner the idea adopted by many persons that the - introduction of opium into China is a source of unmitigated evil of - every kind and a cause of misery. Personally, I have been unable to - discover a single case of this kind, although, I admit that, when - abused opium may become most hurtful. Besides, the same remark applies - to every kind of enjoyment when carried to excess; but from personal - observations, since my arrival in China, from information taken upon - all points, and lastly, from what the Mandarins themselves say, I am - convinced that the demoralization and ruin which some persons - attribute to the use of opium, arise more likely from imperfect - knowledge of the subject and exaggeration, and that not one-hundredth - part of the evil arises in China from opium smoking, which one sees - daily arising in England as well as in India from the use of ardent - spirits so largely taken in excess in those countries. - -I may now appropriately give you the promised extract from De Quincey's -_Confessions_. I recommend it to the notice of Sir Wilfrid Lawson. The -distinction which he draws between alcoholic intoxication and the -excitement produced by opium eating is instructive and entertaining. He -says:-- - - Two of these tendencies I will mention as diagnostic, or - characteristic and inseparable marks of ordinary alcoholic - intoxication, but which no excess in the use of opium ever develops. - One is the loss of self-command, in relation to all one's acts and - purposes, which steals gradually (though with varying degrees of - speed) over _all_ persons indiscriminately when indulging in wine or - distilled liquors beyond a certain limit. The tongue and other organs - become unmanageable: the intoxicated man speaks inarticulately; and, - with regard to certain words, makes efforts ludicrously earnest yet - oftentimes unavailing, to utter them. The eyes are bewildered, and see - double; grasping too little, and too much. The hand aims awry. The - legs stumble and lose their power of _concurrent_ action. To this - result _all_ people tend, though by varying rates of acceleration. - Secondly, as another characteristic, it may be noticed that, in - alcoholic intoxication, the movement is always along a kind of arch; - the drinker rises through continual ascents to a summit or _apex_, - from which he descends through corresponding steps of declension. - There is a crowning point in the movement upwards, which once attained - cannot be renewed; and it is the blind, unconscious, but always - unsuccessful effort of the obstinate drinker to restore this supreme - altitude of enjoyment which tempts him into excesses that become - dangerous. After reaching this _acme_ of genial pleasure, it is a mere - necessity of the case to sink through corresponding stages of - collapse. Some people have maintained, in my hearing, that they had - been drunk upon green tea; and a medical student in London, for whose - knowledge in his profession I have reason to feel great respect, - assured me, the other day, that a patient, in recovering from an - illness, had got drunk on a beef-steak. All turns, in fact, upon a - rigorous definition of intoxication. - - Having dwelt so much on this first and leading error in respect to - opium, I shall notice briefly a second and a third; which are, that - the elevation of spirits produced by opium is necessarily followed by - a proportionate depression, and that the natural and even immediate - consequence of opium is torpor and stagnation, animal as well as - mental. The first of these errors I shall content myself with simply - denying; assuring my reader, that for ten years, during which I took - opium, not regularly, but intermittingly, the day succeeding to that - on which I allowed myself this luxury was always a day of unusually - good spirits. - - With respect to the torpor supposed to follow, or rather (if we were - to credit the numerous pictures of Turkish opium-eaters) to accompany, - the practice of opium-eating, I deny that also. Certainly, opium is - classed under the head of narcotics, and some such effect it may - produce in the end; but the primary effects of opium are always, and - in the highest degree, to excite and stimulate the system. This first - stage of its action always lasted with me, during my novitiate, for - upwards of eight hours; so that it must be the fault of the - opium-eater himself, if he does not so time his exhibition of the - dose, as that the whole weight of its narcotic influence may descend - upon his sleep. - - First, then, it is not so much affirmed, as taken for granted, by all - who ever mention opium, formally or incidentally, that it does or can - produce intoxication. Now, reader, assure yourself, _meo periculo_, - that no quantity of opium ever did, or could, intoxicate. As to the - tincture of opium (commonly called laudanum), _that_ might certainly - intoxicate, if a man could bear to take enough of it; but why? Because - it contains so much proof spirits of wine, and not because it contains - so much opium. But crude opium, I affirm peremptorily, is incapable of - producing any state of body at all resembling that which is produced - by alcohol; and not in _degree_ only incapable, but even in _kind_; it - is not in the quantity of its effects merely, but in the quality, that - it differs altogether. The pleasure given by wine is always rapidly - mounting, and tending to a crisis, after which as rapidly it declines; - that from opium, when once generated, is stationary for eight or ten - hours: the first, to borrow a technical distinction from medicine, is - a case of acute, the second of chronic, pleasure; the one is a - flickering flame, the other a steady and equable glow. But the main - distinction lies in this--that, whereas wine disorders the mental - faculties, opium, on the contrary (if taken in a proper manner), - introduces amongst them the most exquisite order, legislation, and - harmony. Wine robs a man of his self-possession; opium sustains and - reinforces it. Wine unsettles the judgment, and gives a preternatural - brightness and a vivid exaltation to the contempts and the - admirations, to the loves and the hatreds, of the drinker; opium, on - the contrary, communicates serenity and equipoise to all the - faculties, active or passive; and, with respect to the temper and - moral feelings in general, it gives simply that sort of vital warmth - which is approved by the judgment, and which would probably always - accompany a bodily constitution of primeval or antediluvian health. - Thus, for instance, opium, like wine, gives an expansion to the heart - and the benevolent affections; but, then, with this remarkable - difference, that in the sudden development of kind-heartedness which - accompanies inebriation, there is always more or less of a maudlin and - a transitory character, which exposes it to the contempt of the - bystander. Men shake hands, swear eternal friendship, and shed - tears--no mortal knows why; and the animal nature is clearly - uppermost. But the expansion of the benigner feelings incident to - opium is no febrile access, no fugitive paroxysm; it is a healthy - restoration to that state which the mind would naturally recover upon - the removal of any deep-seated irritation from pain that had disturbed - and quarrelled with the impulses of a heart originally just and good. - True it is, that even wine, up to a certain point, and with certain - men, rather tends to exalt and to steady the intellect; I myself, who - have never been a great wine-drinker, used to find that half-a-dozen - glasses of wine advantageously affected the faculties, brightened and - intensified the consciousness, and gave to the mind a feeling of being - "ponderibus librata suis," and certainly it is most absurdly said, in - popular language, of any man, that he is _disguised_ in liquor; for, - on the contrary, most men are disguised by sobriety, and exceedingly - disguised; and it is when they are drinking that men display - themselves in their true complexion of character; which surely is not - disguising themselves. But still, wine constantly leads a man to the - brink of absurdity and extravagance; and, beyond a certain point, it - is sure to volatilise and to disperse the intellectual energies; - whereas opium always seems to compose what had been agitated and to - concentrate what had been distracted. In short, to sum up all in one - word, a man who is inebriated, or tending to inebriation, is, and - feels that he is, in a condition which calls up into supremacy the - merely human, too often the brutal, part of his nature; but the - opium-eater (I speak of him simply _as_ such, and assume that he is in - a normal state of health) feels that the diviner part of his nature is - paramount--that is, the moral affections are in a state of cloudless - serenity; and high over all the great light of the majestic intellect. - - This is the doctrine of the true church on the subject of opium, of - which church I acknowledge myself to be the Pope (consequently - infallible), and self-appointed _legate à latere_ to all degrees of - latitude and longitude. But then it is to be recollected that I speak - from the ground of a large and profound personal experience, whereas - most of the unscientific authors who have at all treated of opium, and - even of those who have written professionally on the _materia medica_, - make it evident, by the horror they express of it, that their - experimental knowledge of its action is none at all. - -I have now dealt with fallacies 1, 2, 3, and 5. The fourth Mr. Turner -gravely states in his book--and I am perfectly sure it is accepted as -seriously by his fellowers, _that the supply of opium regulates the -demand, and not the demand the supply_. He says at pp. 152, 153:-- - - Defenders of the [opium] policy vainly strive to shelter it behind the - ordinary operation of the trade laws of demand and supply. The - operation of these economic laws does not divest of responsibility - those who set them in motion at either end; for though it would be - absurd to speak of supply as alone creative of demand, _there is no - question but that an abundant and constantly sustained supply - increases demand whenever the article is not one of absolute - necessity_. When silk came by caravans across Central Asia, and a - single robe was worth its weight in gold in Europe, the shining fabric - was reserved for emperors and nobles, and no demand could be said to - exist for it among common people, whereas now the abundant supply - creates a demand among all classes but the very poorest. The - maid-servant who covets a silk dress may be literally said to have had - the demand _created_ in her case, by the ample supply of the material - which places it constantly before her eyes and renders it impossible - for her to obtain it. Only a few years ago there was no demand for - newspapers amongst multitudes who are now daily or weekly purchasers - of them. In this case the supply of penny and halfpenny journals may - be fairly said to have almost alone created the demand. Such - illustrations might be indefinitely multiplied. - -After that it may be said that the Birmingham jewellers and Manchester -merchants have only to send out to China any amount they please of their -wares, and they will find a ready market, the more the merrier. All their -goods will be taken off their hands; they will only have to take care that -the prices shall not be too exorbitant, for otherwise, as in the case of -the maid-servant, though the Chinese working classes may have helped to -_create_ the demand, they would be unable to avail themselves of the -supply. If that doctrine were sound, a mercantile firm could create as -extensive a trade as it desired, and that, too, in any part of the world. -Instead of sending out fifty thousand pounds worth this year, as it did -last, it would have only to export ten times the amount, and still the -demand would continue. The fact is, as every man well knows who is not -blinded by enthusiasm and looks at the subject by the light of cool reason -and common sense, that the effect of sending to China or elsewhere an -excessive quantity of merchandise, even though such merchandise were in -request there, would have the effect of glutting the market. It is only -where the demand exists, and the desire to possess the article, or where -the people want a particular class of thing, that the goods can be readily -and profitably disposed of. I am sure that if we sent double the quantity -of opium that we do to China, or, indeed, three times the amount, it would -be readily bought up by the natives, because there is a great demand there -for Indian opium, owing to its superior strength and better flavour. And -it must be remembered that China is a vast empire, and that the natives -cannot get as much of the Indian drug as they want. I had an opportunity -recently of speaking to a German gentleman established here in London, who -has been many years in the opium trade generally, who has made opium quite -a study, tasting and smelling it, as wine merchants do their wine, and he -declares that Indian opium has a perfume and aroma that is not found in -the Chinese or Persian drug, and that, in fact, the smell of the one is -comparatively agreeable, while that of the others is offensive. This, I -believe, is one of the reasons for the Chinese liking Indian opium. For my -own part I must say, that much as I dislike the odour of tobacco, I have a -greater aversion still to the effluvium of opium in any form or shape, and -I think this is also the case with all Europeans. In fact, opium smoking -is a practice peculiar to China. - -Nothing proves this so completely as the correspondence between Sir Robert -Hart and his various Sub-Commissioners of Customs, as set out in the -Yellow-Book to which I have so often referred. These Commissioners say -that the Indian drug is almost invariably used to mix with the Chinese -article to flavour and make it, so to speak, the more palatable. The -proposition which Mr. Storrs Turner lays down is simply preposterous, and -cannot for a moment be sustained. I do not wish to utter an offensive word -towards that gentleman personally, whose talents and energy are -unquestionable, and whom I hold in great esteem. Upon any subject but -opium he would be incapable of writing anything but sound sense, but -having opium on the brain, he starts theories that are wholly -unsustainable, which, I am sorry to say, his devoted followers accept as -gospel. But to return to the theory that supply creates the demand. By way -of illustration, Mr. Turner goes on to show that, previous to the removal -of the duty on newspapers, there were very few in the country, but that -the moment the duty was taken off, they multiplied, which he considers -proof that in this case the supply created the demand. That is most -fallacious. The demand for newspapers always existed, but, unfortunately, -owing to the oppressive taxes upon knowledge to which the press in former -times was subjected, the supply was limited. In those days even a weekly -newspaper was a great undertaking. An enterprising man in a country town -might start such a paper, but after a lingering existence it was almost -sure to die, not for want of readers, but because it was so heavily taxed -that readers could not afford to buy it, the price then being necessarily -high. First there was a penny duty on each copy of the newspaper. Next -there was a duty of so much the pound upon the raw material, which had to -be paid before it left the mill; and then there was a further duty upon -every advertisement; so that the unfortunate newspaper proprietor was met -with exactions on every side. A copy, even though an old one, of the -_Times_, or of any of the London morning papers, was in former days -eagerly sought for. In his "Deserted Village," Goldsmith, describing the -village ale-house, says:-- - - Where village statesmen talked with wit profound, - And news much older than their ale went round. - -And one can imagine an eager group in that ale-house trying to get a -glimpse of a London newspaper over the shoulders of the privileged holder. -But when these oppressive duties were removed, a different state of things -prevailed. The cost of starting and manufacturing a newspaper was reduced -to about one-fifth of what it was formerly. Every considerable town had -its daily and its weekly newspaper, because the demand had always existed, -whilst, owing to these prohibitive taxes, there was no supply. The craving -for news had always been present, and the moment these prohibitive duties -were struck off, the ambitious editor, or proprietor, saw his opportunity -and started a paper, not because the supply would create a demand, but -because he knew the demand already existed, and he printed just as many as -he thought he would find readers for, and no more. Had he printed more -than was required the excess would have lain on his hands as so much waste -paper. But according to Mr. Turner's theory, the more newspapers he -printed the more he would have sold! It will at once be recognised that -this theory of supply and demand is simply absurd. If it could be shown to -hold water for a moment, China, and other countries also, would be -inundated with articles that never were seen there before. There would be -no reason why China should not be largely supplied with ladies' bonnets -and satin shoes, which, we know, might lie there for a thousand years and -never be used. I have brought before you this notable theory of Mr. Storrs -Turner's, to show you the utterly worthless kind of arguments with which -the British public have been supplied, in order to support the silly, -unfounded, and most mischievous agitation against the Indo-China opium -trade. - -The next fallacy is number six, namely: _that all, or nearly all, who -smoke opium are either inordinate smokers or necessarily in the way of -becoming so; and that once the custom has been commenced it cannot be -dropped, and that the consumption daily increases_. That is not so at all. -It is altogether exceptional to find an inordinate opium smoker; my -reasons for saying so I have already given. I am supported in those views -by every English resident in China, amongst them by Dr. Ayres, whose -authority is simply unquestionable, and whose opinion on the point I have -set out at page 7. I have known hundreds of men who were in the daily -habit of smoking opium after business hours, and they never showed any -decadence whatever. Opium smoking is never practised during business -hours, except by very aged people or the criminal classes. This is an -absolute fact. The Chinese are too wise and thrifty to while away their -time in such luxurious practices during working hours. The opium pipe, as -a rule, is indulged in more moderately than wine or cigars are with us, -the Chinese being so extremely abstemious in their habits. I never saw any -such instances of over-indulgence as Mr. Turner alleges, and I could get -hundreds of European witnesses out in China and here in London who would -depose to the same fact. Frequently have I compared the small shop-keeping -and working people of China with the same classes here at home as regards -sobriety, industry, and frugality, and always, I regret to say, in favour -of the Chinese. - -It is absolutely untrue, as put forward by the Anti-Opium Society and -their secretary, Mr. Turner, that opium is so fascinating that, once a man -begins to use it, he cannot leave it off; natives will smoke it, on and -off, for two or three days, and not smoke it again for a week or more; but -the truth is, the habit is a pleasant and beneficial one, and few who can -afford it desire to discontinue smoking. The fact undoubtedly is, that if -opium smoking were productive of the terrible results that the -missionaries and the Anti-Opium Society allege, China would not be the -densely-populated country that it now actually is. China could not have -held its own as it has done so long and so successfully had all the people -been addicted to such a vice as dram drinking. The true way to look at -this aspect of the case is to suppose for a moment that, instead of being -"opium sots," as Mr. Storrs Turner puts it, the Chinese, "everywhere in -China, in all climates and all soils, in every variety of condition and -circumstance throughout the vast Empire," to adopt that gentleman's own -language, drank spirits freely. Should we then have the Chinese the -hard-working, industrious, thrifty, frugal people that we find them? I -trow not. Intemperance carries with it the destruction of its votaries, -but no baneful consequences attend opium smoking. Some thirty years ago, -as Sir Rutherford Alcock tells us, an American missionary declared that -there were twenty millions of opium smokers in China--all, no doubt, -induced to that immorality by the British Government and people--and that -two millions were dying annually from the effects of the vice! This -monstrous tale was implicitly believed in by Lords Shaftesbury and -Chichester. Yet we now have a Chinese official, Sir Robert Hart, -deliberately telling the Government of China, in his official Yellow Book, -that there are but two millions of smokers in the whole Empire; that -Indian opium supplies but a moderate quantity of the drug to but half of -that number; and that neither the health, wealth, nor prosperity of the -people suffers in consequence. - -This is what Don Sinibaldo de Mas says upon the subject:-- - - The most extraordinary of the advocates of the opium trade is the Earl - of Shaftesbury, President of the Committee organized in London for the - suppression of the traffic. I have not the slightest doubt as to the - _bona fides_ and excellent heart of the noble lord. There is something - grand and generous in entering the lists for the welfare and - protection of a distant and foreign nation, and manfully fighting for - it against the interests of one's own country and one's native land. I - sincerely admire men of such mettle and the country which can produce - them, but I regret that Lord Shaftesbury did not act with greater - caution, and that before entering upon this question he had not - studied it more carefully; especially do I regret that he did not - adopt a more moderate and dignified tone in the expression of his - opinions. Had he done so, he would have saved himself from the - reproach of having lent his name and sanction to a document disfigured - by statistical errors, some of which are opposed to common sense, and - also of having given gratuitous and undeserved insults to others who - differed from his opinions. - - He argues in his statement to the Queen's Government that opium - smoking annually kills two millions of people in China. How is it - possible that the noble Earl could for a moment imagine that every - year so many human beings voluntarily commit suicide! Two millions of - adults who destroy themselves to enjoy a pleasure! Does it not strike - His Lordship how absurd is such an antithesis as pleasure and death? - Can he believe that human nature in China is different to what it is - in Europe? Is it logical to give publicity to such strange assertions - without adducing the slightest proofs. If we inquire into the - accusations brought forward against the merchants and growers of - opium, we find the same discrepancy and the same injustice. It is a - mistake to imagine that the English alone trade in opium, for all - foreigners alike, especially the Americans, introduce and sell it. - - Lord Shaftesbury, in speaking of the value of the opium imported into - China, says that the merchants "rob" the Chinese. I scarcely know - which is the funnier, the idea expressed by the noble Earl, or the way - in which he expresses it. I can assure His Lordship that amongst the - merchants who make opium their business there are men of the highest - integrity, perfect and most accomplished gentlemen, who not only are - incapable of "stealing" anything, but who are equal to any living men - in noble sentiments, justice, and practical benevolence; I need only - mention one man, and do so because he is not now living. I refer to - the late Mr. Launcelot Dent, who, during a most trying and critical - time when this question first arose, was considered one of the most - interested men in the opium trade.... Everyone who has been in China - knows the generosity and the charity for which Mr. Launcelot Dent was - renowned. Having on one occasion travelled from India to Europe with - him, I saw many of his good deeds, but will only mention one, so as - not to wander too far from my subject. A Catholic missionary was - amongst the steerage passengers; Mr. Dent having seen this, without - saying a word to any person on the subject, took a berth for him in - the first cabin and paid the difference, begging me to ask him to take - possession. The missionary expressed much gratitude, but said that as - he had not a sufficient change of linen he would not feel at home in - the state room, especially as there were lady passengers. Mr. Dent - understood the difficulty, and having casually heard that the - clergymen intended to proceed to Jerusalem, begged of him to accept - the sum which the saloon cabin would have cost,[11] which the poor - missionary accepted with heartfelt thanks. - -I should like to know what Mr. Storrs Turner thinks of that. He objects to -British testimony, except when it coincides with his own views. There is -the evidence of a Spanish nobleman, a scholar, a traveller, and an -accomplished diplomatist, for him! I am afraid he will find the foreign -testimony quite as unpalatable as the home article. This Mr. Launcelot -Dent, by the way, was a member of the eminent firm of Dent and Co.--since -dissolved--which, Mr. Turner says, in his article in the _Nineteenth -Century_, were "legally smugglers." - -The next fallacy, number seven, is _that the Chinese Government is, or -ever was, anxious to put a stop to or check the use of opium amongst the -people of China_. That is one of the accepted propositions or dogmas of -the Anti-Opium people. There is another fallacy, number ten, which I will -dispose of at the same time. It is _that the opposition of the Chinese -officials to the introduction of opium into China arose from moral -causes_. There never was anything more fallacious or more distinctly -untrue than that the Chinese Government is, or ever was, anxious to put a -stop to the trade upon moral grounds. The sole object of the Government of -China in objecting to the importation of Indian opium into the country, as -I have stated already, and as everybody except the infatuated votaries of -the Anti-Opium Society believes, was to protect the native drug, to -prevent bullion from leaving the country, and generally to exclude foreign -goods. This Don Sinibaldo de Mas points out in his book written some five -and twenty years ago. - -If the Chinese Government really wanted to put a stop to or check the use -of opium, they would begin by doing so themselves. They would first stop -the cultivation of the poppy in their own country. We have it on the high -authority of Sir Robert Hart, that the drug was grown and used in China -long before foreigners introduced any there. The Chinese are emphatically -a law-abiding people, and if the Chinese Government really wished to put a -stop to the opium culture, they could do so without any difficulty, just -as our Government has put down tobacco culture in the United Kingdom. I -suppose that in Cornwall and Devon, and in some parts of Ireland--the -golden vein, for instance--tobacco could be grown most profitably. It -could be cultivated also in the Isle of Wight, and in many other parts of -the country. Why, then, is it not grown here? Simply because it is illegal -to do so, and the Government is strong enough to enforce the law. If a -farmer in Ireland or in England were to sow tobacco, the fact would be -soon discovered, and it would be summarily stopped. The same thing could -be done with even greater facility in China. Why, then, does not the -Government of China suppress the cultivation of the poppy there? Simply -because it does not desire to do so, because it derives a large revenue -from opium, both native and foreign, and because the smoking of the drug -is an ancient custom amongst the people, known by long experience to be -harmless, if not beneficial. If it were possible to put down opium smoking -in China, the people would assuredly resort to sam-shu, already so -abundant and cheap, and that would indeed cause China's decadence: for -then we should have the working classes there indulging in spirits, when -the quarrellings, outrages, and kicking of wives to death--which Mr. -Turner admits are never the result of opium smoking--would ensue. I only -wish we could turn our drunkards into opium smokers. If the change would -only save those wretched wives and their helpless children from -ill-treatment by their husbands and fathers, we should have secured one -valuable end. No Government will attempt to interfere with the fixed -habits of the people, especially where those habits have existed many -centuries, if not thousands of years, and where they are known to be not -injurious to themselves or the safety and stability of the State, and to -be, in fact, harmless. We have it from Sir Robert Hart's book, that as far -as can be ascertained, the probability is that there is about the same -quantity of the drug grown in China as is imported into it. That is -admittedly a mere approximation, and Sir Robert Hart gives no data for it, -save the returns of his Sub-Commissioners, each of which differs from the -other, and which he admits are not reliable. The information upon which -these Commissioners made up their returns is simply the gossip collected -by them at the Treaty Ports of China: no doubt the best, and, indeed, the -only, information which they could procure. But with the light thrown upon -the subject by Messrs. Baber and Spence, and numerous other independent -authorities, no one can doubt that there is at least three times the -quantity produced in China that is imported from abroad. - -Both the Customs and Consular reports on trade in China for the year 1880 -as well as 1881 bear testimony to the ever-increasing production of opium -in the northern and western provinces of China, and missionaries and -others who have recently made journeys in the interior report the poppy -crops to be much larger than before the Imperial decree purporting to -prohibit its cultivation. The report of the Customs' Assistant-in-charge -at Ichang for 1880 shows that the average annual import of the Indian drug -at that port does not exceed ten pikuls, while the native production in -the Ichang Prefecture is estimated to be over one thousand pikuls per -annum. Mr. W. Donald Spence, in his report on trade for 1880, gives an -estimate of the total crop of opium raised in Western China in 1880, which -is as follows:--Western Hupeh, two thousand pikuls; Eastern Szechuan, -forty-five thousand pikuls; Yunnan, forty-thousand pikuls; and Kweichow, -ten thousand pikuls; giving a total of ninety-seven thousand pikuls--as -much, in fact, for these districts as the whole amount of Indian opium -imported into China for that year. What his report for 1881 is I have -already shown you. This, it must be borne in mind, is the production of -Western China only. In Shantung, Chihli, the inland provinces, and -Manchuria it is extensively grown, and in all the other provinces smaller -quantities of the drug are produced. That nothing is being done to check -this widespread cultivation of the poppy is notorious. Messrs. Soltan and -Stevenson, who passed through Yunnan last year on their way from Bhamo to -Chingkiang, described the country as resembling "a sea of poppy"; and Mr. -Spence tells us that in 1880 and 1881 a greater breadth of land was sown -with poppies in Western Hupeh than in the previous years. In Manchuria, -which is a large territory forming part of the empire to the north-east of -China, and in the northern provinces of China proper, there was also a -general increase in the area under poppy cultivation. No efforts, in fact, -are being made to stop it. On this subject Mr. Spence, in his report for -1880, remarks:-- - - In Western Hupeh there has been no interference with opium farmers or - opium cultivation by the officials, nor, as far as I have been able to - ascertain, by any of the authorities of the provinces named in this - report. In Yunnan it receives direct official encouragement, and in - all the cultivation is free. Its production is regarded as a fertile - source of revenue to the exchequer, of pelf to officials and - smugglers, of profit to farmers and merchants, and of pleasure to all. - Nearly everybody smokes, and nearly everybody smuggles it about the - country when he can; and in this matter there is no difference between - rich and poor, lettered and unlettered, governing and governed. - -After this testimony, which is corroborated in the strongest manner by -many other and equally disinterested persons, who can pretend to say that -the Chinese Government has any real desire to put down the poppy -cultivation? - -Let us now see what Don Sinibaldo de Mas has to say upon this point. -Having gone into the history of the Indo-Chinese opium trade, and shown -that the sole object of the Chinese Government in objecting to that trade -was to prevent bullion from leaving the country, he says:-- - - It is totally wrong to suppose that the Mandarins are anxious to - prevent the introduction of opium into the country. Many of these - Mandarins smoke it; most of them, if not all, accept presents and - close their eyes at opium smuggling. With the exception of the famous - Lin-tsi-su and a few others who reside at Court, all the others, and I - think even Ki-Ying himself, have profited by this illegal traffic. Sir - I. F. Davis when in China as Minister Plenipotentiary frequently - called Ki-Ying's attention to the smuggling that was being carried on - under the connivance and encouragement of rural officials. - -I referred in my last lecture to a valuable paper read by Sir Rutherford -Alcock at a recent meeting of the Society of Arts. Everybody knows this -gentleman's abilities and his high character, which afford the most -perfect assurance that he would be incapable of asserting anything that he -did not know from his own experience, or from unquestionable sources, to -be true. He speaks also with authority. He may be taken to be, therefore, -a perfectly unbiassed witness. He has no personal interest in the -question, and there is no reason why he should state anything but what is -perfectly accurate. He says, in the paper I have mentioned:-- - - Whatever may have been the motive or true cause, about which there - hangs considerable doubt, it is certain that neither in the first - edicts of 1793-6, nor as late as 1832-4, when several Imperial edicts - were issued against the introduction of opium from abroad, no - reference whatever is made to the _moral ground_ of prohibition, so - ostentatiously paraded in later issues, and notably in Li Hung Chang's - letter to the Anglo-Opium Society last July. The reasons exclusively - put forward in the first of these edicts (in 1793) were that "It - wasted the time and property of the people of the Inner Land, leading - them to exchange their silver and commodities for the vile dirt of the - foreigner." And as late as 1836, when memorials were presented to the - Emperor, showing the connection of the opium trade with the - exportation of sycee, they generally regarded the question in a - political and financial character, rather than a moral light; and - certainly, in several edicts issued between 1836 and 1839, when Lin - made his grand _coup_, there is little, if any, reference to the evils - of opium smoking, but very clear language as to the exportation of - bullion. When we reflect that this "vile dirt," as I will presently - show, was being extensively cultivated in the provinces of China, and - largely consumed by his own subjects, we may be permitted to question - whether the balance of trade turned by the large importation of opium, - and the leakage of the sycee silver, so emphatically and angrily - pointed to in after years, was not the leading motive for the - prohibition of the foreign drug. We have it on authority, that "From - the commencement of the commercial intercourse down to 1828-29 the - balance of trade had always been in favour of the Chinese, and great - quantities of bullion accumulated in China. Since that date the - balance of trade had been in the opposite direction, and bullion began - to flow out of China. As silver became more scarce, it naturally rose - in value, and the copper currency of the realm (and the only one), - already depreciated by means of over-issues and mixture of foreign - coin of an inferior standard, appeared to suffer depreciation when - compared with its nominal equivalent in sycee; and the effects of this - change fell heavily upon a large and important class of Government - officers, and ultimately upon the revenue itself. Memorials were - presented to the Emperor on the subject, and the export of sycee was - prohibited." - -How, after that, it can be said for a moment that the Chinese Government -was actuated by moral considerations, or was really anxious to put down -opium smoking or opium culture, I cannot conceive. The truth is, and it is -so palpable that it really seems to me to require no advocacy whatever, -that the Government, as Sir Rutherford Alcock and Don Sinibaldo so -strongly put it, does not like to see so much bullion leaving the country. - -Now, Sir Rutherford Alcock, unlike the missionaries and the agents of the -Anti-Opium Society, has acquired his knowledge of opium and the opium -trade in the regular course of his ordinary duties, and has necessarily, -therefore, acquired an authentic knowledge of the subject. His testimony, -like that of Messrs. Spence, Baber, and a host of other unimpeachable -witnesses, comes under the head of the "best evidence." But it is said of -Sir Rutherford by the agents of the Anti-Opium Society, with the view of -discrediting his testimony, that he has changed his opinions; that -formerly he was opposed to the trade which he now defends. I do not -believe there is any solid truth in this assertion; but if there is, what -does the fact prove? Why, simply nothing at all. Show me the public man -who during the past forty or fifty years has not altered or modified his -opinions more or less. Sir Robert Peel, one of the greatest of modern -statesmen, when he was past sixty years of age, changed the opinions he -had held all his life upon free trade. Was he right or wrong in doing so? -If Sir Rutherford Alcock had at an earlier period of his life held -different opinions to those he now holds on the Indo-Chinese opium trade, -it is not unreasonable that on a closer study of the subject, and by the -strong light that has been thrown upon it within the past ten or fifteen -years, he should have modified or even altogether changed his opinions. -This is, again, another instance of the desperate efforts of the -Anti-Opium advocates to hold their ground and maintain their unfounded and -untenable theories. - -The Government of China have always been protectionists in the strictest -sense of the term. Their idea has been that China can support itself; that -the people can provide themselves with everything they want, and need -nothing from abroad. They will sell the foreigner as much of their produce -as he wishes to buy, and cheerfully take his gold in exchange, but they -will not buy from him if they can help doing so. This is the real end they -are aiming at; but they would not be at all so persistent, or put their -case so much forward as they do, were it not for the attitude taken up by -the missionaries and that most mischievous, intermeddling, un-English -confederacy the Anti-Opium Society, as revealed to them by _The Friend of -China_. The Government of China have in their employment Chinese clerks -and interpreters who are excellent English scholars. These men explain -everything about the objects of the Anti-Opium Society, and, whilst the -Mandarins laugh at the absurdities put forward by that association, they -are still quite ready to accept the Society as their ally. Hence Li Hung -Chang's letter to Mr. Storrs Turner, mentioned in Sir Rutherford Alcock's -paper; one would almost fancy that this letter had been written for Li by -Mr. Storrs Turner himself. No one knew better than Li Hung Chang that this -letter was one tissue of hypocrisy and mendacity. But, stay, there is one -part of it that is certainly true. Li says to Mr. Turner: "_Your Society -has long been known to me and many of my countrymen_." There can be no -doubt of the fact. Whilst despising Mr. Storrs Turner and his Society, and -cordially hating him and his fellow missionaries, Li Hung Chang and his -friends play into their hands and humour them in this matter to the top of -their bent. Their real object is to get rid of the Indian opium if they -can; or, if they cannot, to have a higher duty fixed upon it, so as to -reduce its supply; or, at all events, to augment their own revenues by the -higher duty. As matters stand at present, the Chinese Government obtains a -net revenue of over two million pounds sterling from the Indian drug, and -they derive, perhaps, half that amount from the duty on the home-grown -article. They have revenue cruisers constantly watching to put down opium -smuggling, and they adopt other rigid steps to prevent the practice; but -it is still carried on to a considerable extent, not by Englishmen or -other foreigners, mark you, but by their own countrymen. Very great -misconception, I may here say, prevails upon this point artfully spread -abroad by agents here of the Anti-Opium Society, but I shall sweep this -away before I close. The Chinese Government is quite willing to perpetuate -the Indo-China opium trade if it can only get the duty raised to suit its -purpose. Therein lies their whole object. Mr. Turner speaks about the -paternal character of the Chinese Government. In the _Peking -Gazette_--which is in some respects analogous to the _London -Gazette_--Imperial decrees are from time to time published. Amongst -others, there will appear proclamations addressed to the people, warning -them to abstain from this and that evil practice. But they have not the -least effect, nor is it expected that they will have effect. They are mere -shams, and are not heeded; yet they please the people. These proclamations -or injunctions are never seriously intended, and Mr. Turner knows this -perfectly well. Dr. Wells Williams mentions in his book that two thousand -years before Christ the manufacture of spirits was forbidden in China; yet -the trade still flourishes there. Spirits are still drunk in moderation -throughout China, just as opium is smoked. - -Sir R. Hart says that "Native opium was known, produced, and used long -before any Europeans began the sale of the foreign drug along the coast." -Mr. Watters, one of Her Majesty's Consuls in China, states that the poppy -is largely cultivated throughout Western China; Mr. Colborne Baber, who -has travelled through nearly the whole of China, not only confirms Mr. -Watters' statement, but says that from his own experience one-third of the -province of Yunnan is under opium culture. Mr. W. Donald Spence and a host -of others thoroughly well informed upon the question also give the -strongest corroborative testimony. Now, in the face of the statements of -such witnesses as these, can you credit for a moment Mr. Storrs Turner -when he says--believing only what he wishes to be true, but having no data -whatever for his statements--that it is only recently that opium has been -cultivated in China? Of all the existing nations of Asia, the only one -that can now be described as civilized is China; and this is the country -where Mr. Turner, because it suits his purpose, tells us that this -invaluable drug has been only _recently_ known. - -China may be said to be the garden of Asia. Opium has been grown -throughout the fertile plains of that immense continent for thousands of -years, and is it likely that the oldest and most civilized of all Asiatic -nations would be the last to introduce into their country the culture of -that drug to whose curative properties Mr. Storrs Turner bears such strong -testimony in the opening chapter of his book? The only reason that -gentleman could have had for making such a statement is simply, as I have -already intimated, to induce his readers to believe that the Chinese would -not have cultivated the drug, nor have used it for smoking, were it not -for the importation of Indian opium into China. Upon this part of my -subject, I may mention that a book has been written by a very learned man, -Dr. W. A. P. Martin, President of the Tungwen College at Peking, who shows -that China was the cradle of Alchemy, which was known there five hundred -years before it was ever heard of in Europe. Are these a people likely to -be ignorant of this indispensable medicine, as Mr. Turner characterizes -it, or to neglect its cultivation throughout their fertile country? I may -add that all, or nearly all, the medicines of the British Pharmacopoeia, -and a great many more also, have been known to the Chinese for hundreds, -if not thousands, of years. - -The eighth fallacy is, _that the British merchants in China are making -large fortunes by opium_. I have already, I think, pretty well disposed of -this, and I need not say much more upon the subject now. One of the great -points of the Anti-Opium Society and its supporters seems to be that the -British merchants are birds of prey, a set of rapacious and ravenous -creatures, without the feelings of humanity in their breasts, who have -gone out to China to make princely fortunes, after the manner of that -apochryphal youth who, on his departure from the paternal roof, is said to -have received this admonition from his canny sire, "Mak money, ma -boy--honestly if you can--but mak money"; that thus animated the British -merchant arrives in China like a hawk amid a flock of pigeons, and helps -himself to one of those princely acquisitions, which, to Mr. Storrs -Turner, seem to be as plentiful as blackberries in the flowery land, and -who, after having helped to demoralise and ruin the nation, gracefully -returns home to enjoy his ill-gotten gains. The best answer to this is the -amicable relations that now exist and have always existed between the -natives and these merchants. The British merchants, as a body, have no -interest in the opium trade; nor are any of them engaged in smuggling or -in any practices detrimental to the natives of China. In point of -education, thorough mercantile knowledge, strict integrity, and sound -practical Christianity, these gentlemen are second to no other body of men -in the British Empire. - -Another fallacy, or false assumption, number nine, which the advocates of -the Anti-Opium Society are fond of propagating, and which is as fully -believed in by themselves as by their deluded followers, is--_that the -discontinuance of the supply of opium from India would stop or check the -practice of opium smoking_. They fully believe that if they could only -succeed in suppressing the Indo-China opium trade they would deal such a -death-blow to this ancient custom, which prevails more or less over the -eighteen provinces of the Chinese empire, that we should in a very short -time hear of there being no opium smoking at all in China! That is as -great a delusion as was ever indulged in. Imagine a person saying that if -we ceased to ship beer, stout, and whiskey to Denmark, France, or Italy, -we should check the consumption of brandy or other alcoholic liquors -throughout Europe, and you have a pretty fair parallel to this assumption. - -Suppose it were possible to stop the supply of opium from British India, -and that such stoppage had in fact taken place, the result would be that -the Chinese would increase the cultivation of the poppy in their own -country still more than they have already done, and the Indian drug known -as "Malwa opium" would still continue to be imported into China, for the -British Government, even if desirous to do so, could not prohibit its -manufacture and exportation. The Portuguese, who were the first to import -Indian opium into China, would cultivate the drug, not only in their -Indian possession of Goa, but in Africa, where they have colonies. -Further, they would encourage its increased cultivation in the native -states of India, which produce the Malwa opium, and which, as I have just -said, we could not prevent. A great stimulus would also be given to the -cultivation of Persian opium. Hear, how I am borne out by Don Sinibaldo de -Mas, an authentic and thoroughly impartial witness. This is what he says, -in his very valuable book:-- - - It is another fallacy to say that if the East India Company were to - prohibit the cultivation of opium in her territories that the article - would disappear from China altogether. The poppy grows freely between - the equator and latitudes 30° to 40°; it is produced in large - quantities in Java, the Phillipines, Borneo, Egypt, and other places, - as well as in China itself, where for many years past some thousands - of chests are annually produced. It may be that the opium grown at - Java has perhaps a different taste from that grown at Malwa and - Benares, and may seem to be of inferior quality, but the consumers - would soon become accustomed to that, and would probably prefer the - former to the latter. Persons who are in the habit of smoking Havanna - dislike Manilla cigars, and those who generally smoke Manillas prefer - them to Havannas. At present opium is not exported from other - countries because Indian Opium is so cheap. - - What, then, may I ask, is the reproach constantly hurled at the East - India Company? That it derives an annual income by the culture of - opium of at least three millions of pounds sterling. Should the - Company prohibit the culture of the drug in order to allow other - nations to derive the emoluments arising from it? I who have travelled - in both upper and lower India, and know something of the country, am - persuaded that the people there are already over-taxed, and to demand - from them a substituted tax for those three millions would be a very - serious matter indeed. And for whom pray would this sacrifice be made? - To reduce the quantity of opium smoked in China? Most assuredly not; - for the Chinese would still smoke just as much. This sacrifice on the - part of England would only benefit those countries which would take up - the cultivation of opium in order to supply the Chinese markets from - which the Indian drug had been withdrawn. And what fault can be found - with the merchants? Is it not the Chinese who ask for opium, and who - buy it of their own free will, although not a single foreigner, either - by example or precept, encourages them to do so. Is it not the Chinese - who go out of their ports to the "Receiving Ships" to fetch it? Is the - Chinese nation composed of children, or of savages who do not know - right from wrong? Ought, for instance, the Queen of England to - undertake to redress Chinese habits, or let us say vices, and to - reform her Custom-house administration by watching the Chinese Coast? - By what right could the English Government or any other Government do - such things? If that is not what is wished, what is? Against whom and - against what is all this outcry? - - It is said that the receiving ships are anchored at the mouth of - rivers, that British war-ships anchor alongside of them, and that the - consuls know this. That is quite true. The consuls admit all this--in - fact, they often send their despatches by these very opium ships to - Hong Kong. How many times has it happened that the consuls have had - discussions with the Chinese governors respecting these receiving - ships? They say, "We do not protect these ships; why do you not drive - them away?" All this, I repeat, is notorious, and it is to be - regretted that it is so; because, under proper legal authorisation, - opium might be introduced into the Chinese Empire with such great - advantage to the Imperial treasury.... - - It cannot be expected that the English Government through its naval - commanders should prevent its subjects from carrying on a remunerative - commerce, whilst Americans, Dutchmen, Danes, Swedes, and Portuguese - would continue to carry on the trade with increased profit through the - withdrawal of the English. - -Were the supply of opium from British India discontinued we should have a -class of merchants who would form syndicates to buy up all the opium that -could be found, and Macao would become the great depôt for Persian, -Javanese, and Malwa opium for the China market, so that we should have -probably four times the quantity of the foreign drug shipped to China that -is now imported into that country, and thus the alleged evils of opium -smoking in China would be intensified. By a stupid though well-meaning -policy, that ultimate demoralisation, degradation, and ruin which the -Anti-Opium Society allege is now being wrought upon the natives of China -by the existing Indo-China opium trade would be enormously accelerated, -whilst England and English missionaries would only earn the contempt of -the Chinese nation and the ridicule of the whole world. I have shown you -that the Government of China is not sincere in its professed desire to put -down opium smoking; for if it was we should never have had the poppy grown -so extensively as it is at present all over the empire. The evidence of -Sir Robert Hart alone upon this point puts the matter beyond the question -of a doubt. How, in the face of that gentleman's book, this Anti-Opium -agitation can continue I really cannot understand. He is an officer of the -Chinese Government, and he would be the last man to publish anything -damaging to the Government or people of China. Here have these Anti-Opium -agitators been forty years in the wilderness without making any progress, -but only getting deeper into the quagmire of error and delusion. Even now, -although defeated at all points, they persist, as I shall show by and by, -in obstructing public business in the House of Commons by again -ventilating their unfounded theories. - -As matters stand, this book of Sir Robert Hart's must show to every -impartial mind that the teaching of the Anti-Opium Society, from its -formation to the present time, has been fallacious, misleading, and -mischievous. Yet, in the face of this most damaging official Yellow-Book, -we are still calmly and seriously told from many platforms, by dignitaries -of the highest position in the Church, and by clergymen of all -denominations, that we are demoralising and ruining the whole nation, -because we send the Chinese a comparatively small quantity of pure and -unadulterated opium, which is beneficial rather than injurious to them. -But what does Sir Robert Hart, with all his official information, say? -That all this opium, amounting to about six thousand tons annually, is -consumed in moderation by one million of smokers, or one-third of one per -cent. of the whole population of China, estimating the number of people at -three hundred millions only. - -The missionaries and the Anti-Opium Society, in the face of facts which -directly contradict them, say that the Chinese Government has a horror of -opium; but they never tell us that that Government has a horror of -themselves. What was the celebrated saying of Prince Kung to the British -Ambassador? "Take away your opium and your missionaries," said he. Now the -Chinese Government does not hate opium; it derives a very large revenue -from the drug at present, and it is only anxious to increase the amount. I -have very little doubt that Prince Kung, and all the other Imperial -magnates, including Li Hung Chang, that strictest of moralists, revel in -the very Indian drug they affect so to abhor. But they do detest the -missionaries most cordially; so do the whole educated people of the -empire, and so do Chinamen generally. None know this better than the -missionaries themselves. That disgraceful book, written by a Mandarin, -called "A Death-blow to Corrupt Practices," which was, by the aid of his -brother Mandarins, extensively circulated throughout China, but too -plainly proves the fact. That infamous volume was aimed at the whole -missionary body in China, Roman Catholic as well as Protestant; it -attributed the foulest crimes, the most disgraceful and disgusting -practices to the missionaries. It was, in fact, the precursor of the -fearful Tientsin massacre; yet the missionaries tell us that if we will -only discontinue the Indo-China opium trade the millennium will arrive. I -may here observe that if opium was the terrible thing, and was productive -of so much misery to its votaries, as the Protestant missionaries and the -Anti-Opium Society would have us believe, it seems strange that no mention -of opium or opium smoking appears in this book. If half the outcry raised -against the Indo-Chinese opium trade were true, here was an excellent -opportunity for the writer to have inveighed against the wickedness of -foreigners in introducing the horrible drug into the country. If the -Gospel is objected to because of this Indian opium, what a fine occasion -for the author to have enlarged upon the iniquity. If the Chinese mind -had been in any way impressed with the evils proceeding from opium -smoking, can it be supposed for a moment that the author of this book, an -educated Mandarin--one of the _literati_, in fact--would have omitted the -opportunity of denouncing the missionaries and foreigners generally for -introducing the terrible drug into the country and making profit by the -vices and misery of the Chinese people? Does not the entire omission of -opium from this book prove most eloquently that there is no real truth in -the outcry raised by these missionaries against the opium trade? The real -fact, believe me, is this, the Chinese dislike and distrust the -missionaries not because opium is an evil but because they hate and -despise Christianity. From the Anti-Opium Society one never hears anything -about the removal of the missionaries; it is all "take away your opium." I -am perfectly sure that, if we agreed to exclude our missionaries from -China, the Government of that country would unhesitatingly admit Indian -opium into the country duty free. No greater proof can be adduced of this -than the zeal and persistency with which the Chinese Government recently -and successfully prosecuted the celebrated Wu Shi Shan case, which was in -the nature of an action of ejectment against a Protestant missionary body -at Foochow. The late Mr. French, the Judge of Her Majesty's Supreme Court -for China and Japan, tried the case, the hearing of which occupied nearly -two months. It cost the Chinese Government about one hundred thousand -dollars, or twenty thousand pounds; they were well satisfied with the -result, although the land they recovered was not worth a tenth of the -money. - -It is declared by Mr. Turner and the other advocates of the Anti-Opium -Society that we have treated the Chinese with great harshness; that we -have extorted the Treaty of Tientsin from them, and bullied them into -legalizing the admission of opium into the empire; that we began by -smuggling opium into China, and ended by quarrelling with the Chinese. It -must not be forgotten, on the other hand, how the Chinese have treated us. -For more than a century before we introduced opium into China, and began, -as it is said, to quarrel with the Chinese, we had been buying their teas -and silks, and paying for them in hard cash. During all that time we were -treated by the Mandarins with the greatest indignity. Our representatives -and our people were insulted, often maltreated, and sometimes murdered. As -to opium smuggling, about which so much is sought to be made by the -Anti-Opium people, there is one point that the writers and speakers upon -the subject seem to have forgotten. In the first place, I think I will -show you that smuggling, in the proper sense of the term, has never, in -fact, been carried on in China by Englishmen--or, indeed, by other -foreigners--at all. But even admitting, for argument's sake, that -smuggling in its ordinary acceptation did, in fact, exist, how does the -matter stand? It has been for centuries the recognized international law -of the civilized world that one nation is not bound to take cognizance of -the revenue laws of another. This principle has been carried out in past -times with the greatest strictness. For instance, there was once a very -large contraband trade done between England and France. When brandy was -heavily taxed, and when it was thought more of than it is now, smuggling -it into England was a very profitable business. It was the same as regards -silks, lace, and a great many other articles before free trade became the -law of this country. Our Government knew this very well, but they never -dreamt for a moment of sending a remonstrance to the French Government -upon the subject. Had they done so, the latter would probably have -replied: "We cannot prevent our people from doing this. We give them no -encouragement whatever. We have enough to do to prevent your people from -smuggling English goods into our country, and you must do your best on -your side to prevent our subjects from introducing French goods into -yours." For I suppose our people, carrying out the principle of -reciprocity, had some contraband dealings with French contrabandists on -their own account. That was the law for centuries, and it is so still. - -But of late years what is called "the comity of nations" has become more -understood, and there is a better spirit spreading between different -states on this subject, although, as I have said, the law is still the -same. If our Government knew that there was now an organized system of -smuggling carried on here with France, they would, I dare say, try to put -a stop to the practice, and would, at the least, give such information to -the Government of France as would put their revenue officers on their -guard, and I am sure that the French Government would act in the same way -towards us. That would be due to the better feeling that has arisen -between the two countries within the last forty years. The moment, -therefore, it was found that there was a considerable demand in China for -Indian opium, British and other vessels brought the article to China; and -there can be no doubt that they met with great encouragement from the -Chinese officials, but they got no assistance from us. The opium shippers -carried on the trade at their own risk. All this has been very clearly -shown by Don Sinibaldo de Mas. There was no actual smuggling on the part -of the owners of these vessels. The Chinese openly came on board and -bought and took away the opium, "squaring" matters, so to speak, with the -Mandarins. These so-called smugglers belonged to all nationalities. There -were Americans, Portuguese, and Germans, as well as English, engaged in -it. According to the international law of European countries, the Chinese -Government ought, under the circumstances, to have had a proper preventive -service, and so put down the smuggling. But, instead of this, the practice -was openly encouraged by the Chinese officials, some of them Mandarins of -high position. - -Now and then an explosion would occur; angry remonstrances would be -addressed to the British Government, and bad feeling between the two -nations would be engendered, the Chinese all along treating us as -barbarians, using the most insulting language towards us, and subjecting -our people, whenever opportunity offered, to the greatest indignities. The -missionaries have ignored all this. They appear to have satisfied -themselves so completely that we forced this trade upon the Chinese that -they have lost sight both of fact and reason. The very existence of an -opium-smuggling trade with China shows that the article smuggled was in -very great demand in that country. People never illegally take into a -country an article that is not greatly in request there. They will not -risk their lives and property unless they know large profits are to be -acquired by the venture, and such profits can only be made upon articles -in great demand. It was because there was found to be a demand for Indian -opium that this so-called contraband trade sprang up. This furnishes the -strongest proof that the Chinese valued the opium highly, and that it was -on their invitation that the drug was introduced. There is, I believe, a -considerable contraband trade now carried on in tobacco between Germany -and Cuba and England, just because the article is in demand here, and -there is a very high duty upon it. The fact is, that if the arguments of -the Anti-Opium people are properly weighed, they will be found, almost -without exception, to cut both ways, and with far greater force against -their own side. - -Now with respect to smuggling, it is right that I should clear up the -misconception that seems to prevail upon the subject. Whatever may have -been the practice previous to the Treaty of Nankin, which was signed on -the 29th of August 1842, and ratified on the 26th of June 1843--forty -years ago, I say it advisedly, and challenge contradiction, that _no -smuggling or quasi smuggling, or any practice resembling smuggling, has -been carried on in China by any British subject_ since the signing of that -treaty. Although no mention is made of opium in that convention, it is an -indisputable fact that from the time of the making of it until the Treaty -of Tientsin in 1858, Indian opium was freely allowed into the country at -an _ad valorem_ duty. This is shown by Don Sinibaldo de Mas, in his book, -and also by Sir Rutherford Alcock, in his valuable paper. No doubt the -Chinese themselves have since then smuggled opium into their country, and -are doing so still. They are, in truth, inveterate smugglers, and it has -been found impossible for the British authorities of Hong Kong to prevent -the practice. For the past thirty years laws have from time to time been -passed in the colony with the object of checking the practice, which have -not been wholly unsuccessful; for instance, some twenty-five years ago an -Ordinance was passed prohibiting junks from leaving the harbour between -sunset, and, I think, 6 a.m. on the following morning, and compelling -every outward-bound junk to leave at the harbour master's office a copy of -the "Manifest" before starting, and I have known many prosecutions for -breach of this Ordinance. - -Still smuggling by Chinamen goes on more or less, but not now, I think, to -any large extent. As for any connivance or participation in the practice -by the British authorities or the British people, and, indeed, I may say -the same for all foreigners in China, there is none whatever. I am fully -borne out in this statement by the _Friend of China_, which you will -remember is the organ of the Anti-Opium Society. It would appear that Sir -John Pope Hennessy, lately Governor of Hong Kong, made a speech last -autumn at Nottingham, on the occasion of the meeting of the Social Science -Congress, in the course of which he made some allusion to smuggling by the -British community of Hong Kong. I have not myself read the speech, but -collect this from the statement of the journal in question, which I shall -now read to you. This is the passage:-- - - The present governor of Hong Kong is extremely unpopular with the - British community under his jurisdiction. Into the occasion and merit - of the feud we do not pretend to enter, but in reproducing the - Governor's condemnation of the Colony it is only fair to note the fact - of the existing hostility between governor and governed. _We are - sorry, too, that Sir John did not state that these desperate smugglers - are of Chinese race. So far as we know there is no ground for - inculpating a single Englishman in Hong Kong in these nefarious - proceedings; the English merchant sells his opium to Chinese - purchasers, and there his connection with the traffic ceases._ - -So much for the delusion as to smuggling by British subjects in China. As -for the "Hoppo" of Canton, who farms from the Chinese Government the -revenue of the provinces of Kwantung and Kwangsi, and whose object it is -to squeeze as much as he can from the mercantile community of these -provinces during his term of office, he has a fleet of fast English-built -steam cruisers, heavily armed, ostensibly to put down smuggling, but -really to cripple the commerce of the port of Hong Kong, they keep the -harbour blockaded by this fleet of armed cruisers to prey upon the native -craft coming to and sailing from the colony. Wild with wrath at the -prosperity of Hong Kong, the Hoppo and his cruisers lose no opportunity of -oppressing the native junks resorting to the place. All those vessels they -think should go to Canton to swell the Hoppo's income. Many Chinese -merchants have put cases of oppression of the kind in my hands, where -those armed cruisers simply played the part of pirates, seizing -unoffending junks, taking them to Canton, and confiscating junk and cargo; -but I regret to say that only in a very few cases have I been able to -obtain redress. This state of things has been going on for the past -fifteen or twenty years, and should be put down by the British Government. -So far as respects the Chinese authorities, and the junk owners, and -native merchants, it is simply legalised robbery; whilst as regards the -British Government and people of the colony, foreigners as well as -natives, it is a system of insult and outrage--a very serious injury, and -a glaring breach of international law, which no European Government would -tolerate in another. I mention this to show how forbearing and -long-suffering the Government of Hong Kong and the Imperial Government -have been towards China during the continuance of this most nefarious and -unjustifiable state of things. This is in truth a very serious matter. -When Sir Henry Elliott took possession of Hong Kong in 1841 on behalf of -the Queen, he invited by proclamation the Chinese people to settle in the -place, promising them protection for their lives and property, upon the -faith of which the natives took their families and property to the colony. -But how can it be said now that their property is protected when this -piratical fleet, like a bird of prey, hovers round the colony, pouncing -down upon the native craft going to or leaving the port? - -To close this part of my subject, I may say in short, that the charges -brought by the Anti-Opium Society against the importation of Indian opium -into China are exactly on a par with the objections of a Society -established in France for the purpose of prohibiting the importation into -England of cognac, on the grounds that that spirit intoxicated, -demoralised, and ruined the English people. If any set of men in France -were fanatical and insane enough to set forth such views, they would be -laughed down at once. The answer to the objection to the brandy trade -would be, "That the English people manufacture and drink plenty of gin and -whisky, and if they, the French, discontinued sending them brandy the -English would simply manufacture and drink more spirits of their own -production." No two cases could be more alike. - -Before proceeding to the last of the fallacies by which the opponents of -the Indo-Chinese opium trade have been so long deluding society, I wish to -refer to the statements made by Mr. Storrs Turner in his book, and by the -advocates of the Anti-Opium trade, respecting the Treaty of Tientsin. It -is alleged that Lord Elgin, who bore the highest character as a statesman -and Christian gentleman, extorted the treaty from the Chinese, and forced -them to include opium in the schedule to that treaty. Mr. Turner, at p. 95 -of his book, typifies the conduct of England thus:-- - - The strong man knocks down the weak one, sets his foot upon his chest - and demands:--"Will you give me the liberty to knock at your front - door and supply your children with poison _ad libitum_?" The weak man - gasps out from under the crushing pressure--"I will, I will; anything - you please." And the strong man goes home rejoicing that he is no - longer under the unpleasant necessity of carrying on a surreptitious - back-door trade. - -This metaphor is really absurd, and has no application whatever. Were a -man so infamous as to act in the manner stated, it would be a matter of -little concern to him whether his poison entered by the front or the back -door, so long as he got paid for the article. The fact is, as I have -stated, that since the Treaty of Nankin, in 1842, opium has been openly -allowed in the country without any difficulty or objection. If there is -any point in this metaphor of Mr. Storrs Turner's at all, it applies not -to the insertion of opium in the tariff, but to the clause in the treaty -as to the admission of missionaries into China, for that was really the -bitter pill the Chinese swallowed. In 1858, when the Treaty of Tientsin -was being drawn up, the tariff upon British goods had to be settled. The -Chinese Commissioners, not only as a matter of course, and without any -pressure whatever, proposed to put down opium in the schedule at the -present fixed duty of thirty taels a pikul, but actually insisted upon -doing so. There was no necessity for using pressure at all, and none in -fact was used. It was included in the tariff just like other goods. Mr. H. -N. Lay, who jointly with Sir Thomas Wade, Her Majesty's present minister -at Pekin, was Chinese Secretary to Lord Elgin's special mission, and who -then, I believe, filled the important post in the Chinese service now -occupied by Sir Robert Hart, expresses his opinion on the subject as -follows:-- - - Statements have been advanced of late, with more or less of precision, - to the effect that the legalisation of the opium trade was wrung from - Chinese fears. At the recent meeting in Birmingham Lord Elgin is - credited, in so many words, with having "extorted" at Tientsin the - legalisation of the article in question. There is no truth whatever in - the allegation, and I do not think, in fairness to Lord Elgin's - memory, or in justice to all concerned, that I ought to observe - silence any longer. Jointly with Sir Thomas Wade, our present minister - in China, I was Chinese Secretary to Lord Elgin's special mission. All - the negotiations at Tientsin passed through me. Not one word upon - either side was ever said about opium from first to last. The revision - of the tariff, and the adjustment of all questions affecting our - trade, was designedly left for after deliberation and arrangement, and - it was agreed that for that purpose the Chinese High Commissioners - should meet Lord Elgin at Shanghai in the following winter. The Treaty - of Tientsin was signed on the 26th of June 1858; the first was - withdrawn, and Lord Elgin turned the interval to account by visiting - Japan and concluding a treaty there. In the meantime the preparation - of the tariff devolved upon me, at the desire no less of the Chinese - than of Lord Elgin. _When I came to "Opium" I inquired what course - they proposed to take in respect to it. The answer was, "We have - resolved to put it into the tariff as Yang Yoh_ (foreign medicine)." - This represents with strict accuracy the amount of the "extortion" - resorted to. And I may add that the tariff as prepared by me, although - it comprises some 300 articles of import and export, _was adopted by - the Chinese Commissioners without a single alteration_, which would - hardly have been the case had the tariff contained aught objectionable - to them. Five months after the signature of the Treaty of Tientsin, - long subsequently to the removal of all pressure, the Chinese High - Commissioners, the signatories of the treaty, came down to Shanghai in - accordance with the arrangement made, and after conference with their - colleagues, and due consideration, signed with Lord Elgin the tariff - as prepared, along with other commercial articles which had been drawn - up in concert with the subordinate members of the Commission who had - been charged with that duty. _The Chinese Government admitted opium as - a legal article of import, not under constraint, but of their own free - will deliberately._ - -Now Mr. H. N. Lay is a gentleman whose testimony is altogether -unimpeachable, and this is his statement. He explains the whole -transaction, and it is substantially and diametrically contrary to the -allegations of Mr. Turner and the Anti-Opium Society. His account of the -matter has the greater force, because I believe he is rather anti-opium in -his views than the opposite, and at the time of the treaty he was in the -service of the Chinese Government. The truth is, that we never should have -had the Chinese urging us to increase the duty had they not been supported -by the Anti-Opium Society. Mr. Laurence Oliphant was Lord Elgin's -secretary at the time of the Tientsin Treaty. This is what he says on the -subject:-- - - As a great deal of misconception prevails in the public mind upon this - subject, I would beg to confirm what Mr. Lay has said as to the views - of the Chinese Government in the matter. - - I was appointed in 1858 Commissioner for the settlement of the trade - and tariff regulations with China; and during my absence with Lord - Elgin in Japan, Mr. Lay was charged to consider the details with the - subordinate Chinese officials named for the purpose. On my return to - Shanghai I went through the tariff elaborated by these gentlemen with - the Commissioner appointed by the Chinese Government. When we came to - the article "opium," _I informed the Commissioner that I had received - instructions from Lord Elgin not to insist on the insertion of the - drug in the tariff, should the Chinese Government wish to omit it. - This he declined to do. I then proposed that the duty should be - increased beyond the figure suggested in the tariff; but to this he - objected, on the ground that it would increase the inducements to - smuggling._ - - I trust that the delusion that the opium trade now existing with China - was "extorted" from that country by the British Ambassador may be - finally dispelled. - -But Mr. Storrs Turner will doubtless still say, "Oh! these gentlemen are -Englishmen; you cannot believe them." I do not think, however, this kind -of objection will have much weight with my readers or the country at -large. - -And now, as I am on the political side of the question, I will say a few -words on the Indian aspect of the case. The Government of India is charged -by Mr. Storrs Turner and the Anti-Opium people generally with descending -to the position of opium manufacturers and merchants, and quotes an -alleged proposal of the late Lord Lawrence to drop the traffic, leaving -the cultivation and exportation of the drug to private enterprise, and -recouping itself from loss by placing a heavy export duty on the article. -If Lord Lawrence ever proposed such an arrangement, which I doubt very -much, I hardly think he could have carefully considered the question. No -doubt, in an abstract point of view, it is contrary to sound policy for -the Government of a country to carry on mercantile business, much less to -take into its own hands a monopoly of any trade, yet the thing has been -done for a great number of years, and is still practised by some -continental Governments without the existence of any special reason for so -doing. The Indo-China opium trade, however, is an entirely exceptional -one. When an exceptional state of things has to be dealt with, -corresponding measures must be resorted to. The opium industry in India is -an ancient one; and the exportation of this drug to China began under the -Portuguese, several centuries ago. Were the Government of India to adopt -the alleged proposals of Lord Lawrence, the result would be that a much -larger quantity of opium than is now produced in India would be turned -out, so that not only would the alleged evils now complained of by the -missionaries and the Anti-Opium Society be intensified, but the Government -of India would find its revenue greatly increased by its export duty on -the drug. This is very conclusively shown by Don Sinibaldo de Mas, a most -competent authority, who has studied the question deeply and can have no -possible object but the revelation of the truth. - -There are numerous objections to throwing open the Indian trade. As -matters now stand, the Government of India annually makes advances to the -opium growers, to enable them to produce the drug. These advances are made -at a low or nominal rate of interest. Let the Government once drop the -monopoly and throw open the trade, and then the small farmers--and they -form perhaps seventy-five per cent. of the whole, whether they cultivate -the poppy or any other crop--would be at the mercy of the usurers, who are -the curse of India. Thus the poor cultivator, instead of paying the -Government two or three per cent. interest for the advance, would have to -pay perhaps five times that amount, with a bill for law costs; and a much -larger bill staring him in the future, in case he should be so unfortunate -as not to be up to time with his payments. The usurers or Márwáris as I -believe they are called, would in such cases profit by the fruits of the -soil instead of the growers. As to the morality of the proposed change, I -do not see what could be gained by such an arrangement. If it is wrong to -derive a revenue from opium by direct, it is equally wrong to do so by -indirect means. Before closing this part of the subject, there is another -point I wish to say a few words upon. It is put forward by Mr. Turner in -his book, with great plausibility, and is, no doubt, accepted by his -disciples as fact, that every acre of land put under opium cultivation -displaces so much rice, the one being a poison, the other the staff of -life. This is perfectly fallacious; wherever rice is grown in China--and I -fancy it is the same in India--there are two crops taken in the year. Rice -is cultivated during the spring and summer months (that is, the rainy -season), for the grain only grows where there is abundance of water. - -The poppy thrives only in the dry season, that is, during the latter part -of the autumn and the winter, when the rice crops have been saved. The -poppy requires a rich soil, so that before planting it the farmers have to -manure the ground well; then, when the poppy crop has been secured, the -land is in good heart for rice, and so the rotation goes on. This I stated -in the first edition of this lecture; since then Mr. Spence's Report for -1881 has appeared which fully confirms my view. Thus much for the accuracy -of this statement of Mr. Storrs Turner. - -I come now to the last of the fallacies, follies, and fantasies, upon -which the huge superstructure of delusion put forward for so many years by -the Anti-Opium Society has been built. At once the least sustainable, it -is the one which carries the most weight with the supporters of that -Society, for it furnishes the _raison d'être_ of their whole action. It is -_that the introduction of Indian opium into China has arrested the -progress of Christianity in that country, and that if the trade were -discontinued the Chinese would accept the Gospel_. No greater mistake, nor -more unfounded delusion than this could be indulged in; indeed, it seems -to me something very like a profanation to mix up the Indo-China opium -trade with the spread of the Gospel in the Empire of China. If the -objection to embrace Christianity because we send opium to that country -has ever, in fact, been made by natives, that objection was a subterfuge -only. - -The Chinese are an acute and crafty race; when they desire to attain an -object, they seldom attempt to do so by direct means, but rather seek to -gain their ends indirectly. They despise and hate Christianity, although -they will not tell you so, much less will they argue with you, or enter -into controversy upon the subject. They will rather try to get rid of it -by a side-wind. They are a very polite and courteous people, and -understand this style of tactics very well. I have no doubt whatever that -if the British trade in opium were suppressed to-morrow, and that no -British merchant dealt any longer in the drug, or sent a particle of it -into China, and if a missionary were to go before the Chinese and say, "We -can now show clean hands, our Government has stopped the opium trade," and -then were to open his book and begin talking to them of Christianity, he -would only be met with derisive laughter. "This man," they would say, -"thinks that because the English have ceased to sell us opium we should -all become Christians. If they sold us no more rice or broadcloth, we -suppose they would say that we should become Mahomedans." - -Knowing the cunning and keen sense of humour of the people, I have no -doubt they would use another argument also. There is a story told of a -Scotch clergyman who rebuked one of his congregation for not being quite -so moderate in his potations as he ought to be. "It's a' vera weel," -returned the other, who had reason to know that the minister did not -always practise what he preached, "but do ye ken how they swept the -streets o' Jerusalem?" The clergyman was obliged to own his ignorance, -when Sandy replied, "Weel, then, it was just this, every man kept his ain -door clean." And I can well fancy in the case I have supposed, an equally -shrewd Chinaman saying to the missionary, "What for you want to make us -follow your religion? Your religion vely bad one. You have plenty men -drink too muchee sam-shu, get drunk and fight, and beat their wives and -children. Chinaman no get drunk. Chinaman no beat or kill his wife. Too -muchee sam-shu vely bad. Drink vely bad for Inglismen; what for you don't -go home and teach them to be soba, plaupa men?" Believe me, the Chinese -know our little peccadilloes and are very well informed respecting our -doings here at home. - -We send but six thousand tons of opium annually to China, which, according -to Sir Robert Hart, who ought to be a reliable authority on the subject, -inflicts no appreciable injury upon the health, wealth, or extension of -the population of that vast empire. The truth is, that the alleged -objection of the Chinese against Christianity amounts simply to this: -because some of our people do what is wrong, and we are not as a nation -faultless in morals, we should not ask them to change their religion for -ours. Perfection is not to be attained by any nation or the professors of -any creed. If we had the ability, and were foolish enough to stop the -exportation of Indian opium to China, the natives of the country would -find some other reason for clinging to their own creeds and rejecting -Christianity. They could, and doubtless would, point to the fearful plague -of intemperance prevailing amongst us; they could also refer to the great -number of distilleries and breweries in the United Kingdom, to our Newgate -Calendar, and to the records of the Divorce Court. In short, they would -say, "You do not practise what you preach. What do you mean, then, by -trying to make Christians of us?" The same doctrine has been used over and -over again even in Christian countries, and it is lamentable to see -educated and intelligent men becoming victims to such a delusive mode of -reasoning. This sad hallucination on the part of the missionary clergymen -is the origin of the mischievous and very stupid agitation going on -against the Indo-China opium trade, but now rapidly, I believe and hope, -coming to an end. - -A few years ago I paid a short visit to Japan. Whilst I was at Tokio, the -capital, a lecture was given there by an educated Japanese gentleman, who -spoke English well and fluently. He introduced religion into his lecture, -and considered the question why the Japanese did not embrace Christianity. -"Our minds," said he, "are like blank paper; we are ready to receive any -religion that is good, we are not bigoted to our own, but we object to -Christianity because we do not consider it a good religion, because we see -that Christians do not reverence old age, and because they are so -licentious, and so brutal to the coolies." But these reasons are again -merely subterfuges. The Japanese do not smoke opium, and the very same -objection they urge against Christianity might also be used by the -Chinese. The Oriental mind is very much the same, whether Chinese, -Japanese, or Indian. Upon religious or political questions they well know -how to shift their ground. As to the Chinese embracing Christianity, I -trust the day will come when they will do so. They would then be the most -powerful nation in the whole world, and probably become our own best -teachers on religion and morals; but at present I see no immediate hope of -their conversion. I say this in view of the stand taken by the Protestant -missionaries on this opium question. Nothing, in my opinion, is more -calculated to impede the progress of missionary work than this most absurd -and unfounded delusion. The reason given by the missionaries for the -apparently small success which has hitherto attended their efforts, is -that the so-called iniquitous traffic in opium has been the one stumbling -block in their way. Put a stop to this villanous trade, they say, and the -Gospel will flourish like a green bay-tree. This sort of argument takes -with the missionaries themselves and with religious people generally, and -thus converts to the anti-opium policy are made. Yet all these statements -rest, I can assure you, on an entirely fallacious foundation. We are not -dealing with a savage but with a civilized people. You may change a -nation's religion, but you cannot alter its customs, and if China were -evangelised to-morrow the Chinese would still continue opium smokers. The -Reverend Mr. Galpin has hit the nail on the head when he said in his -letter to the missionaries of Peking:-- - - Looking at Christianity in the broad and true sense, as a great - regenerating force breathing its beneficent spirit upon and promoting - the welfare of all, of course the excessive use or abuse of opium and - every other thing, is a serious hindrance to its happy progress. But - this is a very different position from that of supposing that the - present apparently slow progress of mission-work in China is to be - attributed to the importation of Indian opium. China is a world in - itself, and the influence of Christian missions has hitherto reached - but a handful of the people, for there are many serious obstacles to - its progress besides opium. - -As before mentioned, the Roman Catholic missionaries have never complained -that their missionary labours were impeded by the opium trade. I had the -honour of being Solicitor at Hong Kong to a wealthy and important -religious community of that persuasion which has missionary stations all -over China, Formosa, and Tonquin, and might call the head of the order a -personal friend, yet I never heard a complaint of the kind from him or any -of his clergy. I was on very intimate terms with a Roman Catholic -gentleman who was in the confidence of the Catholic Bishop at Hong Kong, -and the Roman Catholic community generally, and I have had conversations -with him on missionary matters. He has never uttered such a complaint, -but, on the contrary, has always spoken of the success which attended the -Roman Catholic missions throughout China. In this connection it should not -be forgotten that the Chinese treat all foreigners alike; they know no -distinction between them--English, French, German, Spanish, Americans, -Portuguese, are to them one people. The victims of the Tientsin massacre -were, with the exception, I think, of a Russian gentleman, a community of -French nuns. The petition to the House of Commons set out in my first -letter emanated from the Protestant missionaries alone, and it has not, I -am well assured, been signed by a single Roman Catholic missionary. It is -plain, therefore, that this alleged obstacle to the spread of the Gospel -in China by the English and American missionaries is a monster of their -own creation, and has no real existence. Bishop Burden, of Hong Kong, the -missionary bishop for South China, who, although no authority on the opium -question, ought, on this point at all events, to be well informed, -estimates the number of Protestant converts in China at forty thousand, -and of Roman Catholics at one million. The disparity is great, but then it -should not be forgotten that Roman Catholic missions in China date from a -period probably two centuries earlier than Protestant missions. If out of -these forty thousand converts I allow five per cent., or two thousand, to -be really sincere and able to give a reason for the faith that is in them, -I believe that I am not underrating the precise number of true and _bona -fide_ converts which these missionaries have made. But knowing this as I -do, it is very far from my intention to cast blame upon the missionaries -in consequence. To those who understand the difficulties those devoted men -have to contend with in the progress of their labours, the wonder is not -that they have done so little, but that they have achieved so much. Upon -this point, I would say again, I am very far from attributing any blame to -our missionaries, save in so far as they have allowed themselves to be -cajoled by certain Chinese and others as to opium smoking. No one is more -sensible of their piety, learning, zeal, and industry; and a very sad task -it has been to me to impugn their conduct and controvert their views as I -have done. A good cause, however, cannot and ought not to be promoted by -falsehood; for such this Anti-Opium delusion amounts to, and nothing more, -and there can be no hope for more solid results from the missionary field -until it is swept from the missionaries' path. Two thousand sincere -converts after all is, in my belief, a great and encouraging result, -considering the tremendous obstacles our missionaries have to encounter in -overcoming in the first instance the prejudice of the Chinese against -foreigners, and then in displacing in their minds the idolatrous and -sensuous creed that has taken such firm root there, and become, so to -speak, engrained in the Chinese nature, and implanting in its stead the -truths of the Gospel. Each of these two thousand converts will prove, I am -well assured, like the grain of mustard seed that will fructify and in -time bring forth much fruit. But it must not be forgotten that China, in -the terse and apposite words of the Rev. Mr. Galpin, is "a world in -itself," containing as it does about a fourth of the whole human race. - -The custom of opium smoking has existed in the Empire of China from time -immemorial. You might as well try to reverse the course of Niagara as to -wean the Chinese from the use of their favourite drug. As to the Treaty of -Tientsin, it is unfair and ungrateful of the missionaries to speak of it -as they do. It did no more than reduce to a formal settlement a state of -things that had been for several years tacitly acquiesced in and agreed to -by the Chinese and British authorities and people. That treaty was -prepared with the greatest deliberation by an eminent statesman who was -singularly remarkable for his humanity and benevolence, assisted by able -subordinates who were in no way deficient in those qualities. The -missionaries seem to forget that this very Treaty of Tientsin, which they -so denounce, is the charter by which they have now a footing in China, -with liberty to preach the Gospel there. They would have no _locus standi_ -in China but for this sorely abused treaty. There is a special clause in -it drawn up by Lord Elgin himself, providing that we should be at liberty -to propagate Christianity in the country. That treaty is the missionaries' -protection. It is to it they would now appeal if molested by the Mandarins -or people of China. They cry it down for one purpose, and rely upon it for -another. I may here not inappropriately observe that the missionaries of -Peking seem to have been under a misapprehension as to the nature of this -treaty. From their petition to the House of Commons it would appear that -they were under the impression that some special clause legalizing the -importation of opium into China was introduced into it under pressure from -the British Government; but that was a mistake. There is no "clause" -whatever in the treaty on the subject of opium. The only place that the -word "opium" appears is in the schedule, where it is set down amongst -other dutiable articles, such as pepper and nutmegs, exactly as stated by -Mr. H. N. Lay. It is plain, then, that these missionary gentlemen had not -a copy of the Treaty of Tientsin before them when they drew up their -petition, and I doubt very much if any of them ever read the treaty at -all. They appear to have got the delusion so strongly into their heads -that the legalization of opium was wrung from the Chinese Government that -it seems they thought it quite unnecessary to read the treaty and took -everything for granted. - -I have now, I think, shown and fully refuted the fallacies which within -the past thirty years have crept into the minds of the opponents of the -Indo-China opium trade, dimming the faculties, blinding the reason, -warping the judgment, ministering to the prejudices, deluding the senses, -gratifying the feelings, until these fallacies have become so interwoven -and welded together as to form and culminate into one CONCRETE PLAUSIBLE, -FASCINATING, DEFAMATORY LIE! A cruel, false, and treacherous lie, that -misleads alike its votaries and its victims, and that, too, in the names -of religion and charity.--A lie circumstantial,--so highly genteel and -respectable,--so sentimental and pious,--so sleek and unctuous,--so -caressed and flattered,--so bravely dressed, and so beflounced and trimmed -with the trappings of truth, that even those who have bedecked the jade -fail to see the imposture they have created, so that the tawdry quean -struts along receiving homage as she goes, whilst plain honest TRUTH in -her russet gown wends her way unnoticed.--I have shown that this -Anti-Opium scare is a sham, a mockery, a delusion--a glittering piece of -counterfeit coin, which I have broken to pieces and proved to you that, -for all its silvery surface, there is nothing but base metal beneath. - -Let me now recapitulate. I have, I think, made it irrefutably clear-- - -1. That the Chinese are a civilized people, very abstemious in their -habits, especially as regards the use of opium, spirits, and stimulants of -all kinds. - -2. That there is and can be no analogy or comparison whatever between -opium eating and opium smoking, as each stands separate and apart from the -other, differing totally in the mode of use and their effects, and that -opium eating is not a Chinese custom. - -3. That an overdose of opium, like an excessive draught of spirits, is -poisonous and produces immediate death. - -4. That opium smoking is a harmless and perfectly innocuous practice, -unless immoderately indulged in, which rarely happens, as seldom, indeed, -as over-indulgence in tea or tobacco in England. - -5. That even when immoderately indulged, any depressing effects resulting -from opium smoking are removed simply by discontinuing the use of the drug -for a short period. - -6. That no death from opium smoking, whether indulged in moderately or -excessively, has ever occurred, and that death from such cause is a -physical impossibility. - -7. That opium smoking is a custom far less enslaving and more easily -discontinued than dram drinking or even tobacco smoking. - -8. That opium smoking is a luxury which can only be indulged in by those -who are well-to-do and is wholly out of the reach of the poor, and, save -in Western China and certain other districts, where the poppy is very -extensively cultivated and opium comparatively cheap, beyond the means of -the working classes. - -9. That opium smoking is a universal custom throughout the whole of the -immense empire of China, just as tea, wine, or beer drinking is with the -people of the United Kingdom, its use being limited only by the ability of -the people to procure the drug. - -10. That it is admitted by Sir Robert Hart, a high official of the Chinese -Government, that the greatest quantity of Indian opium of late years -imported into China is only sufficient to supply about one million of -people with a modicum of the drug, and that, in his own words, "neither -the finances of the State, nor the wealth of the people, nor the growth of -its population," can be specially damaged by a luxury which only draws -from five-pence to eleven-pence a-piece from the pockets of those who -enjoy it, and which is indulged in by a comparatively small number of the -Chinese people. - -11. That the poppy is extensively cultivated in all the provinces of China -proper as well as in Manchuria, and that there is probably three or four -times as much native drug produced annually in China as is imported from -abroad. - -12. That in the western parts of China, where the poppy is more -extensively cultivated and opium more generally smoked than in other parts -of the empire, no decadence whatever is produced in the mental or bodily -health, or the wealth, industry, and prosperity of the people, but on the -contrary, that these very people are peculiarly strong and vigorous. - -13. That the Chinese Government is not, and never was, sincere in its -professed desire to put down the practice of opium smoking in the empire, -which is evidenced by the fact that the poppy is largely cultivated -throughout the country, and that a revenue is derived by the Government -from the native drug. - -14. That Hong Kong being the great depôt of Indian opium and the place -where the drug is most largely prepared for smoking purposes, and where -also the native population (about three-fourths of whom are adult males) -are in good circumstances, and therefore better able to indulge in opium -smoking than their countrymen in the mainland of China, is the place where -the alleged evils of opium smoking, if they existed, would be found in -their worst form, yet that _those evils are unknown there_. - -15. That the outcry, got up and disseminated for so many years past in -England against the Indo-China opium trade has not, and never had, any -substantial foundation; that such outcry has arisen from the complaints, -of the Protestant missionaries in China, which also are equally baseless, -those missionaries having been simply made dupes of by certain designing -and mendacious natives for purposes of their own, or of the Government of -China. - -16. That opium was inserted into the Schedule to the Treaty of Tientsin at -the express desire and request of the Chinese authorities; that Lord Elgin -wished and proposed to those authorities by his Secretary, Mr. Laurence -Oliphant, to place a higher duty than thirty taels on the drug, but that -the Chinese officials declined to do so, fearing that, if the duty were -raised, an impetus would be given to smuggling. - -17. That the career of the Anti-Opium Society has been signalized by a -continuous series of mistakes and blunders--commencing with the monstrous -figment (the invention of an American missionary) that there were twenty -millions of opium smokers in China supplied by the Indian drug, and that -_two millions of these smokers died annually from the practice_,--and that -the Anti-Opium confederacy is only kept alive by the continued reiteration -of exploded fallacies, sophistries, and mis-statements of the same nature. - -18. That the British merchants connected with China in the past and the -present were and are wholly free from the stigmas cast upon them by the -Anti-Opium Society, anent smuggling and the opium trade;[12] that, so far -from having acted wrongfully towards China and the Chinese, their conduct -towards both has been, and still is, emphatically characterized by honour -and rectitude, and by uniform courtesy and kindness; and that those -merchants, have deserved well of their country. - -19. That the Anti-Opium Society, from its formation to the present time, -has wrought nothing but mischief, crippling by its pragmatical efforts the -action of Her Majesty's Government, both here and in India and China, -abstracting by its mis-statements enormous sums of money from the -charitable and benevolent, and squandering that money in the propagation -of unfounded theories and injurious reflections against our -fellow-countrymen in China; and that the public should withdraw their -confidence from the Society, and cease to supply it with one farthing -more. - -20. That, save in respect of the blockade of Hong Kong by the armed -cruisers of the Hoppo or Revenue Farmer of the provinces of the two -Kwangs, which inflict great and bitter hardship upon the Chinese merchants -of Hong Kong and the junk owners who trade to that place, the British -nation, by its Government and people, has amply redeemed the promises made -to the people of China by Her Majesty's representative, Sir Henry Elliott, -on taking over Hong Kong, which is amply verified by the flourishing state -of that Colony, and its large, thriving, and contented Chinese population. - -21. That, whilst it is desirable to maintain the most amicable and cordial -relations with the Government of China and its various viceroyalties, that -most unjustifiable blockade by the Hoppo or Revenue Farmer of Canton -should be promptly suppressed; a matter which has only to be taken in hand -by Her Majesty's Consul at Canton, supported, if necessary, by the British -Minister at Peking, and firmly but courteously pressed upon the Viceroy -of the two Kwangs, who cannot but acknowledge the gross injustice and -cruel wrong inflicted on Hong Kong and its native merchants by those -cruisers, and who has the power and only wants the will to let right be -done. - -In the course of these lectures I have spoken of some of the vices of the -Chinese, and of our own also. The people of England have, however, many -virtues, the growth of centuries; one of these is a broad and liberal -charity, that pours forth a continuous stream of benevolence over the -whole world. It is a virtue that pervades all classes, from our honoured -Queen to the humblest of her subjects. It is not without a swelling heart -that one can walk through the streets of London and see the noble -charitable institutions surrounding him upon all sides, such as hospitals, -convalescent institutions, homes for aged and infirm people, educational -institutes, and such like, _supported by voluntary contributions_--living -evidences of the charity and benevolence of our people in the past and -present. Yet these splendid monuments but faintly testify to the flow of -munificence perpetually running its course around us. Observe how -liberally the public respond to the appeals made to it almost daily. Look -at the case of the persecution of the Jews in Russia, the famine in the -North of China, the distress and troubles in Ireland. Then, again, there -is the charity "that lets not the left hand know what the right hand -doeth," of which the world sees nothing, but which is known to go on -unceasingly, and which probably is the most liberal of all. The history of -the world, so far as I am aware, does not record a parallel to this in any -other nation or people. With such an active and unceasing charity going on -amongst us, we should take care that this beneficent stream is not -diverted into worthless channels, for that would be a matter concerning -the whole public. - -Now, though I hold in respect all the officers and supporters of the -Anti-Opium Society, who are actuated, I admit, by the best motives, and -whose characters for benevolence and good faith I do not question, I -cannot forbear from repeating that their crusade against the Indo-China -opium trade is as unjustifiable as it is mischievous, and is well -calculated to produce the results I have deprecated. It encourages the -Chinese Government to make untenable demands upon us, under false -pretences, and it is an unwarranted interference with an industry, wholly -unobjectionable on any but sentimental grounds, affording subsistence to -millions of our fellow-subjects in India. It aims, also, at cutting off -some eight or ten millions sterling from the revenue of that vast -dependency, now expended in ameliorating the condition of its dense -population. Furthermore, it offers to useful and legitimate legislation an -opposition and obstruction of the worst kind, seeing that it obtrudes upon -the Legislature its unfounded and exploded theories, to the displacement -or delay of really useful measures. - -I say that the Anti-Opium Society, in the course of its agitation for the -abolition of this Indo-China opium trade, is vilifying its countrymen and -blackening this country in the eyes of the whole world, so that the -foreigner can convict us out of our own mouths, and jibe at us for -hypocrisy and turpitude we are wholly innocent of, and for crimes we have -never committed.[13] I say that the history of this Society presents -nothing but a dreary record of energies wasted, talents misapplied, wealth -uselessly squandered, charity perverted, and philanthropy run mad. The -members of this Society never think, perhaps, of the mischief they have -done and are doing. Here has our Government been trying for the past seven -or eight years to agree upon a revised commercial treaty with the -Government of China, and here also, side by side, is an irresponsible -political body doing its utmost to cripple, paralyse, and defeat our -Government in its efforts, taking up, in fact, a downright hostile -attitude to the action of the Imperial and Indian Governments, by carrying -on an unauthorized unofficial correspondence with Li Hung Chang, the Prime -Minister, and the most influential public man in China, who is a master of -the arts of diplomacy, and who is doing his utmost to get the better of us -if he can in the matter of the Chefoo Convention. Here, I say, is this -society putting forward Li's audacious and misleading letter to its -secretary, Mr. Storrs Turner, as an embodiment of truth and justice. Is -this patriotic or proper on the part of this Anti-Opium Society? Should -that body, instead of setting itself up as a junto, with a quasi-official -standing, having a monopoly of all the virtues, be allowed by the -Government to carry on its mischievous organization any longer? I think -not. I believe there is no other country in the world--not even America, -where liberty has run to seed--where such an intermeddling, anti-national -and mischievous confederacy would be permitted to exist. Instead of trying -to thwart Her Majesty's Government, as it is doing, it should be the duty -of its members, of every Englishman interested in China, and, indeed, of -the whole country, to strengthen as far as possible the hands of the -Government in its endeavour to bring the pending negotiations for a -commercial treaty with China to a successful close. Yet what are the -present plans of this pragmatical body? In its latest publication, a -compilation of the most fallacious and misleading matter, bearing a title -meanly plagiarized from this book, it is announced that the following -motion stands upon the Order Book of the House of Commons, and is intended -to be moved in the Session for 1883, viz:-- - - That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that in - the event of negotiations taking place between the Governments of Her - Majesty and China, having reference to the duties levied on opium - under the Treaty of Tientsin, the Government of Her Majesty will be - pleased to intimate to the Government of China that in any such - revision of that treaty _the Government of China will be met as that - of an independent State, having the full right to arrange its own - import duties as may be deemed expedient_. - -What a modest proposition! The Queen's Ministers, it appears, cannot be -trusted in their negotiations with the Government of China, and Her -Majesty in consequence is to be asked to ignore her constitutional -advisers, and personally inform the Chinese Minister that his Government -shall be treated as an independent state, and so forth. In fact, this -proposal is tantamount to a vote, _pro tanto_ at least, of want of -confidence in the Government, which, I have little doubt, would be -rejected by an overwhelming majority of both sides of the House. I only -hope it will be pressed to a division, as the result, I believe, will show -to the country in an unmistakable manner, once and for all, the utter -insignificance of the Anti-Opium confederacy as a political body, the -falsity and mischief of its teaching, and prove the knell of its -existence. If motions like this were to be passed, it would be impossible -to carry on Her Majesty's Government. The matter is really too absurd to -be seriously dealt with by Parliament, and I bring it before my readers -more for the purpose of showing the downright folly, infatuation and -fanaticism which characterize this Anti-Opium confederation than for any -other purpose. To these political philanthropists and amateur statesmen I -would recommend these lines, which seem to me to meet their case -exactly:-- - - "No narrow bigot he, his reasoned view - Thy interest, England, ranks with thine, Peru; - War at our doors, he sees no danger nigh, - But heaves for all alike the impartial sigh; - A steady patron of the world alone, - The friend of every country--save his own." - -Of the missionaries themselves, beyond this opium craze that has -unfortunately possessed them, I have nothing to say except to their -credit. A more conscientious and deserving body of men this world has -never produced; under hardships, troubles, and unspeakable difficulties, -they have sped their way with courage and cheerfulness, undeterred by -dangers, great privations and hardships which nothing but their strong -faith and unflagging zeal in their sacred mission could have enabled them -to surmount. Of their ultimate success I entertain, perhaps, as little -doubt as they do themselves; but on this opium question the "zeal of their -house hath eaten them up," and they have unconsciously been playing the -game of the crafty heathen. Let them pursue their good cause, and not -allow themselves to be cajoled by their bitterest enemies; above all, let -them keep clear of politics. No clergyman ever improves by intermeddling -in such matters, but, on the contrary, by doing so he invariably becomes a -bad politician and a worse priest. Let these vast sums, subscribed for the -promotion of a chimera, be transferred to the missionaries' fund, so as to -improve the lot of these missionaries and give them a little more comfort -in the hostile climate and the bitter fight that is before them. "The -labourer is worthy of his hire," and it is starving the missionary work -not to pay its servants liberally, I should say most liberally. With -respect to the Rev. Mr. Storrs Turner, whose name I have so often -mentioned, and whose writings I have so frequently animadverted upon, I -had the pleasure of knowing him in China. No worthier or better gentleman, -and no more able and zealous missionary clergyman ever set foot there. In -referring to him and his writings as I have done, nothing was further from -my thoughts than to impute to him for a moment an unworthy motive. He is -in the first rank of the missionary clergymen who stood the brunt of the -battle, and is deserving of praise and honour. As yet the missionaries -have been like husbandmen tilling an unkindly soil, trying to produce -wholesome fruit where only gross weeds grew before; and although small -apparently has been the fruit as yet, the unfriendly soil has shown signs -of yielding, and I feel assured that the day will come when their labours -shall be rewarded with a plenteous harvest. - -I have now told the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth on -the opium question; certainly such has been my intention. In doing so I am -afraid I may have given pain to many good and excellent people; I know -that I have given pain to myself. I can only repeat that I have never -intended to impute a wrongful or unworthy motive to any of them. Those who -are and have been engaged in the Anti-Opium agitation are, I admit, -influenced by the best motives. I have myself throughout been solely -actuated by a desire to remove the unfounded delusions that have got -possession of these worthy people, which have done great injustice to our -fellow-countrymen in China, as well as to the benevolent British public, -which has kept this Anti-Opium Society provided with the funds that have -enabled them to carry on their operations, to the embarrassment of the -administration of our great Indian Entire. Personally, I say again, that I -have no interest whatever in the matter, nor have I any leaning towards -the interests of any of the merchants now engaged in the opium trade. My -hands in this matter are absolutely clean. In the preface to the first -edition of these lectures I have explained how and why I came to deliver -them; that is my explanation without any mental reservation whatsoever. I -have, I admit, a very strong feeling upon the subject, but so also have -those who differ from me; and I would ask those most excellent and -honourable people to remember that there are two sides to most -questions,--to imagine, if they can, that there are other persons, totally -opposed to their views, who are quite as honest in their convictions as -they are themselves,--to look upon me as one of those persons, and to -measure my feelings by the strength of their own. I say this because I -have heard that a rumour to the effect of my being in some way personally -interested in the Indo-China opium trade has been circulated. If such is -the case, this rumour has no foundation in fact. I cannot prevent the -dissemination of such reports; but they are, I repeat, utterly groundless. -Honest in my purpose, I can afford to treat them with unconcern, and can -justly add, whilst far from setting myself up as better than my -neighbours, that-- - - "I am arm'd so strong in honesty, - That they pass me by as the idle wind, - Which I respect not." - - - - -APPENDIX. - - - - -APPENDIX. - -_Being an Official Letter from the Hon. Francis Bulkeley Johnson, of the -firm of Jardine, Matheson, & Co., Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of -Commerce, to Charles Magniac, Esq., M.P., President of the London Chamber -of Commerce._ - - - Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, - Hong Kong, 22nd November, 1882. - -SIR,--The attention of the Committee of this Chamber has been called to -certain statements recently made in the United Kingdom regarding this -Colony, on what must unfortunately appear to the public mind to be -competent authority, but which are nevertheless unwarranted and -misleading. - -The statements referred to are, in the opinion of the Committee, -calculated not only to affect injuriously the reputation of the Colony, -but to damage its interests by prejudicing the policy of the Home -Government and the Imperial Parliament, when dealing with the settlement -of questions arising out of the close political and commercial relations -which the Island of Hong Kong from its juxta-position must necessarily -hold with the Empire of China. - -The Committee offers no apology for addressing you on this subject as it -ventures to believe that the promotion of British Commercial enterprise -abroad in all legitimate channels is one of the objects the London Chamber -of Commerce has in view, and, to that end, it is clearly desirable that a -true appreciation should prevail, not only among the members of your -influential Committee, but throughout the United Kingdom, as to the -position and character of British trade and traders in the Colonies and -foreign countries. - -In the course of an address on the Repression of Crime delivered at the -Social Science Congress, recently held in Nottingham, Sir John Pope -Hennessy, Governor of this Colony, now on leave of absence in England, is -reported to have said--I quote from the _Nottingham and Midland Counties -Daily Express_, of the 22nd September:--"In the little Colony under my -government one million sterling changes hands every month in the article -of opium. But, with commercial activity and profits, there comes an -increase of crime from opium, from its consumption, and from its -smuggling. Hong Kong wages a chronic opium war on a small scale with -China. A desperate class of men, the opium smugglers make the Colony the -base of their operations--they purchase cannon and ammunition there, they -fit out heavily armed junks and engage, within sight of the island, in -naval battles with the revenue cruisers of the Emperor of China. Sometimes -the Emperor's revenue officers are killed, sometimes the smugglers. Not -unfrequently wounded men of both sides are brought into the Colony. All -this gives rise to a class of crimes difficult for the Governor to -repress, difficult on account of the influence of those who profit by it, -whether they are local traders or the financiers of a Viceroy." - -The picture thus sensationally drawn is one which, from its great -exaggerations, gives an untrue representation of the state of things -prevailing in these waters, and cannot fail to lead to the formation of -wholly incorrect inferences as to the relations existing between the -population of this island, for the most part law-abiding and pursuing -honest and industrious callings, and the authorities of the neighbouring -mainland. - -Sir John Hennessy states that opium, to the extent of a million sterling, -_changes hands_ in this Colony every month, and this assertion as to the -magnitude of the trade was obviously made in order to show the vast and -wide-spread interests involved in it, and the influential protection -therefore likely to be afforded to a traffic which the general tenour of -the remarks just quoted cannot fail to lead ordinary readers to suppose is -to a very large extent, if not mainly, contraband. - -Your Committee will be able to judge from the following facts how far the -injurious imputation, thus plausibly insinuated, if not directly stated, -is to be justified by the actual position of affairs. - -The import of opium from India and Persia to Hong Kong and _the whole of -China_, for the year 1881 was-- - - Of Malwa, from Bombay 35,729 chests. - Bengal, from Calcutta 44,124 " - From Persia 6,763 " - ------ - Total 86,616 chests. - -of an approximate value of £10,000,000 sterling. - -With some slight and unimportant exceptions the whole of this opium, the -trade in which it is worthy of note is now practically monopolized by -British Indian firms, passes through this harbour, but by far the larger -proportion of it can only be classed under the head of Hong Kong trade in -the sense in which the traffic through the Suez Canal can be considered as -Egyptian trade. About one half of the quantity of opium I have named as -the entire import, is immediately sent on either in the original foreign -vessels conveying it here, or by other vessels, also foreign, to Shanghai, -where it is entered regularly at the Custom House under official foreign -superintendence. - -Of the remainder, about one half, that is to say, one quarter of the -whole, is shipped by foreign vessels to other treaty ports open to foreign -trade, where it is duly entered at the Customs. The local trade proper of -the Colony, whether for shipment to Macao or Canton by foreign and native -vessels, or in native bottoms, to non-treaty ports,--_i.e._ to ports and -places with which foreign vessels cannot trade,--for consumption on the -island, and for re-export in a prepared state to California and Australia, -or for smuggling purposes, embraces therefore about one fourth of the -entire export to China from India and Persia, or say, in quantity about -21,000 chests of an approximate value of £2,500,000, or about £200,000 per -month instead of £1,000,000 per month as asserted by Governor Hennessy. - -There being no Custom House at this port, it is impossible to obtain -thoroughly accurate statistics as to the disposition of the 21,000 chests -of opium which form the local trade of the Colony. As regards the local -consumption and export in a prepared state, it may be estimated that from -2,500 to 5,000 chests are boiled in the Colony every year, leaving a -balance of 16,000 to 18,500 chests to be accounted for. To suppose that -this quantity is taken into China by smugglers would be to disregard all -the known conditions of the trade and the fact that the preventive service -of the Chinese Empire is probably in point of espionage the most carefully -organized one in the world. On every road, in every village bordering on a -river or waterway, at every port, village, and fishing station along the -coast, there is a watchful Customs Station rendering it very difficult for -a boat of the smallest size to touch the shore without being overhauled -and made to pay levies purporting to be imperial or local dues. To what -extent such dues are honestly levied and declared, there is no means of -ascertaining. The Customs Stations are believed to be farmed out by the -provincial authorities to officials who pay for their appointments, and -although a service thus organized would be considered as a demoralized one -and its system unreservedly condemned according to Western ideas, it is -probable that the receipts of perquisites, and the partial remission of -duties by Customs officials who farm the revenue, is a _quasi_ recognized -practice acquiesced in by all classes throughout the Empire. - -With this system, however, the Colony and merchants of Hong Kong have no -concern, and for its results they are in no way responsible. As the vast -majority of the junks which leave the mainland with produce or arrive -there with imports, undoubtedly obtain from the local Custom Houses port -clearances and bills of entry, the large trade, whether in opium or other -goods, carried on between this port and places on the coast in native -bottoms, being thus subjected to the ordinary fiscal dues levied on the -China coast according to the practice of the Empire, is for the most part -a strictly legal one. - -Smuggling between this island and the mainland in goods other than opium -scarcely exists, as an evasion of the low _ad valorem_ duty of five per -cent. which is payable on entry at the treaty ports, and is probably the -maximum similarly leviable at other ports, would not compensate for the -heavy charges which must be incurred by transit over unusual routes even -if the ubiquitous Customs officials could be avoided. Opium, owing to its -portable character, the facility with which it can be hidden beneath water -without serious deterioration, and the high duty imposed upon it, is more -readily and profitably smuggled, but the returns which have been received -through the Native Custom House at Canton make it nearly certain that the -quantity which evades the payment of duty, either at the treaty ports or -the ports and places not open to foreign trade, is not greater than 2,000 -to 3,000 chests per annum. (See Parliamentary Papers--China No. 2, 1880.) -And the quantity thus estimated to be smuggled is not conveyed, as alleged -by Governor Hennessy, in junks heavily armed for the purpose, fighting -their way to the mainland through the revenue cruisers, but is concealed, -a few balls at a time, about the persons, and in the luggage of Chinese -passengers by the steamers plying between this port and Canton, and other -places on the coast, or in ordinary trading junks and fishing boats of -unpretentious character, or fast pulling boats propelled by a number of -rowers, or by various devices such as are practised by the persons who -evade the duties on tobacco in the United Kingdom. That the revenue -cruisers which surround this island keep up an effective blockade which -prevents the smuggling of opium on a much larger scale than at present -takes place, is probably true, and it is also true that Chinese junks and -boats in the estuary of the Canton river, which do not promptly submit to -be overhauled by the cruisers, are chased and brought to for examination, -if necessary, by being fired upon. The propinquity, however, of this -island to the mainland, so far from being a cause of injury to the Chinese -Customs Revenue, operates most advantageously for the collection of fiscal -levies upon the foreign trade of the southern coast of the Empire. Were -the island situated at a greater distance from the mainland than it is, or -did not exist in its present conditions as a free port under a foreign -government, the difficulties which would be placed in the way of the -Chinese authorities, when engaged in checking smuggling in opium, would be -much greater than they now are. Opium in that case would probably be -shipped in native vessels from more distant depôts, such as Singapore, -Saigon or the French mediatized territory of Tonquin, to Chinese ports and -places, and it would be impossible for the revenue cruisers to watch the -entire line of their own coast as effectively as they are now able to -blockade this island in which the trade is centred and controlled. - -There is, therefore, no ground for Governor Hennessy's statement that this -Colony is engaged in chronic war with the neighbouring mainland, or for -his implied imputation that the course of its trade is injurious to the -Chinese fiscal revenue. On the contrary, the facts of the case show that -the physical conditions of the island of Hong Kong not only afford the -ready means by which the Chinese Government is enabled to protect its -legitimate revenue, but also unfortunately place it in the power of the -authorities of the province of Quangtung to surcharge the trade in foreign -goods, carried on in native vessels between Hong Kong and the southern -ports of China, with additional taxation in excess of that authorized by -the foreign treaties. - -With the view to make a representation to H.M. Government in support of -which it may hereafter be necessary to invite the good offices of your -Committee, this Chamber is now engaged in an investigation into the facts, -so far as they can be ascertained, relating to this alleged surcharge of -duties upon the Colonial trade for the collection of which, as well as for -the prevention of an illicit traffic in opium, there is reason to believe -the blockade of this island by Chinese revenue cruisers is maintained. - -So much as regards the general conditions of the trade of the Colony which -evidence the grave misrepresentations contained in the Nottingham address, -but in order to show conclusively, by official returns on matters of fact, -the groundlessness of the specific accusation made by Sir John Pope -Hennessy, your attention is invited to the annexed copies of -correspondence, with its enclosures, between the Colonial Government and -the Committee of this Chamber. - -In response to the request of the Committee, the Acting Colonial Secretary -under the direction of His Excellency the Administrator has furnished the -Chamber with the following documents, viz.:-- - - 1. Extracts from a Report by the Colonial Treasurer and Registrar - General upon the Opium Trade of the Colony. - - 2. Return from the Harbour Master, showing the character of the native - vessels engaged in Opium Smuggling and the number of cases of alleged - smuggling brought before the Marine Court since April 1877. - - 3. Return from the Captain Superintendent of Police, showing the total - number of attacks and seizures made by Customs Revenue Cruisers in the - neighbourhood of the Colony and reported to the Police since 1st - January 1877. - -The Colonial Treasurer's Report on the Opium Trade for 1876, confirms the -figures of the approximate estimate made by this Chamber from independent -sources and given above, as to the probable quantity of opium smuggled -into China from this Colony. - -The Harbour Master's Return shows that there is no special class of -vessels fitted out in the Colony and heavily armed for the purpose of -opium smuggling, as alleged by Governor Hennessy, and in the five cases -cited in the report which comprise the whole number brought before the -Marine Court in the course of five years, it will be seen that the -quantity of opium found in the vessels charged with being engaged in -illicit trade was so inconsiderable, as to make it obvious that the -concealment of opium took place in each case in an ordinary trading junk. -It is also clear from this Return that nothing is known in the Harbour -Master's Department of the armed organization for the purpose of opium -smuggling which is stated by Governor Hennessy to carry on a chronic war -with the Empire of China. - -The return from the Captain Superintendent of Police dealing with the -entire number of cases reported to the police authorities during the years -1878 to 1882 (inclusive) of seizures by Chinese Revenue cruisers and -affrays between the cruisers and native vessels on the neighbouring China -coast, is instructive. - -The number of cases is 23, but of these only 6 are reported to be -connected with the opium trade and the value of the opium seized varies -from $3 in one case to the maximum amount in another of $800, showing, in -confirmation of the Report by the Harbour Master to a similar effect, the -comparatively unimportant character of the opium smuggling which prevails -in these waters, and the absurdity of the allegation that there is a large -contraband trade conducted in heavily armed junks fitted for the purpose -in this harbour. - -The remaining 17 cases of seizures by revenue cruisers during five years -do not appear by the returns to have been connected with opium; 7 of them -were salt junks, 1 sulphur and saltpetre, 3 general cargo, and 2 sugar. In -4 cases the particulars of cargoes are not stated. - -The return shows the number of casualties with fatal results reported to -the police as having occurred in affrays between native vessels and the -revenue cruisers during the period of five years under review. Such -casualties have been 8 in number, but not one of them appears to have had -any connection with opium smuggling, or to have arisen out of any case of -contraband trading with which this Colony was concerned. - -In August 1878, a fisherman on the Hong Kong shore was accidentally killed -by a shot fired by a revenue cruiser when pursuing a junk ultimately -seized for some breach of Chinese regulations with general cargo on board. - -In May 1879, three men of a revenue cruiser were killed in an affray with -a junk carrying salt. As salt is not produced or prepared in this island, -this affray was not generated in the Colony or within Colonial waters. The -preparation of salt in China is conducted as a very strict monopoly by -means of Government licenses, and trade in it other than by duly -authorized persons is contraband. Serious affrays between salt smugglers -and revenue officers are well known to be common throughout the Empire, -they are frequently alluded to in the _Peking Gazette_, and in the case -referred to in the Police Report, the junk must have been passing from one -part of the territory of China to another part outside of British waters. - -On 28th November 1881, a man was killed in a boat which was conveying two -gentlemen of this Colony who were returning from a shooting expedition on -the mainland. Passing by a Customs Station on the Chinese side of the -channel the boat was ordered to heave to; not doing so promptly, musket -shots were fired at it and one of the crew was most unfortunately killed. -In this case there appears to have been no smuggling attempted. - -In April this year a man was killed on board a rowing boat in the narrow -channel separating Hong Kong from the mainland, and in June last two men -were killed outside British waters in a trading junk carrying sulphur and -saltpetre, which are contraband articles of trade in China. In neither -case does it appear that opium was concerned. - -With reference, therefore, to Sir John Pope Hennessy's allegations, which -were to the following effect:-- - - _a._--That this island is the base of operations for a class of - desperate men who carry on a large contraband trade in opium with - China; - - _b._--That for the purpose of carrying on that trade, junks heavily - armed with cannon are fitted out here and wage a chronic war with the - neighbouring Empire; - - _c._--That these junks engage, within sight of the island, in naval - battles with the Chinese Revenue cruisers resulting in large loss of - life on both sides; - -The facts are:-- - - _a._--There is no large contraband trade in opium carried on between - this Colony and the China coast. On the contrary, the opium smuggled, - considering the extent of the trade, is inconsiderable, and for the - most part is carried into China in small quantities, portable and - easily concealed, just as parcels of tobacco are smuggled into the - United Kingdom. - - _b._--That within the knowledge of the Harbour Master and the Colonial - police authorities no armed junks have been fitted out in this harbour - during the last five years for the purpose of opium smuggling. - Smuggling of opium, when attempted at all otherwise than by passengers - in the various steamers trading to the coast of China, is carried on - in ordinary trading junks or in rowing boats dependent for success in - their illicit trade upon their swiftness and small size. - - _c._--No such contests as those referred to in allegation _c_ have - taken place within the last five years, and no loss of life in - connection with opium smuggling during the same period has come under - the notice of the police. Any serious affrays attended with loss of - life which have occurred in the neighbourhood of this Colony between - native vessels and revenue cruisers, have been in connection with - contraband traffic in other articles on the adjacent China coast with - which, so far as is known, this Colony has had no concern. The only - instance reported by the police in which revenue officers have been - injured, was the case of the salt junk referred to above and shown to - be a purely Chinese affair. - -It may be added that on goods other than opium there is very little, if -any, illicit trade carried on between the Colony and the mainland, and -that no allegation has ever been made that foreigners are engaged directly -or indirectly in smuggling of any kind. - -In conclusion, the Committee cannot refrain from expressing regret that -Sir John Pope Hennessy having had the fullest opportunities, as Governor -of this island for five years, of obtaining accurate information with -regard to occurrences taking place and the state of affairs prevailing -here during his term of office, should have been led to make statements, -unfounded in fact and misleading in the inferences they are calculated to -raise, which could not fail to damage the character of the Colony, the -legitimate interests of which it might justly have been expected he would -have been most anxious to defend. - -Copies of this letter will be sent through His Excellency the -Administrator to Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the -Colonies, and to the various Chambers of Commerce in the United -Kingdom.--I am, Sir, your most obedient Servant, - - (Signed) F. BULKELEY JOHNSON, - _Chairman_. - - Charles Magniac, Esq., M.P., - President of the London Chamber of - Commerce, London. - - - - - LONDON: - PRINTED BY W. H. ALLEN AND CO., 13 WATERLOO PLACE. - - - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] "British Opium Policy, and its Results to India and China." - -[2] The loose control possessed by the Emperor over his officials was well -described by one of the most trusted ministers of the great Emperor Keen -Lung. He said to one of the Jesuit missionaries at Pekin, that "the -Emperor himself cannot put a stop to the evils that exist in the service. -To displace those officials who have misbehaved themselves, he may send -others, but instead of removing the evil they generally commit greater -exactions than their predecessors. The Emperor is assured that all is -well, whilst affairs are at their worst and the people are oppressed." - -[3] "China: a History of the Laws, Manners, and Customs of the People." - -[4] "The Middle Kingdom." A Survey of the Geography, Government, -Education, Social Life, Arts, Religion, &c., of the Chinese Empire, and -its Inhabitants. - -[5] As a matter of fact the skull of a Chinaman is fully double the -thickness of that of a European. - -[6] "The River of Golden Sand; the Narrative of a Journey through China -and Eastern Thibet to Burmah," by Capt. William Gill, R.E. - -[7] "The Principles and Practice of Medical Jurisprudence," by Alfred -Swaine Taylor, M.D., F.R.S. - -[8] I have a distant recollection of a syllogism with which schoolboys -once used to exercise the minds of their juniors, which ran, I think, -thus:-- - - Epimenides said all Cretans were liars, - Epimenides himself was a Cretan, - Therefore Epimenides was a liar,--therefore he was not a liar. - -[9] "L'Angleterre, la Chine, et l'Inde." I am indebted for a transcript of -the chapter in question to Mr. H. Henry Sultzberger, Merchant, of No. 10 -Cannon Street, City, who has taken such an interest in the opium question -that he had the chapter printed at his own expense; and also to M. -d'Audlan, a teacher of modern languages, for a translation of it. - -[10] "Annals of Chemical Medicine, including the Application of Chemistry -to Physiology, Pathology, Therapeutics, Pharmacy, Toxicology and Hygiene." - -[11] In those days about £100 sterling.--W. H. B. - -[12] The unfounded charge of smuggling by British merchants and foreigners -in Hong Kong has been completely refuted by the Honourable Francis -Bulkeley Johnson, the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of the Colony, -in a very able letter to Charles Magniac, Esq., M.P., the President of the -London Chamber of Commerce. This letter, which reached me just before -going to press, will be found set out _in extenso_ by way of Appendix. It -is full of valuable and interesting information on the Indo-China opium -trade, and is well worthy of careful study. - -[13] In a recent number of the _Temps_, England was flouted with playing a -humanitarian, hypocritical part towards Tunis, whilst we oppressed the -natives of China by forcing them to smoke opium, in order to augment the -revenue of the Indian Government. - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Truth about Opium, by William H. 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Brereton - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Truth about Opium - Being a Refutation of the Fallacies of the Anti-Opium - Society and a Defence of the Indo-China Opium Trade - -Author: William H. Brereton - -Release Date: October 26, 2013 [EBook #44043] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TRUTH ABOUT OPIUM *** - - - - -Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive/American -Libraries.) - - - - - - -</pre> - - - - -<p class="center"><img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="" /></p> - -<p> </p><p> </p> - -<h1><small>THE TRUTH ABOUT OPIUM</small></h1> - -<p> </p><p> </p> -<p class="center"><span class="large">THE</span><br /> -<span class="giant">TRUTH ABOUT OPIUM</span>.</p> -<p> </p> -<p class="center">BEING A</p> -<p class="center"><span class="large"><i>REFUTATION OF THE FALLACIES<br /> -OF THE ANTI-OPIUM SOCIETY AND A DEFENCE<br /> -OF THE INDO-CHINA OPIUM TRADE</i>.</span></p> -<p> </p> -<p class="center"><small>BY</small><br /> -<span class="large">WILLIAM H. BRERETON,</span><br /> -<small>LATE OF HONG KONG</small>.</p> -<p> </p> -<div class="container"> -<p class="poetry">“<i>Let truth and falsehood grapple; who ever knew truth put<br />to the worse -in a free and open encounter?</i>‗<span class="smcap">John Milton.</span></p></div> -<p> </p> -<p class="center"><i>SECOND EDITION.</i></p> -<p> </p> -<p class="center">LONDON:<br /> -W. H. ALLEN & CO., 13 WATERLOO PLACE.<br /> -PUBLISHERS TO THE INDIA OFFICE.</p> -<p class="center">1883.</p> -<p class="center">(<i>All rights reserved.</i>)</p> - - - -<p> </p><p> </p> -<p class="center"><small>LONDON:<br /> -PRINTED BY W. H. ALLEN AND CO., 13 WATERLOO PLACE.</small></p> - - - -<p> </p><p> </p> -<hr style="width: 50%;" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span></p> -<h2>PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.</h2> - -<p>In the preface to my first edition I expressed a hope that these lectures, -however imperfect, would prove in some degree instrumental towards -breaking up the Anti-Opium confederacy, and I have the satisfaction of -knowing that my anticipations have not been altogether disappointed. The -lectures were well received by the public and the press, and struck the -Anti-Opium Society and its versatile Secretary, the Rev. Mr. Storrs -Turner, with such consternation that, in the language of people in -difficulties, “business was discontinued until further notice.†Mr. Storrs -Turner,—the motive power which kept the Anti-Opium machine working,—who -had hitherto been so active, aggressive, and demonstrative—a very -Mercutio in volubility and fertility of resource,—became suddenly silent, -mute as the harp on Tara’s walls. He who once was resonant as the lion, -like Bottom the Weaver, moderated his tone, and roared from thenceforth -“gently as any sucking dove.†Until the delivery of my lectures, no lark -at early morn was half so lively or jubilant. Letters to the newspapers, -articles in magazines, improvised lectures and speeches, flew from him -like chaff from the winnowing-machine. Heaven help the unlucky individual -who had the temerity to differ from him on the opium question, for Mr. -Storrs Turner would, as the phrase goes, “come down upon him sharp.â€</p> - -<p>This kind of light skirmishing suited him exactly; it kept<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</a></span> alive public -interest in the Anti-Opium delusion, and no doubt brought grist to the -mill, without committing him to anything in particular, or calling for any -extraordinary draft upon his imagination or resources. He had only to -reiterate loud enough the cuckoo cry that his deluded followers had so -long recognised as the pæan of victory. But when my lectures were -delivered, and it was announced that they would be published, “a change -came o’er the spirit of his dream.†Having for so many years had -practically all the field to himself, it had never occurred to him that -another and more competent witness from China, where all these imaginary -evils from opium smoking were alleged to be taking place,—who had had -better opportunities of learning the truth about opium than he could -possibly have had, and who had turned those opportunities to good -account,—should appear and refute his fallacies. This was a <i>dénouement</i> -that neither he nor his Society was prepared for, and dismay and silence -prevailed in consequence in the enemy’s camp.</p> - -<div class="container"> -<p class="poetry">And the tents were all silent,—the banners unflown,—<br /> -The lances unlifted,—the trumpet unblown.</p></div> - -<p>My lectures were delivered in February, 1882. The Rev. Mr. Storrs Turner -attended them and corresponded with me upon the subject. In those lectures -I criticized his book and pointed out its misleading features and -inaccuracies; but, recognizing the force of Sir John Falstaff’s maxim, -that “the better part of valour is discretion,†he never attempted to -controvert my case, nor justify himself or the Anti-Opium Society, who for -so many years had made such noise in the world. It was only in October, -1882,—eight months after my lectures had been delivered,—after an -article appeared in the <i>London and China Telegraph</i>, commenting on the -collapse of the Anti-Opium Society,—that Mr. Storrs Turner, like -Munchausen’s remarkable hunting-horn, gave utterance to a few feeble -notes, to the effect that his Society was still alive; for he well knew -that all that I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span> had stated in those lectures I could prove to the -hilt,—aye, ten times over.</p> - -<p>But if Mr. Storrs Turner has declined the contest, an acolyte of his, Mr. -B. Broomhall,—who appears to be the Secretary of the Inland China -Mission, and one of the “Executive Committee†of the Anti-Opium -Society,—comes upon the scene like King Hamlet’s ghost, declaring that he -“could a tale unfold, whose lightest breath would harrow up your souls, -freeze the hot blood, and make each particular hair to stand on end.†-Plagiarising, if not pirating, my title, with a colourable addition of the -word “Smoking,†he produces, in November 1882, a compilation entitled “The -Truth about Opium-<i>Smoking</i>,†rather a thick pamphlet, made up of excerpts -from all the writings and speeches, good, bad, and indifferent, that have -been published and delivered within the last thirty years on the -Anti-Opium side of the question, with some critical matter of his own, -from all of which it appears most conclusively that he, Mr. B. Broomhall, -is perfectly innocent of the subject he undertakes to enlighten the world -upon. I think I see through this gentleman and his objects pretty well. -With respect to the authors of these writings and speeches, I may say at -once that I hold them in as much respect as Mr. B. Broomhall does himself. -Some of them are very eminent men, who, apart from this opium delusion, -are ornaments to their country, and all, I have no doubt, are men of -spotless honour and integrity; but what, after all, does that prove? Why, -simply the <i>bona fides</i> of these gentlemen, which no one ever questioned, -and nothing more;—that in writing those pamphlets and articles they -honestly believed they were giving utterance to facts and recording -circumstances which were true, and which it was for the good of society -should be widely known. The good and just man is as liable to be deceived -as he who is less perfect,—indeed, more so, for his very amiability and -guilelessness of heart allay suspicion and make him an easier prey to the -designing and unscrupulous. Not one of those<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</a></span> gentlemen, save Sir -Rutherford Alcock, and one or two others, whose opinions are coincident, -in fact, with my own, have had any actual personal knowledge of the facts -they write about, and such a statement as the following might well be -printed in the front of each of their books or writings, viz.: “I have -read certain books and articles in newspapers, and heard speeches upon the -opium question, which I believe to be true, and on such assumption the -following pages are my views upon the subject.†To prove to my readers the -utterly unreliable and deceptive character of Mr. Broomhall’s compilation, -it is only necessary to refer to one passage, which will be found at page -122, where it is gravely put forward <span class="smcaplc">THAT THE INDIAN MUTINY WAS BROUGHT -ABOUT BY THE INDO-CHINA OPIUM TRADE</span>! After that, Tenterden Steeple and the -Goodwin Sands will hardly seem so disconnected as has been hitherto -commonly supposed. But then the book is illustrated; there are the -pictures copied from the <i>Graphic</i>. There is the poppy, and there is the -opium pipe. Of course Mr. B. Broomhall knows all about opium smoking,—or -the illustrations would not be there. Mr. Crummles, with his “splendid tub -and real pump,†could not have done better.</p> - -<p>As to Mr. B. Broomhall’s remarks respecting my book I have very little to -say; there is nothing in them. Like Mr. Storrs Turner, he has found it a -poser, and has said very little respecting it. When your opponent gets the -worst of an argument, if he does not honestly acknowledge his -discomfiture, he generally follows one of two courses—either he loses his -temper and takes to scolding, or he suddenly discovers something -wonderfully funny in your arguments which no one else was able to detect. -Mr. B. Broomhall eschews the former, but adopts the latter course. He -selects a paragraph or two, and says, “That is ludicrous,†but he never -condescends to enlighten his readers as to where the fun lies, or in what -the drollery consists.</p> - -<p>But, although Mr. B. Broomhall makes light of my book, he has thought -proper to imitate its title. He evidently<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span> thought there was nothing -ludicrous in <i>that</i>. This was very “smart,†but smartness is a quality not -much appreciated on this side of the Atlantic. As my book had dealt a -heavy blow to the Anti-Opium Society, and a cheap edition might prove -still more damaging, an opposition book, with a similar title, might so -confuse the public as to be mistaken for mine. Imitation has been said to -be the sincerest flattery, but I dislike adulation even when administered -by the Anti-Opium Society. This gentleman and his compilation bring very -forcibly to my mind the profound Mr. Pott, of the <i>Eatanswill Gazette</i>, -who, having written a series of recondite articles on <i>Chinese -Metaphysics</i>, brought his lucubrations to the notice of his friend, Mr. -Pickwick. That gentleman ventured to remark that the subject seemed an -abstruse one. “Very true,†returned Mr. Pott, with a smile of intellectual -superiority, “but I crammed for it—I read up the subject in the -<i>Encyclopædia Britannica</i>. I looked for metaphysics under the letter M, -and for China under the letter C, and combined the information.†This -seems to be the sort of process by which Mr. B. Broomhall has arrived at -his knowledge on the opium question, and with similar results. I do not -wish to be too hard upon this gentleman, who, after all, may have been -only a cat’s-paw in the matter—for it must not be forgotten that there is -Mr. Storrs Turner in the background; but he himself, on reflection, must, -I think, admit that it was going a little too far to introduce into his -compilation a parody—which some might call a vulgar parody—on one of the -verses of Bishop Heber’s very beautiful and world-renowned Missionary -Hymn. I will not give my readers the “elegant extract,†but they can find -it for themselves at page 117.</p> - -<p>I have in this edition amplified the matter and given extracts from the -Reports of Mr. William Donald Spence, Her Majesty’s Consul at Ichang, and -Mr. E. Colborne Baber’s <i>Travels and Researches in Western China</i>, which -throw a flood of light upon the opium question. I have also quoted from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span> a -very valuable work of Don Sinibaldo de Mas, an accomplished Chinese -scholar, formerly Spanish Minister to the Court of Peking, published in -Paris in 1858, which in itself is a complete vindication of the opium -policy of Her Majesty’s Government in India and China, and an able -refutation of the unfounded views of the Anti-Opium Society; and I believe -this edition of <i>The Truth about Opium</i> will be found a very complete -defence of the Indo-China opium trade.</p> - -<p><small><i>30th January 1883.</i></small></p> - - - -<p> </p><p> </p> -<hr style="width: 50%;" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</a></span></p> -<h2>PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.</h2> - -<p>The following lectures were given in pursuance of a determination I came -to some six years ago in Hong Kong, viz. that if I lived to return to -England I should take some steps, either by public lectures or by the -publication of a book, to expose the mischievous fallacies disseminated by -the “Anglo-Oriental Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade.†About -that time nearly every mail brought out newspapers to China containing -reports of meetings held in England condemnatory of the Indo-China opium -trade, at which resolutions were made containing the grossest -mis-statements and exaggerations as to opium-smoking, and also the most -unfounded charges against all parties engaged in the opium trade, showing -clearly, to my mind, that not one of the speakers at those meetings really -understood the subject he spoke about so fluently. I have now, happily, -been able to carry out my intention. Unfortunately, I was deprived of the -opportunity of delivering these lectures in Exeter Hall, which was not -only more central than St. James’s Hall, but where I could have selected a -more convenient hour for the purpose than the only time the Secretary of -the latter Company could place at my disposal, the reason being that the -Committee of Exeter Hall refused to allow me its use for the purpose of -refuting the false and untenable allegations of the Anti-Opium Society, an -act of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[Pg x]</a></span> intolerance which I think I am justified in exposing. I trust, -however, that any drawback on this account will be compensated for by the -publication of the lectures. I am well aware that this volume has many -imperfections, but there is one respect in which I cannot reproach myself -with having erred, and that is, in having overstepped the bounds of truth. -I have the satisfaction of knowing that all I have stated in the lectures -is substantially true and correct, and with such a consciousness I -entertain a confident hope that they will prove in a humble way -instrumental towards breaking up the Anti-Opium confederacy, the objects -of which are as undeserving of support as they have proved mischievous in -their tendency.</p> - - - -<p> </p><p> </p> -<hr style="width: 50%;" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[Pg xi]</a></span></p> -<h2>CONTENTS.</h2> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" summary="table"> -<tr><td align="center"><a href="#LECTURE_I">LECTURE I.</a></td></tr> -<tr><td>Objects of the Lectures.—Lectures based upon principle and not upon grounds of expediency.—Lecturer’s knowledge of the Opium question -derived from actual acquaintance with the facts, acquired during nearly fifteen years’ residence in Hong Kong.—Opium smoking as -practised by the Chinese perfectly innocuous, beneficial rather than injurious.—Opinion of Dr. Ayres.—Charges made by the Anti-Opium -Society and its supporters false and unfounded.—Alleged knowledge of the members and supporters of the Anti-Opium Society founded on -hearsay evidence of the worst and most untrustworthy character.—Lecturer not acting in the interests of the British -merchants in China, nor of any other party or person.—Has no personal interest in the Opium question, and is actuated only by a desire to -dispel the false and mischievous delusions spread abroad in England by the Anti-Opium Society.—British and other foreign residents in China -hold opposite views to those disseminated by the Anti-Opium people.—British merchants as a body have no interest in the -trade.—China a great Empire as large as Europe, with a much greater population.—Country and people of China described.—Impossible to -demoralize and debase such a people.—Opium smoking a general custom throughout the eighteen provinces of China.—Reasons for the prolonged -existence of the Anti-Opium Society.—False charges of the Anti-Opium Society respecting the Indo-China Opium trade more fully -formulated.—Petition to the House of Commons of the Protestant Missionaries at Peking.—Refusal to sign it of the Rev. F. Galpin.—If -half those charges were true the British residents in China would be the first to raise<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[Pg xii]</a></span> -their voices against the Opium trade.—Official Yellow Book published by Sir Robert Hart, the Inspector-General of Chinese Customs, -negatives the allegations of the members of the Anti-Opium Society and the Protestant Missionaries.—Roman Catholic Missionaries make no -complaint against the Indo-China Opium trade.—Allegations of the Anti-Opium Society that British trade with China has suffered from the -alleged forcing of Opium upon China untrue.—Friendly relations between the British merchants in China and the Chinese -people.—Englishmen more esteemed by the Chinese than any other nation.—Hong Kong described.—Government of China described.—Hong -Kong the head-quarters of the Indo-China Opium trade, Chinese residing there have better means of procuring the drug than elsewhere—no -sufferers from Opium smoking found there.—Exposure by Dr. Ayres, the Colonial Surgeon of Hong Kong, of the fallacy that Opium smoking, -although indulged in for years, cannot be dropped without injury to the system.—Fallacy of comparing the Chinese with the savages of -Central Africa by the Secretary of the Anti-Opium Society exposed.—Archdeacon Gray, a resident for twenty years at Canton, -silent, in his recent work on China and her people, as to the alleged iniquity of the Indo-China Opium trade.—Character of the Chinese as -described by various authors.—Chinese a frugal and abstemious people.—Opium smoking less injurious than beer or tobacco.—Charges -of the Anti-Opium Society based upon fallacies; those fallacies detailed.—Alleged objections of the Chinese to receive the Gospel on -account of the Indo-China Opium trade the merest subterfuge, and utterly absurd and untenable.—The opinion of the late John Crawfurd, -Esq., F.R.S., formerly Governor of the Straits Settlements.—His Dictionary of the Indian Islands and Adjacent countries.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#Page_1">Pages 1-49</a></td></tr> -<tr><td> </td></tr> -<tr><td align="center"><a href="#LECTURE_II">LECTURE II.</a></td></tr> -<tr><td>Hearsay testimony upon which charges of the Anti-Opium Society founded explained.—Chinese a polite people and treat Missionaries -courteously, but despise Christianity, and will not tell Missionaries the truth about Opium.—Respectable Chinese would become an object of -scorn and disgrace to their fellow-countrymen if they embraced Christianity.—Professing Chinese Christians in most cases -impostors.—Heathen Chinese as a rule more trustworthy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii">[Pg xiii]</a></span> than so-called -Christian converts.—Missionary clergymen in China have not the confidence of the Chinese people, and draw their information as to -Opium smoking from polluted sources.—Difference between Missionary clergymen in China and the clergymen of all denominations in England -as regards knowledge of the people they live amongst.—Missionaries in China wholly responsible for the imposture prevailing in England as to -Opium smoking in China.—Although the Chinese are a spirit-drinking people, they never drink to excess.—Drunkenness unknown amongst -Chinese.—Chinese-American treaty a sham as regards Opium.—Sir J. H. Pease, M.P., duped by the “bogus†clause as to Opium.—His speech on -the Opium question in 1881.—Chinese smoke Opium wherever they go.—As much Opium imported into China now as before the sham treaty.—Opium a -luxury which only the well-to-do can freely indulge in.—Explanation of the means by which unfounded statements respecting Opium are -propagated.—Apologue by way of example.—Proof of the state of things explained by the apologue furnished by the Rev. Storrs Turner and Dr. -Ayres.—First fallacy, that the poppy is not indigenous to China, but has been recently introduced there, presumably by British agency, and -the second fallacy, that Opium smoking in China is now and always has been confined to a small per-centage of the population, but which, -owing to the importation into the country of Indian Opium, is rapidly increasing, refuted and the truth fully stated.—Testimony of Mr. W. -Donald Spence and Mr. E. Colborne Baber, and Sir Rutherford Alcock.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#Page_50">Pages 50-100</a></td></tr> -<tr><td> </td></tr> -<tr><td align="center"><a href="#LECTURE_III">LECTURE III.</a></td></tr> -<tr><td>Third and fifth fallacies upon which the members of the Anti-Opium Society and its supporters are misled.—Opium eating and Opium smoking -contrasted with spirit drinking.—Valuable curative properties of Opium.—Spirit drinking produces organic and incurable diseases, is a -fruitful cause of insanity, and leads to ruin and destruction.—The like effects admittedly not due to Opium.—Opium eating and Opium -smoking totally distinct.—Whatever the effects of Opium eating, Opium smoking perfectly innocuous.—Anti-Opium advocates cunningly try to -mix the two together.—Disingenuous conduct in this respect of the Rev. Storrs Turner—Mr. Turner so great an enthusiast as not to be -able to see the difference.—Testimony of Dr. Eatwell as to the use of Opium.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiv" id="Page_xiv">[Pg xiv]</a></span>—Difference -between Opium eating and Opium smoking explained in the case of tobacco smoking.—Tobacco taken internally a deadly -poison, harmless when smoked.—Medical testimony as to the poisonous quality of tobacco and its alkaloid, nicotine.—Opium a valuable -medicine, without any known substitute.—Anti-Tobacco Smoking Society, once formed the same as the Anti-Opium Society, put down by the common -sense of the community, the like fate awaits the Anti-Opium Society.—Testimony of Dr. Sir George Birdwood, Surgeon-General Moore, -Sir Benjamin Brodie, Dr. Ayres, and W. Brend, M.R.C.S., as to Opium.—Small quantity of Indian Opium imported into China.—Enormous -amount of spirits consumed in the United Kingdom.—Anti-Opium Society blind to the latter, energetic as to the former a purely sentimental -grievance.—Fallacy of Anti-Opium Society that supply creates demand refuted and exposed.—Remaining fallacies refuted.—Effects of -suppression of Indo-China Opium trade.—Missionaries detested in China.—Indian Opium welcomed.—Saying of Prince Kung.—Treaty of -Tientsin explained and defended.—Erroneous notions of the Protestant Missionaries as to that treaty.—Abused by Missionaries, yet the -treaty the Missionaries only charter.—Testimony of H. N. Lay and Lawrence Olyphant.—Spurious copy of De Quincey’s “Confessions of an -Opium Eater,†published by Anti-Opium people.—Testimony of Don Sinibaldo de Mas, formerly Spanish Minister in China, a powerful -defence of the Indo-China Opium trade.—Policy of the Indian Government as regards Opium wisest and best.—Alleged proposal of Lord -Lawrence to alter that policy.—Fallacy involved in such proposal exposed.—Abrogation of Indo-Opium trade injurious if not destructive -to the spread of the Gospel in China.—False charge of smuggling by British merchants in China exposed and refuted.—Un-English policy of -the Anti-Opium Society exposed.—Recapitulation.—Benevolence of the British public.—Necessity for seeing that it is not diverted into -worthless channels.—Anti-Opium Society, mischievous, presenting a melancholy record of energies wasted, talents misapplied, wealth -uselessly squandered, charity perverted, and philanthropy run mad.—Society should be dissolved and its funds transferred to -Missionaries.—Missionaries should not mix up Christianity and Opium.—Missionaries defended and encouraged.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#Page_101">Pages 101-174</a></td></tr> -<tr><td> <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xv" id="Page_xv">[Pg xv]</a></span></td></tr> -<tr><td align="center"><a href="#APPENDIX">APPENDIX.</a></td></tr> -<tr><td>Official Letter of Francis Bulkeley Johnson, Esq., of the firm of Jardine, Matheson & Co., of Hong Kong and China, Chairman of the Hong -Kong Chamber of Commerce, to Charles Magniac, Esq., M.P., the President of the London Chamber of Commerce, respecting the charge of -smuggling against the British merchants in China, and giving particulars of the Indo-China Opium trade.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#Page_177">Pages 177-183</a></td></tr></table> - - - -<p> </p><p> </p> -<hr style="width: 50%;" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> -<p class="center"><span class="huge">THE TRUTH ABOUT OPIUM.</span></p> - -<p> </p> -<h2><a name="LECTURE_I" id="LECTURE_I"></a>LECTURE I.</h2> - -<p>The object of these lectures is to tell you what I know about opium -smoking in China—a very important subject, involving the retention or -loss of more than seven millions sterling to the revenue of India, and -what is far more precious, the character and reputation of this great -country. With respect to the former, I would simply observe that I do not -intend to deal with the question on mere grounds of expediency, strong as -such grounds unquestionably are, for, if I believed that one-half of what -is asserted by the “<span class="smcap">Anglo-Oriental Society for the Suppression of the -Opium Trade</span>,†as to the alleged baneful effects of opium smoking upon the -Chinese, were true, I should be the first to raise my humble voice against -the traffic, even though it involved the loss, not of seven millions -sterling, but of seventy times seven. But it is because I know that these -statements and all the grave charges made by the supporters of that -society, and repeated from day to day, against the Government of India and -the Government of this country, and also against the British merchants of -China, to be not only gross exaggerations but absolutely untrue—mere -shadowy figments, phantasies, and delusions—that I come forward to draw -aside the curtain, and show you that behind these charges there is no -substance. Were my knowledge of the opium question derived merely from -books and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span> pamphlets, articles in the newspapers, and ordinary gossip, I -would not venture to trespass upon your time and attention, because in -that respect you have at your disposal the same means of information as I -have myself. But I come before you with considerable personal experience, -and special knowledge of the subject, having lived and practised as a -solicitor for nearly fifteen years in Hong Kong, where I had daily -experience, not only of the custom and effects of opium smoking, but also -of the trade in opium in both its crude and prepared state. I had there -the honour of being solicitor to the leading British and other foreign -firms, as well as to the Chinese, from the wealthy merchant to the humble -coolie; so that during the whole of that period down to the present time I -have had intimate relations in China with foreigners and natives, -especially with those engaged in the opium trade. Under these -circumstances I had daily intercourse with the people from whom the best -and most trustworthy information on the subject of opium and opium smoking -could be obtained, and my experience is that opium smoking, as practised -by the Chinese, is perfectly innocuous. This is a fact so patent that it -forces itself upon the attention of every intelligent resident in China -who has given ordinary attention to the subject. The whole question at -issue is involved in this one point, for if I show you that opium smoking -in China is as harmless, if, indeed, not more so, as beer drinking in -England, as I promise you I shall do most conclusively, then <i>cadit -quæstio</i>, there is nothing further in dispute; the Indo-Chinese opium -trade will then stand out—as I say it does—free from objection upon -moral, political, and social grounds, and the occupation of the Anti-Opium -agitators, like Othello’s, will be gone. It is true that the opponents of -the Indo-Chinese opium trade interlard their case with political matters -wholly beside the question; this they do to make that question look a -bigger one than it really is, so as to throw dust in the eyes of the -public and impose upon weak minds. For instance, they drag in the -miscalled “Opium War†and ring the changes upon it. That war, whether -justifiable or not, cannot affect the points at issue. It is an -accomplished fact, and it is idle now to introduce it into the present -opium question. And though I shall be obliged to go pretty fully into the -whole controversy, I ask you to keep your minds steadily fixed upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span> the -real question, which is briefly this: Is opium smoking, as practised in -China, detrimental to health and morals, and if so, does the Indo-Chinese -opium trade contribute to these results?</p> - -<p>I may now at the outset assure you that I do not give expression to my -views in the interests of the merchants of China, whether native or -foreign, or on behalf of any party whatsoever; nor do I come before you -with any personal object, because neither directly nor indirectly have I -any pecuniary or personal concern in the opium question, nor, indeed, in -any commercial matter in Hong Kong or China. I simply find that unfounded -delusions have taken possession of the public mind upon the subject, which -have had most mischievous consequences, and are still working much evil. -These I wish to dispel, if I can. Furthermore, I have delivered and -published these lectures at my own cost, unaided by any other person, so, -I think, under these circumstances, that I have some right to be regarded -as an impartial witness.</p> - -<p>I am aware of no subject, involving only simple matters of fact, and -outside the region of party politics, upon which so much discussion has -been expended, and about which such widely different opinions are -prevalent, as this opium question. On the one side, it is said that, for -selfish purposes, we have forced and are still forcing opium upon the -people of China; that the Indian Government, with the acquiescence and -support of the Imperial Government, cultivates the drug for the purpose of -adding seven or eight millions sterling to its revenue, and, with full -knowledge of its alleged baneful consequences to the natives of China, -exports it to that country. A further charge, moreover, is brought against -the British merchants, that they participate in this trade for gain, or, -as it is put by the Rev. Mr. Storrs Turner, formerly a missionary -clergyman at Hong Kong, but now and for many years the active and -energetic Secretary of the Anti-Opium Society, to enable them to make -“princely fortunes.†That is the favourite expression of Mr. Turner, who -finds, no doubt, that it takes with certain small sections of the public, -readier to believe evil of their own countrymen than of the people of -other countries, under the belief, perhaps, that in doing so they best -display the purity and disinterestedness of their conduct.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span>The Anti-Opium Society and its supporters assert as an incontestable fact -that opium smoking is fatal, not only to the body but to the soul; -meaning, I suppose, that the custom is destructive to the physical, and -demoralising to the moral nature of its votaries, and that the opium -traffic is regarded by the people of China with such horror that it -prevents the natives from receiving the Gospel from those who help to -supply them with this drug, viz., the British people. It is alleged that -the use of opium demoralises the Chinese, that it ruins and saps the -manhood of the whole nation, with a host of concomitant evils, to which I -shall by and by refer more particularly, the whole involving the utmost -turpitude, the greatest guilt and the worst depravity on the part of -England and the English Government, and still more especially on that of -the Indian Government and the British merchants in China. Here I may -observe, in passing, that if the objection to opium on the part of the -Chinese is so strong, it is rather remarkable that they should not only -greedily purchase all the Indian opium we can send them, but cultivate the -drug to an enormous extent in their own country. The Anti-Opium Society -and its supporters further say that opium culture and opium smoking are of -comparatively recent origin in China; and although they do not directly -allege that we have introduced those practices, there is throughout all -their writings and speeches “a fond desire, a pleasing hope†that the -readers or hearers of their books and speeches will form that opinion for -themselves. I should tell you that those who hold directly contrary views -consist of all the British residents in China, with the exception of some -of the Protestant missionaries (of whom I desire to speak with respect), -comprising the British merchants, their numerous assistants (an educated -and most intelligent body), professional men, traders of all classes, and -also all the other foreign merchants and residents in the country—German, -American, and others, for there are many nationalities to be met with in -China, who with the British form one harmonious community.</p> - -<p>Take all these men, differing in nationality and religious persuasions as -they do, and I venture to say that you will not find one per cent. of them -who will not tell you that the views put forward by these missionaries and -the Anti-Opium Society are utterly preposterous,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> false, and unreal—who -will not declare that opium smoking in China is a harmless if not an -absolutely beneficial practice; that it produces no decadence in mind or -body, and that the allegations as to its demoralising effects are simply -untrue. Those who have taken a special interest in the subject know that -the poppy is indigenous to China, as it is to the rest of Asia, that opium -smoking is and has been a universal custom throughout China, probably for -more than a thousand years; that this custom is not confined to a few, but -is general amongst the adult male population; limited only, in fact, by -the means of procuring the drug. That is my experience also; it is -corroborated by others, and therefore I may assert it as a fact. I have -used the adjective “Protestant†because, although there are a great number -of Roman Catholic and some Greek missionaries in China, no complaint -against the opium trade has ever to my knowledge been made by one of these -missionaries.</p> - -<p>Now, why is this belief so prevalent? Because those foreign residents -daily mix with the Chinese, know their habits and customs, hear them talk, -sell to them, and buy from them, and being aware, as they all are, of the -controversy going on here about opium, and the strenuous efforts that are -being made in this country to prevent the Indian Government from allowing -opium to be imported into China, they take a greater interest in the -subject, and examine the question more carefully than they otherwise -might. They, I say, being on the ground and knowing the very people who -smoke opium and who have smoked it for years, without injury or decay to -their bodily or mental health, have irresistibly come to the same -conclusion as I have. For myself, I may say that I have taken a very great -interest in the subject, particularly during the past five or six years. I -have tried in vain to find out those pitiable victims of opium smoking who -have been so much spoken of in books, in newspapers, and on public -platforms. Day after day I have gone through the most populous parts of -Hong Kong, which is a large city, having about one hundred and fifty -thousand Chinese inhabitants—in both the wealthiest and poorest quarters. -I have daily had in my office Chinese of all classes, seeing them, -speaking to them, interrogating them upon different subjects, and I have -never found amongst them any of these miserable victims to opium<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> smoking. -On the contrary, more acute, knowing, and intelligent people than these -very opium smokers I have rarely met with.</p> - -<p>Now, Hong Kong may be said to be, and is, in fact, the headquarters in -China of the opium trade. It is there that all the opium coming from India -and Persia is first brought. It is, in fact, the entrepôt or depôt from -which all other parts of China are supplied with the drug. Furthermore, it -is the port whence “prepared opium,†the condition in which the drug is -smoked, is mostly manufactured and exported to the Chinese in all other -parts of the world, for wherever he goes, the Chinaman, if he can afford -it, must have his opium-pipe. Moreover, the Chinese of Hong Kong get much -better wages and make larger profits in their trades and businesses than -they could obtain in their own country; and can, therefore, better afford -to enjoy the luxury of the pipe than their own countrymen in China. So -that if opium smoking produced the evil consequences alleged, Hong Kong is -unquestionably the place where those consequences would be found in their -fullest force. They are not to be found there in the slightest degree. One -fact is worth a thousand theories, and this I give you as one which I -challenge Mr. Storrs Turner or any other advocate of the Anti-Opium -Society to disprove. I will now show you how I am corroborated. I have a -witness on the subject whose testimony is simply irrefragable. Dr. Philip -B. C. Ayres, the learned and efficient Colonial Surgeon, and Inspector of -Hospitals of Hong Kong, confirms my statement in the strongest possible -manner. That gentleman has held the important office I have mentioned for -about ten years. Previous to taking up his appointment at Hong Kong he had -been on the Medical Staff of India, where he had made opium and opium -eating—for the drug is not smoked in India—a special study. In Hong Kong -he has had abundant opportunities of studying the effects of opium smoking -and making himself thoroughly acquainted with the wonderful drug, such -opportunities, indeed, as few other medical men have ever had. It is part -of his daily duties to inspect the Civil Hospital of Hong Kong,—a -splendid institution open to all nationalities, and conducted by able -medical men,—the Gaol, the Chinese Hospital, called the Tung Wah, which -is under exclusive Chinese<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> management, and all other medical institutions -in the Colony. Thus a wide field of observation is presented to him. I may -add here that Dr. Ayres is the only European physician who has succeeded -in removing the prejudice among the better class of the Chinese against -European doctors and in obtaining a large native practice. This fact -speaks volumes as to his general abilities as well as to his professional -attainments and his means of acquainting himself with the social life of -the Chinese. In his annual Report presented to the Government of Hong Kong -for the year 1881, a copy of which, I believe, is now, or ought to be, in -the pigeon-holes of the Colonial Office in Downing Street, there is the -following passage:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>I have come to the conclusion that opium smoking <i>is a luxury of a -very harmless description</i>, and that the only trouble arising from its -indulgence is a waste of money that should be applied to necessaries. -Eight mace is equivalent to an ounce and twenty-nine grains, a -quantity of opium sufficient to poison a hundred men, smoked by one -man in a day, and this he has been doing for twenty years: that is to -say, he has consumed in smoke in that time about one thousand pounds -sterling, and for this indulgence he has to deny himself and his -family many absolute necessaries. The list of admissions contains -thirty-five opium smokers, and the amount smoked between them daily -was eighty-four mace and a half, or seven dollars worth of opium. The -result of my observations this year is only to confirm all I said on -the subject of opium smoking in my report for 1880.</p></div> - -<p>Again, Dr. Ayres has published from time to time in the “<i>Friend of -China</i>,†the organ of the Anti-Opium Society, various interesting papers -on medical subjects. This is what he says in an article which will be -found at length at p. 217 of vol. 3 of that journal:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>My opinion of it is that it [opium smoking] may become a habit, <i>but -that that habit is not necessarily an increasing one</i>. Nine out of -twelve men smoke a certain number of pipes a day, just as a tobacco -smoker would, or as a wine or beer drinker might drink his two or -three glasses a day, without desiring more. <i>I think the excessive -opium smoker is in a greater minority than the excessive spirit -drinker or tobacco smoker.</i> In my experience, the habit does no -physical harm in moderation.... I do not wish to defend the practice -of opium smoking, but in the face of the rash opinions and exaggerated -statements in respect of this vice, it is only right to record that no -China resident believes in the terrible frequency of the dull, -sodden-witted, debilitated opium smoker met with in print, nor have I -found many Europeans who believe they ever get the better of their -opium-smoking compradores in matters of business.</p></div> - -<p>Let Mr. Storrs Turner refute this, if he can. If he cannot,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> what becomes -of his book<a name='fna_1' id='fna_1' href='#f_1'><small>[1]</small></a> published in 1876, which may be called the gospel of the -Anti-Opium Society, with which I shall make you better acquainted by and -by. And what should become of the Anti-Opium Society itself, which has -wasted on its chimerical projects hundreds of thousands of pounds—the -contributions of the benevolent British public, which might have been -spent in alleviating the misery and distress in this vast metropolis, or -been otherwise usefully applied.</p> - -<p>The Government of Hong Kong, for the purposes of revenue, has farmed out -the privilege or monopoly of preparing this opium and selling it within -the colony, and I dare say you will be surprised to hear that the amount -paid by the present opium monopolist for the privilege amounts to about -forty thousand pounds sterling a year. To elucidate this, I should tell -you, that opium as imported from India, Persia, and other places is in a -crude or unprepared state. In this condition it is made up in hard round -balls, each about the size of a Dutch cheese, but darker in colour. To -render it fit for smoking it has to be stripped of its outer covering, -shredded, and boiled with water until it becomes a semi-fluid glutinous -substance resembling treacle in colour and consistence. In this state it -is known as “prepared opium.†As such it is put up into small tins or -canisters, hermetically sealed, so that it can be exported to any part of -the world. Now, I have been the professional adviser of the opium farmer -for at least ten years, and from him and his assistants I have had -excellent opportunities of learning the truth about opium. I have thus -been able to get behind the scenes, and so have had such opportunities of -acquainting myself with the subject as few other Europeans have possessed. -I knew the late opium farmer, whom I might call a personal friend, -intimately from the time of my first arrival in China. When I call him the -opium farmer I mean the ostensible one, for the opium monopoly has always, -in fact, been held by a syndicate. My friend was the principal in whose -name the license was made out, and who dealt with the wholesale merchants, -carried on all arrangements with the Government of the Colony, and -chiefly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> managed the prepared opium business. I knew him so intimately and -had so many professional dealings with him, irrespective of opium, that I -had constant opportunities of becoming acquainted with all the mysteries -of the opium trade. Now the conclusion to which my own personal experience -has led me I have told you of before, and I have never met anyone who has -lived in China, save the missionaries, whose experience differed from -mine. I have tried to find the victims of the so-called dreadful drug, but -I have never yet succeeded.</p> - -<p>Many people in this country, I dare say, owing to the false and -exaggerated stories which have been disseminated by the advocates of the -Anti-Opium Society, think that if they went to Hong Kong they would see -swarms of wretched creatures, wan and wasted, leaning upon crutches, the -victims of opium smoking. If they went to the colony they would be greatly -disappointed, for no such people are to be met with. On the contrary, all -the Chinese they would see there are strong, healthy, intelligent-looking -people, and, mark my words, well able to take care of themselves. I don’t -suppose there were five per cent. of my Chinese clients who did not, to a -greater or less extent, smoke opium. I have known numbers, certainly not -less than five or six hundred persons in all, who have smoked opium from -their earliest days—young men, middle-aged men, and men of advanced -years, who have been opium smokers all their lives, some of them probably -excessive smokers, but I have never observed any symptoms of decay in one -of them. I recall to mind one old man in particular, whom I remember for -more than fifteen years; he is now alive and well; when I last saw him, -about two years ago, he was looking as healthy and strong as he was ten -years before. He is not only in good bodily health, but of most -extraordinary intellectual vigour, one of the most crafty old gentlemen, -indeed, that I have ever met; no keener man of business you could find, or -one who would try harder to get the better of you if he could. The only -signs of opium smoking about him are his discoloured teeth, by which an -excessive smoker can always be detected, for immoderate opium smoking has -the same effect, though in a less degree, as the similar use of tobacco, -the excessive smoking of which, as I shall by and by show you, is the more -injurious practice of the two. The Chinese, as a rule, have extremely<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> -white teeth—the effect, perhaps, of their simple diet, and their -generally abstemious habits. They are proud of their teeth, which they -brush two or three times a day, so that there is no difficulty in -distinguishing heavy smokers from those who smoke in moderation. It is -easy to compare the one with the other, and I may state that although the -former be not often met with, he will be found to be not a whit inferior -to the other in wit or sharpness. The old gentleman I have referred to, -like many others of his countrymen, will settle himself down of an -evening, when the business of the day is over, and enjoy his opium pipe -for two or three hours at a stretch, yet, notwithstanding this terrible -excess, as the Anti-Opium people would say, he continues strong and well. -Nay, more, he has two sons of middle age, healthy, active men, who indulge -in the pipe quite as regularly as their aged father. I have known many -others like these men, but have never seen or heard of any weakness or -decay arising from the practice.</p> - -<p>Now, I have told you that the British merchants in China hold the same -views as I do upon the opium question. But it may be said that the -merchants are interested persons, and in point of fact Mr. Storrs Turner -says as much in his book. And, of course, he would have it inferred that -what <i>they</i> allege or think on the subject should not have any weight, -because they are the very persons in whose interest this so-called -iniquitous traffic is being carried on, and that, therefore, they would -not say anything likely to dry up their fountain of profit. I only wish -for the sake of my fellow-countrymen that all these declarations about -princely fortunes were true. Hills look green afar off, but when you -approach them they are often found as arid as the desert; and, -unfortunately, like Macbeth’s air-drawn dagger, these splendid visions are -not “sensible to feeling as to sight,†but simply <i>princely fortunes</i> of -the mind “proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain.†Mr. Turner mentions -in his book one eminent firm in particular, the oldest and probably the -greatest in China or the far East, a firm respected throughout the whole -mercantile world, whose public spirit, boundless charity, and general -benevolence are proverbial, whom he stigmatizes as “opium merchants,†and -who are, of course, making the imaginary “princely fortune†by opium. Now -if that gentleman had taken the least trouble<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> to inquire before he -launched his book upon the world, he would have found that the firm he -refers to in such terms had had little or nothing to do with opium for at -least twenty years. That is not, perhaps, a matter of much importance. If -he had taken the trouble to make further inquiry, he could have had no -difficulty in ascertaining, what I tell him now as a fact, and one within -my own personal knowledge, that the only merchants in China who are making -large profits out of opium are just two or three firms, who, by the -undulations and fluctuations inseparable from commerce, have got the bulk -of the trade into their hands, and that all the other British merchants -throughout China, and all the foreign merchants, Germans, Americans, and -others, have really little or nothing to do with the opium trade at all. -Of course, merchants now and then will have to execute orders for opium -for a constituent who may require a chest or two of the drug, but that is -only in the course of business, and is not attended with any profit to -speak of. And I am perfectly sure that if it were possible to put a stop -to this opium traffic, which is said to be the source of so much profit to -many, that, saving the two or three firms I have mentioned, the -suppression of the trade would make no difference to the other firms. This -gross blunder of Mr. Storrs Turner is characteristic of the general -inaccuracy of his book. Before casting odium upon an eminent firm common -decency, if not prudence, to say nothing of good taste, should have -induced him to make careful inquiries upon the subject. This, it is clear, -he has not done, and, as if to make matters worse, although his book -appeared so long ago as 1876, in an article published in the “Nineteenth -Century†for February 1882, he has again gratuitously referred to this -firm in terms as unjustifiable as they are absolutely unfounded. He -couples the firm with another house now dissolved, and says, “they were -legally smugglers, but the sin sat lightly upon their consciences.†Very -pretty this for a minister of the Gospel and the Secretary of the -Anglo-Oriental Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade. The -statement, even if true, was wholly unnecessary for the professed object -of the writer, and why he made it is best known to himself. This is the -gentleman by whose persistent efforts those fallacious and mischievous -views upon the opium question have during the past eight years been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> -mainly forced upon the public, and to whom the prolonged existence of that -most mischievous organization, the Anti-Opium Society, is due. He is the -Frankenstein who has created the monster that has deceived and scared so -many excellent people. I will show you that this monster is but a poor -bogey after all, with just as much form and substance as that with which -Mrs. Shelley affrights her readers in her clever romance. On the other -hand, do not let it be thought, as I believe has been said by some -enthusiasts, that it is owing to the British merchants in China having -discovered that opium is an unclean thing, and to their having washed -their hands of all participation in the traffic, that the trade has fallen -into the hands of a few, who of course would, by parity of reasoning, be -set down as very unscrupulous people. That is a fallacy, and, what is -more, it is an untruth. I do not believe there is a British firm, or a -firm of any other nationality, in China, which would not, if the -opportunity presented itself, become to-morrow “opium merchants,†as Mr. -Turner expresses it, if they thought the trade would prove a source of -profit, because they hold, with me, that the opium traffic is a perfectly -proper and legitimate one, quite as much so as traffic in tobacco, wine, -or beer; and a thousand times less objectionable than the trade in ardent -spirits.</p> - -<p>Before proceeding further, it is important that I should bring to your -notice some particulars about China and its people. It is actually -necessary to do so, to enable you to grasp the facts and see your way well -before you. Although the opium question ought to be a simple one, yet, -owing to the sophistries and misrepresentations of the Anti-Opium Society, -and in particular of its Secretary and living spirit, Mr. Storrs Turner, a -wide field is opened to us across which it will be necessary to lead you -to chase the phantom off the plain. The public here are very apt to think -of China as if it were a country like Italy, France, or England. They -never dream for a moment of the immense empire which China actually is. -Perhaps if they did, and could take in the whole situation, they would be -slower to believe the extraordinary stories which are spread about our -<i>forcing</i> opium upon the Chinese, and, by doing so, demoralizing the -nation. We forget, as we grow old, much that we have learned in our youth, -especially geography, and I daresay many a schoolboy could enlighten -myself and others upon that particular branch of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> education. China, it -must be remembered, is a country which cannot be compared with France, -Spain, or England, for it is a vast empire, as large as Europe, with a -population some fifty or sixty millions greater. Now, what a stupendous -feat to be able to storm, as it were, that enormous empire, and for a -handful of British merchants to succeed in forcing opium upon, and, by -doing so, debasing the whole of this wonderful people. Yet this is what is -alleged by the anti-opium philanthropists and by Mr. Storrs Turner, who is -their priest and prophet, and so his enthusiastic disciples believe, to -whom I would merely say,—“Great is thy faith.†These plain facts are not -brought forward by the Anti-opium people. The public are addressed and -pleas are put forward for their support on the ground that we are dealing -with a country of the like extent as our own, inhabited by a primitive -semi-civilized people. No greater fallacy, no more downright untruth could -be put forward. The Chinese are not only a civilized but an educated -people. Until quite recently there were more people in the British -Islands, in proportion to their population, who could neither read nor -write than in China.</p> - -<p>It must be borne in mind that the empire of China comprises eighteen -provinces, quite large enough to form eighteen separate kingdoms. I am -speaking now of China Proper, and am leaving out Thibet, Mongolia, and -Manchuria, immense countries to the West, North-West, and North of China, -and also the vast possessions of China in Central Asia, all forming part -of that great empire. Many of these eighteen provinces are larger than -Great Britain; one of them is equal in extent to France. Although there is -in one sense a language common to the whole country, yet not only has each -province a dialect of its own, different from that of the others, but it -has, so to speak, innumerable sub-dialects. Dialect, perhaps, is hardly -the correct word; it is more than a dialect, for not only each province, -but each district or county, has a dialect, differing so essentially from -each other that the people of one province, or one district, can, in most -instances, no more make themselves colloquially understood by those of -another than a Frenchman could make himself intelligible to an Englishman, -if neither knew the language of the other. You will often find people -living in villages not more than fifteen or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> twenty miles apart who cannot -converse with one another. I have seen in my own office a man belonging to -the province of Kwang-tung, in the south of China, unable to speak in -Chinese to a native of the adjoining province of Fuh-kien. In this case -the native villages of these two were not more than ten miles apart, and -the only medium of conversation was the barbarous jargon in which -Europeans and Chinese carry on their dealings, called “pidgin English‗a -species of broken English of the most ridiculous kind. Now, when you take -into account that each province differs in language from each other—for -that is really what the case practically comes to—that they have separate -dialects in each province, and also, to a certain extent, different -customs and certain prejudices, I ask you, does it not appear a gigantic, -if not an impossible, task for England, a small and distant country, to be -able to demoralize, debase, and corrupt the people of each of these -eighteen provinces? Yet that is really the allegation of the Anti-Opium -Society against their own country, this small and distant England!</p> - -<p>I have said that there are customs peculiar to each of these provinces, -but there are others common to all; one of them is opium smoking; another, -I am sorry to say, is hatred and contempt of foreigners. They one and all -agree in regarding foreigners as an inferior race, whose customs, -language, and religion they despise. Among the common people every -foreigner, of whatsoever nationality, is called “Fan-Qui,†or “foreign -devil.†The designation of foreigners amongst the better classes of people -is “outer barbarian.†No better instance could I give you than this to -show the strong prejudice held by the whole nation against foreigners. -“Fan-Qui†is still the term used by the lower orders to denote foreigners, -even in the British colony of Hong Kong. To remedy this state of things, -at the time of the making of the Treaty of Tientsin in 1858 (which is the -existing treaty between the two nations), Lord Elgin, the author of the -treaty, had very properly a stipulation inserted that the term “outer -barbarian†should no longer be applied to British subjects. Now, when you -take into account that not only are these three hundred and sixty millions -of people spread over an enormous empire, having a prejudice common to all -parts alike against foreigners, as well as their own prejudices against -each other, forming eighteen separate provinces or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> kingdoms, speaking -different languages, is it reasonable to suppose that they would, so to -speak, simultaneously adopt the practice of opium smoking when introduced -by the despised foreigner? If these people still despise our customs, as -they do our religion, as they do everything, in fact, belonging to us, how -can it be said that we are forcing this foreign drug upon them to their -destruction?</p> - -<p>I have already mentioned that the custom of opium smoking is common to all -the people of these eighteen provinces. Whether they live in the valleys - -or on the hills they smoke opium. Now Mr. Turner is a great enemy of opium -smoking; he is its determined opponent, and I do not think I wrong him—I -certainly do not mean to do so—when I describe him as a person strongly -prejudiced against the practice. The best, the wisest, and ablest among us -have prejudices, and it is casting no stigma upon that gentleman to say -that he has his. When I make you better acquainted with his book, which I -shall soon do, you will, I think, agree with me on this point. When people -have those strong prepossessions they are prone not to judge facts fairly; -they see things, in short, through a false medium. That which to an -ordinary person appears plain and clear enough, to one under the influence -of prejudice stands out in different colours, and is passed over as untrue -or misleading; sometimes, however, the plain truth will leak out, in spite -of prejudice. It is laid down by legal text writers that truth is natural -to the human mind, that the first impulse of a man if interrogated upon a -point is to tell the truth, and that it is only when he has had time to -consider, that he is inclined to swerve from it. Now in this book of Mr. -Turner’s, at p. 13, he confirms my statement. This is what he says. I need -not read to you the previous part, because the context does not alter the -sense of my quotation. He is arguing against the allegation of pro-opium -people that opium has a beneficial result in counteracting the effects of -malaria and ague, and he says:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>These curious arguments are two. First, that the universal -predilection of the Chinese for opium is owing to the malarious -character of the country; secondly, that the use of opium is a -wholesome corrective to the unwholesome, even putrid, food which the -Chinese consume. The reply to the first is that the country over which -opium is smoked is in area about the size of Europe, and includes, -perhaps, an equal variety of sites, soils, and climates, great plains -level as our own fen district, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> mountainous regions like the -Highlands of Scotland. Ague is almost unknown in many of the -provinces—<i>yet everywhere, in all climates and all soils, in every -variety of condition and circumstance throughout that vast empire, the -Chinese smoke opium</i>.</p></div> - -<p>Now that is the testimony of the Rev. Storrs Turner, the most strenuous -and, as I believe, the ablest advocate against the Indo-China opium trade. -But then he adds:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>But nowhere do they all smoke opium. The smokers are but a per-centage -greater or smaller in any place.</p></div> - -<p>Well, nobody ever said they all did smoke opium. Females, as a rule, do -not smoke, and children don’t smoke. It is only the grown men, and those -who can afford to buy the drug, who smoke it. China, for its extent and -its vast and industrious population, is still a poor country. Although its -natural resources are considerable, the great bulk of the people are in -poor circumstances. It is only those above the very poor who can afford to -smoke opium occasionally, and only well-to-do people who are able to do so -habitually. Opium smoking is, in fact, a luxury in which, every Chinaman -who can afford it indulges more or less, just as English people who have -sufficient means drink tea, wine, and beer, or smoke tobacco. The effects -of opium smoking are no more injurious than are those articles, in daily -use in England, nor is its use more enslaving. On the contrary, from my -own observation, I feel persuaded that those who habitually drink wine or -spirits are far more liable to abuse and become enslaved to the habit than -the smoker of opium. This, as you are now aware, is confirmed by the great -authority of Dr. Ayres. Yet Mr. Storrs Turner, in the face of that most -damaging admission, and his disciples would have the British public -believe that by supplying the Chinese with a small quantity of opium, -which is used and grown largely in almost every province, district, and -village of China, we are demoralizing and degrading the whole people. Now, -if this practice of opium smoking has existed, and does exist, throughout -these eighteen provinces, over this large and mighty empire, as Mr. Storrs -Turner admits, can it be urged for a moment that England has had anything -to do with it more than that Englishmen, in common with other foreigners, -have imported for the last forty or forty-five years a quantity of the -drug very much less than that actually grown in China itself? I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> say she -has not. I say that opium smoking has existed for a thousand years or -more, and that its use by the natives of China is simply limited by the -extent of their purchasing power. But how is it that such divergent -opinions can exist between Englishmen living in China and certain -Englishmen here at home? My answer is, that the former, the English -residents in China, derive their knowledge on the subject from actual -experience formed from personal intercourse with the natives, from seeing -with their own eyes, and hearing with their own ears; whilst people in -England obtain their information from hearsay only. Hearsay testimony is -their sole guide; and, as I shall show you by and by, this hearsay -evidence is of the worst and most unreliable kind. But still the question -remains why this should be so; why is it that among the educated and -intelligent people of England, in an age when newspapers are universal, -and books of travel cheap and plentiful, that such an extraordinary -difference of opinion should exist? I will now give you the explanation of -these opposite views.</p> - -<p>The first is this:—China is ten thousand miles away. If that country were -as near to us as the Continent of Europe, to which it is equal in extent, -the people of England, including all these Anti-Opium advocates, would be -of the same mind as their countrymen in China. The field of the imposture -would then be so close to us that the delusion could no longer be -sustained—if, indeed, under such circumstances it could ever have -existence—it would be seen through at once. If it were sought to prove -that we were corrupting and demoralizing the whole of the natives of the -Continent by selling them spirits, beer, or opium, and if the persons who -did so were to pity, patronize, and caress those people as if they were an -inferior race, and but semi-civilized, as the anti-opium people do with -the Chinese,—the persons who attempted to act in such an extraordinary -manner would be scoffed at as visionaries, if not downright fools; yet the -parallel is complete. Indeed, taking into account the existing prejudices -of the Chinese against foreigners, the sound sense of the people of China -and their frugal and abstemious habits, there should be less difficulty in -effecting such wonderful results in Europe than in China. Perhaps, -however, the best illustration of this is that afforded by the present -agitation here in England, under the leadership of Sir<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> Wilfrid Lawson -against the liquor traffic. The evils of intemperance, unlike those -alleged against opium smoking, are real evils, and are admitted to be so -by all. Everyone is agreed upon this point; yet a large portion of our -revenue, amounting to some twenty-six millions sterling, is derived from -taxes upon spirits, wine, and beer, the abuse of which produces these -evils. Sir Wilfrid Lawson is as determined a foe to the Indo-China opium -trade as he is to the liquor traffic. Why does he not apply the same rule -to the one as to the other? Why does he ask the Government to forego the -eight millions derived from opium in India, and not demand the abrogation -of these spirit, wine, and beer duties which are derived from so wicked a -source here in England? He and his Anti-Opium friends would, if they -could, prohibit the cultivation and exportation of opium in India, why do -not he and his fellow teetotallers call upon the country to prohibit the -manufacture of alcoholic liquors? Some few months ago an Anti-Opium -meeting took place at, I think, Newcastle, attended by Sir Wilfrid Lawson. -In the course of a facetious speech the Honourable Baronet, becoming -serious, made quite light of this ridiculously small sum of eight millions -sterling derived from the opium trade, and declared that he who did not -believe that a substitute for it could be found was a “moral -atheist‗whatever that may mean. Why does he not call upon the Government -to forego the sum of twenty-six millions derived from alcohol, which is -not more to England, if indeed so much, as the eight millions are to -India, and declare that any person who said we could not find a substitute -was a “moral atheistâ€? I answer thus: because the one concerns matters -here at home with which he and the rest of the public are well acquainted, -whilst the other relates to affairs ten thousand miles away, about which -he and they know little or nothing. Sir Wilfrid and his followers very -well know that if they advocated the abolition of the duties on spirits, -wine, and beer, they would be simply scoffed at by the public as fools and -visionaries, and that, on the other hand, if they required all our -distilleries and breweries and all public-houses to be closed, they would -be treated as downright lunatics; but it is quite different as regards -India and China. With matters in those countries these enthusiastic -gentlemen can and do disport themselves very much as they please, -oblivious to the plainest facts.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span>The second is this:—There is, here in England, that powerful association, -“<i>The Anglo-Oriental Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade</i>,†-whose sole object is to attain the end which its name imports, the -abolition of the Indo-China opium trade, on the alleged ground that it is -demoralizing and ruining the natives of China. That Society, I deeply -regret to say, is supported by some of the most influential people in -England—noblemen, archbishops, and other dignitaries of the Church, -clergymen of all denominations, people justly and deservedly commanding -the respect of their fellows—but who, on this opium question, simply know -little or nothing, who implicitly believe all that is told to them by the -agents of that Society, but otherwise have no knowledge of the facts. When -it is taken into account that this body has immense funds at its command, -that it has the support of a large part of what is known as the “religious -world,†and that the Society has branches and agencies ramified throughout -the whole country, the reader will not fail to perceive how this -extraordinary hallucination, these false and unfounded delusions -respecting opium smoking, have got possession of the public mind. In -former times we have had associations formed for the purpose of carrying -out great public objects and of disseminating knowledge necessary for the -country to comprehend those objects; but you will find that for the most -part these societies have dealt with acknowledged and existing facts. For -instance, there was the “Anti-Corn Law League.†The purposes of that -league were understood by everyone; the main facts were admitted because -they existed here in England and were patent to all. It was only a matter -of opinion between two great political parties whether they should be -dealt with in one particular way or not. That league was formed for a -great national object; but the Anti-Opium Society of which I am speaking -has been got up to carry out the opinions of a few individuals, most -respectable, I admit, but at the same time most enthusiastic—I may say, -indeed, fanatical—holding views the most incorrect and delusive upon a -subject with which they are most imperfectly acquainted.</p> - -<p>Meantime, this Society, through its ubiquitous and indefatigable -Secretary, who may be called the “Head Centre†of the confederacy, and its -other agents, is for ever on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> alert. Let any gentleman who has bad -experience of opium smoking, whether in India or China, write to the -newspapers; let him read a paper at a meeting of any of our scientific -bodies disputing the alleged facts of the opium-phobists, and he is marked -out as a prey. Sir Rutherford Alcock, whose high character, thorough -knowledge of China, and great abilities are well known, with a view of -putting the opium question before the public in a correct and proper -light, published an able and, indeed, unanswerable article in the -“Nineteenth Century†for December 1881 (“Opium and Common Senseâ€), when -Mr. Storrs Turner plunged into print with a counter article in the number -for February 1882 of the same Review (“Opium and England’s Dutyâ€), to -which I have already alluded. This article purports to be an answer to the -former one, but it is nothing of the kind, for it is a mere <i>rechauffé</i> of -his book, and wholly fails in its alleged purpose. Again Sir Rutherford -Alcock, with the same laudable object, early in 1882, read an able and -interesting paper on the opium question before the Society of Arts. It was -listened to by many scientific gentlemen and others. Sir Rutherford knows -the truth about opium, and he told it in his paper. The Rev. Storrs Turner -was there; he knew the damaging revelations which Sir Rutherford Alcock -had made, and so much afraid was he of the effects of the fusillade, that -to rally his dismayed followers he improvised a meeting of his most -devoted disciples two or three days afterwards at the Aquarium. I venture -to say there was not a pro-opium advocate present at his meeting I do not -think the meeting was ever advertised—I certainly saw no advertisement of -it in the newspapers—and Mr. Turner, on that occasion, exhorted his -followers to hold fast to the true faith, refuting in the way, no doubt -most satisfactory to himself and his audience, the facts, figures, and -arguments of Sir Rutherford. So it is with articles and letters in the -newspapers. Many gentlemen well-informed upon the opium question have -published letters dealing with this question on the pro-opium side; -whereupon Mr. Turner and other anti-opium advocates at once pounce down -upon them, and repeat the same old stale exploded stories about -demoralization and what not. But latterly, and since the first edition of -these lectures was published, Mr. Turner has preferred to carry on the -anti-opium agitation<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> more quietly, for I think I have thrown cold water -upon the zeal of him and his friends. His plan now is to get together in -private conclave a few medical gentlemen and others whose opinions he has -first made sure of; certain resolutions are then produced ready cut and -dry, which are passed with acclamation and inserted in the newspapers. -This sort of thing deceives nobody but the infatuated dupes of the -Anti-Opium Society, for whose edification they are principally intended; -just as the American orator, though speaking to empty benches in Congress, -made what his constituents at Bunkum considered a capital speech.</p> - -<p>All these anti-opium articles, speeches, and resolutions are based upon -the same model. They assume certain statements as existing and -acknowledged facts which have never been proved to be such, and then -proceed to draw deductions from those alleged facts. This style of -argument can scarcely be praised for its fairness; it certainly places -those who hold contrary views, and who object to employing similar -tactics, at a disadvantage. This is especially remarkable in Mr. Storrs -Turner’s article in the “Nineteenth Century.†There the writer, taking all -his facts for granted, plunges at once <i>in medias res</i>, and proceeds to -enlighten his readers with all the confidence of the pedagogue who, strong -in his axioms and postulates, explains to his admiring pupils the -mysteries of the “Asses’ Bridge.†The English people have hitherto had -little or no knowledge of the opium question, save what they hear through -the Anti-Opium Society, in whose teaching some of them put faith, if only -for the reason that they are mostly clergymen and others of high -character. And here I may observe that, supposing the pro-opium advocates, -or perhaps I should more correctly say the general public, had a counter -society to disseminate their opinions, that they had organised a committee -with command of ample funds, and had officers to carry out their views, -this Anglo-Oriental Society would be strangled in three months; for -fiction, however speciously represented, cannot hold its own against fact. -There is an old saying that “what is everybody’s business is nobody’s -business,†and so it has been with the pro-opium side of the question. The -foreign merchants in China, as a body, have no interest in the Indo-China -opium trade. They would not care if the trade were to be suppressed -to-morrow, and therefore they take<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> no active part in opposing the -Anti-Opium Society. The general public also take little or no interest in -the matter, and it is really only those who are actuated by a sense of -duty, or who, like myself, have followed the question, and who, from -practical acquaintance and a thorough research into all its bearings, take -more than ordinary interest in the subject, who think of refuting the -monstrous misrepresentations of the anti-opium people. Therefore it is -that the other side have had practically the whole field to themselves. -Upon the like conditions any imposture could for a time be successfully -carried on. The days of the anti-opium agitation are, however, happily -drawing to a close. A flood of light from various sources has within the -past year been thrown upon the subject. The unwholesome mists of -ignorance, prejudice, and fanaticism are clearing away, and the truth -about opium is becoming visible at last. And here I would observe that in -using the word “imposture†I do not mean to impugn the motives of any of -the good and benevolent people who support this Society. I speak of the -thing, not of those who have created or are supporting it.</p> - -<p>I have before slightly touched upon the charges brought against the -British Government and the British nation respecting opium. I will -formulate them more particularly now; as the subject cannot, I think, be -thoroughly understood unless I do so. I have read Mr. Storrs Turner’s book -and his reply to Sir R. Alcock, very carefully; I have read anti-opium -speeches delivered in London, Manchester, Leeds, and London upon the -subject; they all come to the same thing—one is a repetition of the -other. As I understand the matter, this is what the charges of the -Anti-Opium Society amount to. It is alleged that opium smoking, once -commenced, cannot be laid aside, that it poisons the blood, reduces the -nervous and muscular powers, so that strong men under the use of opium -speedily become debilitated and unfit for labour; that opium smoking -paralyses the mind as well as the body, and produces imbecility, or at -least mental weakness; that it so demoralises the people using it, that it -converts honest and industrious men from being useful members of society -into lazy, dishonest scoundrels; that it saps the manhood and preys like a -cankerworm upon the vitals of the Chinese people, injuring the -commonwealth and threatening even the existence of the nation if the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> -custom of opium smoking be not stopped, which, it is alleged, can be -effected only by the supply of opium from India being discontinued. It is -urged, in fact, that the sale of Indian opium to the Chinese is a crime -not only against the people of China but against humanity; that much, if -not all, of the misery and crime prevalent throughout China are due, -either directly or indirectly, to the use of opium; and for all these -fearful results England is held responsible. It is further said, that the -sale of British opium to the Chinese interferes with legitimate commerce, -creating, it is alleged, so much bitterness in the native mind against the -English nation, that the Chinese refuse to buy our goods. And, above all, -it is contended that the Indo-China opium trade impedes the progress of -Christianity, the Chinese refusing to accept the Gospel from a people who -have such terrible crimes to answer for as the introduction of Indian -opium into China. Since the days of Judge Jeffereys never was there such a -terrible indictment, nor one so utterly unfounded as happily it is. In -fact, all the objections that in old times were made against negro slavery -have been brought forward against this harmless and perfectly justifiable -Indo-China opium trade. Indeed Mr. Storrs Turner, in his article in the -“Nineteenth Century,†coolly places the two in the same category, and -modestly proposes that the revenue from opium should be discontinued, and -that England should compensate the Indian Government for the loss, just as -she did the slave owners. It is astonishing how liberal your political -philanthropist can be in the disposal of other people’s money. Well, I had -always thought that the Government of India, for the past sixty years at -least, had been actuated by one great and prominent object—the -amelioration, the happiness, and prosperity of the teaming millions -committed to its care, and I think so still. I have always believed that -the Imperial Government, no matter which party was from time to time in -power, had the prosperity, honour, and dignity of their country at heart, -and were influenced by a sincere desire towards all the world to be just -and fear not, and to diffuse as much happiness as possible amongst our own -people, and all other nations and races with whom we became associated all -over the world, and I remain of that opinion still. Some fifty years ago -we washed the stain of slavery from our hands,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> performing that great act -of justice from a pure sense of duty, without any outside pressure, and -also without shedding a drop of blood. This act was unique, for at the -time slavery existed in every country, and had so existed for thousands of -years. We know that, thirty years later, a similar achievement cost a -kindred nation a long and bloody war, and an aggregate money expenditure -far exceeding our own national debt—the growth of centuries. That feat of -ours showed what the mind and heart of this great nation then were, and I -do not believe that we have since degenerated. Since then we have spent -many millions of money in sweeping slavery from the seas and in -endeavouring to put an end to that accursed evil throughout the world. In -doing this our pecuniary loss has been the least of our sacrifices. We -have spent more than money. We have lost in the struggle the lives of some -of the best and noblest of England’s sons. These are acts worthy of a -great nation; compared with them the objects of the Anti-Opium Society -sink into utter insignificance. The sublime and the ridiculous could not -be brought more vividly face to face.</p> - -<p>For the last fifty years there has been one feeling predominant in the -minds of the people of England, and that is a manly, generous anxiety to -protect the weak against the strong all over the world. Yet these foul and -untenable charges against England are now spread broadcast by this -Society, whose only warrant for doing so are the statements made to them -by a handful of fanatical missionary clergymen, whose unfounded and -fantastic views are accepted as so much dogma which it would be heresy to -doubt. Why, if we were guilty of but half the wickedness attributed to us, -it would not require this Anti-Opium Society to cry it down; the nation -would rise as one man to crush it for ever. There is not a British -merchant in China who would not raise his voice against it, aye, though he -was making that princely fortune which Mr. Turner refers to in his book; -for let me assure you that your fellow-countrymen in China, who are but -sojourners in that land, as they all hope to end their days at home, have -as warm a love for their country and as keen a sense of their country’s -honour and dignity as any set of Englishmen residing here at home, however -high their station and great their wealth.</p> - -<p>To prove to you, if indeed further proof is necessary,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> that I have not -overstated the case as regards the extreme views of the missionaries and -the Anti-Opium Society, I will give you their latest production. It comes -from the fountain-head, and takes the form of a petition of “the Ministers -of the Gospel in China†to the House of Commons. This petition was -prepared by the Missionaries of Peking, and is a gem in its way. It would -never do to put the reader off with a mere extract, so I give it <i>in -extenso</i>. It was drawn up and sent round for signature during the past -summer, and appeared in the Shanghai and Hong Kong newspapers. This is the -document:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p><i>To the Honourable</i><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;"><span class="smcap">The British House of Commons</span>.</span></p> - -<p>The petition of the undersigned Missionaries of the Gospel in China -humbly sheweth:</p> - -<p>That the opium traffic is a great evil to China, and that the baneful -effects of opium smoking cannot be easily overrated. It enslaves its -victim, squanders his substance, destroys his health, weakens his -mental powers, lessens his self-esteem, deadens his conscience, unfits -him for his duties, and leads to his steady descent, morally, -socially, and physically.</p> - -<p>That by the insertion in the British Treaty with China of the clause -legalizing the trade in opium, and also by the direct connection of -the British Government in India with the production of opium for the -market, Great Britain is in no small degree rendered responsible for -the dire evil opium is working in this country.</p> - -<p>That the use of the drug is spreading rapidly in China, and that, -therefore, the possibility of coping successfully with the evil is -becoming more hopeless every day. In 1834 the foreign import was -twelve thousand chests; in 1850 it was thirty-four thousand chests; in -1870 it was ninety-five thousand chests; in 1880 it was ninety-seven -thousand chests. <i>To this must be added the native growth, which, in -the last decade, has increased enormously, and now at least equals, -and according to some authorities doubles, the foreign import.</i></p> - -<p>That while the clause legalizing the opium traffic remains in the -British Treaty, the Chinese Government do not feel free to deal with -the evil with the energy and thoroughness the case demands, and -declare their inability to check it effectively.</p> - -<p>That the opium traffic is the source of much misunderstanding, -suspicion, and dislike on the part of the Chinese towards foreigners, -and especially towards the English.</p> - -<p>That the opium trade, by the ill name it has given to foreign -commerce, and by the heavy drain of silver it occasions, amounting, at -present, to about thirteen million pounds sterling annually, has -greatly retarded trade in foreign manufactures, and general commerce -must continue to suffer while the traffic lasts.</p> - -<p>That the connection of the British Government with the trade in this -pernicious drug excites a prejudice against us as Christian -missionaries, and seriously hinders our work. It strikes the people as -a glaring<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> inconsistency, that while the British nation offers them -the beneficent teaching of the Gospel, it should at the same time -bring to their shores, in enormous quantities, a drug which degrades -and ruins them.</p> - -<p>That the traffic in opium is wholly indefensible on moral grounds, and -that the direct connection of a Christian Government with such a trade -is deeply to be deplored.</p> - -<p>That any doubt as to whether China is able to put a stop to opium -production, and the practice of opium smoking in and throughout her -dominions should not prevent your Honourable House from performing -what is plainly a moral duty.</p> - -<p>Your petitioners, therefore, humbly pray that your Honourable House -will early consider this question with the utmost care, take measures -to remove from the British Treaty with China the clause legalizing the -opium trade, and restrict the growth of the poppy in India within the -narrowest possible limits.</p> - -<p>Your Honourable House will thus leave China free to deal with the -gigantic evil which is eating out her strength, and creates hindrance -to legitimate commerce and the spread of the Christian religion in -this country.</p> - -<p>We also implore your Honourable House so to legislate as to prevent -opium from becoming as great a scourge to the native races of India -and Burmah as it is to the Chinese; for our knowledge of the evil done -to the Chinese leads us to feel the most justifiable alarm at the -thought that other races should be brought to suffer like them from -the curse of opium.</p> - -<p>We believe that, in so doing, your Honourable House will receive the -blessing of those that are ready to perish, the praise of all good -men, and the approval of Almighty God.</p> - -<p>And your petitioners will ever pray.</p></div> - -<p>The thoughts that occurred to me after reading this petition were -these:—First it struck me that the missionaries, like the unfortunate -Bourbons, “had learnt nothing and forgotten nothing.†I thought next of -the wonderful solicitude shown by these missionaries for the mercantile -interest. “By the ill name the opium trade has given to foreign commerce,†-they say, “the trade in foreign manufactures and general commerce has been -retarded, and must continue to suffer while the opium traffic lasts.†-Well, it is remarkable that this complaint is not made by the people whose -interests are alleged to have so suffered, but by missionary clergymen, -who ought to know little or nothing upon the subject; they are not -merchants, and associate very little with mercantile men, either native or -foreign, and certainly, if they minded their own business, could not -possibly have that knowledge of mercantile affairs with which they appear -to be so familiar. The persons who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> ought to know whether foreign -manufactures or foreign trade have fallen off owing to the opium traffic, -are the foreign merchants resident in China, whose especial duty it is to -look after those interests, yet these gentlemen, strange to say, have made -no complaint of the kind. Those merchants are directly concerned in -foreign manufactures and general commerce either as principals or as -agents for absent principals in England and elsewhere; they, in fact, -exclusively manage foreign trade in China. There is a chamber of commerce -in Hong Kong and another in Shanghai, whose members are all keen men of -business, actively alive to their own and their constituents’ interests, -and in constant communication with similar mercantile bodies at home; -moreover, there are excellent daily papers published in both these places, -where such grievances, if they existed, could be freely ventilated; yet -the missionaries of the Gospel in Peking would have the House of Commons -and the world believe that the foreign merchants in China, who are always -wide-awake, are blind to their own interests and slumbering at their -posts. Now why have not these merchants ever complained that commerce has -suffered from the opium traffic? Why, simply because there is no -foundation in fact for such complaint. I am afraid that with the -missionaries who make this most unfounded statement the “wish was father -to the thought.†Every man ought to know his own business best, and you -will generally find that when a stranger professes great interest in your -affairs, and presses upon you gratuitous advice upon the subject, he is -not really actuated by a desire to promote your interests, but has some -other and totally different object in view. So it is with these missionary -gentlemen at Peking. There is just one other point connected with this -remarkable Petition to which I would call attention. Evidently feeling the -ground slipping from under their feet, the framers, adding another string -to their bow, extend their sympathies beyond China, and take British -Burmah under their patronage. Indeed, it seems to me that these missionary -clergymen of Peking would, if they could, not only supersede the Viceroy -of India in his management of the Indian Empire, but even Her Majesty the -Queen and her immediate Government.</p> - -<p>I should here, however, in justice to the entire missionary body, say, -that <i>all</i> of them are not so deluded as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> their brethren at Peking. There -is one bright, particular star, at least, which shines through the -Egyptian darkness that enshrouds the rest. The Reverend F. Galpin, of the -English Methodist Free Church, is a respected missionary clergyman at -Ningpo, an important port on the east coast of China. He, unlike most of -his brethren at other places in that country, when asked to sign this -curious petition, very properly declined to do so. All honour to Mr. -Galpin. He was not afflicted with the midsummer madness of his brethren at -Peking. Were all the Protestant missionaries in China like him, we should -not have heard of these absurd and monstrous stories respecting the -Indo-China opium trade, and there would, perhaps, be larger and better -results from the missionary’s labours. This is the manly, sensible, and -dignified reply of Mr. Galpin:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The <span class="smcap">Rev. J. Edkins</span> and others, Peking.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Sir</span>,—I beg to acknowledge receipt of a copy of your circular, dated -June 24th, with form of petition to the British House of Commons -against the importation of Indian opium, and also to express my -sympathy with the spirit and motives that have suggested the petition; -but, at the same time, I must also express disapproval of the proposed -petition, and disbelief of many of the statements contained therein.</p> - -<p>Looking at Christianity in the broad and true sense, as a great -regenerating force breathing its beneficent spirit upon and promoting -the welfare of all, of course the excessive use or abuse of opium, and -every other thing, is a serious hindrance to its happy progress. <i>But -this is a very different position from that of supposing that the -present apparent slow progress of mission-work in China is to be -attributed to the importation of Indian opium.</i> China is a world in -itself, and the influence of Christian missions has hitherto reached -but a handful of the people, for there are many serious obstacles to -its progress besides opium.</p> - -<p>Then, again, I beg to express my hearty dissent from the idea -presented in the petition, that the Chinese people or Government are -really anxious to remove the abuse of opium. The remedy has always -been, as it is now, in their own hands.</p> - -<p>Neither do I believe that if the importation of Indian opium ceased at -once, the Chinese Government would set about destroying a very -fruitful means of revenue. On the contrary, I feel sure that the -growth of Chinese opium would be increased forthwith.</p> - -<p>I therefore beg to return the petition in its present form, with the -suggestion that Christian missionaries had better direct their -attention to, and use their influence upon, Chinese.</p> - -<p><span style="margin-left: 4em;">Yours truly,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;"><span class="smcap">F. Galpin</span>,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 8em;"><i>English Methodist Free Church</i>.</span></p> - -<p>Ningpo, 15th July.</p></div> - -<p>No doubt these most estimable and respectable but infatuated gentlemen -suppose that their petition will have some<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> weight with the Legislature. I -believe and hope it will, but not exactly of the kind expected; for I -shall be surprised indeed, if it be not treated as it deserves, <i>i.e.</i> as -a downright contempt of the House of Commons; for it seems to me to be an -insult to the common sense not only of the House in its collective -capacity, but of every individual member. In saying this I am far from -attributing to these missionary clergymen a wilful intention to state what -they knew to be untrue, nor to insult or mislead the Legislature, for I am -assured that one and all of them would be incapable of so doing. I am sure -they thoroughly believe every word they have stated to be true; but then -it must be remembered that the effect upon the public mind and the injury -done to society by the publication of fallacious and untrue statements, -are in no way lessened because their authors suppose those statements to -be, in fact, true and correct.</p> - -<p>I have shown you that Mr. Turner admits that opium smoking is common all -over China. But, he says, the Chinese do not all smoke. In his book he -affirms that it is only in recent years that opium has been grown in -China. This is the passage, it occurs at page 2:—“Indigenous in Asia, the -first abode of the human species, the poppy has long been cultivated in -Egypt, Turkey, Persia, and <i>recently</i> in China and Manchuria. It is well -known in our gardens, grows wild in some parts of England, and is -cultivated in Surrey for the supply of poppy heads to the London market. -From the time of Hippocrates to the present day <i>it has been the -physician’s invaluable ally in his struggles against disease and death</i>.â€</p> - -<p>This is about the most remarkable statement I have ever read. The greater -includes the less, and if the poppy is indigenous to Asia it is, of -course, indigenous also to China and Manchuria, which with the other -dominions of China comprise fully one-fourth of the entire Asiatic -continent. This, indeed, Mr. Storrs Turner does not deny in terms, but it -is plain he wished his readers to believe that the poppy was <i>not</i> -indigenous to those countries, and was only recently introduced there. The -passage involves that sort of fallacy which Lord Palmerston termed “a -distinction without a difference.†As to the poppy being indigenous to the -whole of Asia and notably to the most fertile parts of it, <i>e.g.</i> China -and Manchuria, there can be no doubt, and therefore no difference,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> but -the distinction is that it is only of late years that it has been -<i>cultivated</i> in those countries. The poppy may grow wild over a continent, -but be cultivated only in a part. I will show you by-and-by, upon -excellent authority and by the strongest grounds for inference, that the -poppy is not only indigenous to China, but has been cultivated there for -various purposes other than for medical ones and for smoking, certainly -for two thousand, and probably for four or five thousand years. An -ordinary reader, especially one not familiar with the geography of Asia, -would conclude from this passage in Mr. Turner’s book that China and -Manchuria were not in Asia at all, but that of late years the poppy had -been introduced into those countries from that continent. Thus much for -the Gospel of the Anti-opiumists.</p> - -<p>I now confront Mr. Storrs Turner with another book, which everyone must -admit is of greater authority than his. It is a book published towards the -close of 1881 by a high official of the Chinese Government, then Mr. but -now Sir Robert Hart, G.C.M.G., the Inspector-General of Chinese Customs, a -man who knows China and the Chinese better, perhaps, than any living -European. That gentleman tells a very different tale about opium to what -the Anti-Opium Society has hitherto regaled the world with. This book is -an official one, issued from the Statistical Department of the -Inspector-General of Chinese Customs at Shanghai for the use and guidance -of the Chinese Government. It stands upon a very different footing to the -volume published by Mr. Turner, the paid secretary and strenuous advocate -of the Anti-Opium Society. Sir Robert Hart has entire control over the -revenue of China as far as regards foreign trade. At every treaty port -open to foreign vessels there is a foreign Commissioner of Customs, and -Sir Robert Hart is the supreme head of these commissioners. He is a man -deservedly trusted and respected by the Chinese Government; a man of -learning and talents, and I need hardly add of the very highest character, -and, I believe, he is one of the most accomplished Chinese scholars that -could be found. He says that opium has been grown in China from a remote -period, and was smoked there before a particle of foreign opium ever came -into the country. This is the passage from his—the now famous -yellow-book:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>In addition to the foreign drug there is also the native product. -Reliable statistics cannot be obtained respecting the total quantity<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> -produced. Ichang, the port nearest to Szechwan, the province which is -generally believed to be the chief producer and chief consumer of -native opium, estimates the total production of native opium at -twenty-five thousand chests annually; while another port, Ningpo, far -away on the coast, estimates it at two hundred and sixty-five -thousand. Treating all such replies as merely so many guesses, there -are, it is to be remarked, two statements which may be taken as facts -in this connection: the one is that, so far as we know to-day, the -native opium produced does not exceed the foreign import in quantity; -<i>and the other that native opium was known, produced, and used long -before any Europeans began the sale of the foreign drug along the -coast</i>.</p></div> - -<p>So much for Mr. Storrs Turner’s bold assertion that it is only recently -that opium has been cultivated in China; the obvious inference which he -wished the reader to draw from it being that it was the importation of the -Indian drug into China that induced the natives to plant opium there. Now, -with respect to that most unfounded charge of the Chinese disliking the -English for introducing opium into their country, and British commerce -declining in consequence, I assure you that all that is simply moonshine. -These statements are not merely false assumptions, they are simply untrue. -No one who has had any experience of China and its people, does not know -perfectly well, that of the whole foreign trade with China the British do -at least four-fifths; not only have we the lion’s share of the trade, but -it is an unquestionable fact that of all the nations who have made -treaties and had dealings with China, the British are and have been for -many years the most respected by the Chinese people. It is, I say, an -indisputable fact, that notwithstanding all our past troubles about -smuggling and our wars with China, which Mr. Turner is so fond of dilating -upon, that at this day, by high and low, rich and poor, from the mandarin -to the humble coolie, England is held in higher regard than any other -nation. If trade with China has in any way declined, the fact is traceable -to other and different causes, which it is not my province to enter upon.</p> - -<p>Now, why are England and Englishmen thought so well of by the Chinese? It -is simply because the British merchants and British people in China have -acted towards the Chinese, with whom they have been brought into contact, -with honour and rectitude—because in their intercourse with the natives -they have been kind, considerate, and obliging—because, instead of -resenting the old rude and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> overbearing manners of the Chinese officials -and others, they have returned good for evil, and shown by their -conciliatory bearing, and gentlemanly and straightforward conduct, that -the British people are not the barbarians they had been taught to believe. -By such means the British residents in China have gone far to break down -the barrier of prejudice towards foreigners behind which the people of -that country had hedged themselves, thus preparing the way for the labours -of the missionaries and making, in fact, missionary work possible. If -further proof were wanting that the British are held in high estimation by -the people and the Government of China, it will be found in the fact, that -our own countryman, Sir Robert Hart, who before entering the service of -the Chinese Government had been in the diplomatic service of his own -country, now occupies the high and honourable position of -Inspector-General of Chinese Customs, and is, I may add, the trusted -counsellor of the Government of China.</p> - -<p>It is not very long since the Governor of Canton paid a visit to the -Governor of Hong Kong; such an act of courtesy to Her Majesty’s -representative on the part of so great a Chinese magnate was until then, I -believe, unprecedented. The constant exclamation of the great mandarin as -he was being driven through the streets of Hong Kong was—“What a -wonderful place! What a wonderful place!†in allusion to the fine -buildings, the wide and clean streets,—a strong contrast to those of -Canton—and the dense and busy population around him. And yet more -recently, that is during the summer of 1882, a greater personage still -paid an official visit to the Hon. W. H. Marsh, who during the absence of -Sir George Bowen, the Governor, worthily administers the affairs of the -colony—I refer to the present viceroy of the provinces of Kwantung and -Kwangsi, commonly called the “two Kwangs,†an official only next in -importance to His Excellency Li Hung Chang, the Governor of Petchili. Do -you think we should have such a state of things if we were demoralizing -and ruining the people of China, as is alleged by the Anti-Opium Society, -or if, indeed, the Chinese people or Government had any real grievance -against us.</p> - -<p>Upon this point I cannot refrain from mentioning an incident that occurred -soon after I arrived in China. A<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> respectable Chinaman asked me to prepare -his will. He gave me for the purpose, written instructions in Chinese -characters, which I had translated. On reading the translation I found his -instructions very clearly drawn up, but what was gratifying to me, and -what is pertinent to my subject, was the following passage, with which he -commenced them:—“Having,†said he, “under the just and merciful laws -administered by the English Government of Hong Kong, amassed in commerce -considerable wealth, I now, feeling myself in failing health, wish to make -a distribution of the same.†There are thousands like that Chinaman in -Hong Kong, and also in Shanghai, and in all the treaty ports of China. In -speaking as this man did, he was only giving expression to the feelings of -all his countrymen who have had dealings with the English in China. Are -such feelings on the part of these Chinese consistent with the -consciousness that we are enriching ourselves by ruining the health and -morals of their countrymen, as is most wrongfully put forward by the -Anti-Opium Society and its allies the Protestant missionaries? No; they -bespeak perfect confidence, respect, and gratitude towards us; for -oppressed and plundered as the Chinese have been by their own officials, -there is no other people on the face of the earth who more thoroughly -appreciate justice and equity in the administration of public affairs; -thus it is that they respect the British rule, which they have found by -experience to be the embodiment of both.</p> - -<p>There are very few, perhaps, in this country who know what Hong Kong -really is. It is now a flourishing and beautiful city, standing upon a -site which, but the other day, was a barren rock. Commerce with its -civilising influence has transformed it into a “thing of beauty,†“an -emerald gem of the <i>eastern</i> world.†Forty years ago, the English -Government sent out a commissioner to report upon the capabilities of the -place for a town or settlement. He sent home word that there was just room -there for <i>one</i> house. He little dreamt that upon that barren inhospitable -spot within a few years would be realised the poet’s dream when he -wrote:—</p> - -<div class="container"> -<p class="poetry">Oh, had we some bright little isle of our own<br /> -In a blue summer ocean far off alone,<br /> -Where a leaf never dies, midst the still blooming bowers,<br /> -And the bee banquets on through a whole year of flowers.</p></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span>He little thought that on that very site there would soon be many -thousands of houses, some of them palatial buildings, including many -Christian churches and some heathen temples, for liberty of conscience -reigns there supreme; with a Chinese population of over one hundred and -fifty thousand. These people are all doing well. Some of them are wealthy -merchants; many of them are shop-keepers; others are artificers; and a -very large number of them are labourers or coolies. There is no pauperism -in the colony. The people there are all well-to-do, or able to live -comfortably, and, what is more, they are all happy and contented. A -comparatively small body of police preserves the peace of the colony; for, -thanks to a succession of wise and able governors, local crime has been -reduced to a minimum; serious offences are very rare amongst the regular -inhabitants. It is the criminal classes from the mainland which really -give trouble, for Hong Kong labours under the disadvantage of being close -to two large cities on the Pearl River—Canton and Fatchan, notorious for -piratical and other criminal classes. You might send a child from one end -of the town to the other without fear of molestation. Indeed, the natives -themselves are the very best police; for, take the Chinese all round, they -are the most orderly and law-abiding people in the world. They respect the -British Government as much as the British people do themselves. They bring -their families to Hong Kong, settle down there, and make themselves -perfectly at home, finding more security and happiness there than they -ever could attain in their own country; because in Hong Kong there is and -has always been perfect equality before the law for every man, -irrespective of race, colour, or nationality. The life and property of -every man there is secure. This is not the case in China.</p> - -<p>These are the fruits of commerce which brings peace and plenty in its -train, which sweeps aside the dust of ignorance, fanaticism, and -superstition—which has reclaimed the deserts of Australia and North -America, and spread flourishing cities there, where law and order, truth -and justice, peace and happiness, religion and piety are established. -These are the achievements of British merchants who have won for our -Sovereign the Imperial diadem she wears, and made their country the -mistress of the world. These are the people who have done all this, and -better still, made the name of England<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> honoured and respected throughout -the whole world, and sent the Gospel into every land. Yet those very men -Mr. Storrs Turner and other anti-opium fanatics would cover with obloquy, -because, forsooth, some British merchants have been concerned in this -perfectly justifiable Indo-Chinese opium trade.</p> - -<p>Mr. Turner in his book speaks of the Chinese Government as a paternal -Government, which, the moment it finds any practices on foot injurious to -the people, at once takes steps to put them down. I tell you, as a fact, -that a more corrupt Government,<a name='fna_2' id='fna_2' href='#f_2'><small>[2]</small></a> so far at least as the Judges and high -Mandarins downwards are concerned, never existed in the whole world. There -is no such thing as justice to be had without paying for it; if it is not -a misnomer to say so, for this so-called justice is bought and sold every -day. Corruption pervades the whole official class. I could detail facts as -to the punishment of the innocent and the escape of the guilty, which came -under my own observation, that would make one’s flesh creep. This is why -the Chinese of Hong Kong respect so much the British Government, whose -rule is just and equitable.</p> - -<p>Now there is another point which I wish more particularly to impress upon -you, it is this: Anyone hearing of the alleged dreadful effects upon the -Chinese of opium smoking, and our wicked conduct in forcing the drug upon -them, and making them buy it whether they wish to do so or not, would -think that these Chinese were a simple, unsophisticated people, something -like the natives of Madagascar,—a people lately rescued from barbarism by -missionaries; that they were a weak race, without mental stamina or -strength of mind—a soft simple, easily-persuaded race. These are some -more of the erroneous views which the Anti-Opium Society tries to impress -upon the public mind, and which its<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> Secretary, Mr. Storrs Turner, in -particular, artfully endeavours to inculcate. To prove that this is so, I -have only to read you a passage from his work. But before doing so, let me -assure you that there is not a more astute, active-minded, and knowing -race of people under the sun than the Chinese. For craft and subtlety I -will back one of them against any European. At page 3 you will read:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>More opium is consumed in China than in all the rest of the world, and -nearly the whole of the opium imported into China is shipped from -Calcutta and Bombay. The East and the West, England, India, and China, -act and re-act upon each other through the medium of poppy-juice. -Simple mention of the relations which these three great countries bear -to the drug is enough to show that a very grave question is involved -in the trade. England is the grower, manufacturer, and seller; India -furnishes the farm and the factory; China is buyer and consumer. The -question which obviously arises is this, Is it morally justifiable and -politically expedient for the English nation to continue the -production and sale of a drug so deleterious to its consumers? Before, -however, we enter upon a consideration of this question, we must -explain how it has come to pass that the British nation has got into -this unseemly position. Otherwise, the fact that the British -Government is actually implicated in such a trade may well appear -incredible. If, for instance, any minister could be shameless enough -to suggest that England should embark on a vast scale into the -business of distillers, and with national funds, by servants of -Government, under inspection and control of Parliament, <i>produce and -export annually ten or twenty millions’ worth of gin and whisky to -intoxicate the populous tribes of Central Africa, he would be greeted -by a general outcry of indignation. Yet the very thing which we scout -as an imagination, we consent to as a reality.</i> We are maintaining our -Indian Empire by our profits as wholesale dealers in an article which, -to say the best of it, is as bad as gin.</p></div> - -<p>Now, is that a fair parallel? Is it honest or just to place the civilized, -wise, and educated Chinese in the same category with the barbarous natives -of Central Africa? This, I assure you is but a fair specimen of the -misleading character of Mr. Turner’s book and an example of the teaching -by which people are made the dupes of the Anti-Opium Society. This is the -language which Mr. Storrs Turner applies to his country and countrymen to -gratify himself and his fanatical followers. China, though a heathen, is a -civilized nation. The civilization of the Chinese does not date from -yesterday. When England was inhabited by painted savages, China was a -civilized and flourishing Empire. When ancient Greece was struggling into -existence, China was a settled nation, with a religion and with laws and -literature<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> dating back to a period lost in the mist of ages. When -Alexander, miscalled the Great, fancied he had conquered the world, and -sighed that there was no other country to subdue, the mighty Empire of -China, with its teeming millions, and a civilization far superior, taken -altogether, to any that he had yet known, was a flourishing nation, and -happily far away from the assaults of him and his conquering force. Five -thousand years ago, as the Rev. Dr. Legge, the Professor of Chinese at -Oxford, tells us, the Chinese believed in one God and had, in fact, a -theology and a system of ethics known now as Confucianism, certainly -superior to that of Greece or Rome. They had then and still have a written -language of their own, in which the works of their sages and philosophers -are recorded. There are books extant in that language for more than three -thousand years ago. In a learned and very interesting book, written by Dr. -Legge, entitled “The Religions of China,†it is shown that the Chinese, -not only of to-day, but of five thousand years ago, were a great nation. -Was it then, I again ask, honest or fair of the Rev. Storrs Turner, who is -himself no mean Chinese scholar, to mislead his readers by making use of -so forced and inapplicable a comparison? Can there, in fact, be any -analogy whatever between the Indo-China opium trade, even supposing that -the smoking of the drug were as deleterious to the system as is alleged, -and sending whisky from England to the savages of Central Africa? No man -could have known better than Mr. Turner that his simile was false and -misleading, for he has lived in China for many years. An ordinary person -reading that gentleman’s book would swallow this simile as one precisely -in point, and end by feeling horrified at the iniquities we were -perpetrating in China, which is, no doubt, the exact result that he looked -for. I recently met a lady with whom I had been in correspondence for some -time on professional business. In the course of conversation we happened -to speak about opium, and the moment the subject was mentioned she turned -up her eyes in horror and declared that she was ashamed of her country for -the wrong it was inflicting upon the natives of China. Mr. Turner’s -wonderful parallel between the civilized Chinese and the African savages -had plainly produced its desired effect upon her. I very soon, however, -undeceived her on the point, as I have since had the pleasure of doing -with many<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> others labouring under the like delusions. I am sorry to say -that it is with the gentler sex that our Anti-Opium fanatics make their -most profitable converts. I honour those ladies for their fond delusion, -which shows that their hearts are better than their heads; that their good -intentions run in advance of them, and make them ready victims. Well, -well, I trust their charity will soon be diverted into worthier channels. -Unfortunately, the minds of many in England have become imbued with the -same erroneous belief, which is entirely owing to the mischievous teaching -of the Anti-Opium Society, and to the powerful machinery that this Society -has available for disseminating its doctrines. I am sorry, indeed, to have -to allude thus to Mr. Storrs Turner and his book, for I respect him as a -clergyman, a scholar, and a gentleman; but I cannot avoid doing so, for -certain it is that if you mean to refute Mahomedanism you cannot spare -Mahomed or the Alkoran.</p> - -<p>I have already told you something as to the character of the Chinese -generally. I will now mention from authority some more specific -characteristics of these people, because it is really important that you -should thoroughly understand what manner of men these Chinese are, for -that is a matter going to the root of the whole question. If I show you, -as I believe I shall be able to do most conclusively, that the Chinese are -as intelligent and as well able to take care of themselves as we are, with -far more craft and subtlety than we possess, you will, I think, be slow to -believe that they are silly enough to allow us to poison them with opium, -as it is alleged we are doing. A stranger mixture of good and evil could -hardly be met with than you will find in the Chinese—crafty, -over-reaching, mendacious beyond belief, double-dealing, distrustful, and -suspicious even of their own relations and personal friends; -self-opinionated, vain, conceited, arrogant, hypocritical, and deceitful. -That is the character that I give you of them; but it is the worst side of -their nature, for they have many redeeming qualities. I will now place -before you their character from another and a more competent authority. -The Venble. John Gray, D.D., was, until recently, for about twenty-five -years, Archdeacon of Hong Kong, but during the greater part, if not the -whole of that time, he was the respected and faithful incumbent of the -English Church at Canton, where he resided. Now<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> Dr. Gray, who is still in -the prime of life, is a learned and able man; a keen observer of human -nature; a sound, solid, sensible Churchman, and so highly esteemed for his -excellent qualities, that I do not think any Englishman who ever lived in -China has left a more honoured name behind him than he has. He mixed a -great deal amongst the Chinese as well as amongst his own countrymen. He -also travelled much in China, and there really could not be found a more -competent authority as to the character of the Chinese people; and indeed -as to all matters connected with China. In 1878 he published a valuable -and trustworthy book.<a name='fna_3' id='fna_3' href='#f_3'><small>[3]</small></a> It is not the production of a person who has -merely made a flying visit to China; but it is the work of an old and -sagacious English resident in that country, a profound thinker and -observer, of a man who has studied deeply and made himself thoroughly -acquainted with his subject. He says, at p. 15, vol. i.:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Of the moral character of the people, who have multiplied until they -are “as the sands upon the sea-shore,†it is very difficult to speak -justly. The moral character of the Chinese is a book written in -strange letters, which are more complex and difficult for one of -another race, religion, and language to decipher than their own -singularly compounded word-symbols. In the same individual virtues and -vices apparently incompatible are placed side by side—meekness, -gentleness, docility, industry, contentment, cheerfulness, obedience -to superiors, dutifulness to parents, and reverence to the aged, are, -in one and the same person, the companions of insincerity, lying, -flattery, treachery, cruelty, jealousy, ingratitude, and distrust of -others.</p></div> - -<p>This is the character which an English clergyman and scholar gives of the -Chinese. Dr. Gray was not a missionary, and it is to the missionary -clergymen generally that the extraordinary and delusive statements -respecting opium which I am combating are due; the reason for which I -shall by and by give you. I hold these missionary gentlemen in the very -highest respect. In their missionary labours they have my complete -sympathy, and no person can possibly value them as such more than I do, -nor be more ready than I am to bear testimony to the ability, piety, -industry, and energy which they have always displayed. But they are not -infallible, and when they forsake or neglect their sacred<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> functions, and -enter the arena of politics; when they cast aside the surplice and enter -the lists as political gladiators, they are liable to meet with opponents -who will accept their challenge and controvert their views, and have no -right to complain if they now and then receive hard knocks in the -encounter. They are enthusiastic in their sacred calling; but that fact, -whilst it does them honour, shows that their extraordinary assertions as -to the opium trade should be received with caution, if not distrust. They -are the men who are responsible for the unfounded views which have got -abroad on this question.</p> - -<p>Now, is it not significant that Dr. Gray, whom the people of Canton -esteemed and respected more than any European who has lived amongst them, -except, perhaps, the late Sir Brooke Robertson (who was more Chinese than -the Chinese themselves), should have said nothing against opium in that -valuable and exhaustive work of his? Is it not passing strange that this -shrewd observer of men and manners, this intelligent English clergyman, -who has passed all these years at Canton, which, next to Hong Kong is the -great emporium of opium in the south of China, should be silent upon the -alleged iniquities that his countrymen are committing in that country? Dr. -Gray is a patriotic English gentleman. Can you suppose for a moment, that -if we were demoralizing and ruining the people of the great city of -Canton, and above all, that we were impeding the progress of the Gospel in -China, that his voice would not be heard thundering against the iniquity? -Dr. Gray is an earnest and eloquent preacher as well as an accomplished -writer; yet his voice has been silent on this alleged national crime. Is -it to be thought that, if there were any truth in the outcry spread abroad -by Mr. Storrs Turner and the Anti-Opium Society, he would have omitted to -have enlarged upon the wickedness of the opium trade when writing this -book upon China and the manners and customs of the Chinese? Is it not -remarkable that he has said not a word about that wickedness, and that all -these alleged evils arising from the trade are only conspicuous in his -book by their absence? And here I would ask, is not the silence of Dr. -Gray on this important opium question, under all the circumstances, just -as eloquent a protest against the anti-opium agitation, as if he had given -a whole chapter in his book denouncing the imposture?</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span>But to return to the character of the Chinese. Dr. Wells Williams, a -missionary clergyman of the highest character, who, being a missionary, I -need hardly say, does not hold the views that I do, has written another -admirable book upon China.<a name='fna_4' id='fna_4' href='#f_4'><small>[4]</small></a> In it he has described the Chinese character -very fully. He first tells us, at page 2 of the second volume, what one, -Tien Kishi—a popular essayist—thinks of foreigners.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“I felicitate myself,†he says, “that I was born in China, and -constantly think how different it would have been with me if I had -been born beyond the seas in some remote part of the earth, where the -people, far removed from the converting maxims of the ancient kings -and ignorant of the domestic relations, are clothed with the leaves of -plants, eat wood, dwell in the wilderness, and live in the holes of -the earth. Though born in the world in such a condition, I should not -have been different from the beasts of the field. But now, happily, I -have been born in the ‘Middle Kingdom.’ I have a house to live in, -have food and drink and elegant furniture, have clothing and caps and -infinite blessings—truly the highest felicity is mine.â€</p></div> - -<p>That is still the opinion of every Chinaman respecting foreigners, save -those at Hong Kong, Shanghai, and the other treaty ports of China who, -having intermixed with foreigners, have found that their preconceived -notions respecting them were untrue, but they are but a handful, a drop in -the ocean; yet these are the people who, it is said, at our bidding and -instigation, are ruining their prospects and their health by smoking our -opium. Dr. Williams further says of them, at page 96 of the same volume:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>More ineradicable than the sins of the flesh is the falsity of the -Chinese and its attendant sin of base ingratitude. Their disregard of -truth has, perhaps, done more to lower their character in the eyes of -Christendom than any other fault. They feel no shame at being detected -in a lie, though they have not gone quite so far as to know when they -do lie, nor do they fear any punishment from the gods for it. Every -resident among them and all travellers declaim against their -mendacity.</p></div> - -<p>I shall give you by-and-by instances—actual facts known to myself, to -prove that every word Dr. Williams has said is true; and further, that the -Chinese will indulge in falsehood, not merely for gain or to carry out -some corrupt purpose, but for the mere pleasure of romancing, or to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> -gratify and oblige a friend. Dr. Williams then goes on to moralize, and -admits that the Chinese have a great many virtues as well as a great many -very foul vices. Unquestionably they have a great many virtues, aye, and -virtues of sterling character, and amongst these are commercial honour and -probity. For commercial instincts and habits I place them next to the -British. In their affection for their parents, their attachment to the -family homestead, their veneration for the aged and the virtuous, they -surpass every other nation. These are not the class of men to allow -themselves to be befooled with opium. Another virtue they possess, and it -is one very pertinent to the subject of this lecture, is abstemiousness; -they are positively the most frugal, self-denying, and abstemious people -on the face of the earth.</p> - -<p>Not only are the Chinese abstemious in their use of opium, but also as -regards alcoholic liquors. It is not, I think, generally known that there -is a species of spirit manufactured, and extensively used throughout -China, commonly called by foreigners “sam-shu.†It is very cheap, and -there is no duty upon it in Hong Kong, nor is there any, I believe, in -their own country. I suppose a pint bottle of it can be bought for a -penny. It is a sort of whisky distilled from rice. The Chinese use it -habitually, especially after meals, and I do not think there is a single -foreign resident of Hong Kong, or any of the Treaty Ports, who does not -know this fact. The practice in China is, for the servants of Europeans to -go early to market each morning and bring home the provisions and other -household necessaries required for the day’s use. I have seen, in the case -of my own servants, the bottle of sam-shu brought home morning after -morning as regularly as their ordinary daily food. Yet I never saw one of -my servants drunk or under the influence of liquor. What is more than -that, although sam-shu is so very cheap and plentiful, and is used -throughout the whole of Hong Kong, I never saw a Chinaman drunk, nor ever -knew of one being brought up before the magistrate for intemperance. I -cannot say the same thing of my own countrymen. Does not that form the -strongest possible evidence that the Chinese are an extremely steady and -abstemious race? Yet these are the people whom Mr. Storrs Turner would put -in the same category as the savages of Africa? Well, then, is it likely -that a people so abstemious in respect of spirit drinking<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> would indulge -to excess in opium, especially if the drug has the intoxicating and -destructive qualities ascribed to it by the missionaries?</p> - -<p>The Chinese, I have also said, are a very frugal people. Six dollars, or -about twenty-four shillings of our money, per month are considered -splendid wages by a coolie. On two dollars a month he can live -comfortably. He sends, perhaps, every month, one or two dollars to his -parents or wife in his native village; for generally a Chinaman, be he -never so poor, has a wife, it being there a duty, if not an article of -religion, for the males, to marry young. The remainder they hoard for a -rainy day. Now, I say again, if the Chinese are such abstemious and frugal -people, and that they are so is unquestionable, does not the same rule -apply to opium as to spirits? The truth of the matter is, that it is a -very inconsiderable number of those who smoke opium who indulge in it to -any considerable extent—probably about one in five thousand. When a -Chinaman’s day’s work is over, and he feels fatigued or weary, he will, if -he can afford it, take a whiff or two of the opium pipe, seldom more. If a -friend drops in he will offer him a pipe, just as we would invite a friend -to have a glass of sherry or a cigar. This use of the opium pipe does good -rather than harm. Those who indulge in it take their meals and sleep none -the worse. The use of the pipe, indeed, wiles them from spirit drinking -and other vicious habits. My own belief is that opium smoking exercises a -beneficial influence upon those who habitually practise it, far more so -than the indulgence in tobacco, which is simply a poisonous weed, having -no curative properties whatever. I have seen here in England many a youth -tremble and become completely unhinged by excessive smoking, so terrible -is the effect of the unwholesome narcotic on the nervous system when it is -indulged in to excess; indeed I have heard it often said that excessive -indulgence in tobacco frequently produces softening of the brain: such a -result has never proceeded from opium smoking.</p> - -<p>I have stated in my programme of these lectures that the views put forward -by the “Anglo-Oriental Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade†-were based upon fallacies and false assumptions, which account for the -many converts the advocates of that Society have made. I have now to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> tell -you what these fallacies and false assumptions are. In fact, these explain -pretty clearly how it has come to pass that so many otherwise sensible, -good, and benevolent people have been led astray on the opium question.</p> - -<p>The first of these fallacies is, <i>that the poppy is not indigenous to -China, but has been recently introduced there, presumably by British -agency</i>. The truth being that the poppy is indigenous to China, as it -admittedly is to Asia generally, and has been used in China for various -purposes for thousands of years.</p> - -<p>The second is, <i>that opium smoking in China is now and always has been -confined to a small per-centage of the population, but which, owing to the -introduction into the country of Indian opium, is rapidly increasing</i>. The -fact being that the custom is, and for many centuries has been, general -among the male adults throughout China, its use being limited only by the -ability to procure the drug.</p> - -<p>The third is, <i>that opium smoking is injurious to the system, more so than -spirit drinking</i>. The truth being that the former is not only harmless but -beneficial to the system, unless when practised to an inordinate extent, -which is wholly exceptional; whilst spirit drinking ruins the health, -degrades the character, incites its victims to acts of violence, and -destroys the prospects of everyone who indulges to excess in the practice.</p> - -<p>The fourth is, <i>that the supply of opium regulates the demand, and not the -demand the supply</i>. When I come to consider this in detail, I think I -shall rather surprise you by the statements in support of this -extraordinary theory put forward by Mr. Storrs Turner in this wonderful -book of his. The use of so utterly untenable a proposition shows to what -extremes fanatical enthusiasts will resort in support of the hobby they -are riding to death; how desperate men, when advocating a hopeless cause, -will grasp at shadows to support their theories. When such persons wish a -certain state of things to be true and existing, they never stop to -scrutinize the arguments they use in support of them. If Mr. Storrs Turner -had not opium on the brain to an alarming extent, and was writing by the -light of reason and common sense, he would no more dream of putting -forward such a theory than he would entertain the faintest hope of finding -any person silly enough to believe in the doctrine.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span>The fifth fallacy is, <i>that opium smoking and opium eating are equally -hurtful</i>. The fact being that there is the widest difference in the world -between the two practices, as I shall hereafter conclusively prove to you. -Upon this point, I may tell you, that Mr. Storrs Turner, in the appendix -to his book, gives numerous extracts from evidence taken on various -occasions as to opium <i>eating</i>, which has no relevancy to opium smoking; -not that I am even disposed to admit that even opium eating in moderation -is a baneful practice, the medical evidence on the subject being at -present very conflicting. And here I may appropriately say, that although -an overdose of opium may cause death, the mere <i>smoking</i> of the drug in -any quantity will not do so. No case of poisoning by opium smoking has -ever been reported or heard of; such a thing, in fact, is a physical -impossibility. I daresay this may surprise some people, but it is, -nevertheless, an irrefragable fact.</p> - -<p>The sixth is, <i>that all, or nearly all, who smoke opium are either -inordinate smokers or are necessarily in the way of becoming so, and that -once the custom has been commenced it cannot be dropped; but the victim to -it is compelled to go on smoking the drug to his ultimate destruction</i>. -That, I shall show you, upon the best evidence, is altogether untrue, -thousands of Chinese having been to my knowledge habitual and occasional -opium smokers, who showed no ill effects whatever from the practice, -which, by the way, is far more easily discontinued than the use of -alcoholic liquors.</p> - -<p>The seventh is, <i>that the Chinese Government is, or ever was, anxious to -put a stop to the custom, or even to check the use, of opium amongst the -people of China</i>. This is one of the most ridiculous and unfounded notions -that ever entered the mind of man. There is a saying that “none are so -blind as those who will not see,†and here, I shall show you, is the -strongest proof of the adage.</p> - -<p>The eighth is, <i>that the British merchants in China are making large -fortunes by opium</i>. The fact being that the Indo-China trade is profitable -to a very few merchants only, whilst the British merchants as a body have -no interest in the trade whatever. This is a pet fallacy of Mr. Storrs -Turner, and he has shown throughout his book, and notably in his article -in the “Nineteenth Century,†a determination to make the most of it. He -has evidently persuaded himself<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> that some large English firms have made -enormous fortunes by the drug, and he seems to have made up his mind never -to forgive the enormity.</p> - -<p>The ninth is, <i>that the discontinuance of the supply of opium from British -India would stop, or effectually check, the practice of opium smoking in -China</i>. The fact being that the suppression of the present Indo-China -opium trade, if indeed it were possible to suppress it, would have -precisely the contrary effect. I shall prove to you clearly, that if the -Indo-China opium trade, as at present carried on, were put an end to, such -an impetus would be given to the importation of opium into China as would -enormously add to the consumption of the drug, and that then British and -other merchants who have now no dealings in opium, would in such case -become largely engaged in the trade; whilst opium smuggling, the cause of -so much strife and unpleasantness in past times, would again become -general upon the coast of China.</p> - -<p>The tenth is, <i>that the opposition of Chinese officials to the -introduction of opium into China arose from moral causes</i>. The fact being, -as every sane man acquainted with China knows, that the true reason for -such opposition was a desire to protect and promote the culture of native -opium to keep out the foreign drug, and thus prevent the bullion payable -for the latter from leaving the country.</p> - -<p>Last, but by no means least, is the fallacy and fond delusion, <i>that the -introduction of Indian opium into China has arrested and is impeding the -progress of Christianity in that country, and that if the trade were -discontinued, the Chinese, or large numbers of them, would embrace the -Gospel</i>. The fact being, that opium smoking has had nothing whatever to do -with the propagation of Christianity in China, any more than rice or -Manchester goods, as I confidently undertake to show you when I come to -deal more fully with this outrageous fallacy. I will only now observe that -it is a remarkable fact, that while China is covered with a network of -Roman Catholic missionaries, some of whom I had the pleasure of knowing -quite intimately, I have never heard of a similar complaint having been -made by any of them, but, on the contrary, have always known them to speak -triumphantly of their great success in their missionary labours; but then -it must be remembered that these Roman Catholic missionaries, greatly to -their credit, throw their whole soul into<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> their work, and devote their -whole time to their missionary labours, never mixing in politics or -interfering with matters of State. These are the figments which have got -hold of the Anti-Opium mind, from which has sprung the monstrosity put -forward by the Anti-Opium Society. I shall, in future lectures, return to -these fallacies, and dispose of each in turn.</p> - -<p>I will close this lecture by giving you the testimony of a very high and -entirely impartial authority as to the innocuous effects of opium, which -strongly confirms all that I have already stated. The late John Crawfurd, -F.R.S., was a <i>savant</i> of high reputation in England, throughout the East, -and, I believe, in Europe. He was the contemporary and intimate friend of -the late Sir Benjamin Brodie, the eminent surgeon. Mr. Crawfurd had, -previous to 1856, been Governor of the three settlements of Singapore, -Penang, and Malacca. He resided for a great number of years in the far -East, studying there the country and people; he visited Siam, Java, -Borneo, and the Phillipine Islands, making himself thoroughly acquainted -with those places, the Malay peninsula, and various other countries in the -Indian Ocean and China Sea. In 1820 he published, in London, “A History of -the Indian Archipelago†(then comparatively but seldom visited by, and -less known to, Europeans), a work, I understand, of considerable merit. -Thirty-six years afterwards, that is, in the year 1856, having during the -interval spent seven years in travelling through India and otherwise -making himself perfectly acquainted with his subject, he published “A -Dictionary of the Indian Islands and Adjacent Countries.†The book was -brought out in London by the well-known firm of Bradbury and Evans, and I -have it now before me. It was lent to me by a friend since the first -edition of these lectures was published. It is an interesting and valuable -volume, affording abundant evidence of the learning, research, vast -information and talents, and the studious and energetic character of the -writer. The book was published many years before this wonderful -confederation “The Anglo-Oriental Society for the Suppression of the Opium -Trade†sprang into existence, and, indeed, before there was any -considerable controversy upon the opium question. The opinions of this -eminent man on the subject of opium should, therefore, be viewed as wholly -unbiassed, for it is certain that he had no selfish<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> ends to gratify. -Turning to the word “Opium†at page 313, we find the following:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Opium is at present largely consumed in the Malayan Islands, in China, -in the Indo-Chinese countries, and in a few parts of Hindustan, much -in the same way in which wine, ardent spirits, malt liquor, and cider -are consumed in Europe. Its deleterious character has been much -insisted on, but generally, by parties <i>who have had no experience of -its effects</i>. Like any other narcotic or stimulant, the habitual use -of it is amenable to abuse, and as being more seductive than other -stimulants, perhaps more so; but this is certainly the utmost that can -be safely charged to it. Thousands consume it without any pernicious -result, as thousands do wine and spirits, without any evil -consequence. I know of no person of long experience and competent -judgment who has not come to this common-sense conclusion. Dr. Oxley, -a physician and a naturalist of eminence, and who has had a longer -experience than any other man of Singapore, where there is the highest -rate of consumption of the drug, gives the following opinion:—“The -inordinate use, or rather abuse, of the drug most decidedly does bring -on early decrepitude, loss of appetite, and a morbid state of all the -secretions; but I have seen a man who had used the drug for fifty -years in moderation, without any evil effects; and one man I recollect -in Malacca who had so used it was upwards of eighty. Several in the -habit of smoking it have assured me that, in moderation, it neither -impaired the functions nor shortened life; at the same time fully -admitting the deleterious effects of too much.†There is not a word of -this that would not be equally true of the use and abuse of ardent -spirit, wine, and, perhaps, even tobacco. The historian of Sumatra, -whose experience and good sense cannot be questioned, came early to -the very same conclusion. The superior curative virtues of opium over -any other stimulant are undeniable, and the question of its -superiority over ardent spirits appears to me to have been for ever -set at rest by the high authority of my friend Sir Benjamin Brodie. -“The effect of opium, when taken into the stomach,†says this -distinguished philosopher, “is not to stimulate but to soothe the -nervous system. It may be otherwise in some instances, but these are -rare exceptions to the general rule. The opium eater is, in a passive -state, satisfied with his own dreamy condition while under the -influence of the drug. He is useless but not mischievous. It is quite -otherwise with alcoholic liquors.‗“Psychological Inquiries,†p. 248.</p> - -<p>It may be worth while to show what is really the relative consumption -in those countries in which its use is alleged to be most pernicious. -In the British Settlement of Singapore, owing to the high rate of -wages, and the prevalence of a Chinese population, the consumption is -at the rate of about three hundred and thirty grains, or adult doses, -a year for each person. In Java, where the Chinese do not compose -above one in a hundred of the population, and where wages are -comparatively low, it does not exceed forty grains. Even in China -itself, where the consumption is supposed to be so large, it is no -more than one hundred and forty grains, chiefly <i>owing to the poverty -of the people, to whom it is for the most part inaccessible</i>. It must -not be forgotten, that some of the deleterious qualities of opium are -considerably abated, in all the countries in question, by the manner -in which it is prepared for use, <i>which consists <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span>in reducing it to a -kind of morphine and inhaling its fumes in this state</i>. Moreover, -everywhere consumption is restricted by heavy taxation. The opium of -India pays, in the first instance, a tax which amounts to three -millions sterling. The same opium in Singapore, with a population of -sixty thousand, pays another impost of thirty thousand pounds; and, in -Java, with a population of ten millions, one of eight hundred thousand -pounds. <i>Not the use, then, but the abuse, of opium is prejudicial to -health</i>; but in this respect it does not materially differ from wine, -distilled spirits, malt liquor, or hemp juice. There may be shades of -difference in the abuse of all these commodities, but they are not -easily determined, and, perhaps, hardly worth attempting to -appreciate. There is nothing mysterious about the intoxication -produced by ordinary stimulants, because we are familiar with it; but -it is otherwise with that resulting from opium, to which we are -strangers. We have generally only our imaginations to guide us with -the last, and we associate it with deeds of desperation and murder; -<i>the disposition to commit which, were the drug ever had recourse to -on such occasions, which it never is, it would surely allay and not -stimulate</i>.</p></div> - - - -<p> </p><p> </p> -<hr style="width: 50%;" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span></p> -<h2><a name="LECTURE_II" id="LECTURE_II"></a>LECTURE II.</h2> - -<p>I closed my first lecture with a list of fallacies, upon which the -objections to the Indo-China opium trade, and the charges brought against -England in relation to that trade, are founded, stating that I should -return to them and dispose of each separately. I also said in the earlier -part of my lecture, that the extraordinary hallucinations which had taken -hold of the public mind, with respect to opium smoking in China, arose, -amongst other causes, from the fact that the public had formed their -opinions from hearsay evidence, and that of the very worst and most -untrustworthy kind. I say untrustworthy because hearsay evidence, although -in general inadmissible in our law courts, may be in some cases very good -and reliable evidence. As this point goes to the root of all these -fallacies and false assertions, and the delusions based upon them, I wish -to show you why hearsay evidence is, in this case, of the worst and most -unreliable kind. In the first instance, I would refer you to the general -character of the Chinese for mendacity and deceit, admitted by all writers -upon the subject of China and the Chinese, and supported by the general -opinion of Europeans who have dwelt amongst them. Now, I am far from -saying that every Chinaman is necessarily a liar, or habitually tells -untruths for corrupt purposes. The point is, rather, that the Chinese do -not understand truth in the sense that we do. The evidence of Chinese -witnesses in courts of justice is notorious for its untrustworthy -character. The judges are not generally contented with the direct and -cross-examination to which witnesses are ordinarily subjected by counsel, -but frequently themselves put them under a searching examination, and -generally<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> require more evidence in the case of Chinese than they would -if Europeans were alone concerned.</p> - -<p>From my acquaintance of the Chinese I can say that they are a very -good-natured people, especially when good-nature does not cost them much; -but they are also a very vindictive people, as, I suppose, most heathen -nations are. I have known cases where, to gratify private malice, or to -obtain some object, the reason for which would be hard for us to -appreciate, a Chinaman has got up a charge without foundation in fact, but -supported by false witnesses, who were so well drilled and had so -thoroughly rehearsed their parts that it was hard to doubt, and almost -impossible to disprove, the accusation. By such means innocent men have -been condemned and sentenced to severe punishments, or been unjustly -compelled to pay large sums of money. I have, on the other hand, known -cases which, according to the evidence brought before me, appeared -perfectly clear and good in law; but on taking each witness quietly into -my own office, and going through his evidence, the whole fabric would -tumble down like a pack of cards; so that, although my client’s case might -still be intrinsically good, the witnesses he brought in support of it -knew nothing about it beyond what they had heard from others. It would -turn out that they had been told this by one person, that by another, and -so on, throughout the series of witnesses, not one of them would have any -actual knowledge of the alleged facts. In cases like these there would -probably be no corrupt motive whatever.</p> - -<p>While upon this point I may allude to another peculiar phase in the -Chinese character. They are so addicted to falsehood that they will -embellish truth, even in cases where they have the facts on their own -side. On such occasions they like to add to their story a fringe of -falsehood, thinking, perhaps, that by doing so, they will make the truth -stand out in brighter colours and appear more favourable in the eyes of -the Court and the Jury. Another Chinese peculiarity is the following:—If -you put leading questions to a Chinaman upon any particular subject, that -is to say, if you interrogate him upon a point, and by your mode of doing -so induce him to think that you are desirous of getting one particular -kind of answer, he gives you that answer accordingly, out of mere -good-nature. In these instances his imagination is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> wonderfully fertile. -The moment he finds his replies afford pleasure, and that there is an -object in view, he will give his questioner as much information of this -kind as he likes. Not only is this the case with the common people, -corresponding to the working or the labouring classes here, but the habit -really pervades the highest ranks of Chinese society. It is mentioned in -Dr. Williams’s work, how the Chinese as a people think it no shame in -being detected in a falsehood. It is very hard to understand, especially -for an Englishman, such moral obtuseness. We are so accustomed to consider -truth in the first place, and to look upon perjury and falsehood with -abhorrence, that it may seem almost like romancing to gravely assure you -of these facts.</p> - -<p>If I relate a few short anecdotes which are absolutely true, and in which -I was personally concerned, I may put the matter more clearly before you. -A Chinese merchant, now in Hong Kong, once instructed me to prosecute a -claim against a ship-master for short delivery of cargo, and from the -documents he gave me, and the witnesses he produced, I had no hesitation -in pronouncing his case a good one, although I knew the man was -untruthful. When we came into court, knowing my client’s proclivities, my -only fear was that he would not be content with simply telling the truth, -but would so embellish it with falsehood that the judge would not believe -his story. I therefore not only cautioned him myself in “pidgin English,†-but instructed my Chinese clerk and interpreter to do so also. My last -words to him on going into court were, “Now mind you talkee true. Suppose -you talkee true you win your case. Suppose you talkee lie you losee.†The -man went into the witness-box, and I am bound to say that on that occasion -he did tell the truth, and nothing but the truth, but I could plainly see -by his manner and bearing that the task was a most irksome one. When he -left the box, after cross-examination, I felt greatly relieved. The -defendant, who, I am glad to say, was not an Englishman, although he -commanded a British ship, told falsehood after falsehood. There could be -no doubt about this, and the judge, Mr. Snowden, the present Puisne Judge -of Hong Kong, at last ordered him to leave the box, and gave judgment for -my client. Notwithstanding this satisfactory result, I saw that the -plaintiff was still dissatisfied. I left the court and he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> followed me -out. He still seemed discontented, and had the air of an injured man. When -we got clear of the court he actually assailed me for having closed his -mouth and deprived him of the luxury of telling untruths. “What for,†said -he, “you say my no talkee lie? that man have talkee plenty lie.†I -replied, “Oh, that man have losee; you have won.†But with anger in his -countenance, he walked sullenly away.</p> - -<p>Now I will tell you another—and a totally different case. The judge on -this occasion was the late Sir John Smale, Chief Justice of Hong Kong. It -was an action brought by a Chinese merchant, carrying on business in -Cochin China, against his agent in Hong Kong, a countryman of his, who had -not accounted for goods consigned to him for sale. The plaintiff put his -case in my hands. When it came into court the defendant was supported by -witnesses who seemed to have no connection whatever with the -subject-matter of the suit. They, however, swore most recklessly. In -cross-examination one of the witnesses completely broke down. The Chief -Justice then stopped the case, and characterized the defendant’s conduct -“as the grossest attempt at fraud he had ever met with since he had come -to China,†and, under the special powers he possessed, sent the false -witness to gaol for six weeks. The person so punished for perjury proved -to be what we would call a Master of Arts. He was, in fact, an expectant -mandarin, ranking very high in China. I should tell you that in that -country there is no regular hereditary nobility, nor any aristocracy save -the mandarin or official class. The fact is, and in view of Mr. Storrs -Turner’s comparison of the Chinese with the savages of Central Africa, I -may here mention it, that in China—where these simple, innocent -“aborigines,†as it suits the anti-opium advocates to treat them, -flourish—education is the sole criterion of rank and precedence. They -have a competitive system there, which is undoubtedly the oldest in the -world. This man, as I said, was a Master of Arts, and would, in regular -course, have been appointed to an important official post and taken rank -as a mandarin. He was, I believe, at the time of his sentence, one of the -regular examiners at the competitive examinations of young men seeking for -employment in the Civil Service of the Empire. When the case ended, I -dismissed it from my mind. But, to my great surprise, six or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> seven of the -leading Chinamen of Hong Kong waited upon me on the following day, and -implored of me to get this man out of gaol. They declared that the whole -Chinese community of Hong Kong felt degraded at having one of their -superior order, a learned Master of Arts, consigned to a foreign prison. -They assured me that this was the greatest indignity that could have been -offered to the Chinese people. I replied that the fact of the prisoner -being a man of education only aggravated his offence, that he had -deliberately perjured himself in order to cheat my client, and that the -foreign community considered his punishment far too lenient, for had he -been a foreigner he would have got a far more severe punishment. But they -could not see the matter in that light, and went away dissatisfied. They -afterwards presented a petition to the Governor, praying for the man’s -release, but without success. My object in narrating this to you is to -show the utter contempt which the Chinese, not only of the lower orders, -but of the better class, have for the truth. I could supplement these -cases by many others, all showing that the Chinese do not regard the -difference between truth and falsehood in the sense that we do.</p> - -<p>To illustrate more clearly what I have told you, I will read to you a -short passage from a leading article in the “China Mail,†a daily -newspaper published in Hong Kong. The date of the paper is the 3rd of -October 1881. The editor is a gentleman who has been out there for twenty -years; he is a man of considerable ability and knows the Chinese character -perfectly, and I may also mention that he is a near relative of Mr. Storrs -Turner. This is what he says:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The question of the reliability of Chinese witnesses is one which is -continually presenting itself to all who have anything to do with -judicial proceedings in this colony, and as jurors are usually saddled -with the responsibility of deciding how far such evidence is to be -credited in most serious cases, the subject is one which appeals to a -large body of residents. An eminent local authority, some time since, -gave it as his opinion that he did not think a Chinese witness could -give accurate evidence, even if the precise truth would best suit his -purpose. This is doubtless true to some extent, and it bears directly -on one phase of the discussion, viz. that of reliableness, so far as -strict accuracy of detail is concerned. But a witness may be regarded -as the witness of truth although he fails in that extremely precise or -accurate narration of facts and details which goes so far to -strengthen truthful testimony. What is meant here by reliability of -witnesses, however, is their desire to tell what they <i>believe</i> to be -the truth. It has been somewhere said, by one of authority<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> on Chinese -matters, that it is not particularly surprising that the Chinese, as a -people, are so widely known as economisers of the truth, when their -system of government is carefully considered. For a Chinaman, life -assumes so many phases, in which a good round lie becomes a valuable -commodity, that the only surprise remaining is, that he is ever known -to tell the truth.</p></div> - -<p>That is exactly what I have already said. It would occupy too much time to -read the rest of the article, which is ably written, but the portion I -have quoted tends to show the unreliability of Chinese witnesses, even in -a solemn Court of Justice.</p> - -<p>Now, I think, I have shown you that our Celestial friends present rather -an unpromising raw material from which to extract the truth. Yet these are -the men from whom the missionaries derive their information as to those -wonderful consequences from opium smoking which, the more greedily -swallowed, are the more liberally supplied, thus affording an illustration -of Mr. Storrs Turner’s extraordinary theory of supply and demand, of which -I shall have to speak more by and by. Having exhibited to you the well of -truth from which credible evidence is sought to be obtained, I have now to -turn to the other side of the question and describe the character and -competence of those who draw their facts from that source, and from whom -the general public have mainly derived their knowledge of opium and opium -smoking.</p> - -<p>As regards the missionaries, I have stated already that I hold them in the -very highest respect, and they are well deserving of it, and, indeed, of -the consideration of the whole community. Were I to state anything to -their prejudice or disadvantage, further than what I assert as to their -fallacious views and unjustifiable conduct on the opium question, I should -certainly be speaking without warrant; for a more respectable, -hard-working, or conscientious body of gentlemen it would be difficult to -find. Perhaps they are the hardest worked and worst paid class of any -foreigners in China. They have a work to perform, the difficulty of which -is but partially understood in this country; that is, the task of -converting to Christianity these heathen people, who think Confucianism -and the other religions engrafted upon it which they follow, and which -seem to suit their temperament, immeasurably superior to ours; who point -to our prophets and sages as men of yesterday, and look with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> comparative -contempt upon our literature, laws, and customs. The real difficulty of -the situation lies in these facts; believe me, that it is as absurd as it -is untrue to say that opium has had anything to do with the slow progress -of Christianity in China. Missionary clergymen in China are really not the -best men to get at the facts of the opium question. If a foreigner, here -in England, were to ask me in which quarter he would be likely to obtain -the best information regarding the manners and customs of the English -people, I should certainly advise him to get introductions to some of our -working clergy of all denominations, because they are the people’s trusted -friends and advisers, sharing in their joys and sympathizing in their -sorrows, their wants and necessities. They are educated and matter-of-fact -men, just the class of persons to afford sound and accurate information as -to the country and people. This, I believe, will be generally admitted. -The same rule would not apply to our missionary clergymen in China; for -they, unlike our clergy at home, are not the trusted friends and advisers -of the Chinese people, and, knowing really very little of the inner life -of the people, cannot be said to sympathize in their wants and -necessities. No doubt there have been some admirable books written on -China by missionary clergymen, such as the “Middle Kingdom,†from which I -have already quoted, and Dr. Doolittle’s work; but everyone who has lived -long in China takes all their statements on every point affecting their -missionary labours, and upon many other matters also, <i>cum grano</i>. So far -as the manners and customs of the Chinese can be understood from their -outdoor life, literature, and laws, they are competent judges enough; but -as they are not admitted into Chinese society, and do not possess the -confidence of the people, they cannot be accepted as authorities on the -inner social life of the natives, so far as regards opium-smoking. They -have not at all the same status as regards the Chinese that English -clergymen have in respect to their own countrymen here in England; and if -a friend were to put such a question to me respecting China and the -Chinese, the last people I would refer him to for information would be the -missionary clergymen. These missionary gentlemen, if they were at home in -England, would, no doubt, have their livings and vicarages, and would take -their place with the regular clergy of the country. But in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> China things -are totally different. There the people not only despise them, but laugh -at the creed they are trying to teach. The simplicity of the Gospel is too -cold for them. Teeming with the marvellous as their own religions do, no -other creed seems acceptable to them that does not deal in startling -miracles and offer a continuous supply of supernatural feats. Anyone who -reads Dr. Legge’s book, on the religions of China, will see this at once. -The Chinese have an accepted belief three or four thousand years older -than Christianity, and they are well aware of the fact. Despising -Europeans, as they do, and looking upon themselves as a superior race, it -is not likely that the Chinese will take missionary clergymen into their -confidence, or afford them any trustworthy information about private or -personal matters. In short, there is no cordiality between the Chinese and -the missionaries.</p> - -<p>Still our Chinese friends are a very polite people, and no doubt they are -and will continue to be outwardly very civil to missionaries, and, -although they may consider them impudent intruders, will give courteous -answers to their questions; but it does not follow that they will give -<i>true</i> answers. A respectable Chinaman, such as a merchant, a shopkeeper, -or an artizan, would consider himself disgraced among his own community if -it were known that he had embraced Christianity, or even entertained the -thought of doing so. I do not think that, long as I was in China, I had a -single regular Chinese client who was a Christian. All my native -clients—merchants, shopkeepers, clerks, artizans, and coolies, and I have -had professional dealings with thousands of them—were heathens. In very -rare instances Chinese professing Christianity will be found holding -respectable positions; but, I regret to say, I do not believe that any of -such people are sincere. I had myself a clerk in my office for about -twelve years; he was a young man educated at St. Paul’s College, in Hong -Kong. The College is now closed, but when in existence the pupils there -got an excellent education, and were also well clothed and fed. They were -not only taught Chinese, as is the case in Chinese schools, but also to -read and speak English well. When he went to the school he was not more -than seven or eight years old, and left it probably when he was fourteen -or fifteen. He was an excellent clerk, a highly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> intelligent young fellow, -and wrote and spoke English well. Now, if ever there were a case where a -lad might be expected to be a sincere convert this was the one. He had -been strictly brought up as a Christian, went to church, and read the -Bible regularly, and, indeed, was far more kindly treated in the College -than English lads are in many schools in this country. Even that boy was -not a sincere convert.</p> - -<p>When about eighteen years of age he got married, as is the custom with the -youth of China. On informing me of his intention, he asked me to procure -from the Superintendent of Police the privilege of having “fire crackers†-at his wedding, a heathen custom, supposed to drive away evil spirits. I -reminded him that I had always believed him a Christian; when he said, -“Oh! it’s a Chinese custom.†However, I got him the privilege. But instead -of being solemnized in the church, which he had been in the habit of -attending when a pupil in St. Paul’s College, according to the rites of -the Church of England, his marriage ceremony was celebrated in Chinese -fashion, a primitive proceeding, and certainly heathen in its form. He -never went near the church at all. A few days afterwards I remarked to him -that he had not been married in the church. He laughed, and said, “that as -he and his wife were Chinese they could only be married according to -Chinese custom.â€</p> - -<p>Let me give another story in point. I knew a man in Hong Kong who, owing -to the difficulty of finding suitable natives who understood English, was -for a long time the only Chinese on the jury list. He spoke English fairly -well. He was educated at a school presided over by the late Rev. Dr. -Morrison, the learned sinologue, who had lived in Hong Kong before my -time. His school was an excellent one, and had turned out some very good -scholars. I have seen this man go into the jury-box, and often too, into -the witness-box, and take the Bible in his hand and kiss it -ostentatiously. I used to think he was a sincere Christian, and was glad -to see so respectable a Chinaman (for he held a responsible position in a -bank) acknowledge in public that he was a Christian. But that man, I -afterwards discovered from the best possible authority, was at heart a -heathen; he always had idols, or, as we call them, “Josses,†in his house. -He also was a Christian in name, and nothing more.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span>There was another man educated in Dr. Morrison’s school. Dr. Legge knew -him very well, and was a sort of patron of his. I suppose it is pretty -well known that polygamy is a custom in China, and that it is quite an -exception for a Chinese in any decent position there not to have three, -four, or more wives; the more he has the greater his consequence among his -countrymen. This man, as a matter of fact, had three wives, and when his -so-called first wife died, he was in a great fright lest Dr. Legge should -discover that he had two more wives, for it is customary that the other -wives should attend the funeral of the first as mourners. Now these are -the sort of converts, for the most part, to be met with in China. As a -rule, they are far less honest and more untruthful than their heathen -countrymen, and many Europeans in consequence will not take converts into -their service. In proof of this statement I will here give you an extract -from a very able article which appeared in the “Hong Kong Daily Press,†an -old and well conducted newspaper, of the 31st October 1882. This is it:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>They [the missionaries] secure some adherence to the Christian -religion, no doubt, but what is the value of the Christianity? It -possesses, so far as we have been able to judge, neither stamina nor -backbone. Foreigners at Hong Kong, and at the Treaty Ports, fight shy -of Christian servants, a very general impression existing that they -are less reliable than their heathen fellows; and with regard to the -Christians in their own villages and towns, there is always a -suspicion of interested motives.</p></div> - -<p>Are these Chinese converts the class of the Chinese from which truth is to -be gleaned? Is the testimony of such people of the slightest value? Yet -these are the persons from whom the missionaries derive their knowledge of -opium smoking and its alleged baneful effects. I venture to say that among -all the so-called Christian converts in China you will not find five per -cent. who are really sincere—all the rest profess Christianity to obtain -some personal advantage. These so-called converts are generally people -from the humblest classes, because, as I have mentioned, people of the -better class, such as merchants, shopkeepers, and tradesmen, not only -consider their own religion superior to the Christian’s creed, but they -would be ashamed to adopt Christianity, as they would thus be disgraced -and make themselves appear ridiculous in the eyes of their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> neighbours; -and they are a people peculiarly sensitive to ridicule. I will not say -that there are not some true converts to be found among Chinese -congregations; if there are none, the missionary clergymen are certainly -not to blame, for they are indefatigable in their exertions to make -converts, proving also by their blameless lives the sincerity of their -professions. As I have said, the difficulty attending their efforts is -enormous. It must be remembered that in China we are not teaching -Christianity to the poor African, or the semi-civilised native of -Madagascar or the Fiji Islands; but that we are dealing with civilized -men, who consider their own country and literature, customs and religion, -far superior to those of England or of any other country in the world. The -Chinese are so convinced of this, that the very coolies in the streets -consider themselves the superiors of the foreign ladies and gentlemen that -pass, or whom, perhaps, they are carrying in their sedan chairs.</p> - -<p>I hold the missionaries altogether responsible for the hallucination that -has taken possession of the public mind on the opium question. With the -Bible they revere in their hands, they think the Chinese should eagerly -embrace the doctrine it inculcates, and, unable to account for their -failure, they readily accept the subterfuge offered by certain Chinese for -not accepting Christianity or attending to their teaching. They feel that -it is, or may be, expected of them in this country, that they should have -large congregations of native proselytes, such as, I believe, the -missionaries have in Madagascar, and in like places, forgetting that no -parallel can be drawn between such races and the Chinese. The Protestant -missionary clergymen in China are, not unnaturally, anxious to account for -their supposed failure in that large and heathen country. They would not -be human if they were not. The better class of Chinese, as I have said, -will not listen to a missionary, or argue with him. They do not want to -hear lectures on Christianity, and grow impatient at any disparaging -remark about their own religion. They simply say, “We have a religion that -is better than yours, and we mean to stick to it.†The missionaries, -however, think they ought to have better success. They are, no doubt, -indefatigable in their labours, and as they do not meet with the results -that ought, they consider, to follow from their labours, and as their -sanguine minds<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> cling to any semblance of excuse for their shortcomings, -they accept the stale and miserable subterfuge, to the use of which their -converts are prompted by the Mandarins, that the Indo-China opium trade is -vicious, and that before Christianity is accepted by the country, the -trade in question must be abolished. This transparent evasion of the -Chinese appears to me to bear too strong a family likeness to the famous -“confidence trick,†with which the police reports now and then make us -acquainted, to be entertained for a moment.</p> - -<p>The Chinese, knowing the weakness of the missionaries, play upon it; and -one of the best instances I can give you that they are successful is -this:—They tell them that the Chinese Government objects to the opium -trade upon moral grounds; but it never occurs to the missionaries to -retort and say, “If so, why does your Government not prevent the -cultivation of opium throughout China? In the provinces of Yunnan and -Szechuen, and all over the Empire, indeed, enormous crops of opium are -raised every year; why does not your Government, knowing, as you say, that -the effects of opium are so fatal, put a stop to the growth of the -deleterious drug?†This question would prove rather a difficult one to -answer, though the Mandarins, skilful casuists as they are, would no doubt -invent some specious one which might impose upon their interrogators. The -mental vision of our missionary friends is so limited to one side only of -the question, that even here they might be taken in by the astute natives. -It is only of late that the Chinese Government has taken up the moral -objection, and the reason, I believe, it has done so is because it has -found out the weak side of the missionaries, probably through <i>The Friend -of China</i>, published at Shanghai.</p> - -<p>When it is taken into account that of late years the average quantity of -Indian opium imported into China is about one hundred thousand chests, -each of which, for all practical purposes, may be called a hundredweight, -and that the price of each of these chests landed in China is about seven -hundred dollars, and that the whole works up to something like sixteen -millions sterling, the strong objection of the Mandarin classes to allow -such a large amount of specie to leave the country becomes intelligible. -Rapacious plunderers as they are, they see their prey escaping them before -their very<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> eyes, and are powerless to snatch it back. These sixteen -millions, they think, would be all fair game for “squeezing†if we could -only keep them at home. For although China is an immense empire, with -great natural resources, it is still a poor country as regards the -precious metals. No doubt an economist would tell these Mandarins: “It is -true we sell you all this opium, but then we give you back again all the -money you pay for it, with a great deal more besides, for the purchase of -your tea and silk.†But a Mandarin would only laugh at such an argument. -“Ah,†he would say, “you must have tea and silk in any case; you can’t do -without them. We want to get hold of your silver and give you none of ours -in return.†That is the true cause, or one of the true causes, of the -objection of the Government of China to the importation into that country -of Indian opium.</p> - -<p>The missionaries, or at all events the greater number of them, have -adopted the view, that if they could only put a stop to the importation of -Indian opium into China the evangelization of the country would be a -question of time only; and in one sense, indeed, this would be true; but -the time would not be near, but very distant. The Chinese have a keen -sense of humour, and if the British would allow themselves to be cajoled -by the specious arguments with which the religious world here is -constantly regaled about the opium question, so far as to put a stop to -the traffic, such a feeling of contempt for English common sense, and in -consequence for the religion of Englishmen, would ensue, that the spread -of the Gospel in China would be greatly retarded indeed. The truth about -opium is so clear to those who trust to the evidence of their senses, and -who look at facts from a plain common sense point of view, that they -cannot for a moment see that there is any connection whatever between -opium and Christianity. It seems to me that those gentlemen who adopt the -anti-opium doctrine, and scatter it abroad, are only comparable to the -monomaniac, who, sane upon every subject but one, is thoroughly daft upon -that. No better example of this can I give you than by referring to a -speech made by a gentleman deservedly respected by the community, whom I -have always considered as one of the hardest-headed men sitting in the -House of Commons, possessing sound common sense upon all subjects save -that of opium. I refer to Sir J. W. Pease, the Member for South<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> Durham. -In the year 1881 the usual anti-opium debate came on in the House of -Commons. Sir J. W. Pease delivered a speech on the occasion denunciatory -of the Indo-China trade, in the course of which he referred to the treaty -recently made between China and America, one of the clauses of which -provides that American ships shall not import opium into China, and that -no Chinaman shall be allowed to import opium into America, where there is -a large Chinese population, especially in San Francisco. The treaty -relates to other matters, and this clause is, so to speak, interpolated -into it, for a purpose I shall now explain. It was intended to appear as a -sort of <i>quid pro quo</i>, for whilst America, in fact, gave up nothing, -though she affected to do so, she obtained some commercial advantages by -the treaty. This is the clause:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The Governments of China and of the United States mutually agree and -undertake that Chinese subjects shall not be permitted to import opium -into any of the ports of the United States; and citizens of the United -States shall not be permitted to import opium into any of the open -ports of China. This absolute prohibition, which extends to vessels -owned by the citizens or subjects of either Power, to foreign vessels -employed by them or to vessels owned by the citizens or subjects of -either Power, and employed by other persons for transportation of -opium, shall be enforced by appropriate legislation on the part of -China and the United States, and the benefits of the favoured claims -in existing treaties shall not be claimed by the citizens or subjects -of either Power as against the provisions of this article.</p></div> - -<p>I happened to be weather-bound in Rome when I first read, in a Hong Kong -paper, that amusing and deceptive treaty, which was made in 1880. Knowing -thoroughly the situation, and all the facts connected with the Indo-China -opium trade, I undertake to assure you that so far, at least, as regards -this opium clause, that treaty was simply a farce. With the single -exception of a line of mail packet steamers between Hong Kong and San -Francisco, America has few or no steamers trading in the China seas. She -has protected her mercantile marine so well that she has now very little -occasion for exercising her protection. She has no vessels trading between -India and China, and never has had any, and, as a matter of fact, no -American ships carry one ounce of opium between India or China, or to the -port of Hong Kong, or have carried it for many years, if, indeed, any -American vessel has ever done so. Nor is there, indeed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> at present the -slightest probability that her ships will ever convey opium between India -and China. America, in fact, might, with as much self-denial, have -undertaken not to carry coals to Newcastle as Indian opium to China. There -are regular lines of British steamers plying between the ports of Bombay, -Calcutta, and Hong Kong, by which all Indian opium for the China trade is -carried direct to its destination.</p> - -<p>I declare that anything more absurd, deceptive, and dishonest never formed -the subject of an international treaty. The whole affair was so utterly -false and misleading that the first thing I did after reading the treaty -was to cut it out from the newspaper and forward it, with an explanatory -letter, to the “Times,†the usual refuge of the aggrieved Briton. This -deceptive clause was intended simply to mislead the simple, benevolent, -good-natured John Bull, already, as the framers of the treaty no doubt -supposed, half-crazed on the anti-opium movement. A better specimen of -American smartness and Chinese astuteness could hardly be conceived than -this crafty and fallacious clause. America has no opium to sell or import, -and can, therefore, afford to be extremely generous on the point. It is -just possible, however, that at a future day opium may be produced in the -South-Western States, in which case the American Government—I will not -say the American people, for I hold <i>them</i> in great respect—will -endeavour to wriggle out of this precious treaty, just as they are now -trying to do as regards the Panama convention with this country, when the -possibility that gave rise to it is likely to become a reality. The -stipulation that Chinese subjects should not be permitted to import opium -into any of the ports of the United States is of course absolute nonsense. -If the American Government had really intended to prohibit opium from -being imported from China, or elsewhere, into their country they should -not have confined the prohibition to Chinese subjects, but have extended -it to all nationalities; in fact, to have made opium, save for medical -purposes, contraband. To explain this point more clearly, you will -remember what I have mentioned before, that the exclusive right to -manufacture crude opium into the form used for smoking, called in China -“prepared opium,†is farmed out. The present farmer pays the Government of -Hong Kong two hundred and five thousand dollars, or forty thousand pounds -a year for the monopoly. The reason why<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> he pays so large a sum for this -privilege is because of the facilities it affords him for exporting it to -other places, and not merely to get the exclusive right of preparing and -selling the drug in Hong Kong, for if that were all the benefit to be -derived from the monopoly he would not give so large a rent for it. The -greater source of profit arises from the circumstance that the Chinese -must have the beloved stimulant wherever they roam. If you go to -Australia, the Philippine Islands, the Straits, Borneo, or the town of -Saigon in French Cochin China, or wherever else dollars are to be made, -you will find Chinese in abundance. Go to the South Seas, go to the -Sandwich or the Fiji Islands, you will discover the Chinese happy and -prosperous, and you will always see in their houses the opium pipe. The -advantage of having the exclusive privilege in Hong Kong of preparing and -selling opium consists in this, that it is the terminus of an American -line of steamers which ply between that port and San Francisco. It is also -the port from which British lines of steamers run to Australia, Tasmania, -and New Zealand. These packets always take with them consignments of -prepared opium ready for smoking, because at these places there are large -and well-to-do Chinese communities who can afford to indulge in the -national luxury of opium smoking. I have already told you that I was for -about ten years solicitor for that opium firm, and I happen to know a -great deal about the prepared opium trade through that medium. The Chinese -in California, where there is an immense number of those people, do not -consume less, I should say, in the course of a year than one hundred -thousand pounds worth of prepared opium. As is the case in Hong Kong, the -Chinese have better means to buy the drug there than they would have at -home. They get high wages, keep shops, are excellent tradesmen, and can -live and make money where a European would starve. They are all, in fact, -well-to-do, and wherever a Chinaman has the money he must have his opium -pipe. Therefore the privilege of supplying the Chinese in California, -Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania, and in the South Sea Islands, where -are large China colonies, is enjoyed by the opium farmer of Hong Kong, -because he has the means of shipping the drug by steamers direct to those -places, thus out-distancing all other competitors.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> This trade, -notwithstanding that wonderful treaty, is still going on, and not one -ounce of opium less than was shipped before its ratification is now being -carried to San Francisco, and in American bottoms too, for the treaty only -says that no <i>Chinaman</i> shall import opium into America; there is no -prohibition against Americans or Europeans doing so. What the opium farmer -now does, if indeed he has not always done so, is to get an American or -other merchant in Hong Kong to ship the drug for him in his own name, -handing him, the opium farmer, the bill of lading. The opium is -accordingly shipped in the name of Brown, Jones, or Robinson, and on its -arrival at San Francisco the opium farmer’s consignee takes possession of -it, and it is distributed by him among his countrymen in that flourishing -city.</p> - -<p>If Sir J. W. Pease were not an enthusiast, ready to swallow without -hesitation everything which seems to tell against the opium traffic, and -to disbelieve everything said or written on the other side of the -question, he would have seen through all this as a matter of course. This -is what he said about the treaty in the speech I have referred to, having -first delivered a philippic on the enormities and terrible wickedness of -the traffic:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Only last year a treaty was entered into between the United States and -China, and one of the articles of that treaty distinctly stated that -the opium trade was forbidden, and that no American ship should become -an opium trader—a fact which showed that the Chinese authorities were -honest in their expressed desire to put an end to the trade.</p></div> - -<p>Sir J. W. Pease is the most confiding of men; to my mind the treaty should -be construed in a very different sense. Sometimes, when we want to convey -our sentiments to another, we do so indirectly. There is a very well -understood method of attaining that object. Instead of opening your mind -to Mr. Jones, who is the object of your intended edification, you will in -Mr. Jones’s presence address your remarks to Mr. Brown; but in reality, -although you are speaking to the latter, you are speaking at the former. -Now the whole object of this precious article of the treaty was to play a -similar piece of finesse. Both nations well understood what they were -about; they were simply trying to hoodwink and make fools of John Bull by -putting into the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> treaty this false and hypocritical clause, which, as -between themselves, each party well knew meant nothing to the other. Here -is Sir J. W. Pease, a sensible and astute man of business, with his eyes -open, yet, blinded by his good nature and anti-opium prejudice, falling -into the trap set for him, and allowing himself to be deceived by this -transparent piece of humbug, and quoting in the House of Commons this -“bogus†treaty as evidence that the Indo-China opium trade is so infamous -that the American Government intended, so far as they were concerned, to -put a stop to it, and that the Chinese Government wish to abolish it on -moral grounds. I give you this as an example of the lengths to which -otherwise sensible gentlemen will go when smitten with opium-phobia, and -how oblivious they become under such circumstances to actual facts. -Imagine how his Excellency Li Hung Chang, that very able Chinese -statesman, and those smart American diplomatists who have thus posed as -anti-opium philanthropists, must have enjoyed the fun of being able to so -completely bamboozle an English member of Sir J. W. Pease’s reputation!</p> - -<p>Now, although I have exposed this Americo-Chinese juggle, I am far from -meaning to cast the slightest imputation upon Sir J. W. Pease, whose -personal character I in common with the whole country hold in the very -highest respect. I am well assured that in bringing forward his motion in -the House of Commons he was actuated by a sense of duty, and the very -purest motives, and that in referring to the treaty in question he fully -believed in its <i>bona fides</i>; upon this point I am at one with his warmest -admirers. No one deservedly stands higher as a philanthropist and -Christian gentleman, and, save as regards this opium delusion, no man has -ever made a nobler use of an ample fortune than he.</p> - -<p>I may speak in the same terms of the venerable and universally-respected -nobleman who is the president of the Anti-Opium Society, whose whole life -has been devoted to the welfare of his fellow men, especially those who -stood most in need of his help. I referred in the first edition of this -lecture to a Most Reverend Prelate, honoured and beloved both by his own -countrymen, and, I believe, the whole Christian world, who is also, I -deeply deplore, a believer in the anti-opium delusion, but in doing so -nothing was farther from my intentions than to lay aside for a moment the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> -respect that was due to him as a man and a high dignitary of the church. I -revere and honour him and admire his great and noble qualities as much as -any man living. Born and brought up as I have been in the Church of -England, and sincerely attached to its doctrine and teaching, having near -and dear relatives, too, ministers of that church, the last thing I would -be capable of doing is to harbour an unkind thought, or utter a -disrespectful word, against any of her clergy, much less one of her most -honoured prelates. These three good and upright men are, I am sorry to -say, but types of a great many other most estimable people, many of them -ornaments to their country, who through the purity and overflowing -goodness of their hearts, have been dragged into the vortex of delusion -set afloat by the Anti-Opium Society—who allow themselves to be cajoled -and victimised—led by the nose, in fact, by anti-opium fanatics, who, -cunning as the madman and perfectly regardless of the means they resort to -in the prosecution of what they consider right, bring to their aid the -zeal of the missionary and the power for mischief which superior education -and mis-directed talents confer. This is what rouses one’s indignation and -compels me to pursue the unpleasant task of discrediting and otherwise -painfully referring to men whom, apart from this wretched opium delusion, -I honour and respect.</p> - -<p>Upon this point I cannot refrain from referring to a gentleman of high -standing, who had formerly been in China, and really ought to have known -better. That gentleman went so far as to write a letter to the “Times,†in -which he said that out of one hundred missionaries in China there was not -one who would receive a convert into his church until he had made a vow -against opium smoking. Bearing in mind that all these so-called converts -made by these one hundred missionaries belong for the most part to the -very poor, if not to the dregs of the people, I should think no missionary -clergyman would find much difficulty in obtaining such a pledge. He has -only to ask and to have. If a clergyman in a very poor neighbourhood in -the East End of London proposed to his congregation that they should -promise never to drink champagne, he would receive such a pledge without -difficulty from one and all; but if any kind person were afterwards to -give them a banquet of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> roast beef and plum-pudding, with plenty of -champagne to wash those good things down, I am afraid their vow would be -found to be very elastic.</p> - -<p>So it is with the congregations of these missionary clergymen; there is -not an individual amongst them who would refuse to enjoy the opium pipe if -he got the chance, however much they might declaim against the practice to -please the missionary. Opium, as the missionaries must well know, is a -luxury that can only be indulged in by those who have the means of paying -for it. Now, while twopence or threepence may appear to us a very -insignificant sum, such will not be the opinion of a very poor person. -Threepence will purchase a loaf of bread. So it is with the Chinese, -especially those residing in their own territory. There is only one class -of coin current in China. It is known by Europeans as “cash.†Ten should -equal a cent, or a halfpenny, but owing to the inferiority of the metal -they are made of, twelve or thirteen usually go to make one cent of -English money, so that ten cents, or fivepence of our money, would be -about one hundred and thirty cash. A poor Chinaman possessing that sum -would think that he had got hold of quite a pocketful of money, and so it -would prove, so far as regards a little rice or salt fish, which forms -part of most Chinamen’s daily food; but were he so foolish as to indulge -in opium, a few whiffs of the pipe would soon swallow up the whole. And -then there arises the difficulty of getting the cash, so that it is really -only people having command of a fair amount of money who can afford to -indulge, habitually at all events, in the luxury of the pipe.</p> - -<p>Now with respect to the alleged evil effects of opium smoking, you will -constantly hear stories from missionary sources of wretched people, the -slaves of the opium pipe, crawling to the medical officers of missionary -hospitals, who are to a certain extent missionaries themselves, and asking -to be cured of the terrible consequences of their indulgence in opium -smoking. The medical officer at each of these missionary institutions, a -victim himself, in most cases, to the delusions set afloat, accepts their -story, pities the men, and takes them into the hospital; and, believing -that if they do not get a moderate indulgence in opium smoking they will -pine away and die, the good, easy man, full of kindness and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> simplicity, -gives them a liberal allowance, which his patients are delighted to get. -Knowing the bent of mind of the confiding doctor, they fill him with all -kinds of falsehoods as to the evils attendant upon opium smoking in -general, which he swallows without a particle of doubt. The truth, -however, is that those men who go with such tales to the medical -missionary are in most, if not all, cases simply impostors, generally -broken-down thieves, sneaks, and scoundrels—the very scum of the people. -No longer having energy even to steal, they are driven off by their old -associates, to starve or die in a gaol. These men are the craftiest, the -meanest, and the most unscrupulous on the face of the globe. They well -know all that the missionaries think about opium smoking, and, like the -accommodating Mr. Jingle, they have a hundred stories of the same kind -ready to pour into the ears of their kind-hearted benefactors, who become -in turn their victims. Much merriment, I have no doubt, these scamps -indulge in amongst themselves at the good doctor’s expense; for the -Chinese are not deficient in humour, and have a keen sense of the -ludicrous. These people crawl to one of the hospitals; the doctor is -delighted with their stories, for they confirm all he has written home or -published, perhaps in <i>The Friend of China</i>. He communicates with the -missionary; their stories are sent home, and the patients get for three or -four weeks excellent food and comforts, including plenty of opium, before -they are turned out as cured. The lepers have been cleansed and made -whole, but only to enable them to prey once more upon the industrious -community. I may here observe that there are no missionary hospitals in -Hong Kong, and so we never hear of those wonderful stories happening in -that place, yet, if such stories were true, it is there that the strongest -corroboration of them should be found, for, although there is no -missionary hospital in the colony, there is the large and well-managed -civil hospital, as also the Chinese Tung-Wah Hospital, both of which are -subject to the inspection of Dr. Ayres.</p> - -<p>Such are the tales, and such the authors who have caused much of this -clamour about opium smoking. There is scarcely a particle of truth in any -one of those stories. No man can indulge in opium to such an extent as to -harm himself unless he possesses a fair income, and if such a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> person -became ill from over-indulgence, he would not go to a foreign hospital, -but would send for a doctor to treat him at his own house. It is only the -broken-down pauper, thief, or beggar, who, in his last extremity, seeks -admission to the hospital.</p> - -<p>Dr. Ayres was the first to expose this imposture. On arriving at Hong Kong -he found it had been the custom there to allow such of the prisoners in -the gaol as were heavy smokers a modicum of prepared opium daily,—it -having been supposed by his predecessors that without it such prisoners -would pine away and die. Dr. Ayres, however, knew better; and he at once -put an end to the custom. He would not allow one grain of opium or other -stimulant to be given to any prisoner, however advanced a smoker he might -be. The result was that the hitherto pampered prisoners moaned and -groaned, pretending, no doubt, to be very ill; but after a little time -they got quite well. The Doctor has published his experiences on this -subject in the <i>Friend of China</i>.</p> - -<p>These persons know what pleases the missionaries, and so they detail to -them all kinds of horrible stories respecting opium smoking, which, as I -have before stated, are pure inventions. Trust a Chinaman to invent a -plausible tale when it suits his purpose to do so. The missionaries do not -smoke opium themselves, and have, therefore, no means of refuting the -falsehoods thus related to them, or of testing their accuracy. They simply -believe all these stories, and send them on to head-quarters in London, to -be retailed by eloquent tongues at Exeter Hall and elsewhere. I have no -doubt that every mail brings home numbers of apparently highly -authenticated tales of this kind, every one of which is baseless. Thanks -to the modern excursion agents, and to the present facilities for -travelling, gentlemen can easily take a trip to China, and if any of them -happen to have opium on the brain, they will take letters of introduction -to missionary clergymen. On their arrival at Hong Kong they will perhaps -be shown over the Tung-Wah hospital, where they see a number of wretched -objects labouring under all kinds of diseases; they will go away fully -impressed with the belief that all the patients shown to them are victims -of opium smoking. They are then taken to an opium shop, or as the -missionaries like to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> call it, an “opium den‗though why an opium-smoking -shop should be so termed, and a dram shop in London called a “gin palace,†-I cannot understand—and are there shown half a dozen dirty-looking men, -mostly thieves and blackguards, all smoking opium, and as they are quiet -and motionless, they come to the conclusion that they are all in a dying -state, having but a few days more to live. If they knew the facts, they -would find perhaps that the very men they were commiserating were just -then quietly planning a burglary or some piratical expedition for that -very night. These kind of travellers go out to China with preconceived -notions, and are quite prepared to believe anything and everything, -however absurd or monstrous, about opium smoking. They will spend two days -at Hong Kong, three at Canton, two or three at Shanghai. They will take -copious notes at these places, omitting nothing, however incredible or -absurd, that is told them, and return home with a full conviction that -they have “done China,†when in reality they have only done themselves, -and that, too, most completely. If they have the <i>cacoethes scribendi</i> -strong upon them, they will probably write a book upon the subject; and so -the miserable delusion is kept up.</p> - -<div class="container"> -<p class="poetry">’Tis pleasant, sure, to see one’s name in print;<br /> -A book’s a book, although there’s nothing in’t.</p></div> - -<p>Mr. Turner, in his volume, gives what he calls “a little apologue,†with -the object of showing how the Indian Government injures China by supplying -it with opium. If you will allow me, I will give you a short one, too. Let -us suppose a young gentleman, well brought up, and a member of that -excellent institution, the “Young Men’s Christian Association,†where he -has heard the most eloquent speeches on the wickedness of this country in -permitting the Indo-Chinese opium trade, and thus encouraging opium -smoking—for your anti-opium agitator thinks it the height of virtue and -propriety to drag his country through the mire on every occasion that -presents itself. Let us call him Mr. Howard; it is a good name, and was -once owned by a most benevolent man. He makes up his mind to go out to -China and to see for himself the whole iniquity; for, despite his strong -faith in his clerical mentors at Exeter Hall, he can hardly believe that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> -his own countrymen could really be the perpetrators of such dreadful -wickedness as he has been told. He takes a letter of introduction to a -missionary gentleman at Hong Kong, and another to a mercantile firm there. -He expects, on his arrival, to see the streets crowded with the -wretched-looking victims of the opium-pipe, crawling onwards towards their -graves, whilst the merchant who is making his princely fortune by this -terrible opium trade drives by in his curricle, looking complacently at -his victims, just as a slave-owner of old might be expected to have gazed -at his gangs of serfs wending their way to their scene of toil. Not seeing -any but active, healthy-looking people, he concludes that the miserable -creatures he is looking out for are in hospital, or lying up in their own -houses. He calls upon Messrs. Thompson and Co., the mercantile firm to -which he is accredited, and is well received by one of the partners, who -invites him to stop at his house during his stay in Hong Kong—for our -fellow-countrymen in China are the most hospitable people in the world. -Mr. Howard declines, as he intends putting up at Mr. Jenkins’s, his -missionary friend. The great subject on his mind is opium, so he comes to -the point at once, and asks, “Is there much opium smoked in the colony?†-“Oh, plenty,†answers Mr. Thompson; “two or three thousand chests arrive -here every week.†“Do you sell much?†Mr. Howard asks. “No; we haven’t -done anything in it these many years,†is the response. “Do many people -smoke?†continues Howard, following up his subject. “Oh, yes: every -Chinaman smokes.†“But where are all the people who are suffering from -opium smoking?†again asks the inquirer, determined to get at the facts. -“Ha, ha, ha!†laughs Mr. Thompson, but that gentleman is writing letters -for the mail, and has not much time at his disposal. “Here, Compradore,†-he says, addressing a Chinese who has been settling an account with one of -the assistants, “this gentleman wants to know all about opium smoking.†-The Compradore is the agent who conducts mercantile transactions between -the foreign firms and the Chinese; he resides on his master’s premises, -and is usually an intelligent and keen man of business, and, I may also -add, an inveterate opium smoker. The two try to make themselves -understood. Mr. Howard repeats the same questions to the Compradore that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> -he had just put to Mr. Thompson, and receives similar replies. -Disappointed and surprised, Howard calls with his letter of introduction -upon the missionary, to whom he tells what he has heard from Messrs. -Thompson & Co. “Ah,†says the missionary, “they wouldn’t give you any -information there; they are in the opium trade themselves.†But Mr. Howard -tells him that Thompson had assured him that they had not been in the -trade for years. “Ah,†returns the missionary, “you must not believe what -<i>he</i> says. His firm is making a princely fortune by opium.†“But where are -the smokers?†asks Howard. “Oh, I will show them to you.†He then calls -Achun his “boy.†“This gentleman,†he says to the latter, “wants to know -about opium smoking. Take him to the Tung-Wah and to an opium shop, you -savee?†“Yes, my savee†(meaning “I understandâ€), returns Achun, who is, -of course, a devout convert, but who, notwithstanding, often in private -indulges in the iniquity of the pipe. On they go to the Tung-Wah, which is -the Chinese hospital before referred to, where he is shown some -ghastly-looking men, all either smoking the “vile drug†or having opium -pipes beside them. Two or three are shivering with ague; another is in the -last stage of dropsy; another is in consumption, and so on. They are all -pitiable-looking objects, wasted, dirty, and ragged. Poor Mr. Howard -shrinks away in horror. “Are all these men dying from opium smoking?†he -asks of his guide. “Yes, ebely one; two, tlee more day dey all die. Oh! -velly bad! olla men dat smokee dat ting die,†says the person questioned, -well knowing that what he has said is false, and that the poor creatures -before him are only honest, decent coolies in the last stages of disease, -who until they entered the hospital may never have had an opium pipe in -their mouths. “Their poverty and not their will consented.†They had been -admitted but a few days before to the Tung-Wah, where the Chinese doctor -in charge had prescribed for them opium smoking as a remedy for their -sickness and a relief for their pains. Poor Mr. Howard leaves the hospital -bitterly reflecting upon the wickedness of the world and of his own -countrymen in particular. As for Mr. Thompson, he is set down for a false -deceitful man, a disgrace to his country, who should be made an example -of. He and his guide then proceed to the opium shop. I shall, however, -proceed there before them, and describe the place<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> and its occupants. -Opposite to the entrance door are two well-dressed men, their clothes -quite new, their heads well shaven, and having attached to them long and -splendid queues. These men are lying on their sides, vis-à -vis, with their -heads slightly raised, smoking away. If it were not for their villainous -countenances they might pass for respectable shopkeepers. They are two -thieves, who have just committed a burglary in a European house, from -which they carried off three or four hundred pounds’ worth of jewellery, -and they are now indulging in their favourite luxury on the proceeds. They -have also exchanged their rags for new clothes, got shaved and trimmed, as -Mr. Howard sees them. Now, wherever an extreme opium smoker is met, he -will in general be found to be one of the criminal classes. In this shop -there are three other men smoking. They are stalwart fellows, but -dirty-looking, as they have just finished coaling a steamer, and are -begrimed with coal dust. As the daily expenses of a steamer are -considerable, it is a great object with sea captains to get their vessels -coaled as quickly as possible, so that they may not be delayed in port. -The men employed upon this work are usually paid by the job, and probably -each will receive half-a-dollar for his share. They work with -extraordinary vigour, and by the time they have finished they are often -much distressed, and are inclined to lie down; their hearts, perhaps, are -beating irregularly, and their whole frame unhinged. Being flush of money, -for half-a-dollar, or two shillings, is quite a round sum for them, they -have decided to go to the opium shop, and, by having a quiet whiff or two, -bring the action of their hearts into rhythm, and restore themselves to -their ordinary state. These poor coolies are honest fellows enough. They -work hard, and are peaceful, unoffending creatures. Hundreds of them are -to be seen hard at work every day in Hong Kong.</p> - -<p>The interior of the opium shop is as described when Mr. Howard enters with -the missionary’s servant. The moment the two well-dressed thieves see -them, their guilty consciences make them conclude that the one is a -European, and the other a Chinese detective in search of them. They close -their eyes and pretend to be in profound slumber. They are really in -deadly fear of apprehension, for escape seems impossible. Mr. Howard asks -his guide who they are. “Oh, dese plaupa good men numba one; dey come<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> dis -side to smokee. To-day dey smokee one pipe; to-mollow dey come and smokee -two, tlee pipe; next dey five, six; den dey get sik and die. Oh, opium -pipe veely bad; dat pipe kill plenty men.†“You say they are good, -respectable men?†says Mr. Howard. “Yes, good plaupa men; numba one Chinee -genlman.†“Oh, is not this a terrible thing?†says Mr. Howard, compressing -his lips, breathing heavily, and vowing to bear witness, on his return to -London, to all the villainy he fancies he has seen. The three men begrimed -with coal-dust, although they appear only to be semi-conscious, are in -reality taking the measure of Mr. Howard, and enjoying a quiet laugh at -his expense. One exclaims, referring to his chimney-pot hat, “Ah ya! what -a funny thing that Fan-Qui has got on his head!†The other replies, “It’s -to keep the sun away.†“How funny!†retorts the first speaker, “we wear -hats to keep our heads warm; they wear hats to keep their heads cool.†-“Oh,†returns the other speaker, “the Fan-Qui have such soft heads that if -they did not keep the sun off the little brains they have would melt away; -and they would die, or become idiots.â€<a name='fna_5' id='fna_5' href='#f_5'><small>[5]</small></a> Mr. Howard, seeing them in their -dirty condition, concludes that they are some of the wretched victims of -opium smoking, in the last stage of disease, and leaves with his -conductor, pitying them from the depths of his heart; his pity, however, -is as nothing compared to the contempt with which these supposed victims -to the opium pipe regard him and his chimney-pot hat. As he leaves he asks -his guide, “Does the keeper of the opium shop expect a gratuity?†“Oh,†-returns the other, “supposee you pay him one dolla, he say, tankee you.†-Mr. Howard accordingly gives a dollar to the man, who looks more surprised -than grateful, and he leaves the shop, satisfied that he has at last seen -the true effects of opium smoking in China. He returns to the missionary, -to whom he relates the horrors he has seen, makes copious notes of them, -and vows to enlighten his countrymen at home upon the subject. As for his -guide Achun, this person loses no time in returning to the opium shop, -where he compels the keeper of it to share with him the dollar he has just -received, and, having so easily<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> earned two shillings, he quietly reclines -on one of the couches and takes a whiff or two of the pipe, the more -enjoyable because it is forbidden fruit. Thus the benevolent British -public is befooled by these ridiculous stories about opium.</p> - -<p>Now as Achun is a representative character, many like him being in the -service of missionaries and other foreigners throughout China, I will give -you a further specimen of the way such persons cheat and delude their -masters. Achun, in whom Mr. Jenkins, the missionary, places implicit -confidence, has of late been much exercised as to his “vails,†for Chinese -servants are quite as much alive to the perquisites of their office as -Jeames, John Thomas, or any others of our domestics here in England. -Indeed, I may safely lay it down as a rule that, like cabmen, domestic -servants will be found the same all over the world, “one touch of nature -makes the whole world kin,†and no sooner have you engaged your Chinese -“boy†than his mind is at once set working as to the amount of drawbacks, -clippings, and parings over and above his wages he may safely count upon -in his new place. Achun is dissatisfied with the commission or drawback -allowed him by Chook Aloong, the shopkeeper or compradore, who supplies -Mr. Jenkins’s family with provisions and other household necessaries; he -is allowed only ten per cent. of the monthly bill, and he considers that -in all fairness he should get double that amount. Thus impressed, he makes -energetic remonstrances on the subject to Chook Aloong, who is firm and -will give no more than ten per cent. Achun is equal to the occasion. Now -Mr. Jenkins and his family are simple and frugal in their dietary, but -there are some articles of food they insist upon having of the best kind, -in consequence of which their compradore sends them those articles and, -indeed, all others of unobjectionable quality. Eggs which are not -absolutely fresh, and meat, though it be game, if in the slightest degree -“up,†they will have none of. Achun well knows all this, and he has -determined to have Chook Aloong displaced. Having himself a partiality for -eggs, he begins operations by daily appropriating to his own use some of -those fresh eggs and substituting stale ones in their stead. In the like -manner, instead of letting the family have the beef, mutton, and fowls -nice and fresh as they are delivered,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> he holds them over until the bloom -of freshness has departed. This state of affairs occasions some commotion -in the family circle. The boy is sent for and shown that the eggs are bad -and the meat “highâ€; he expresses great concern, and declares that he will -forthwith call upon the compradore and compel him to make good the damage -already done, and supply proper provisions in future. Mr. Jenkins, though -angry, is not implacable, and is willing to believe that some mishap has -occurred; for how could his old and trusted compradore treat him so badly? -His hopes are, however, disappointed, for again and yet again the meat is -bad, and, worse still, the eggs are—well, not fresh. The climax is -reached one morning when poor Mr. Jenkins, in breaking his egg, finds, not -the usual bright yellow yolk and spotless albumen within, but a young -chick almost fledged. Horror and disgust seize him, the old Adam -over-masters him for a moment, and, full of wrath, he roars for the boy. -Achun appears the very picture of innocence, when Mr. Jenkins, ashamed of -his outburst of wrath and now quite calm explains the <i>contretemps</i>. He -has even in the reaction regained some of his good humour. “Look here, -Achun,†he says, showing the chick, “this is too bad, you know. Supposee I -wanchee egg,—can catchee him; supposee I wanchee chicken—can catchee -chicken. No wanchee egg and chicken alla same together.†Achun perceives -the joke, and knowing his master’s weakness, says, “Oh, ho, massa, velly -good, dat belong numba one. ‘No wanchee egg and chicken alla same -togedda,’†continues the cunning rascal, repeating his master’s words, “Oh -velly funny, velly good, massa, ho! ho! ho!†Mr. Jenkins is pleased at the -mild flattery of his boy, who has now advanced a step or two in his -estimation. “Oh, massa, dat man, Chook Aloong, velly bad man,†continues -Achun when his merriment had subsided. “Him smokee too much opium pipe; he -no mind his pidgin plaupa, he smokee alla day.†“Oh! ho! is that the way?†-asks the missionary, a new light dawning for the first time upon him. “And -so Chook Aloong is an opium smoker?†“Ye-s,†replies Achun, prolonging the -word. “Too much opium, plenty opium. More betta you get anoda compado -sah—some good plaupa man dat no smokee.†“Very well, Achun,†says Mr. -Jenkins with a sigh. “It is plain I must get somebody else. Find me out<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> -some other man, and, mind, he must not smoke opium.†“Hab got, massa,†-returns the boy delighted with his success. “Hab got velly good man, him -numba one good compadoâ€; and in walks the person indicated, who has been -listening outside all the time. “This belong Sam Afoong, him do all ting -plaupa,†the fact being that this very Sam Afoong is the greatest cheat in -the whole market. “Oh, you’re the man,†says Mr. Jenkins. “I hope you -don’t use opium.†“Oh no, sah,†returns the other, who is in fact an -inveterate smoker, “my neba smokee; dat opium pipe velly bad. It hab kill -my fadda, my six bludda, my——.†But here he is stopped by a signal from -Achun, who saw that his friend, in familiar parlance, was “laying it on -too thickly.†Sam Afoong vows to supply the best of good things, and does -so, and the Jenkins family are no longer troubled with bad provisions; but -had the lady of the establishment gone through the formality of weighing -every joint of meat that her new compradore supplied, she would have found -that every pound was short of two or three ounces, for thus Sam Afoong -recouped himself for the large per-centage bestowed on Achun.</p> - -<p>To prove that the missionaries are deceived in the way I have described I -will refer you to a passage in Mr. Storrs Turner’s own book, where even he -admits that one of his own converts, who had assured him that he never -smoked, and no doubt had pledged himself never to do so, was found -regaling himself with the iniquity. At p. 32 Mr. Turner says, “I have -caught a man smoking who had only half an hour before denied to me that he -was a smoker, and condemned the habit.†Yet such are the men from whom the -missionaries derive their information about opium smoking. For further -proof of this I will quote again from Dr. Ayres’ article, in <i>The Friend -of China</i>. This is what he says:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>At the Tung Wah Hospital the stranger may at any time see the most -dreadful and ghastly-looking objects in the last stages of scrofula -and phthisis smoking opium, who had never previously in all their -lives been able to afford the expense of a pipe a day, yet the -European visitor leaves the establishment attributing to the abuse of -opium effects which further inquiry would have satisfied him were due -to the diseases for which the patients were in hospital. From what I -have seen there, there is no doubt that the advanced consumptive -patient does experience considerable temporary relief to his difficult -breathing by smoking a pipe of opium, though it is a very poor quality -of drug that is given to patients at the Tung Wah Hospital.</p></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span>Thus, as I have shown, it has come to pass that whilst the missionary -clergymen, owing to their sacred calling and their unquestionably high -character, are accepted in England as the most reliable witnesses and -entitled to the greatest credit, they are really the men who are the very -worst informed upon the opium question which they profess to understand so -thoroughly. They are, in fact, the victims of their own delusions. But -saddest fact of all, these missionary gentlemen, with the best intentions -and in the devout belief that by carrying on this anti-opium agitation -they are helping to remove an obstacle to the dissemination of the Gospel -in China, are of necessity by so doing obliged to neglect more or less the -very Gospel work they are really so desirous to spread, leaving the -missionary field open to their Roman Catholic rivals.</p> - -<p>The information placed before the public here in England upon the opium -question, tainted as it is at the very fountain head, is sent forward from -hand to hand, meeting in its filtrations from China to this country with -impurity after impurity, until it reaches the form of the miserable trash -retailed at Exeter Hall, or by the agents of the Anti-Opium Society. It is -an accepted adage that “a story loses nothing by the carriage.†The maxim -becomes, more strongly pointed when it is remembered that the opium tales -partake so much of the marvellous, and that the various transmitters of -those accounts are, in almost every instance, fanatical believers in the -supposed wickedness of the Indo-Chinese opium trade. I am quite sure that -out of every thousand people who believe in the anti-opium delusion, you -will not find two who have ever set their foot in China, or know anything -with respect to the alleged evils they denounce, except from the -unreliable sources I have mentioned. Such people, as a rule, are by far -the most violent and uncompromising opponents of the Indo-Chinese opium -trade. The people I describe generally speak with such an air of authority -on the question, that an ordinary person would suppose they had personally -witnessed all the evils they describe. If you ask one of them in what part -of China he has lived, or when and where he has seen the horrors he speaks -of, he will jauntily tell you, “Oh, I have heard Mr. A. or the Rev. Mr. B. -explain the whole villainy at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> Exeter Hall.†Another will say he has read -Mr. Storrs Turner’s great work upon opium smoking, with which I have -already made you somewhat acquainted. When General Choke rebuked Martin -Chuzzlewit for denying that the Queen lived in the Tower of London when -she was at the Court of St. James, Martin inquired if the speaker had ever -lived in England. “In writing I have, not otherwise,†responded the -General, adding, “We air a reading people here, Sir; you will meet with -much information among us that will surprise you Sir.†Just so. These -anti-opium enthusiasts have been in China in writing, and understand the -opium question upon paper only—a few months in Hong Kong or Canton, freed -from missionary influence, would soon disillusionize them. I remember -hearing a story once of a most estimable gentleman who had the misfortune -to be the defendant in an action for breach of promise. The plaintiff’s -counsel, who had a fluent tongue and a fertile imagination, painted him in -such dreadful colours, and so belaboured him for his alleged heartless -conduct towards the lady that the gentleman so denounced, persuaded for -the moment that he was really guilty, rushed out of court, exclaiming, “I -never thought I was so terrible a villain before.†That is just the kind -of feeling that first comes over one upon hearing of those opium-smoking -horrors; for it must not be forgotten that the indictment of the -Anti-Opium Society, and of its secretary Mr. Storrs Turner in particular, -not only includes the Imperial Government, and the Government of India, -during the past forty years, but all the British merchants connected with -the Chinese trade, and, indeed, the entire British nation.</p> - -<p>Before proceeding to deal with the fallacies I have enumerated, it is -necessary that I should again address a few words to you on the subject of -evidence, so as to enable you to discriminate between the value of the -various witnesses who have attempted to enlighten public opinion on the -subject before us. I dislike very much to trouble the reader with dry -professional matters, but, under the circumstances, I cannot avoid doing -so. It is a rule of law which will, I think, commend itself to the common -sense of everybody, that the evidence to be adduced on a trial should be -the best that the nature of the case is susceptible of, rather<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> than -evidence of a subsidiary or secondary nature, unless, indeed, no better be -forthcoming. In determining matters of fact, the best witnesses would be -held to be those who have become acquainted with those facts in the course -of their ordinary employment, or in the performance of their professional -duties, rather than mere amateurs or volunteers, whose knowledge is -derived from accident or casual observation only. For illustration, let us -suppose the case of a collision at sea between two steamers, A and -B,—that previous to and at the time of the collision, besides the usual -officers and seamen in charge of A, there were on deck the steward of the -vessel and a passenger. Now, the best witnesses on board of A as to the -catastrophe would not be the two latter, although they saw the whole -occurrence, but the men who were in actual charge of the navigation of the -ship, viz. the look-out man in the bows—whose duty it would be to watch -for rocks or shoals, or any ship or vessel ahead, and to give immediate -notice to the officer of the watch and the man at the wheel of the -presence of such object;—the officer of the watch, usually stationed on -the bridge;—and the man at the wheel. Why? Because, it being the peculiar -duty of the first two men to look out for and avoid striking on rocks or -shoals, or coming into collision with any other vessel, and the duty of -the third man not only to keep a look out but to steer as directed by the -officer on the bridge, they necessarily paid more attention to, and had -their intellects better sharpened in respect to such matters than the -others, who had no such duty cast upon them. The next best witnesses would -be the other seamen during whose watch the accident occurred, their duty -being generally to attend to the management of the ship, her sails and -cordage, and obey the orders of the officer of the watch, but who, not -having immediate connection with the steering and course of the vessel, -would not be expected to have the same accurate knowledge of the -circumstances that led to and occurred up to the time of the collision as -the first three. The least valuable witnesses would be the steward and the -passenger, for the reasons already mentioned. Applying these rules to the -question now before us, it follows that the testimony of such a man as Dr. -Ayres—some of which I have given you already—and of others which I shall -lay before you, should have far<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> greater weight and be more reliable than -that of ordinary persons having no special knowledge or experience of -opium or its effects, nor any opportunity of obtaining such knowledge, -much less any duty cast upon them to acquire it, <i>e.g.</i> missionaries and -other persons unconnected with native and foreign merchants, and having no -duties to perform which would bring them into constant intercourse with -the Chinese community.</p> - -<p>The first of these fallacies which have so much tended to warp the -understanding of these Anti-Opium people is this: “That the poppy is not -indigenous to China, but has been recently introduced there, presumably by -British agency.†With this let us take the second fallacy, viz.: “That -opium smoking in China is now and has always been confined to a small -per-centage of the population, but which, owing to the introduction of -Indian opium, is constantly increasing.†Here I would first inquire—what -is the poppy? To this question one person would say, It is the plant that -produces that deadly drug, morphia. Another would answer, It is the herb -from which laudanum is made; and a third would say, It is the plant which -supplies opium, smoked so much in China and eaten so largely in India. -These answers would all be correct enough, so far as they go; but they -would not be complete, for there are many other uses to which the poppy is -applied besides all these. That valuable plant produces not only opium, -but an oil used for lighting and for edible purposes, the Chinese using -the oil to mollify their daily rice and other food, mixing it also very -commonly with another and richer quality of oil. The seeds, when the oil -is expressed, are given to cattle, or allowed to rot and form manure. If -the oil is not expressed, the seeds can be worked up into cakes. From the -capsules medicine is made, and lastly, the stalks and leaves when burnt -produce potash. Mr. William Donald Spence, one of Her Majesty’s Consuls in -China, to whose valuable “Report on the Trade of the Port of Ichang, and -the Opium-culture in the Provinces of Szechuan and Yunnan,†I shall -presently introduce you, knows all this as matter of fact, and, indeed, I -am mainly indebted to him for the information I now give you. It is -admitted by Mr. Storrs Turner that the poppy is indigenous to China, and -when it is remembered that the people of that country are and have been -for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> thousands of years the most civilized in Asia,—that agriculture is -considered the most honourable industry in the country, as evidenced by -the annual practice of the Emperor to turn over the earth with the plough -at the beginning of Spring,—that the Chinese are skilled husbandmen, and -of most frugal and thrifty habits, it becomes a matter of irresistible -inference that those people must have known that most useful plant, the -poppy, and must have cultivated it for economic purposes long before opium -was known in Europe. Sir Robert Hart, in his Yellow Book, says “that -native opium was known, produced, and used <i>long before</i> any Europeans -began the sale of the foreign drug along the coast.†Compare that with the -misleading passage at page 2 of Mr. Storrs Turner’s book, where he says -“that the poppy had long been cultivated in Egypt, Turkey, Persia, India, -and <i>recently</i> in China and Manchuria,†and ask yourselves what credit you -can give to that gentleman as a trustworthy guide on the subject of opium. -Here is Sir Robert Hart, a great Chinese authority, practically admitting -that three or four hundred years ago at the least native opium was grown -and produced in China, and Mr. Storrs Turner, in this fallacious statement -of his, trying to induce his readers to infer that the drug was only -recently produced in that Empire! The reader can choose between these -authorities for himself. Now the fact is, that in very ancient Chinese -works mention is made of the poppy. In the “History of the Later Han -Dynasty†(<span class="smcaplc">A.D.</span> 25-220), the brilliant colour of the poppy blossom, of the -charms of the juice, and the strengthening qualities of the seeds of the -plant, formed the themes of Chinese poets as far back as a thousand years, -and probably much farther. The poet Yung T’aou, of the T’ang dynasty (<span class="smcaplc">A.D.</span> -618-907), celebrates the beauty of the flower. The poet Soo Cheh (<span class="smcaplc">A.D.</span> -1039-1112), dwells, in an ode, on the curative and invigorating effects of -the poppy seeds and juice, and another poet, Soo Sung, of the same period, -praises the beauty of the plant, which he speaks of as being grown -everywhere in China. I am not a Chinese scholar, but I have high authority -for these statements. You will thus clearly perceive that opium is a -native plant, that its various uses have for many centuries been known to -the Chinese, and that the British are in no way responsible for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> -introduction of opium into China, much less for the practice of smoking -the drug.</p> - -<p>I have mentioned Mr. W. Donald Spence as one of Her Majesty’s Consuls in -China. Now, every foreign resident in that country knows who and what -those consular gentlemen are; but I do not think the public here in -England are equally well informed upon the subject, because it is only -natural that they should confound them with the ordinary British Consuls -at the European and American ports; but that would be a very great -mistake, for the two sets of Consuls form quite distinct and separate -bodies. The Consuls at the latter ports are no doubt highly respectable -gentlemen, often indeed, men who have distinguished themselves in science -and literature, or in the army or navy, but still they are simply -commercial agents of the British Government, and no more, having little or -no diplomatic or other duties to discharge. The Consular Service of China -stands upon a totally different footing. In this country Her Majesty’s -Consuls are not only commercial agents, but are trained diplomatists, -entering the service in the first instance as cadets, after passing most -difficult competitive examinations. They are always Chinese scholars, many -of them holding high rank as such. The Consuls have very important -diplomatic duties to discharge, and have also magisterial duties to -perform towards their countrymen in China, all of which demand qualities -of a high order, and which only superior education and careful training -enable them to discharge. England has acquired by treaty ex-territorial -rights, as regards her own subjects, in the ports of China thrown open to -her commerce, known as “Treaty ports,†the most important of which are the -exclusive right to hear and determine all civil and criminal cases against -British subjects. These onerous and important duties are performed by Her -Majesty’s Consuls at those ports. These gentlemen, indeed, have more power -in many respects than is possessed by the Queen’s Ambassadors and -Ministers Plenipotentiary at the various Courts in Europe. They have, in -fact, all the powers now vested in the Judges of Her Majesty’s High Court -of Judicature here in England, as well as the powers possessed by the -Judges of the Admiralty, Probate, and Bankruptcy Courts. Further, and in -addition to all these multifarious duties, they are Her Majesty’s special<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> -commercial agents at these treaty ports, with the usual jurisdiction over -British ships, their officers, and crew. It is, therefore, a matter of the -first necessity that the persons in whom such tremendous powers are placed -should not only be gentlemen of the very highest characters and assured -abilities, but men of superior education specially trained to fill these -important positions and discharge the varied and onerous duties -appertaining to them. Such are the present British Consuls in China, and -such they have been in the past. There is not, I believe, in this or any -other country, a more highly-educated, intelligent, and efficient body of -men to be found. If any proof of these high qualities is required, it will -be furnished in the fact that notwithstanding the difficult, delicate, and -onerous duties cast upon them, no instance of their abuse of these powers -has ever occurred. I certainly know of none. I am only here stating, I -assure you, what is actually true. It has, indeed, always been to me a -marvel that no complaints—no political entanglements, no troubles—have -arisen from the abnormal state of things arising out of our commercial and -political relations with China, and the extraordinary and exceptional -powers necessarily entrusted to our Consular Agents in that Empire in -consequence. We can now look back, after a quarter of a century of -experience, and congratulate ourselves that all our complicated machinery -has worked so well, that no clouds obscure the vista, and that our present -position in China is one of serenity and sunshine; that we stand upon the -very best terms with the Chinese Government from the central authority at -Peking to all its ramifications throughout the vast empire. Nothing, in -fact, blurs the landscape, save the miserable opium phantom created by our -own countrymen, the missionaries, and magnified to a monster of large -dimensions by the “Chinese jugglers,†who here in England keep the -machinery of the Anti-Opium Society in motion. These happy results are due -to Her Majesty’s Diplomatic and Consular Service in China, controlled by -Her Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in England. -And here I cannot but remind you of that distinguished veteran statesman -Sir Rutherford Alcock, formerly Her Majesty’s Minister to the Court of -Peking, to whose wise and far-seeing policy much of the present happy -relations with China is due. There is not an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> English resident in China -who cannot bear testimony to the splendid talents and genuine patriotism -which has marked his career in that vast and interesting country. There is -no greater authority living upon Anglo-Chinese affairs than he, especially -as regards the period of the famous treaty of Tientsin, some of whose -testimony on these points I will lay before you. After a long and -honourable career he is now in England enjoying his well-earned repose, -and is, happily, a powerful living witness to the fallacies I am now -trying to efface.</p> - -<p>Now, one of the ablest and most accomplished men at present in the -Diplomatic and Consular Service of China is Mr. W. Donald Spence, Her -Majesty’s Consul at Ichang, a port on the Yangtze, to whom I have before -shortly referred. This gentleman, in the year 1881, paid a visit to -Chungking, the commercial capital of Szechuan in Western China. Whilst -there he availed himself of the opportunity to make inquiries and -investigations into the commercial products of that immense province, and -especially into the cultivation of native opium, the extent and condition -of opium culture in Western China, and the attitude respecting it of the -Chinese Government, and on the effect of opium smoking on the people of -those provinces where it appears that habit is all but universal. It was -his especial duty to make these investigations. No better proof could be -produced as to the abilities of this gentleman than this valuable document -on the subject presented by him to Her Majesty’s Principal Secretary of -State for Foreign Affairs which Mr. Spence, in his covering letter to Lord -Granville modestly styles “his Report on the Trade of the Port of Ichang -for the Year 1881.†If anyone will read the whole of this Report—and it -will well repay careful perusal—he will pronounce it, I think, one of the -ablest and most admirable State papers that have ever been penned. In -giving you some extracts from it I will, therefore, ask you to treat the -author of it, not as a mere hireling, having an interest in certain -matters which it is desirable to place in a particular light, as the -agents of the Anti-Opium Society would, no doubt, have you believe, but as -the honest statement of an upright, high-minded, honourable English -gentleman, of superior talents and a cultivated mind, who values truth -above everything, who can have no other object in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> matter but to do -what is honest, just, and right, and who on this question of opium smoking -tells the truth and nothing but the truth to Her Majesty’s Minister. This -is what he says as to the cultivation of the poppy in Szechuan:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Of all the products of Szechuan, the most important nowadays is native -opium. In September last year it was my fortune to be sent on the -public service to the commercial metropolis of Szechuan, Chungking. I -was four months in the province. In the course of that time I visited -parts of the great opium country, questioned many people regarding -opium culture, consumption, and export, and carefully noted the -observations and conclusions on these subjects come to by Mr. Colborne -Baber and Mr. E. H. Parker during their official residence there, with -a view to giving, as far as possible, exact information in my Trade -Report on a matter of great commercial, and no little political, -interest at the present moment. The cultivation of the poppy is -carried on in every district of Szechuan except those on the west -frontier, but most of all in the Prefectures of Chungking Fu and -Kweichow Fu. In all the districts of Chungking Fu, south of the -Yang-tsze, and in some of the districts of Kweichow Fu, north of that -river, it is the principal crop, and, in parts, the only winter crop -for scores upon scores of square miles. The headquarters of the trade -are at the city of Fuchow, in the first of these prefectures, and, in -a considerably less degree, at Fengtu, a district city in Kweichow Fu. -Baron Richthofen, writing in 1872, says that the poppy then was -cultivated only on hill slopes of an inferior soil, but one sees it -now on land of all kinds, both hill and valley. Baron Richthofen -himself anticipates this change when he says:—“The Government may at -some time or other reduce the very heavy restrictions, and if Szechuan -opium then should be able to command its present price at Hankow, the -consequence would be an immediate increase in the area planted with -the poppy.†Since he wrote, the area given to the poppy has much -increased, though not from the cause alleged. Being a winter crop, it -does not interfere with rice, the food staple of the people, -displacing only subsidiary crops, such as wheat, beans, and the like. -When it is planted in paddy and bottom lands, which nowadays is often -the case, it is gathered in time to allow rice or some other crop to -follow. It can hardly be said of Szechuan that the cultivation of -opium seriously interferes with food supplies. The supply of rice -remains the same, and the opium produced, less the value of the crops -it replaces, is so much additional wealth to the province.</p> - -<p>I shall presently show that opium is a more remunerative crop than its -only possible substitutes, beans or wheat, and no per-centage of the -opium crop being due to the landlord, its cultivation has been greatly -stimulated in consequence. Of late years, however, in the districts I -have named as being in winter one vast poppy-field, owners of land -have become alive to the value to occupiers of the opium crop, and -have stipulated for a share of it in addition to their share of the -summer crop. Rents, in fact, where opium is in universal cultivation, -have practically doubled. Before leaving the subject of tenure, I may -add that, in the event of non-payment of rent from causes other than -deficient harvests,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> the landlord helps himself to the deposit in his -hands. In bad years remissions are willingly made by the Government to -owners of the land-tax, and by owners to occupiers of the -rent-produce.</p></div> - -<p>Now you will remember that this very province of Szechuan, where such -extensive cultivation of the poppy is carried on, is the largest and most -distant of all the provinces of China; it is one of the westernmost of the -eighteen provinces of the empire, being bordered on the west by Thibet. -Until quite recently Szechuan was about as accessible to Englishmen as -Moscow was fifty years ago, a <i>terra incognita</i>, in fact, to Europeans, so -that it cannot be pretended for one moment that the introduction into -China of Indian opium has had anything to do with the cultivation of the -drug there. Indian opium could hardly ever have found its way into the -province, which is not less than one thousand two hundred miles from the -sea. It is only since the opening of the port of Ichang in the adjoining -province of Hupeh, which took place in April 1877, that the district has -become at all accessible. But let us return to Mr. W. Donald Spence. This -is another extract from his report:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The poppy is now grown on all kinds of land, hill slopes, terraced -fields, paddy and bottom lands in the valleys. Since 1872, when Baron -Richthofen visited the province, a great change has taken place in -this respect, for it appears to have been cultivated then on hill -lands only. All the country people whom I asked were agreed that opium -is most profitably grown on good land with liberal manuring. In India -it is best grown on rich soil near villages where manure can be easily -obtained, and the Szechuan cultivator has found this out for himself. -Poppy cultivation, as practised in Szechuan, is very simple. As soon -as the summer crop is reaped the land is ploughed and cleaned, roots -and weeds are heaped and burnt, and the ashes scattered over the -ground; dressings of night soil are liberally given. The seeds are -sown in December, in drills a foot and a half apart. In January, when -the plants are a few inches high, the rows are thinned and earthed up -so as to leave a free passage between each: the plants are then left -to take care of themselves, the earth round them being occasionally -stirred up and kept clear of weeds. In March and April, according to -situation, the poppy blooms. In the low grounds the white poppy is by -far the most common, but red and purple are also grown. As the -capsules form and fill, dressings of liquid manure are given. In April -and May the capsules are slit and the juice extracted. The raw juice -evaporates into the crude opium of commerce increasing in value as it -decreases in weight.</p></div> - -<p>Mr. Spence then goes on to compare the value of the wheat with the opium -crop, showing that the cultivation of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> the latter is just twice as -profitable as the former. Space will not allow me to give you full -extracts on this subject, but, as some portion of it is germane to this -part of my lecture, I give a short extract on the point:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>It must be remembered, too, that every single part of the poppy plant -has a market value. The capsules, after the juice has been extracted, -are sold to druggists, and made into medicine; oil is expressed from -the seeds, and largely used for lighting and adulterating edible oils; -the oil-cake left in the oil-press is good manure, as are also the -leaves; and the stalks are burnt for potash. Against these advantages -opium is subject to a rent, and requires, for profitable cultivation, -plenty of manure; whereas wheat, when followed by a summer crop, pays -little or no rent, and gets, in general, no manure. Into the relative -profits of opium and wheat both Mr. Baber and Mr. Parker have gone -very carefully, and their results correspond, in the main, with my own -observations.</p></div> - -<p>I will now give you a short account of opium-culture in the province of -Yunnan, a more inaccessible part of China still perhaps than Szechuan. Mr. -E. Colborne Baber, like Mr. Spence, belongs to the diplomatic service, and -is now the secretary of the British Legation at Peking. All that I have -stated as to Mr. Spence applies alike to him. He is a gentleman in whom -the most implicit confidence should be placed. In 1877 he travelled -through Western Szechuan, having, in his own words, on the morning of the -8th July in that year, passed the western gate of Ch’ung-Ch’ung “full of -the pleasurable anticipations which precede a plunge into the unknown.†-Having finished his journey through Szechuan, he struck into Yunnan, -following the route of Mr. Grosvenor’s mission. He has recounted his -adventures in a most valuable and interesting book, written in such a -pleasing and graphic style, that the reader, when looking at it for -reference only, is irresistibly compelled to read further. His book has -been published by the Royal Geographical Society, and is well worthy of -general perusal. It is one of the few readable books of travel to be met -with nowadays. There is very little respecting opium culture in the -volume, but what there is upon the subject is very much to the point. This -is what he says:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Of the sole agricultural export, opium, we can speak with some -certainty. We were astounded at the extent of the poppy cultivation -both in Szechuan and Yunnan. We first heard of it on the boundary line -between Hupah and Szechuan, in a cottage which appears in an -illustration given in the work of Captain Blakiston, the highest -cottage on the right of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> sketch. A few miles south of this spot -the most valuable variety of native opium is produced.</p> - -<p>In ascending the river, wherever cultivation existed we found numerous -fields of poppy. Even the sandy banks were often planted with it down -to the water’s edge: but it was not until we began our land journey in -Yunnan that we fairly realised the enormous extent of its production. -With some fear of being discredited, but at the same time with a -consciousness that I am under-estimating-the production, I estimate -that the poppy-fields constitute a third of the whole cultivation of -Yunnan.</p> - -<p>We saw the gradual process of its growth, from the appearance of the -young spikelets above ground in January, or earlier, to the full -luxuriance of the red, white, and purple flowers, which were already -falling in May. In that month the farmers were trying the juice, but -we did not see the harvest gathered. We walked some hundreds of miles -through poppies; we breakfasted among poppies; we shot wild ducks in -the poppies. Even wretched little hovels in the mountains were -generally attended by a poppy patch.</p> - -<p>The ducks, called locally “opium ducks,†which frequently supplied us -with a meal, do really appear, as affirmed by the natives, to stupefy -themselves by feeding on the narcotic vegetable. We could walk openly -up to within twenty yards of them, and even then they rose very -languidly. We are not, however, compelled to believe, with the -natives, that the flesh of these birds is so impregnated with laudanum -as to exercise a soporific influence on the consumer. They are found -in great numbers in the plain of Tung-ch’uan, in Northern Yunnan, and -turn out to be the <i>Tadorna vulpanser</i>.</p> - -<p>In the same district, and in no other, we met with the <i>Grus cinerea</i>, -an imposing bird, which is also a frequenter of opium-fields.</p> - -<p>The poppy appeared to us to thrive in every kind of soil, from the low -sandy borders of the Yang-tyu to the rocky heights of Western Yunnan; -but it seemed more at home, or at any rate was more abundant, in the -marshy valleys near Yung-ch’uan, at an elevation of seven thousand and -sixty feet (seven thousand one hundred and fifty feet according to -Garnier).</p> - -<p>I am not concerned here with the projects or prospects of the Society -for the Abolition of Opium: <i>if, however, they desire to give the -strongest impetus to its growth in Yunnan, let them by all means -discourage its production in India</i>.</p></div> - -<p>Now I have given you some very important evidence upon the two fallacies -before us; but perhaps, after all, the best testimony upon the subject is -that of Mr. Turner himself. He says, at page 13 of his book:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“Everywhere, in all climates, on every soil, in every variety and -condition of circumstances throughout that vast empire, the Chinese -smoke opium, but nowhere do they all smoke. The smokers are but a -per-centage, greater or smaller in different places.â€</p></div> - -<p>I quite agree with him on this point. But here the question arises, where -is the drug procured which is smoked<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> in every part of the eighteen -provinces of this vast Empire, equal in extent to Europe? Surely not from -abroad, because that great China authority, Sir Robert Hart, tells us in -his Yellow Book that all the Indian and Persian opium imported into China -is sufficient only to supply one third of one per cent. of the population -with a small portion annually of the drug. Not from India, because there -are many provinces in China—and a province there means a territory as -large as Great Britain—into which a particle of the Indian drug has -seldom or never been introduced. Whence, then, comes the great bulk of the -drug to satisfy all these smokers? Surely it must be from Chinese soil, -from the opium fields surrounding their own homes, which are to be seen in -every province of the Empire.</p> - -<p>Let us now return to the Yellow-book of Sir Robert Hart, to which I have -referred in the former lecture, and which seems to me to afford all the -evidence on this subject that is really wanted. It is admitted on both -sides that opium smoking is more or less prevalent throughout every -province of China, on every soil, whether in the valleys or on the hills -and mountains. Sir Robert Hart sent out a circular to the foreign -Commissioners of Customs at all the Treaty Ports in China, Hainan, and -Formosa,—two large islands lying respectively off the south and -south-east coast of China,—and the returns show that there are many -opium-smoking shops in each of these Treaty Ports, and that the gross -quantity of Indian and other foreign opium imported into China is about -one hundred thousand chests. Those returns also reveal the fact that in -almost every case foreign opium is used for mixing with the native drug, -which is of inferior quality and, there can be no doubt, invariably -adulterated; that a large amount of native opium is grown and sold; and -that the custom of opium smoking is more or less universal. Suppose we -take the case of Canton, as being a very large city. We may find, perhaps, -two or three hundred opium shops there, but the people who attend them are -not the better class of Chinese. They are exactly the same class of people -who frequent the drinking shops of London and other large cities in -England. The respectable, well-to-do people in Canton, who can afford to -keep the drug in their own houses, would not enter an opium shop any more -than a respectable person here would frequent a public-house.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> If a -stranger in London looked into the public-houses and saw men and women -drinking there, he would come to a false conclusion if he thought that -none but such people drank beer, spirits, or wine. We know that in almost -every private house here there is more or less liquor of all kinds kept -and consumed. The drinking shops furnish a mere indication of the amount -of alcoholic liquors drunk in a town. It is exactly the same with the -opium shops. They show the prevalence of the custom throughout the -country. If you find two hundred opium shops in Canton, and I am sure -there are not fewer there, you may be not less certain that opium is -smoked in the great majority of private and business houses in Canton. It -is the same in all the Treaty Ports. The opium-smoking shops in China may -be counted by hundreds and thousands, because China is as large as Europe, -and more populous.</p> - -<p>Sir Robert Hart’s Report, although to a certain extent an anti-opium one, -is in this and other respects very valuable, and forms in itself a -complete answer to the false and unfounded allegations of the Anti-Opium -Society. It is not likely that he would exaggerate the amount of opium -grown or smoked in China; the inference, indeed, would be that he, as an -official of the Chinese Government, would do just the contrary. There are -a great many other important ports in China besides the twenty ports with -which foreigners are not allowed to trade, and from which, indeed, they -are rigidly excluded; and in the interior of the country there are immense -and numerous cities and towns, large, thriving and densely populated, -where the opium pipe is used as freely as the tobacco pipe is with us. The -provinces in which opium is most grown are Szechuan and Yun-Nan, two of -the largest of the eighteen provinces constituting China proper. They are -the two great western provinces; but it is also grown in the eastern and -central provinces, in fact, more or less, all over the country. Though -there are no certain statistics, there cannot be a doubt that opium -smoking is more prevalent in the interior provinces than on the coast, -because it is there that the most opium is grown, and it is but reasonable -to infer that where opium is largely cultivated, especially in a country -like China, having no railroads, and few ordinary roads, there you will -find it to be most cheap and abundant, and therefore most<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> consumed. Upon -this point I would refer to a most authoritative work by the late lamented -Captain Gill, R.E.,<a name='fna_6' id='fna_6' href='#f_6'><small>[6]</small></a> whose barbarous murder the whole country deplored. -At page 235 of vol. ii. Captain Gill says:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>As we had such vague ideas of the distance before us we were anxious -to make an early start, but we were now in Yunnan, the province of -China in which there is more opium smoked than in any other, and in -which it is proportionately difficult to move the people in the -morning. There is a Chinese proverb to the effect that there is an -opium pipe in every house in the province of Kweichow, but one in -every room in Yunnan, which means that men and women smoke opium -universally.</p></div> - -<p>That is the report of a man who was not only a sagacious and close -observer of all that he saw in his interesting journey, but who was wholly -impartial and disinterested on the subject of opium smoking. Sir Robert -Hart does not purport to give in this book correct returns of the quantity -of opium smoked or imported, much less of the quantity grown in China. The -replies of his subordinates at the different ports, many of them seven -hundred or a thousand miles apart, all concur in speaking of the great -difficulties they had in getting any figures at all. They are, therefore, -not to be taken as absolutely trustworthy, and Sir Robert candidly admits -that they are mere approximations. Before I had seen his book I had made a -calculation of the probable number of opium smokers in China, on the -assumption that the population of China proper was three hundred and sixty -millions, and that the custom was universal, limited only by the means of -procuring the drug; and I arrived at the conclusion that there were in -China three millions of habitual smokers, and about the same number of -occasional smokers. Mr. Lennox Simpson, Commissioner at Chefoo, in reply -to Sir Robert Hart’s circular, says, at page 13 of the Yellow Book:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Much difficulty has been experienced in eliciting answers to the -various questions put to the native opium shops and others, all -viewing with suspicion any inquiries made, evidently fearing that some -prohibition is about to be put on the trade, or that their interests -are in some way to suffer. <i>Hence some of the figures given in the -return can scarcely be considered reliable, although every pains has -been taken to collect information.</i></p></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span>These commissioners are all gentlemen of good standing and education, and -they have a great many subordinates under them, so that they possess means -of collecting information such as no foreigner, not engaged in the public -service of China, could possibly command. Mr. Francis W. White, the -Commissioner at Hankow, replied:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Owing to the entire absence of all reliable figures, the amount of -opium put down as produced within the province and within the empire -yearly, must be taken as approximate only. I have been careful to -collect information from various sources, and this has been as -carefully compared and verified as means will allow.</p></div> - -<p>Mr. Holwell, the Commissioner at Kiukiang, wrote:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The total quantity of unprepared native opium, said to be produced -yearly in the province of Kiangsi, I find it next to impossible to -ascertain with any degree of certainty. Native testimony differs.</p></div> - -<p>I will point out by-and-by the reason why these returns are so unreliable. -The most extraordinary of them all are the returns of Mr. E. B. Drew, the -Commissioner at Ningpo, and Mr. H. Edgar, the Commissioner at Ichang. The -former estimates the entire quantity of native opium grown and consumed in -China at two hundred and sixty-five thousand chests, the latter at only -twenty-five thousand—less than a tenth of Mr. Drew’s estimate. In the -face of all these discrepancies, Sir Robert Hart takes an arbitrary -figure, and says, in effect, there is at least as much opium produced in -China itself as is imported into China. With the knowledge I have of the -Chinese and the opium trade generally, from the calculations I have made, -and by the light thrown upon the question by Sir Robert Hart’s Yellow -Book, and the Reports of Messrs. Spence and Baber and others, I am induced -to come to the conclusion that two hundred and sixty-five thousand chests -is much nearer the mark than a hundred thousand chests.</p> - -<p>The reason the Chinese opium dealers have been so reticent in affording -information to the Commissioners of Customs at these Treaty Ports is, that -they are afraid to do so, fearing if they gave correct information, they -might in so doing furnish to the Mandarins reasons for “squeezing†them, -or for placing taxes and other restrictions on their trade; for the -Government officials in China, from the highest to the lowest, are, as I -have before said, the most corrupt, cruel,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> and unscrupulous body of men -in the whole world. Mr. Storrs Turner has told us that the Chinese -Government is a paternal one, exercising a fatherly care of its people, -and always exhorting them to virtue. Nothing can be more fallacious than -this. Theoretically, there is much that is good in the system of -government in China, but practically it is quite the reverse. There is -little sympathy between the supreme Government and the great body of the -people. The Emperor, his family, and immediate suite, are all Tartars, -quite another race from the Chinese, differing totally in customs, -manners, dress, and social habits. The Governors or Viceroys are pretty -much absolute sovereigns within their own provinces. Each has under him a -host of officials, commonly known as Mandarins, who are generally the most -rapacious and corrupt of men; their salaries, in most cases, are purely -nominal, for they are expected to pay themselves, which they well -understand how to do. Their system of taxation is irregular and -incomplete, and the process of squeezing is openly followed all over the -country. There is nothing a Chinese dreads so much as disclosing his -pecuniary means, or, indeed, any information that might furnish a clue to -them. If he admitted that he cultivated fifty acres of opium, or bought a -hundred pikuls of opium in a year, his means and his profits could be -arrived at by a simple process of arithmetic, and although he might feel -sure that, so far as Sir Robert Hart and the foreign Commissioners under -him were concerned, no wrong need be apprehended, yet he is so distrustful -and suspicious, that he would fear lest the facts should reach the ears of -the higher Chinese officials through the native subordinates in the -Commissioners’ Offices.</p> - -<p>A Chinaman, therefore, will never tell the amount or value of his -property, or the profits he is making by his business. He fears being -plundered; that is the simple fact. I know a respectable man in Hong Kong, -the possessor of considerable house property there, a man who would be -called wealthy even in England. Some years ago, when at Canton, where he -had a house, a Mandarin suddenly arrested and put him into prison. What a -Chinese prison is you will find in Dr. Gray’s book. It is not the place -where a paternal Government ought to house the worst of criminals, or even -a wild beast. The man had committed no crime, and had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> done nothing -whatever to warrant this treatment; in vain he asked what he had been -imprisoned for, and demanded to be confronted with his accusers, if there -were any. His gaolers shrugged their shoulders and gave him no answer. He -was kept there for two or three months. Ultimately he received a hint, -which he recognized as an official intimation, that unless he came down -handsomely, as the phrase is, and that speedily, he would lose his head. -He took the hint, made the best bargain he could, and ultimately had to -pay seventy thousand dollars, or about fourteen thousand pounds, for his -release. There never was any accusation brought against him.</p> - -<p>I knew another man, living at Swatow, who had made a great deal of money -in trade. He bought a large piece of foreshore at that place, which he -reclaimed and turned into profitable land. A military Mandarin living -there thought him a fair object for a squeeze; the same process was gone -through as in the case I have before mentioned; but this man, not having -the same wisdom as the other, held fast to his dollars. The result was -that a false charge of kidnapping, alleged to have been committed twenty -years before, was brought against him, and he was taken out and beheaded. -That is the way money is raised by the governors and their subordinates in -China. So much for Mr. Turner’s benign and paternal Government. There is -no regular Income Tax in China, but there is a Property Tax levied in the -way I have mentioned. The Chinese authorities will let a man go on making -money for many years, and when they think he has accumulated sufficient -wealth for their purpose, they pounce down upon him and demand as much as -they think they can extort. That is the reason the Chinese opium dealers -are so reticent when inquiries are made concerning opium. If the -Commissioners at the Treaty Ports had got fair returns, I have no doubt -that it is not a hundred thousand pikuls of native opium that Sir Robert -Hart would have estimated as the quantity of opium grown in China, but -probably four or five times that amount.</p> - -<p>Here, again, I must quote from Mr. Spence’s report. Nothing can possibly -show better the prevalence of opium smoking in the provinces of Szechuan -and Yunnan and Hupah, they being about equal in extent to France, Spain,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> -and Portugal. This is what he says on the prevalence of opium smoking in -those provinces:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Before giving an estimate of the amount of opium produced in Szechuan, -I must refer, in explanation of the large figures I shall be obliged -to use, to the extraordinary prevalence of the habit of opium smoking -in Western Hupei, in Szechuan, and in Yunnan. It prevails to an extent -undreamt of in other parts of China. The Roman Catholic missionaries, -who are stationed all over Szechuan to the number of nearly one -hundred, and who, living amongst the people, have opportunities of -observation denied to travellers, estimate that one-tenth of the whole -male adult population of the province smoke opium. Mr. Parker, after -travelling all over the thickly-settled parts of the province, -estimates the proportion of smokers thus:—</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" summary="table"> -<tr><td> </td> - <td><span class="spacer"> </span></td> - <td align="center">Per cent.</td></tr> -<tr><td>Labourers and small farmers</td> - <td> </td> - <td align="center">10</td></tr> -<tr><td>Small shopkeepers</td> - <td> </td> - <td align="center">20</td></tr> -<tr><td>Hawkers, soldiers</td> - <td> </td> - <td align="center">30</td></tr> -<tr><td>Merchants, gentry</td> - <td> </td> - <td align="center">80</td></tr> -<tr><td>Officials and their staffs</td> - <td> </td> - <td align="center">90</td></tr> -<tr><td>Actors, prostitutes, thieves, vagabonds</td> - <td> </td> - <td align="center">95</td></tr></table> - -<p>I agree with Mr. Parker that the proportion of smokers varies in -different classes according to their means and leisure, but I feel -sure his estimate of the per-centage amongst the labouring classes is -much too low. One of the most numerous class of labourers in China is -the coolie class, day labourers who live by picking up odd jobs, -turning their hands to any kind of unskilled work that may be offered. -Certainly more than half of them smoke. Of the labouring classes who -are not “coolies,†as a whole this much may be said—they only have -money at stated intervals; and when out of a gang of forty or fifty -workmen or sailors only four or five smoke opium, it does not mean -that only ten per cent. are smokers. In all probability half of the -whole gang squandered their wages the day they got the money, and have -nothing left to buy opium or anything else until the job or voyage for -which they have been engaged is finished.</p> - -<p>For example, of my junk crew on my voyage to Chungking, only four -smoked opium regularly, but seven others who had spent all their wages -before we started smoked whenever I gave them a few cash. The total -abstinence of a British sailor at sea for months on end proves -nothing; it is what he will do when he has ten pounds in his pocket, -and is in a street with fifteen public-houses, that decides his -sobriety. So of workmen in the west of China, a large number smoke -opium when they have money, and do the best they can when they have -none. Whatever be the exact per-centage of the opium smokers in -Szechuan in the whole population, it is many times larger than in the -east.</p></div> - -<p>Now, after all this absolutely irrefutable testimony, many might think it -unnecessary to go further. They little know, however, how strong a hold -fanaticism takes of the human mind; they little think how difficult it is -to eradicate a fascinating <span class="smcaplc">LIE</span> from the mind, once its glittering<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> -meretricious form has got hold of it and supplanted wholesome truth. I -have, therefore, to deal not only with those whose minds are as a sheet of -white paper, but with those in whom the fallacious seeds that beget error -and fanaticism have been sown and taken firm root. I will now give you an -extract from Sir Rutherford Alcock’s paper, which is deserving of careful -study:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>I may say here, that although most of the staple arguments and -misleading opinions on opium and its disastrous effects come from the -missionaries in China, whose good faith I do not question, there is no -stronger protest against exaggerated and sensational statements on -record than has been supplied by one of their number, the late Dr. -Medhurst, of whom it has been truly said, he was “one of the most -able, experienced, zealous missionaries in China.†Opposed in -principle to the opium trade in all its aspects, his statements will -be readily accepted as unimpeachable evidence. The following remark -appears in an official paper, forwarded to the Chief Superintendent of -Trade of Hong Kong in 1855. Alluding to a speech of an American -missionary who had visited England, and was reported to have told the -British public “that the smokers of the contraband article have -increased from eight to fifteen millions, yielding an annual death -harvest of more than a million,†and further characterizing the -traffic as “staining the British name in China with the deepest -disgrace,†Dr. Medhurst observes, “<i>such statements do great harm; -they produce a fictitious and groundless excitement in the minds of -the religious and philanthropic public at home, while they steel -against all reasonable and moderate representations the minds of the -political and mercantile body abroad. The estimate given has not even -the semblance of truth; it is an outrageous exaggeration.</i>†And yet in -a memorial presented to Lord Clarendon by two distinguished and justly -respected noblemen, the Earls of Shaftesbury and Chichester, on the -extent of the opium trade in 1855, these, and still more “outrageous -exaggerations†appear with the authority of their names. Lord -Shaftesbury officializes the estimate that twenty millions of Chinese -are opium smokers, and assumes that of this number one-tenth, that is, -two millions, die yearly, and states it as “an appalling fact.†-Appalling, indeed! But what if it be a mere figment of the -imagination, and absolutely devoid, as Dr. Medhurst says, of a -semblance of truth?</p></div> - -<p>This is the way the benevolent British public have been cajoled and misled -for the last twenty years, or more, by opium-phobists. No wonder that the -Anti-Opium Society can raise fifty thousand pounds so easily, for the -British public is a benevolent one, and will subscribe its gold readily -where what they believe a proper object presents itself. Sad, indeed it -is, that in the present case its munificence represents, not merely so -much money lost, but vast sums recklessly squandered in a mischievous -agitation, that whilst it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> tends to sap and ruin one of the loveliest of -all virtues—that charity that endureth long and is kind—paralyses -missionary labour, prejudices the trade and revenue of our great Indian -Empire, and defames our country in the eyes of the whole world. Sad, sad -also to see that venerated nobleman, Lord Shaftesbury, after his long and -honourable career, and so many other good and eminent men, made the -victims of such miserable delusions.</p> - -<p>I think it is now clear, both from the testimony I have adduced, and from -Mr. Turner’s own admission, that the poppy is not only indigenous to -China, but that it has been cultivated there from time immemorial, and -that opium is smoked generally throughout China, the only limit to its use -being the means of procuring the drug.</p> - - - -<p> </p><p> </p> -<hr style="width: 50%;" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span></p> -<h2><a name="LECTURE_III" id="LECTURE_III"></a>LECTURE III.</h2> - -<p>In my last lecture I dealt with the fallacy that the poppy is not -indigenous to China, but has recently been introduced there presumably by -British agency, and that opium smoking in China was confined to a small -percentage of the people, which had been steadily increasing since the -introduction into China of Indian opium.</p> - -<p>I now proceed to discuss fallacy number 3, which is, that “<i>opium smoking -is injurious to the system, more so than spirit drinking</i>.†I think I -shall be able to show most clearly that exactly the reverse is the case. -With this it will be convenient to take fallacy number 5, which is a -kindred one, namely, that “<i>opium smoking and opium eating are equally -hurtful</i>.†This fallacy lies at the root of the opium controversy, for it -alone has enabled the Anti-Opium agitators to give plausibility to their -teaching and to obtain some hold, as they lately had, upon the public -mind. There is, in truth, about as much difference in the two practices as -there is between drinking, say, a pint of ardent spirits and bathing the -surface of one’s body with the same stimulant. Before proceeding further, -it may be stated that opium is admitted by physicians in all countries to -be an invaluable medicine, for which there is no known substitute. Mr. -Storrs Turner says that from the time of Hippocrates to the present day it -has been the physician’s invaluable ally in his struggles against disease -and death.</p> - -<p>Pereira thus describes the drug:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Opium is undoubtedly the most important and valuable remedy of the -whole Materia Medica. For other medicines we have one or more -substitutes, but for opium none,—at least in the large majority of -cases in which its peculiar and beneficial influence is required. Its -good effects are not, as is the case with some valuable medicines, -remote and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> contingent, but they are immediate, direct, and obvious, -and its operation is not attended with pain or discomfort. Furthermore -it is applied, and with the greatest success, to the relief of -maladies of everyday occurrence, some of which are attended with acute -human suffering.</p></div> - -<p>This is the description given of opium in Dr. Quain’s <i>Dictionary of -Medicine</i> recently published:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Opium and morphia naturally stand first and still hold their place as -our most potent and reliable narcotics, all the more valuable because -almost alone in their class they are also endowed with powerful -anodyne action, in virtue of which they may relieve pain without -causing sleep. Valuable as it is in all forms of insomnia, opium is -especially indicated in typhus fever and other acute disorders, when -delirium and prolonged wakefulness seem to endanger life. The -principal drawback to opium is the digestive disturbance following its -use, and the fact that, as toleration is very rapidly established, -gradually increasing doses are needed to check the counteracting -influence of habit.</p></div> - -<p>The Anti-Opium Society and their followers allege that dram-drinking is -not only less baneful than opium-smoking, but they say that the latter -practice so injures the constitution, and has such extraordinary -attractions for those who indulge in it, that it is impossible to get rid -of the habit, and that, in effect, whilst drunkards can be reformed, opium -smokers cannot. This is absolutely untrue. The reverse is much nearer the -mark. The effect upon the system of constant spirit drinking, leaving -actual drunkenness and its consequences aside, is that it produces organic -changes in the system, by acting upon what medical men call the -“microscopic tissues,†of which the whole human frame is made up; also -poisoning the blood, which then, instead of being a healthy fluid coursing -freely through the frame and invigorating the entire system, flows -sluggishly, producing organic changes in the blood vessels, inducing -various diseases according to the constitution and tendencies of the -individual. Three of the most usual diseases to which the habitual dram -drinker is subject are liver disease, fatty degeneration of the heart, and -paralysis. There is not a medical student of three months’ experience who -could not, if you entered a dissecting-room, point you out a “drunkard’s -liver.†The moment he sees that object he knows at once that the wretched -being to whom it belonged had, by continued indulgence in alcohol, ruined -his constitution and health, and brought himself to an untimely end. There -is another serious consequence arising from habitual drinking. Not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> only -does the habit irreparably ruin the general health so that cure is -impossible, but it induces insanity, and I believe I am not beyond the -mark in stating that fifty per cent. at the least of the lunatics in our -various asylums throughout the country have become insane from -over-indulgence in alcohol. Dr. Pereira, in his celebrated <i>Materia -Medica</i>, states that out of one hundred and ten cases occurring in male -patients admitted into the Hanwell Lunatic Asylum in 1840, no fewer than -thirty-one were ascribed to intemperance, while thirty-four were referred -to combined causes of which intemperance was stated to be one; and yet Mr. -Turner and his disciples say that spirit drinking is a lesser vice than -opium smoking!</p> - -<p>I need not remind you of the consequences to others besides the actual -victims to spirit drinking, for that is unfortunately told too eloquently -and but too vividly brought before us every day in the public newspapers. -You will find that those acts of violence, those unfortunate cases that -make one shudder to read, happening daily in this country—kicking wives, -sometimes to death, beating and otherwise ill-using helpless children, -violently attacking unoffending people in the streets—all are the -results, more or less, of spirit drinking. Even the missionaries admit -that opium smoking does not produce any of these evils. As I have said -before, truth is natural to the human mind, and will reveal itself, even -where it is not directly relevant to the purpose. Mr. Turner does not -venture to dispute this in his book, and I would call your attention to -the passage. He says on page 33:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Even between drunkenness and opium smoking there are perceptible -distinctions. We must allow that opium smoking is a much more pacific -and polite vice. The opium sot does not quarrel with his mate nor kick -his wife to death; he is quiet and harmless enough while the spirit of -the drug possesses him.</p></div> - -<p>That is all true so far as the fact goes, but if an insinuation is -intended that the Chinaman gets violent after the effect of the drug has -passed away, there is no foundation for it in fact. The Chinaman takes -opium just because he likes it, and knowing it will act at once as a -pleasing sedative and a harmless stimulant. A man who is working hard all -day in a tropical climate, whether at bodily or mental work, finds, -towards the close of the day, his nervous<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> system in an unsettled state, -and looks for a stimulant, and the most harmless and most effectual one he -can find is the opium pipe. When opium and opium smoking are better -understood—and I believe the subject is now but imperfectly known by most -medical men in this country—I feel convinced that the faculty will -largely prescribe opium smoking, not merely as a substitute for dram -drinking, but as a curative agency, that in many cases will be found -invaluable. In this I am borne out by an eminent medical authority, to -whom I shall refer by-and-by. The regular and habitual opium smoker is -seldom or never found to indulge in spirits at all. Stimulants of all -kinds are so freely taken here that people never look upon them as a -poison; but in point of fact they are a terrible poison, and a very active -one, too. Another medical work of very great authority is that by Dr. -Taylor.<a name='fna_7' id='fna_7' href='#f_7'><small>[7]</small></a> It has always received the greatest attention in courts of law; -and it is also held in the highest estimation by the medical profession. -At page 315, under the head of “Poisoning by Alcohol,†he says:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The stomach has been found intensely congested or inflamed, the mucous -membrane presenting in one case a bright red, and in another a dark -red-brown colour. When death has taken place rapidly, there may be a -peculiar odour of spirits in the contents; but this will not be -perceived if the quantity taken was small, or many hours have elapsed -before the inspection is made. The brain and its membranes are found -congested, and in some instances there is effusion of blood or serum -beneath the inner membrane. In a case observed by Dr. Geoghegan, in -which a pint of spirits had been taken and proved fatal in eight -hours, black extravasation was found on the mucous membrane of the -stomach; but no trace of alcohol could be detected in the contents. -The action of a strong alcoholic liquid on the mucous membrane of the -stomach so closely resembles the effect produced by arsenic and other -irritants, as easily to give rise to the suspicion of mineral irritant -poisoning. A drawing in the museum collection of Guy’s Hospital -furnishes a good illustration of the local action of alcohol. The -whole of the mucous membrane of the stomach is highly corrugated and -is of a deep brownish-red colour. <i>Of all the liquids affecting the -brain this has the most powerful action on the stomach.</i> A case of -alcoholic poisoning of a child, æt. seven, referred to me by Mr. -Jackaman, coroner for Ipswich, in July 1863, will serve to show the -correctness of this remark. A girl was found at four o’clock in the -morning lying perfectly insensible on the floor. She had had access to -some brandy, which she had swallowed from a quartern<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> measure, found -near her empty. She had spoken to her mother only ten minutes before, -so that the symptoms must have come on very rapidly. She was seen by -Mr. Adams four hours afterwards. She was then quite insensible, in a -state of profound coma, the skin cold, and covered with a clammy -perspiration. There had been slight vomiting. The child died in twelve -hours, without recovering consciousness, from the time at which she -was first found.</p></div> - -<p>So far Dr. Taylor, a most competent authority on the subject, as showing -what a poison alcohol is. Now alcohol, as I have before mentioned, effects -an organic change in the system, which opium, if smoked, or even if eaten -does not; and when spirits are indulged in to a very considerable extent, -the disease produced is absolutely incurable, because it is impossible for -any medical skill to give a man new tissues, new blood, a new stomach, or -a new liver, where the whole substance and material of all has undergone a -complete and ruinous change. Now, the case as regards opium is totally -different, because, no matter how much one may indulge in opium, whether -in eating or smoking, the effects produced are always curable. This is so -as regards opium eating; in respect to the infinitely less exciting -practice of opium <i>smoking</i>, the rule applies with very much greater -force. A man may smoke opium inordinately until, from want of appetite and -impaired digestion, he seems sinking into the grave; he is, however, only -labouring under functional derangement, which is always curable. The use -of opium in any form produces no organic change in the system whatever. -Excessive eating or smoking opium may impair the appetite and digestion, -but that will be all. I have very competent medical authority for saying -this. This fact places opium and alcohol in two entirely different -categories. The one, if eaten in moderation, is, I believe, harmless, if -not beneficial; while, as to the smoking of the drug, it is absolutely -innocuous;—but if alcohol be freely though not inordinately used, it will -prove, sooner or later, destructive to the system, acting upon the frame -as a slow poison, which must eventually end, as experience shows, in ruin -and death. De Quincey tells us in his <i>Confessions</i> that he ate opium with -impunity for eighteen years, and that it was only after eight years -<i>abuse</i> of opium eating that he suffered in any way from the practice.</p> - -<p>I will now give you another extract from Dr. Pereira’s<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> book. At page 446, -under the heading “Consequences of Habitual Drunkenness,†he says:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The continued use of spirituous liquors gives rise to various morbid -conditions of system, a few only of the most remarkable of which can -be here referred to. One of these is the disease known by the various -names of <i>delirium tremens</i>, <i>d. potatorum</i>, <i>oinomapria</i>, &c., and -which is characterized by delirium, tremor of the extremities, -wakefulness, and great frequency of pulse. The delirium is of a -peculiar kind. It usually consists in the imagined presence of objects -which the patient is anxious to seize or avoid. Its pathology is not -understood. It is sometimes, but not constantly, connected with or -dependent on an inflammatory condition of the brain, or its membranes. -Sometimes it is more allied to nervous fever. Opium has been found an -important agent in relieving it. Insanity is another disease produced -by the immoderate and habitual use of spirituous liquors.</p></div> - -<p>Now I do not think that, much as they have abused opium smoking, any of -the Anti-Opium writers have ever alleged insanity to be an effect or -concomitant of opium smoking. It must therefore be taken as generally -admitted that opium smoking, or even opium eating, does not produce -insanity. We have, then, this undisputed fact, viz. <i>that insanity and -acts of violence do not result from opium smoking, whilst they are -unquestionably produced by spirit drinking</i>.</p> - -<p>I had recently some conversation on the subject of opium with a medical -friend who has been in large practice in London, for twenty years. I had -previously spoken to him frequently on the same subject, and he has been -kind enough to give me his views in a very interesting and concise manner. -This opinion, I may tell you, is not paid for, or prepared merely to -support a particular purpose, as in the case of trials in the law courts. -It is purely spontaneous. We all know that professional men, whether -doctors, lawyers, surveyors, and others, are all more or less prone to -take the views of the party requiring their services, and they, -accordingly, will give opinions more or less coinciding with those views. -It does not, however, follow that the persons doing so are guilty of any -moral wrong, or that they write or state what they do not believe to be -true; on the contrary, they have a complete faith in the statements they -make. The natural bent of the mind is to lean towards the views urged by -one’s patient or client; and thus two physicians or lawyers of the highest -standing and character will be found to hold<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> different opinions. But this -statement with which I have been furnished stands on an entirely different -footing. There can have been no bias in the mind of the writer; it is -simply the result of study and experience. I have the most perfect -confidence in this gentleman’s opinions. He is Mr. William Brend, M.R.C.S. -He says:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>There is no organic disease traceable to the use of opium, either -directly or indirectly, and whether used in moderate quantities or -even in great excess. In other words, <i>there is no special disease -associated with opium</i>. Functional disorder, more or less, may be, and -no doubt is, induced by the improper or unnecessary use of opium; but -this is only what may be said of any other cause of deranged health, -such as gluttony, bad air, mental anxiety....</p> - -<p>However great the functional disorder produced by opium, even when -carried to great excess, may be, the whole effect passes off, and the -bodily system is restored in a little while to a state of complete -health, if the habit be discontinued. Alcohol, when taken in -moderation, unquestionably benefits a certain number of individuals, -but there are others whose systems will not tolerate the smallest -quantities; it acts upon them like a poison. But in the case of all -persons when alcohol is taken in excess disease is sooner or later -produced; that disease consists of organic changes induced in the -blood-vessels of the entire system, more especially the minute -blood-vessels called the capillaries; these become dilated, and -consequently weakened in their coats, and eventually paralyzed, so -that they cannot contract upon the blood. The result of this is -stagnation, leading to further changes still, such as fatty -degeneration of all the organs; for it must be remembered that alcohol -circulates with the blood, and thus finds its way into the remotest -tissues. The special diseases referrable to alcohol, besides this -general fatty degeneration, are the disease of the liver called -“cirrhosis,†and very frequently “Bright’s disease of the kidneys.†-Here, then, we have a great and important difference between opium and -alcohol. The second great difference grows out of the first. It is -this:—I have said that if alcohol be taken in excess for a certain -length of time, depending to some extent upon the susceptibility of -the individual, organic change, that is disease, is inevitable; but -the saddest part of it is that it is real disease, not merely -functional disorder; so that if those who have yielded to that excess -can be persuaded to abandon alcohol entirely the mischief induced must -remain. The progress of further evil may be staved off, but the system -can never again be restored to perfect health. <i>The demon</i> has taken a -grip which can never be entirely unloosed. Herein there is the second -great difference between the use of opium and of alcohol in excess.</p> - -<p>If what I have said of opium eating be true, common sense will draw -the inference that opium smoking must be comparatively innocuous, for -used in this way, a very small quantity indeed of the active -constituents find their entrance into the system. Its influence, like -tobacco, is exerted entirely upon the nervous system, and when that -influence has passed off it leaves (as also in the case of tobacco) a -greater or less craving for its repetition; but as organic disease is -not the result, I see no reason why opium smoking in moderation -necessarily degrades the individual more than does the smoking of -tobacco.</p></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span>Here I will give you another extract from Mr. Storrs Turner’s book, which -tells against his case very strongly indeed. How he came to insert it I -can only understand on the principle I have already mentioned, that truth -is inherent to the human mind and will reveal itself occasionally even -though it has to struggle through a mountain of prejudice and of warped -understanding. This is it, from the evidence of Dr. Eatwell, First -Assistant Opium Examiner in the Bengal service; it will be found on page -233:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Having passed three years in China, I may be allowed to state the -results of my observation, and I can affirm thus far, that the effects -of the abuse of the drug do not come very frequently under -observation, and that when cases do occur, the habit is frequently -found to have been induced by the presence of some painful chronic -disease, to escape from the sufferings of which the patient has fled -to this resource. That this is not always the case, however, I am -perfectly ready to admit, and there are doubtless many who indulge in -the habit to a pernicious extent, led by the same morbid impulses -which induce men to become drunkards in even the most civilised -countries; but these cases do not, at all events, come before the -public eye. It requires no laborious search in civilized England to -discover evidences of the pernicious effects of the abuse of alcoholic -liquors; our open and thronged gin-palaces, and our streets afford -abundant testimony on the subject; but in China this open evidence of -the evil effects of opium is at least wanting. As regards the effects -of the habitual use of the drug on the mass of the people, I must -affirm that no injurious results are visible. The people generally are -a muscular and well-formed race, the labouring portion being capable -of great and prolonged exertion under a fierce sun, in an unhealthy -climate. Their disposition is cheerful and peaceable, and quarrels and -brawls are rarely heard amongst even the lower orders; whilst in -general intelligence they rank deservedly high amongst Orientals. I -will, therefore, conclude with observing, that the proofs are still -wanting to show that the moderate use of opium produces more -pernicious effects upon the constitution than does the moderate use of -spirituous liquors; whilst, at the same time, it is certain that the -consequences of the abuse of the former are less appalling in their -effect upon the victim, and less disastrous to society at large, than -are consequences of the abuse of the latter.</p></div> - -<p>Could any evidence against the allegations of the Anti-Opium Society be -stronger than this? Have I not now a right to say, “Out of the mouth of -thine own witness I convict thee!â€</p> - -<p>My own observation goes to show that opium smoking is far more fascinating -than opium eating, and that the opium smoker never relapses into the opium -eater. Opium eating, as I think I have already stated, is unknown in -China. I think these statements put the question as regards opium smoking, -opium eating, and spirit drinking in a very different<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> light to what the -advocates of the Anti-Opium Society throw upon the subject. The latter -talk of the importation of Indian opium into China as the origin of the -custom of smoking the drug, or, at the least, that it has made the natives -smoke more than they otherwise would have done. There is no truth in such -representations. Let us take the year 1880, for instance, and adopting the -figures given by Sir Robert Hart, and concurred in by the British -merchants, which I take to be quite correct, that the amount of opium -imported into China from India was in that year one hundred thousand -chests, each chest weighing a pikul, which would amount to about six -thousand tons. Distribute those six thousand tons over the whole of China, -which, as I have before so often said, is as large as Europe, and with a -population amounting to three hundred and sixty millions, and you will -find it gives such a trifling annual amount to each person, that Sir -Robert Hart cannot mark from its use any damage to the finances of the -State, the wealth of its people, or the growth of its population. In the -United Kingdom, where we have less than a tenth of the population of -China, there were two hundred thousand tons of alcohol—whisky, gin, -brandy—and one thousand and ninety millions four hundred and forty-four -thousand seven hundred and sixteen gallons of wine and beer consumed in -that year. If all these spirits, wine, and beer were mixed up so as to -form one vast lake—one huge “devil’s punch-bowl‗there would be -sufficient liquor for the whole population of the United Kingdom to swim -in at one time. But if the tears of all the broken-hearted wives, widows, -and orphans that flowed from the use of the accursed mixture were -collected, they would produce such a sea of sorrow, such an ocean of -misery as never before was presented to the world. Yet philanthropists and -Christian people in this country give all their time, energies, and a -great deal of their money to put down this purely sentimental grievance in -China, and shut their eyes to the terrible evils thundering at their own -doors!</p> - -<p>The whole purpose of Mr. Storrs Turner’s book, and of the Anti-Opium -Society, is to write down opium smoking in China, with the ultimate view -of suppressing the Indo-China opium trade; and no man living is better -aware than Mr. Turner that opium eating is not a practice with the -Chinese; indeed, I doubt if it is known in China at all. Yet, knowing all -this,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> he puts forward the outrageous theory that opium smoking and opium -eating are equally injurious; it therefore becomes a matter of the first -importance that the great difference between these two practices should be -clearly shown. In the appendix to Mr. Turner’s book there is a mass of -evidence, of which a large portion is quite beside the question, for it -applies exclusively to opium eating—a practice, I assert and will clearly -show, is totally different from, and a thousand times more trying to the -constitution than opium smoking. Dr. Ayres says that opium smokers can -smoke in one day as much opium as would, if eaten, poison one hundred men, -and Dr. Ayres is a very great authority on the subject; for not only has -he a large practice among the better classes of Chinese, all of whom are, -more or less, opium smokers, but his daily duties bring him into contact -with the criminal classes, who are most prone to excessive sensual -indulgence of this kind.</p> - -<p>This is what Dr. Ayres says upon the subject in his article in the <i>Friend -of China</i>:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>As regards opium smoking, no prisoner who confessed to be an opium -smoker has been allowed a single grain in the gaol. Neither has he had -any stimulant as a substitute, and I do not find there has been any -evil consequence in breaking off this habit at once, nor that any -precaution has been necessary, further than a closer attention to the -general health. Several very good specimens of opium smokers have come -under observation; one was the case of a man whose daily consumption -had been two ounces a day for nineteen years, and who was allowed -neither opium nor gin, nor was he given any narcotic or stimulant. For -the first few days he suffered from want of sleep, but soon was in -fair health, and expressed himself much pleased at having got rid of -the habit.... In my experience, the habit does no physical harm in -moderation. In the greatest case of excess just mentioned at the gaol, -a better-nourished or developed man for his size it would be difficult -to see.</p></div> - -<p>So far as regards opium <i>eating</i>, the best medical authorities are divided -as to whether opium eating or drinking in moderation is injurious to the -system at all. In any case, opium eating is not the question before us, -nor the subject of these lectures, which is opium smoking in China. Mr. -Storrs Turner gives, in his appendix, at page 240, extracts from some -statements of Lieut.-Col. James Todd, who says:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>This pernicious plant (the poppy) has robbed the Rajpoot of half his -virtues, and while it obscures these it heightens his vices, giving to -his natural bravery a character of insane ferocity, and to the -countenance which would otherwise beam with intelligence an air of -imbecility.</p></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>That entirely relates to the <i>eating</i> of the drug by the Rajpoots of -India, and has no connection or analogy to opium smoking by the Chinese. -There is another quotation on the same page from Dr. Oppenheim, given in -Pereira’s <i>Materia Medica</i> as follows:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The habitual <i>opium eater</i> is instantly recognised by his appearance: -a total attenuation of body, a withered, yellow countenance, a lame -gait, &c.</p></div> - -<p>And so on. This, as you see, applies to opium eating only. There are many -other instances of the effects of such use of opium given in the appendix, -which, after these two quotations, it is useless to further repeat. -Indeed, so far as relevancy to his subject goes, Mr. Storrs Turner might -just as well have introduced into his book medical or other testimony as -to the effects of gluttony or spirit drinking. It suits his purpose, -however, to mix up the two practices, so as to confuse and mislead his -readers. Dr. Oppenheim’s statement, by the way, is completely refuted by -Dr. Sir George Birdwood, a distinguished physician, whose long residence -in Bombay,—where there is a Chinese colony, most, if not all, of whom are -habitual smokers of the drug,—and whose thorough acquaintance with the -effects of opium eating and opium smoking, entitle his testimony to the -very highest consideration. Again, at p. 8 of Mr. Turner’s volume, -reference is made to De Quincey’s book on opium eating, intituled, “The -Confessions of an English Opium Eater.†Could anything be more -disingenuous than this? De Quincey was an opium eater, not an opium -smoker. Here is the passage from Mr. Turner’s book to which I have -referred:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Those “Confessions,†which are not confessions, but an <i>apologia pro -vitâ suâ</i>, an elaborate essay to whitewash his reputation and varnish -over the smirching blot of a self-indulgent habit by a glitter of a -fascinating literary style.</p></div> - -<p>Now did anyone ever hear of such an extraordinary explanation of De -Quincey’s motives in publishing that volume? De Quincey, he says, in -effect, was ashamed of the practice of opium eating, and wrote the book as -an excuse for his conduct, so horrible, disgraceful, and debasing, -according to Mr. Storrs Turner, is—not opium eating, observe you, -but—opium smoking. How fallacious are such arguments I think I shall make -apparent to the most simple mind. If a man has the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> misfortune to have -contracted a disgraceful habit, such, for instance, as over-indulgence in -spirit drinking, the very last thing he would think of doing is to publish -a book upon the subject, and thus acquaint the whole world with his -infirmity. Yet this is what Mr. Turner alleges against De Quincey. But, in -point of fact, he is altogether wrong in supposing that De Quincey was -ashamed of opium eating; if he had been, he unquestionably would not have -written his book, which, by the way, is one of the most fascinating -volumes in our literature. Previous to the publication of it, probably -there were not half a dozen people who knew that he, De Quincey, was an -opium eater, and in the preface to the work, he says, “that his -self-accusation does not amount to a confession of guilt.†I know Mr. -Turner to be a gentleman utterly incapable of wilfully acting -disingenuously, much less of stating intentionally what he knew to be -untrue; but he is so blinded by prejudice, his naturally clear intellect -is so warped and distorted, and his faculties and reasoning powers are so -perverted, by this opium question, and his duties towards the Anti-Opium -Society, that he either does not see the difference between the two -things,—opium smoking and opium eating,—or, aware of that difference, -thinks himself justified in classing them together, as they both proceed -from opium, and thus he would persuade himself and his readers that they -are equally baneful. But in this book of his he takes De Quincey, the -opium eater, who confesses to having eaten three hundred and twenty grains -a day, and compares him with an opium-smoking Chinaman who smoked one -hundred and eighty grains a day; the difference between eating three -hundred and twenty grains and smoking one hundred and eighty grains a day -being about as a thousand is to one, in fact, in such case it would be -simply the difference between life and death; and yet Mr. Storrs Turner -would strive to mix up the two practices, so that the incautious reader -might infer that the effects of the one were as injurious as those of the -other. Such is the class of arguments with which the Anti-Opium Society -and its credulous supporters have been satisfied, and upon which the whole -religious world, the country, and the legislature are called upon to come -to the rescue of injured humanity, and abolish this Indo-China opium -trade.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span>Now, as De Quincey is on the <i>tapis</i>, I cannot refrain from exposing a -very disgraceful piece of deception which has been practised upon the -public by some of the agents or supporters of the Anti-Opium Society since -the first edition of my Lectures appeared. This work of De Quincey, as I -have intimated, is a very entertaining book; it is the first of a series -of fourteen volumes by the same author, published in 1880 by the eminent -firm of Adam and Charles Black, of Edinburgh; the price of each volume is -two shillings, which is very moderate indeed, taking the character and -quality of the letterpress, the paper, and general “get up†into account, -for, as for the copyright, it has expired. Although Mr. Storrs Turner has -mis-described the book as a penitential effort on the part of De Quincey, -I am afraid that the effect of its perusal on most readers would be to -induce them rather to become opium eaters than repel them from the -practice, as will be manifest from an extract which I shall shortly give -the reader. The truth is, De Quincey, who knew human nature very well, -lived by his pen, and was actuated more by the desire to amuse than reform -his readers—for, say as you will, a well presented comedy will be always -more popular with the multitude than a tragedy, however skilfully -performed. Now, I am far from impugning the main features of our author’s -“confessions,†but in saying that in writing this very fascinating and -original book he went extensively into the picturesque, and drew largely -on his imagination, no person who will afford himself the pleasure of -reading the book can, I think, deny. Now, some very zealous agent or -advocate of the Anti-Opium Society, fearing that the effect of this work -of De Quincey’s—brought as it has been into notice in connection with -this controversy by Mr. Turner’s and my own book—might be to induce the -reading public to think that opium, after all, was not so terrible a drug -as the Anti-Opium agitators represent, has set himself to the ignoble task -of so garbling the work, and importing into it other matter of his own, as -to represent opium eating as the most terrible, fearful, and demoralizing -practice in the world, and then printing the concoction and flooding the -country with the impudent travesty at the very moderate charge of one -penny. All the entertaining and diverting passages have been suppressed, -and some wretched stuff inserted. It is called on the title page<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> “The -Confessions of an Opium Eater; the famous work by Thomas De Quincey. -Copyright edition.†The whole is nothing more than a burlesque—and a very -bad one indeed—of the real volume. In the first place, there is a lie -upon the face of it, as the copyright has expired, and it is not in any -respect a copy of the original; and secondly, it barely contains one-sixth -of the matter of the actual volume, and has “counterfeit†stamped upon -every page. It was exposed at the various book-stalls of Messrs. W. H. -Smith and Son, in London, and, I believe, also throughout the country. I -myself bought two copies at the Charing Cross station a few months ago, -but I believe the delectable piece of literary forgery has since been -withdrawn. I daresay, however, it has, to a great extent, answered its -purpose, <i>i.e.</i> to poison the minds of its readers on the Opium question, -by making it appear that opium is a terrible poison, and that the smoking -of it is more injurious than the excessive indulgence in alcohol. This -“pious fraud†has done a grievous wrong to the memory of a great English -author, Thomas De Quincey—whose pure and classic English adorns our -language—and also an injury to the general public who have advanced their -money for the penny lie upon false pretences. The whole affair is just as -defensible a proceeding as that of some tenth-rate dauber who, having -copied (?) a masterpiece of Sir Joshua Reynolds, or some other great -master of the English school, had the miserable caricature oleographed, -and flooded the country with the imposture, in the hope of inducing the -public to believe that true copies of the originals were offered to them. -But these Anti-Opium fanatics do not stick at trifles, and, in their -insane desire to make right appear wrong, do not hesitate to defame the -dead and vilify the living. I have mentioned this incident to show my -readers the unscrupulous efforts these people will resort to in order to -impose their fictions upon the public.</p> - -<p>Now, leaving De Quincey and his book for the present, let us see what Dr. -Ayres says upon the difference between opium eating and opium smoking. In -his article in <i>The Friend of China</i>, from which I have already quoted, he -says:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>I have conducted my observations with much interest, as the effects of -opium eating are well known to me by many years’ experience in India,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> -and I have been surprised to find the opium smoker differs so much -from the opium eater. <i>I am inclined to the belief that in the popular -mind the two have got confused together. Opium smoking bears no -comparison with opium eating.</i> The latter is a terrible vice, most -difficult to cure, and showing rapidly very marked constitutional -effects in the consumer.</p></div> - -<p>Dr. Ayres was quite right, the two have got mixed up together, thanks to -Mr. Storrs Turner and his confrères. To further explain the difference -between opium eating and opium smoking, let us take the familiar instance -of tobacco smoking. It is not, I think, generally known that tobacco, -taken internally, is a violent and almost instantaneous poison. A very -small quantity of it admitted into the stomach produces speedy death, and -it is a wonder to some medical men that its use has not been made -available by assassins for their foul and deadly purposes. Tobacco has no -medicinal properties; it is simply known to chemists and physicians as a -poison. Its alkaloid, or active principle, is nicotine, a poison of so -deadly and instantaneous a nature as to rank with aconite, strychnine, and -prussic acid. Of the four, indeed, it takes the lead. In Taylor’s “Medical -Jurisprudence,†to which I have already referred, it is laid down at page -321, under the head of “Poisoning by Tobaccoâ€:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The effects which this substance produces when taken in a large dose, -either in the form of powder or infusion, are well marked. The -symptoms are faintness, nausea, vomiting, giddiness, delirium, loss of -power in the limbs, general relaxation of the muscular system, -trembling, complete prostration of strength, coldness of the surface -with cold clammy perspiration, convulsive movements, paralysis and -death. In some cases there is purging, with violent pain in the -abdomen; in others there is rather a sense of sinking or depression in -the region of the heart, passing into syncope, or creating a sense of -impending dissolution. With the above-mentioned symptoms there is -dilatation of the pupils, dimness of sight with confusion of ideas, a -small, weak, and scarcely-perceptible pulse, and difficulty of -breathing. Poisoning by tobacco has not often risen to medico-legal -discussion. This is the more remarkable as it is an easily accessible -substance, and the possession of it would not, as in the case of other -poisons, excite surprise or suspicion. In June, 1854, a man was -charged with the death of an infant, of ten weeks, by poisoning it -with tobacco. He placed a quantity of tobacco in the mouth of the -infant, with the view, as he stated, of making it sleep. The infant -was completely narcotized, and died on the second day.... Tobacco owes -its poisonous properties to the presence of a liquid volatile -alkaloid, <i>nicotina</i>.</p></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span>Whilst under the head “Nicotine,†on the same page, he says:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>This is a deadly poison, and, like prussic acid, it destroys life in -small doses with great rapidity. I found that a rabbit was killed by a -single drop in three minutes and a half. In fifteen seconds the animal -lost all power of standing, was violently convulsed in its fore and -hind legs, and its back was arched convulsively.</p></div> - -<p>In Dr. Ure’s “Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures, and Mines,†it is laid -down, at page 250, under the head of “Nicotineâ€:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>This alkaloid is the active principle of the tobacco plant.... -Nicotine is a most powerful poison, one drop put on the tongue of a -large dog being sufficient to kill it in two or three minutes.</p></div> - -<p>So much for tobacco and its alkaloid as deadly poisons; yet we all know -that, unless indulged in to an inordinate extent, tobacco smoking is a -perfectly harmless practice, almost universally indulged in; the exception -now being to find a man, young or old, gentle or simple, who is not a -tobacco smoker. Most of our greatest thinkers, philosophers, poets, -statesmen, and mathematicians smoke it, and in most cases, I believe, with -advantage. Indulged in moderately, it does no injury to the constitution, -but I should rather say its effects are curative and beneficial; you will -rarely find a heavy tobacco smoker a drunkard or even a spirit drinker. -Yet this plant, which gives comfort and delight to millions of people, is -a deadly poison if taken internally in even a minute quantity in its -natural or manufactured state. So it is with opium; the habitual eating of -it may be injurious, but the smoking is not only innocuous, but positively -beneficial to the system. It is a complete preservative against dram -drinking and drunkenness, for whilst it produces similar but far more -agreeable effects on the nervous system than wine, it does not, like -alcohol, poison the blood, destroy the health, and lead to ruin, disgrace, -and death. Of course, opium-smoking, like every other luxury—tea, wine, -spirits, beer, tobacco—may be abused, but the few who indulge excessively -are infinitesimally small as compared with the many who abuse the use of -alcoholic liquors. As to opium eating, an overdose produces death, but the -opium smoker can indulge in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> his luxury from, morning till night without -any apparent injury. It is plain, therefore, that opium smoking and opium -eating cannot be classed in the same category at all, but stand apart -quite separately and distinctly.</p> - -<p>I may here again appropriately refer to Sir Wilfrid Lawson’s speech at the -Anti-Opium meeting at Newcastle. In the course of his remarks, the speaker -referred with some humour to an Anti-Tobacco-smoking Society, a once -active organization. At a meeting of this body held at Carlisle, it -appears that the chief orator,—an energetic person, with wonderful powers -of imagination and a fluent tongue, quite another Mr. Storrs -Turner—having exhausted his power of vituperation in denouncing the -Virginian weed and its terrible effects upon its votaries, alleged in -particular that tobacco smoking tended to shorten human life, but here he -was interrupted by one of the audience, a jovial middle-aged north -countryman, who said, “I don’t know that Mr. Lecturer, for my father -smoked till he was eighty!†“Ah!†exclaimed the other, quite equal, as he -thought, to the occasion, “your father’s case was an exceptional one; he -was an unusually strong, healthy man. Anyone who sees you, his hale, -hearty son, must know that. Had he not been a tobacco smoker he would have -lived much longer.†“I don’t know that either,†returned the countryman, -“for he is alive and well and still smokes tobacco.†Now had Sir Wilfrid -delivered that speech at a meeting formed to protest against the theories -of the Anti-Tobacco Society, he would assuredly have scored; but, as -matters stood, I must claim his speech as one made in favour of my views -upon the opium question; for, to use a famous formula, I would say to the -honourable baronet, “Would you be surprised to hear that I can produce to -you, not only an aged father and son who are opium smokers, but a father, -son, and grandson all living who follow that practice, and have done so -all their lives without injury to health?â€</p> - -<p>But enjoyable as tobacco smoking may be, I contend that, to the Asiatic at -least, opium smoking is not only a more agreeable but also a far more -beneficial practice. Tobacco has no curative properties, but is simply a -poison; opium is the most valuable medicine known; where all other -sedatives fail its powers are prominent. As an anodyne no other medicine -can equal it. There is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> one property peculiar to opium, that is that it is -non-volatilizable, or nearly so. If a piece of opium is put on a red-hot -plate, it will not volatilize; that is, it will not disappear in the form -of vapour, which by chemical means can be preserved in order to resume or -retain its original character. But it will be destroyed by combustion; the -heat will consume it in the same manner as it would destroy a piece of -sugar or any other non-volatilizable body; whereas a substance that is -volatilizable, like sulphur, on being subjected to the same process, -instead of being destroyed, is simply given out in vapour, and by proper -means may be caught again and reformed in the shape of sulphur. So when -you place opium into a pipe and put the pellet to the lamp, the effect of -the combustion is to destroy the active property of the opium; the smoker -takes the smoke thrown off into his mouth, which he expels either through -the mouth or nostrils. The only way, therefore, he can get any of the -active property of the opium into his system is by smoking it like -tobacco. Now tobacco, on the contrary, is volatilizable, but the poison is -so volatile, and escapes so freely through the bowl of the pipe in the -shape of vapour, and is so rapidly expelled from the mouth, that no harm -is produced by the process of smoking the deadly poison, the natural -recuperative power of the frame neutralizing the effects of the noisome -vapour. The difference between opium and tobacco smoking appears to be -this:—In the one case you take into your mouth the mere smoke of a -valuable aromatic drug, which, when passed into the stomach in proper -quantities as a medicine, has powerful curative properties, the smoke when -expelled leaving no substance behind it, but in its passage exerting a -pleasant and perfectly harmless stimulating effect upon the nerves.</p> - -<p>In the case of tobacco, the fumes with the volatilized substance of a foul -and poisonous weed having no curative properties whatever, and having the -most loathsome and offensive smell to those who have not gone through the -pain and misery necessary to accustom themselves to them, is taken into -the mouth. Nicotine, the alkaloid of tobacco, is simply a deadly and rapid -poison, useful only to the assassin. Morphia, the alkaloid of opium, is -only poisonous when taken in an excessive quantity; whether used -internally or injected under the skin, it is the most wonderful anodyne -and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> sedative known. I fully believe that, when medical men come to study -opium and opium smoking more fully, it will become the established opinion -of the faculty that opium smoking is not only perfectly harmless, but that -it is most beneficial, so that it may ultimately not only put down spirit -drinking, but perhaps supersede, to a great extent, tobacco. But few -medical men in this country have as yet made opium a special study. They -only know its use and properties as described in the British Pharmacopeia; -many even of those who have practised in the parts of India where the drug -is eaten do not, it seems, as yet fully understand all its properties. Dr. -Ayres himself admits that he was astonished after his arrival in Hong Kong -to find the great difference between the effects of smoking and eating the -drug. I may here remind my readers that we have, or had once, an -Anti-Tobacco-smoking Society, just as there is now an Anti-Opium-smoking -Society. The former had so many living evidences of the absurdities -alleged by its supporters against the use of tobacco, that the agitation -was laughed down and has either died a natural death or has only a -moribund and spasmodic existence; but had the place where the alleged -enormity of tobacco smoking was practised been Africa, I think the Society -would have died a much harder death, or at all events shown more vitality. -The Anti-Opium Society would have shared the same fate long ago were it -not that the scene of all the alleged evils is China, ten thousand miles -away, and the witnesses against their absurd allegations live the same -distance from us. But still, believe me, the Anti-Opium Society’s days are -numbered: it is doomed, and, like the Anti-Tobacco craze, will be numbered -soon amongst the things that were. I flatter myself that in the delivery -and publication of these lectures I have given the agitation a heavy blow -and great discouragement.</p> - -<p>I had some time ago the advantage of reading a very interesting and -remarkable letter in the “Times†by Sir George Birdwood, to whom I have -already referred; he has had more than fourteen years’ experience in India -as a medical man, and has made the opium question a special study. I think -his testimony is worth a great deal more than that of any layman, however -learned or talented; the one has both theoretical and practical knowledge -of his subject, the other at best is only a theorist. Believe me, the -Roman poet knew human nature<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> well when he said, “Trust the man who has -experience of facts.†The paper, which is a learned and interesting one, -is too long to read, but here is an extract from it:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>My readers can judge for themselves from the authorities I have -indicated; but the opinion I have come to from them and my own -experience is, that opium is used in Asia in a similar way to alcohol -in Europe, and that, considering the natural craving and popular -inclination for, and the ecclesiastical toleration of it and its -general beneficial effects, and the absence of any resulting evil, -there is just as much justification for the habitual use of opium in -moderation as for the moderate use of alcohol, and indeed far more.</p> - -<p>Sir Benjamin Brodie is always quoted as the most distinguished -professional opponent of the dietetical use of opium; but what are his -words (<i>Psychological Enquiries</i>, p. 248):—“The effect of opium when -taken into the stomach is not to stimulate, but to soothe the nervous -system. It may be otherwise in some instances, but these are rare -exceptions to the general rule. The opium eater is in a passive state, -satisfied with his own dreamy condition while under the influence of -the drug. He is useless but not mischievous. It is quite otherwise -with alcoholic liquors.†Opium smoking, which is the Chinese form of -using the drug—for which the Indian Government is specially held -responsible—is, to say the least in its favour, an infinitely milder -indulgence. As already mentioned, I hold it to be absolutely harmless. -I do not place it simply in the same category with even tobacco -smoking, for tobacco smoking may, in itself, if carried into excess, -be injurious, particularly to young people under twenty-five; but I -mean that opium smoking in itself is as harmless as smoking -willow-bark or inhaling the smoke of a peat-fire or vapour of boiling -water.... I have not seen Surgeon-General Moore’s recent paper on -opium in the <i>Indian Medical Gazette</i>, but I gather from a notice of -it quoted from the <i>Calcutta Englishman</i>, in the <i>Homeward Mail</i> of -the 14th of November last, that it supplies a most exhaustive and able -vindication of the perfect morality of the revenue derived by the -Indian Government from the manufacture and sale of opium to the -Chinese. He quotes from Dr. Ayres, of Hong Kong: “No China resident -believes in the terrible frequency of the dull, sodden-witted, -debilitated opium smoker met with in print;†and from Consul Lay:—“In -China the spendthrift, the man of lewd habits, the drunkard, and a -large assortment of bad characters, slide into the opium smoker; hence -the drug seems chargeable with all the vices of the country.†Mr. -Gregory, Her Majesty’s Consul at Swatow, says Dr. Moore never saw a -single case of opium intoxication, though living for months and -travelling for hundreds of miles among opium smokers. Dr. Moore -directly confirms my own statement of the Chinese having been great -drunkards of alcohol before they took to smoking opium. I find also a -remarkable collection of folk-lore (<i>Strange Stories from a Chinese -Studio</i>, by Herbert A. Giles), evidence in almost every chapter of the -universal drinking habits of the Chinese before the introduction of -opium among them, notwithstanding that the use of alcohol is opposed -to the cardinal precepts of Buddhism. What Dr. Moore says of the -freedom of opium smokers from bronchial thoracic diseases is deserving -of the deepest consideration. I find that, on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> other hand, the -Chinese converts to Christianity suffer greatly from consumption. The -missionaries will not allow them to smoke, and, as they also forbid -their marrying while young, after the wise custom, founded on an -experience of thousands of years of their country, they fall into -those depraved, filthy habits, of which consumption is everywhere the -inexorable witness and scourge. When spitting of blood comes on, the -opium pipe is its sole alleviation.</p></div> - -<p>Now Dr. Birdwood is not only well informed upon the opium question, but is -certainly one of the ablest opponents of the Anti-Opium agitation who has -yet appeared. His letters in the “Times†created quite a sensation, and so -alarmed Mr. Storrs Turner that he left no means untried to neutralize -their effects. At this point a bright idea occurred to him. Finding that -there was a general consensus of opinion against him amongst English -medical men and other competent authorities that the outcry against opium -was groundless, he hit upon the brilliant expedient of discrediting them -all, by the assertion that Englishmen are so prejudiced that they are not -to be believed. This is what he says on the subject in his famous article -in the <i>Nineteenth Century</i> having in a previous passage imagined a case -in which China was the plaintiff and Great Britain the defendant:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The baneful effects of the opium vice are established by universal -experience. One may apply to it the theological maxim <i>Quod semper -quod ubique, quod ab omnibus</i>. Two considerations will show that the -opposition of a few dissentient voices does not detract from the -general conclusion. Most of these are quite clear on the point that -opium is bad for everybody but Chinese. They would be horrified at the -suggestion that opium should be freely used in England and approve the -efforts or supposed efforts of the Indian Government to keep it out of -the way of the natives of India. On another point these dissentients -are all alike; <i>every one of them is prejudiced in favour of the -defendant in the case before us. They are all Englishmen.</i> No French -or German medical man, no single Chinese authority has been quoted to -testify to the innocence of opium. Some of these apologists are opium -merchants, who aver that the drug by which they make their wealth is a -boon and a blessing to China; or it is a gentleman employed in the -India Office who considers opium smoking as safe as “twiddling one’s -thumbs.â€</p></div> - -<p>Could the force of folly or fanaticism go further than that? All -Englishmen are prejudiced. I wonder, did it ever occur to Mr. Storrs -Turner that <i>he</i>, being an Englishman, might be a little prejudiced -also—on the other side of the question. Yes; Dr. Ayres, Dr. Eatwell, -Surgeon-General Moore, Dr. Birdwood, and a host of other eminent medical -men standing in the front rank of their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> profession, Sir Rutherford -Alcock, Mr. Colborne Baber, Mr. W. Donald Spence, and others are not to be -believed—because they are Englishmen! Were they Germans or Frenchmen, -they would, of course, be entitled to the fullest credence. Like the -priest and prophet of Crete, Mr. Storrs Turner holds that all his -countrymen are liars.<a name='fna_8' id='fna_8' href='#f_8'><small>[8]</small></a> But, stay, do I not remember that gentleman’s -holding a select conference of English medical men, about October 1882, -when certain resolutions were drawn up condemnatory of opium? Surely, yes. -The invitations were issued by the Earl of Shaftesbury. I should like to -ask Mr. Storrs Turner were the medical and other gentlemen then present -Englishmen or foreigners? If I do not greatly err they were <i>all</i> -Englishmen. Does Mr. Storrs Turner consider those gentlemen worthy of -credit? I rather think he does: so that Mr. Turner’s creed runs thus: -“Englishmen are to be believed so long as they agree with me on the opium -question. When they differ from me on that subject they are not to be -believed at all.†Mr. Turner is fond of treating his readers to -theological maxims. I will now give him a legal one which, I think, is -applicable to his case. It runs thus, translated into plain English: “<i>He -is not to be heard who alleges things contrary to each other</i>.†Of course, -the reader has seen that Mr. Turner’s sneer at “the gentleman employed in -the India Office,†is at Sir George Birdwood, whose pungent articles in -the <i>Times</i> have inflicted such damage on his cause, and whose efforts in -the interests of common sense and truth he would wish to suppress.</p> - -<p>As Mr. Turner’s tastes are exotic, I will furnish him now with some -<i>foreign</i> testimony that may perhaps astonish him. For many years previous -to 1858, Don Sinibaldo de Mas had been the Envoy-Extraordinary and -Minister Plenipotentiary of the Court of Spain at Pekin. That nobleman had -travelled much in China, India, Java, Borneo, and Malacca, having learned -the Chinese language the better to enable him to utilize his travels in -those places. In 1858<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> he published a book<a name='fna_9' id='fna_9' href='#f_9'><small>[9]</small></a> in the French language on -China and the Chinese, making special reference to the opium question, to -which he has devoted one very interesting chapter exclusively. The book -was brought out in Paris, and has never, that I am aware of, been -translated into English. Now about the last person from whom one would -expect to obtain testimony of the kind is a Spaniard. Yet so it is. This -book of Don Sinibaldo de Mas is, indeed, one of the most powerful -vindications of British policy in India and China that has yet been -written. I hardly think even Mr. Storrs Turner can accuse this gentleman -of partiality, or object to his testimony as being influenced by personal -motives. This is part of what he says on the subject:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>I may say, in the first instance, that personally neither as a private -individual nor as a public functionary have I ever been in the -slightest degree interested in this (opium) trade, for be it noted -that Spanish vessels have never imported into China a single chest of -opium. I consequently approach this subject with complete -impartiality. I have known the Chinese at Calcutta, Singapore, Penang, -Malacca, Manila, and in many parts of their own country, where I -acquired a sufficient knowlege of the Chinese language to enable me to -converse with the natives and make myself fully acquainted with the -opium question, which I believe I understand, and may be considered -thoroughly unbiassed in my opinions.</p> - -<p>Opium has been preached against and denounced as a veritable poison, -and it has been looked upon as a crime in those who have made the drug -an object of commerce or gain. A memorial embodying those views, -signed by many missionaries and supported by the Earl of Chichester, -was presented to Queen Victoria. A meeting was also held in London, -composed of philanthropic gentlemen, presided over by the Earl of -Shaftesbury, when a petition to the Queen embodying the same object -was drawn up; this document I shall refer to more particularly later -on. Lastly, some members of the House of Lords and Commons spoke -against the sale of opium. On the other hand, Christian merchants -established in China, many men of eminence, such as Sir J. F. Davis -and others of the highest respectability, have maintained that the -smoking of this drug has less deletorious effects than the use of -fermented liquors. I will endeavour to explain this question in all -good faith and impartiality. In the maritime towns of India, Malacca, -Java, the Philippines, Borneo, and Sooloo the Chinese are at liberty -to smoke opium where and when they please, and can buy it cheaper than -they can in Canton or Shanghai, not to mention the inland towns: yet -it is a well-known fact that in all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> these countries, notwithstanding -their unwholesome climates, the opium-smoking Chinese are remarkably -healthy and strong. These very opium smokers are employed as farm -labourers, masons, and porters, enduring great fatigue and performing -the most arduous labours; they have acquired such an excellent -reputation as colonists that efforts have been made during the last -few years to induce them to settle in Lima and Cuba. The percentage of -deaths amongst these people does not exceed the usual rate, and I must -confess that having known numbers of Chinese emigrants in the various -countries I have mentioned, I have never heard of a single death or of -any serious illness having been caused by opium smoking.</p> - -<p>It was only on my first arrival in China that I was made aware of the -dire effects this narcotic is said to produce, and that the vapour -inhaled by opium smokers was designated a poison; <i>I must add that in -none of the different parts of China which I have visited has it come -to my knowledge that death has resulted from opium smoking</i>. Having -asked several natives whom I thought worthy of credence whether they -had ever heard of a death having occurred from the habit, they -answered me that it might have happened to a very inordinate smoker, -but only in the event of his being suddenly deprived of the -indulgence. One Chinaman related how he had witnessed such a case. He -had known an inveterate opium smoker who had become extremely poor, -and was found insensible and almost lifeless; some good-natured person -passing by puffed some fumes of opium into his mouth, which -immediately seemed to revive him, and enabled him shortly to smoke a -pipe himself, which most effectually recalled him to life. I admit -that opium is in itself a poison, but let me ask what changes does not -fire produce in the various substances which it consumes?</p></div> - -<p>I should like to know what does Mr. Storrs Turner think of that. Here is a -highly-educated Spanish gentleman, speaking Chinese well, living amongst -the natives, studying their habits, especially as regards their use of the -opium pipe, declaring that the practice is innocuous. Now, supposing that -instead of smoking opium these Chinese in Malacca, Java, Borneo, and the -Philippines were addicted to the habitual use of spirits, wine, or even -beer, instead of opium, can any intelligent being suppose for a moment -that they would be the patient, strong, healthy, hard-working people that -Don Sinibaldo De Mas found them, and which they still are?</p> - -<p>Let us refer to Mr. W. Donald Spence’s testimony as to the <i>effects</i> of -opium. I quote again from his Report of the trade of Ichang for 1881:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>As to the effect of this habit on the people, amongst whom it is so -widespread, there is but one opinion. Baron Richthofen, the most -experienced traveller who ever visited Szechuan, after noticing the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> -extraordinary prevalence of the habit, says:—“In no other province -except Hunan did I find the effects of the use of opium so little -perceptible as in Szechuan.†Mr. Colborne Baber, who knows more of the -province and its people than any living Englishman, says: <i>Nowhere in -China are the people so well off, or so hardy, and nowhere do they -smoke so much opium</i>. To these names of weight I add my own short -experience. I found the people of Szechuan stout, able-bodied men, -better housed, clad, and fed, and healthier looking than the Chinese -of the Lower Yang-tsze. I did not see amongst them more emaciated -faces and wasted forms than disease causes in all lands. People with -slow wasting diseases such as consumption are, if they smoke opium, -apt to be classed amongst the “ruined victims†of hasty observers, and -amongst the cases of combined debility and opium smoking I saw, some -were, by their own account, <i>pseudo</i>-victims of this type. There were -some, too, whose health was completely sapped by smoking combined with -other forms of sensual excess. And no doubt there were others weakened -by excessive smoking simply, for excess in all things has its penalty. -But the general health and well-being of the Szechuan community is -remarkable; to their capacity for work and endurance of hardship, as -well as to the material comforts of life they surround themselves -with, all travellers bear enthusiastic testimony.</p></div> - -<p>Now, allow me to ask the reader, can he suppose for a moment that if the -people of Szechuan were prone to spirits, or even to beer drinking, in the -same way as they are given to opium smoking, should we have the same -results? Would those people be “so well off and so hardy,†so stout, -able-bodied, and so much “better housed, clad, and fed, and healthier -looking than the Chinese of the Lower Yang-tsze?†I think not. What, then, -is the fair conclusion to draw from such a state of things? Why, only that -opium smoking is a harmless if not a beneficial practice, unless when -indulged in to an inordinate extent, which, it is now plain, is entirely -exceptional. I think I am not far from the truth in saying that for one -excessive opium smoker to be met with in China you will find in this -country a hundred cases, at the least, of excessive indulgence in -alcohol—the effects of this being incurable, whilst it is quite otherwise -as regards excessive indulgence in opium. The inference, then, I think, is -that so far as regards any evil effects from opium smoking, they are out -of the range of practical politics and should be relegated to the region -of sentiment alone.</p> - -<p>I will now give you a passage from a valuable work by the learned Dr. J. -L. W. Thudichum, Lecturer to St. George’s<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> Hospital,<a name='fna_10' id='fna_10' href='#f_10'><small>[10]</small></a> which will throw -a good deal of light upon this part of my subject. At pp. 88 and 89 of the -second volume he says:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The medical uses of opium have been so well known through all -historical times that it is a matter for surprise to find that they -are not better appreciated in the present day. In this, as in many -other matters, we are in fact only gradually emerging from the -condition of those dark times during which, amongst many good things, -the knowledge of opium, for example, was lost.... These and other -considerations led me to look about for a more convenient mode of -producing the effects of morphia without its inconveniences or even -dangers. I know from the experiments of Descharmes and Benard (<i>Compt. -Rend.</i>, 40, 34) that in opium-smoking a portion of the morphia is -volatilized and undecomposed, and I therefore experimentalized with -the pyrolytic vapours of opium, first upon myself, then upon others; -and when I had made myself fully acquainted with the Chinese method of -using the drug, I came to the conviction that here one of the most -interesting therapeutical problems had been solved in the most -ingenious and at the same time in the most safe manner. I held in my -hand a power well-known and used largely by Eastern races, yet its use -neglected, ignored, denounced, and despised by the entire Western -world.</p></div> - -<p>In other and non-professional words, Dr. Thudichum has found opium smoking -not only harmless but a valuable curative practice.</p> - -<p>As to Chinese evidence on this question I could, had I thought proper, -have adduced the testimony of some really trustworthy Chinese merchants -and traders, which would have fully borne out all that I have stated as to -the innocuous effects of opium smoking. I have refrained from doing so, -because such evidence, however strong and reliable, would, I feel assured, -be impugned as untrustworthy by the agents of the Anti-Opium Society and -missionaries, who on their part would, no doubt, in the best faith and -with good intentions, I admit, bring out counter testimony of so-called -Christian converts and other natives of a wholly unreliable character. One -of these persons, called Kwong Ki Chiu, styling himself “late a member of -the Chinese Educational Commission in the United States,†has written, or -purported to have written, from Hartford, in Connecticut, a letter on this -question to the <i>London and China Telegraph</i>. The statements in this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> -document are exaggerated, misleading, and, in many respects, actually -untrue. I doubt very much if the letter was ever, in fact, written by a -Chinaman at all, and suspect it was produced either here in London by some -agent or advocate of the Anti-Opium Society and forwarded to Mr. Kwong Ki -Chiu for signature, or that it was written by some American missionary. At -any rate, it is plain that the writer has no real knowledge of the subject -of his letter. To prove this is so it is only necessary to refer to one -passage, in which the writer proceeds to show that opium is to a beginner -more alluring than tobacco or spirits. He says:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>There is this also to be said as to the difference between the two -stimulants: opium is much the more stimulating, and therefore more -dangerous. It is also much more agreeable and fascinating. Not every -person likes the taste of liquor; the flavour of tobacco is agreeable -to very few persons at first: <i>but everyone, of whatever nationality, -finds the fragrance of the smoking opium agreeable and tempting, so -that I have no doubt that if opium shops were opened in London as in -China, the habit would soon become prevalent even among Englishmen</i>.</p></div> - -<p>Now this is not true. Every foreigner who has lived in China knows it to -be quite the opposite. During my long residence in Hong Kong I have never -known a single instance of an Englishman, or any other foreigner, being an -opium smoker, although I have met with many who had smoked a few pipes by -way of experiment. All have assured me that the vapour was nauseous, and -produced no pleasurable sensations whatever. The fact that Europeans -dislike the fumes of opium, and never indulge in the opium pipe, shows -that Mr. Kwong Ki Chiu, who has doubtless been since his childhood under -missionary tutelage, and therefore interdicted from the use of the drug, -knows nothing reliable upon the subject he writes about so glibly. At a -proper time and place, I should be prepared to treat Mr. Storrs Turner to -such native testimony upon this subject as would make him open his eyes -very wide and put him and his disciples to confusion and flight.</p> - -<p>Let me now give you an extract from a despatch of Sir Henry Pottinger, -formerly Her Majesty’s Governor-General and Minister Plenipotentiary in -China, written by him some fifty years ago to the Principal Secretary of -State for Foreign Affairs. It is very important, showing, as it does, the -pains that have been taken by Her Majesty’s Government at home<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> and her -representatives in China so long ago to ascertain if there were any truth -in the theory that opium smoking was injurious to the health and morals of -the Chinese:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>I cannot admit in any manner the idea adopted by many persons that the -introduction of opium into China is a source of unmitigated evil of -every kind and a cause of misery. Personally, I have been unable to -discover a single case of this kind, although, I admit that, when -abused opium may become most hurtful. Besides, the same remark applies -to every kind of enjoyment when carried to excess; but from personal -observations, since my arrival in China, from information taken upon -all points, and lastly, from what the Mandarins themselves say, I am -convinced that the demoralization and ruin which some persons -attribute to the use of opium, arise more likely from imperfect -knowledge of the subject and exaggeration, and that not one-hundredth -part of the evil arises in China from opium smoking, which one sees -daily arising in England as well as in India from the use of ardent -spirits so largely taken in excess in those countries.</p></div> - -<p>I may now appropriately give you the promised extract from De Quincey’s -<i>Confessions</i>. I recommend it to the notice of Sir Wilfrid Lawson. The -distinction which he draws between alcoholic intoxication and the -excitement produced by opium eating is instructive and entertaining. He -says:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Two of these tendencies I will mention as diagnostic, or -characteristic and inseparable marks of ordinary alcoholic -intoxication, but which no excess in the use of opium ever develops. -One is the loss of self-command, in relation to all one’s acts and -purposes, which steals gradually (though with varying degrees of -speed) over <i>all</i> persons indiscriminately when indulging in wine or -distilled liquors beyond a certain limit. The tongue and other organs -become unmanageable: the intoxicated man speaks inarticulately; and, -with regard to certain words, makes efforts ludicrously earnest yet -oftentimes unavailing, to utter them. The eyes are bewildered, and see -double; grasping too little, and too much. The hand aims awry. The -legs stumble and lose their power of <i>concurrent</i> action. To this -result <i>all</i> people tend, though by varying rates of acceleration. -Secondly, as another characteristic, it may be noticed that, in -alcoholic intoxication, the movement is always along a kind of arch; -the drinker rises through continual ascents to a summit or <i>apex</i>, -from which he descends through corresponding steps of declension. -There is a crowning point in the movement upwards, which once attained -cannot be renewed; and it is the blind, unconscious, but always -unsuccessful effort of the obstinate drinker to restore this supreme -altitude of enjoyment which tempts him into excesses that become -dangerous. After reaching this <i>acme</i> of genial pleasure, it is a mere -necessity of the case to sink through corresponding stages of -collapse. Some people have maintained, in my hearing, that they had -been drunk upon green tea; and a medical student in London, for whose -knowledge in his profession I have reason to feel great respect, -assured me, the other day, that a patient, in recovering from an -illness, had got drunk on a beef-steak. All turns, in fact, upon a -rigorous definition of intoxication.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span>Having dwelt so much on this first and leading error in respect to -opium, I shall notice briefly a second and a third; which are, that -the elevation of spirits produced by opium is necessarily followed by -a proportionate depression, and that the natural and even immediate -consequence of opium is torpor and stagnation, animal as well as -mental. The first of these errors I shall content myself with simply -denying; assuring my reader, that for ten years, during which I took -opium, not regularly, but intermittingly, the day succeeding to that -on which I allowed myself this luxury was always a day of unusually -good spirits.</p> - -<p>With respect to the torpor supposed to follow, or rather (if we were -to credit the numerous pictures of Turkish opium-eaters) to accompany, -the practice of opium-eating, I deny that also. Certainly, opium is -classed under the head of narcotics, and some such effect it may -produce in the end; but the primary effects of opium are always, and -in the highest degree, to excite and stimulate the system. This first -stage of its action always lasted with me, during my novitiate, for -upwards of eight hours; so that it must be the fault of the -opium-eater himself, if he does not so time his exhibition of the -dose, as that the whole weight of its narcotic influence may descend -upon his sleep.</p> - -<p>First, then, it is not so much affirmed, as taken for granted, by all -who ever mention opium, formally or incidentally, that it does or can -produce intoxication. Now, reader, assure yourself, <i>meo periculo</i>, -that no quantity of opium ever did, or could, intoxicate. As to the -tincture of opium (commonly called laudanum), <i>that</i> might certainly -intoxicate, if a man could bear to take enough of it; but why? Because -it contains so much proof spirits of wine, and not because it contains -so much opium. But crude opium, I affirm peremptorily, is incapable of -producing any state of body at all resembling that which is produced -by alcohol; and not in <i>degree</i> only incapable, but even in <i>kind</i>; it -is not in the quantity of its effects merely, but in the quality, that -it differs altogether. The pleasure given by wine is always rapidly -mounting, and tending to a crisis, after which as rapidly it declines; -that from opium, when once generated, is stationary for eight or ten -hours: the first, to borrow a technical distinction from medicine, is -a case of acute, the second of chronic, pleasure; the one is a -flickering flame, the other a steady and equable glow. But the main -distinction lies in this—that, whereas wine disorders the mental -faculties, opium, on the contrary (if taken in a proper manner), -introduces amongst them the most exquisite order, legislation, and -harmony. Wine robs a man of his self-possession; opium sustains and -reinforces it. Wine unsettles the judgment, and gives a preternatural -brightness and a vivid exaltation to the contempts and the -admirations, to the loves and the hatreds, of the drinker; opium, on -the contrary, communicates serenity and equipoise to all the -faculties, active or passive; and, with respect to the temper and -moral feelings in general, it gives simply that sort of vital warmth -which is approved by the judgment, and which would probably always -accompany a bodily constitution of primeval or antediluvian health. -Thus, for instance, opium, like wine, gives an expansion to the heart -and the benevolent affections; but, then, with this remarkable -difference, that in the sudden development of kind-heartedness which -accompanies inebriation, there is always more or less of a maudlin and -a transitory character, which exposes it to the contempt of the -bystander. Men shake hands, swear eternal friendship, and shed -tears—no mortal knows why;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> and the animal nature is clearly -uppermost. But the expansion of the benigner feelings incident to -opium is no febrile access, no fugitive paroxysm; it is a healthy -restoration to that state which the mind would naturally recover upon -the removal of any deep-seated irritation from pain that had disturbed -and quarrelled with the impulses of a heart originally just and good. -True it is, that even wine, up to a certain point, and with certain -men, rather tends to exalt and to steady the intellect; I myself, who -have never been a great wine-drinker, used to find that half-a-dozen -glasses of wine advantageously affected the faculties, brightened and -intensified the consciousness, and gave to the mind a feeling of being -“ponderibus librata suis,†and certainly it is most absurdly said, in -popular language, of any man, that he is <i>disguised</i> in liquor; for, -on the contrary, most men are disguised by sobriety, and exceedingly -disguised; and it is when they are drinking that men display -themselves in their true complexion of character; which surely is not -disguising themselves. But still, wine constantly leads a man to the -brink of absurdity and extravagance; and, beyond a certain point, it -is sure to volatilise and to disperse the intellectual energies; -whereas opium always seems to compose what had been agitated and to -concentrate what had been distracted. In short, to sum up all in one -word, a man who is inebriated, or tending to inebriation, is, and -feels that he is, in a condition which calls up into supremacy the -merely human, too often the brutal, part of his nature; but the -opium-eater (I speak of him simply <i>as</i> such, and assume that he is in -a normal state of health) feels that the diviner part of his nature is -paramount—that is, the moral affections are in a state of cloudless -serenity; and high over all the great light of the majestic intellect.</p> - -<p>This is the doctrine of the true church on the subject of opium, of -which church I acknowledge myself to be the Pope (consequently -infallible), and self-appointed <i>legate à latere</i> to all degrees of -latitude and longitude. But then it is to be recollected that I speak -from the ground of a large and profound personal experience, whereas -most of the unscientific authors who have at all treated of opium, and -even of those who have written professionally on the <i>materia medica</i>, -make it evident, by the horror they express of it, that their -experimental knowledge of its action is none at all.</p></div> - -<p>I have now dealt with fallacies 1, 2, 3, and 5. The fourth Mr. Turner -gravely states in his book—and I am perfectly sure it is accepted as -seriously by his fellowers, <i>that the supply of opium regulates the -demand, and not the demand the supply</i>. He says at pp. 152, 153:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Defenders of the [opium] policy vainly strive to shelter it behind the -ordinary operation of the trade laws of demand and supply. The -operation of these economic laws does not divest of responsibility -those who set them in motion at either end; for though it would be -absurd to speak of supply as alone creative of demand, <i>there is no -question but that an abundant and constantly sustained supply -increases demand whenever the article is not one of absolute -necessity</i>. When silk came by caravans across Central Asia, and a -single robe was worth its weight in gold in Europe, the shining fabric -was reserved for emperors and nobles, and no demand<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> could be said to -exist for it among common people, whereas now the abundant supply -creates a demand among all classes but the very poorest. The -maid-servant who covets a silk dress may be literally said to have had -the demand <i>created</i> in her case, by the ample supply of the material -which places it constantly before her eyes and renders it impossible -for her to obtain it. Only a few years ago there was no demand for -newspapers amongst multitudes who are now daily or weekly purchasers -of them. In this case the supply of penny and halfpenny journals may -be fairly said to have almost alone created the demand. Such -illustrations might be indefinitely multiplied.</p></div> - -<p>After that it may be said that the Birmingham jewellers and Manchester -merchants have only to send out to China any amount they please of their -wares, and they will find a ready market, the more the merrier. All their -goods will be taken off their hands; they will only have to take care that -the prices shall not be too exorbitant, for otherwise, as in the case of -the maid-servant, though the Chinese working classes may have helped to -<i>create</i> the demand, they would be unable to avail themselves of the -supply. If that doctrine were sound, a mercantile firm could create as -extensive a trade as it desired, and that, too, in any part of the world. -Instead of sending out fifty thousand pounds worth this year, as it did -last, it would have only to export ten times the amount, and still the -demand would continue. The fact is, as every man well knows who is not -blinded by enthusiasm and looks at the subject by the light of cool reason -and common sense, that the effect of sending to China or elsewhere an -excessive quantity of merchandise, even though such merchandise were in -request there, would have the effect of glutting the market. It is only -where the demand exists, and the desire to possess the article, or where -the people want a particular class of thing, that the goods can be readily -and profitably disposed of. I am sure that if we sent double the quantity -of opium that we do to China, or, indeed, three times the amount, it would -be readily bought up by the natives, because there is a great demand there -for Indian opium, owing to its superior strength and better flavour. And -it must be remembered that China is a vast empire, and that the natives -cannot get as much of the Indian drug as they want. I had an opportunity -recently of speaking to a German gentleman established here in London, who -has been many years in the opium trade generally, who has made opium quite -a study, tasting and smelling it, as wine merchants do their wine, and he -declares that Indian<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> opium has a perfume and aroma that is not found in -the Chinese or Persian drug, and that, in fact, the smell of the one is -comparatively agreeable, while that of the others is offensive. This, I -believe, is one of the reasons for the Chinese liking Indian opium. For my -own part I must say, that much as I dislike the odour of tobacco, I have a -greater aversion still to the effluvium of opium in any form or shape, and -I think this is also the case with all Europeans. In fact, opium smoking -is a practice peculiar to China.</p> - -<p>Nothing proves this so completely as the correspondence between Sir Robert -Hart and his various Sub-Commissioners of Customs, as set out in the -Yellow-Book to which I have so often referred. These Commissioners say -that the Indian drug is almost invariably used to mix with the Chinese -article to flavour and make it, so to speak, the more palatable. The -proposition which Mr. Storrs Turner lays down is simply preposterous, and -cannot for a moment be sustained. I do not wish to utter an offensive word -towards that gentleman personally, whose talents and energy are -unquestionable, and whom I hold in great esteem. Upon any subject but -opium he would be incapable of writing anything but sound sense, but -having opium on the brain, he starts theories that are wholly -unsustainable, which, I am sorry to say, his devoted followers accept as -gospel. But to return to the theory that supply creates the demand. By way -of illustration, Mr. Turner goes on to show that, previous to the removal -of the duty on newspapers, there were very few in the country, but that -the moment the duty was taken off, they multiplied, which he considers -proof that in this case the supply created the demand. That is most -fallacious. The demand for newspapers always existed, but, unfortunately, -owing to the oppressive taxes upon knowledge to which the press in former -times was subjected, the supply was limited. In those days even a weekly -newspaper was a great undertaking. An enterprising man in a country town -might start such a paper, but after a lingering existence it was almost -sure to die, not for want of readers, but because it was so heavily taxed -that readers could not afford to buy it, the price then being necessarily -high. First there was a penny duty on each copy of the newspaper. Next -there was a duty of so much the pound upon the raw material, which had to -be paid before it left the mill; and then there was a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> further duty upon -every advertisement; so that the unfortunate newspaper proprietor was met -with exactions on every side. A copy, even though an old one, of the -<i>Times</i>, or of any of the London morning papers, was in former days -eagerly sought for. In his “Deserted Village,†Goldsmith, describing the -village ale-house, says:—</p> - -<div class="container"> -<p class="poetry">Where village statesmen talked with wit profound,<br /> -And news much older than their ale went round.</p></div> - -<p>And one can imagine an eager group in that ale-house trying to get a -glimpse of a London newspaper over the shoulders of the privileged holder. -But when these oppressive duties were removed, a different state of things -prevailed. The cost of starting and manufacturing a newspaper was reduced -to about one-fifth of what it was formerly. Every considerable town had -its daily and its weekly newspaper, because the demand had always existed, -whilst, owing to these prohibitive taxes, there was no supply. The craving -for news had always been present, and the moment these prohibitive duties -were struck off, the ambitious editor, or proprietor, saw his opportunity -and started a paper, not because the supply would create a demand, but -because he knew the demand already existed, and he printed just as many as -he thought he would find readers for, and no more. Had he printed more -than was required the excess would have lain on his hands as so much waste -paper. But according to Mr. Turner’s theory, the more newspapers he -printed the more he would have sold! It will at once be recognised that -this theory of supply and demand is simply absurd. If it could be shown to -hold water for a moment, China, and other countries also, would be -inundated with articles that never were seen there before. There would be -no reason why China should not be largely supplied with ladies’ bonnets -and satin shoes, which, we know, might lie there for a thousand years and -never be used. I have brought before you this notable theory of Mr. Storrs -Turner’s, to show you the utterly worthless kind of arguments with which -the British public have been supplied, in order to support the silly, -unfounded, and most mischievous agitation against the Indo-China opium -trade.</p> - -<p>The next fallacy is number six, namely: <i>that all, or nearly all, who -smoke opium are either inordinate smokers or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> necessarily in the way of -becoming so; and that once the custom has been commenced it cannot be -dropped, and that the consumption daily increases</i>. That is not so at all. -It is altogether exceptional to find an inordinate opium smoker; my -reasons for saying so I have already given. I am supported in those views -by every English resident in China, amongst them by Dr. Ayres, whose -authority is simply unquestionable, and whose opinion on the point I have -set out at page 7. I have known hundreds of men who were in the daily -habit of smoking opium after business hours, and they never showed any -decadence whatever. Opium smoking is never practised during business -hours, except by very aged people or the criminal classes. This is an -absolute fact. The Chinese are too wise and thrifty to while away their -time in such luxurious practices during working hours. The opium pipe, as -a rule, is indulged in more moderately than wine or cigars are with us, -the Chinese being so extremely abstemious in their habits. I never saw any -such instances of over-indulgence as Mr. Turner alleges, and I could get -hundreds of European witnesses out in China and here in London who would -depose to the same fact. Frequently have I compared the small shop-keeping -and working people of China with the same classes here at home as regards -sobriety, industry, and frugality, and always, I regret to say, in favour -of the Chinese.</p> - -<p>It is absolutely untrue, as put forward by the Anti-Opium Society and -their secretary, Mr. Turner, that opium is so fascinating that, once a man -begins to use it, he cannot leave it off; natives will smoke it, on and -off, for two or three days, and not smoke it again for a week or more; but -the truth is, the habit is a pleasant and beneficial one, and few who can -afford it desire to discontinue smoking. The fact undoubtedly is, that if -opium smoking were productive of the terrible results that the -missionaries and the Anti-Opium Society allege, China would not be the -densely-populated country that it now actually is. China could not have -held its own as it has done so long and so successfully had all the people -been addicted to such a vice as dram drinking. The true way to look at -this aspect of the case is to suppose for a moment that, instead of being -“opium sots,†as Mr. Storrs Turner puts it, the Chinese, “everywhere in -China, in all climates and all soils, in every<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> variety of condition and -circumstance throughout the vast Empire,†to adopt that gentleman’s own -language, drank spirits freely. Should we then have the Chinese the -hard-working, industrious, thrifty, frugal people that we find them? I -trow not. Intemperance carries with it the destruction of its votaries, -but no baneful consequences attend opium smoking. Some thirty years ago, -as Sir Rutherford Alcock tells us, an American missionary declared that -there were twenty millions of opium smokers in China—all, no doubt, -induced to that immorality by the British Government and people—and that -two millions were dying annually from the effects of the vice! This -monstrous tale was implicitly believed in by Lords Shaftesbury and -Chichester. Yet we now have a Chinese official, Sir Robert Hart, -deliberately telling the Government of China, in his official Yellow Book, -that there are but two millions of smokers in the whole Empire; that -Indian opium supplies but a moderate quantity of the drug to but half of -that number; and that neither the health, wealth, nor prosperity of the -people suffers in consequence.</p> - -<p>This is what Don Sinibaldo de Mas says upon the subject:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The most extraordinary of the advocates of the opium trade is the Earl -of Shaftesbury, President of the Committee organized in London for the -suppression of the traffic. I have not the slightest doubt as to the -<i>bona fides</i> and excellent heart of the noble lord. There is something -grand and generous in entering the lists for the welfare and -protection of a distant and foreign nation, and manfully fighting for -it against the interests of one’s own country and one’s native land. I -sincerely admire men of such mettle and the country which can produce -them, but I regret that Lord Shaftesbury did not act with greater -caution, and that before entering upon this question he had not -studied it more carefully; especially do I regret that he did not -adopt a more moderate and dignified tone in the expression of his -opinions. Had he done so, he would have saved himself from the -reproach of having lent his name and sanction to a document disfigured -by statistical errors, some of which are opposed to common sense, and -also of having given gratuitous and undeserved insults to others who -differed from his opinions.</p> - -<p>He argues in his statement to the Queen’s Government that opium -smoking annually kills two millions of people in China. How is it -possible that the noble Earl could for a moment imagine that every -year so many human beings voluntarily commit suicide! Two millions of -adults who destroy themselves to enjoy a pleasure! Does it not strike -His Lordship how absurd is such an antithesis as pleasure and death? -Can he believe that human nature in China is different to what it is -in Europe? Is it logical to give publicity to such strange assertions -without<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> adducing the slightest proofs. If we inquire into the -accusations brought forward against the merchants and growers of -opium, we find the same discrepancy and the same injustice. It is a -mistake to imagine that the English alone trade in opium, for all -foreigners alike, especially the Americans, introduce and sell it.</p> - -<p>Lord Shaftesbury, in speaking of the value of the opium imported into -China, says that the merchants “rob†the Chinese. I scarcely know -which is the funnier, the idea expressed by the noble Earl, or the way -in which he expresses it. I can assure His Lordship that amongst the -merchants who make opium their business there are men of the highest -integrity, perfect and most accomplished gentlemen, who not only are -incapable of “stealing†anything, but who are equal to any living men -in noble sentiments, justice, and practical benevolence; I need only -mention one man, and do so because he is not now living. I refer to -the late Mr. Launcelot Dent, who, during a most trying and critical -time when this question first arose, was considered one of the most -interested men in the opium trade.... Everyone who has been in China -knows the generosity and the charity for which Mr. Launcelot Dent was -renowned. Having on one occasion travelled from India to Europe with -him, I saw many of his good deeds, but will only mention one, so as -not to wander too far from my subject. A Catholic missionary was -amongst the steerage passengers; Mr. Dent having seen this, without -saying a word to any person on the subject, took a berth for him in -the first cabin and paid the difference, begging me to ask him to take -possession. The missionary expressed much gratitude, but said that as -he had not a sufficient change of linen he would not feel at home in -the state room, especially as there were lady passengers. Mr. Dent -understood the difficulty, and having casually heard that the -clergymen intended to proceed to Jerusalem, begged of him to accept -the sum which the saloon cabin would have cost,<a name='fna_11' id='fna_11' href='#f_11'><small>[11]</small></a> which the poor -missionary accepted with heartfelt thanks.</p></div> - -<p>I should like to know what Mr. Storrs Turner thinks of that. He objects to -British testimony, except when it coincides with his own views. There is -the evidence of a Spanish nobleman, a scholar, a traveller, and an -accomplished diplomatist, for him! I am afraid he will find the foreign -testimony quite as unpalatable as the home article. This Mr. Launcelot -Dent, by the way, was a member of the eminent firm of Dent and Co.—since -dissolved—which, Mr. Turner says, in his article in the <i>Nineteenth -Century</i>, were “legally smugglers.â€</p> - -<p>The next fallacy, number seven, is <i>that the Chinese Government is, or -ever was, anxious to put a stop to or check the use of opium amongst the -people of China</i>. That is one of the accepted propositions or dogmas of -the Anti-Opium people. There is another fallacy, number ten, which I will -dispose<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> of at the same time. It is <i>that the opposition of the Chinese -officials to the introduction of opium into China arose from moral -causes</i>. There never was anything more fallacious or more distinctly -untrue than that the Chinese Government is, or ever was, anxious to put a -stop to the trade upon moral grounds. The sole object of the Government of -China in objecting to the importation of Indian opium into the country, as -I have stated already, and as everybody except the infatuated votaries of -the Anti-Opium Society believes, was to protect the native drug, to -prevent bullion from leaving the country, and generally to exclude foreign -goods. This Don Sinibaldo de Mas points out in his book written some five -and twenty years ago.</p> - -<p>If the Chinese Government really wanted to put a stop to or check the use -of opium, they would begin by doing so themselves. They would first stop -the cultivation of the poppy in their own country. We have it on the high -authority of Sir Robert Hart, that the drug was grown and used in China -long before foreigners introduced any there. The Chinese are emphatically -a law-abiding people, and if the Chinese Government really wished to put a -stop to the opium culture, they could do so without any difficulty, just -as our Government has put down tobacco culture in the United Kingdom. I -suppose that in Cornwall and Devon, and in some parts of Ireland—the -golden vein, for instance—tobacco could be grown most profitably. It -could be cultivated also in the Isle of Wight, and in many other parts of -the country. Why, then, is it not grown here? Simply because it is illegal -to do so, and the Government is strong enough to enforce the law. If a -farmer in Ireland or in England were to sow tobacco, the fact would be -soon discovered, and it would be summarily stopped. The same thing could -be done with even greater facility in China. Why, then, does not the -Government of China suppress the cultivation of the poppy there? Simply -because it does not desire to do so, because it derives a large revenue -from opium, both native and foreign, and because the smoking of the drug -is an ancient custom amongst the people, known by long experience to be -harmless, if not beneficial. If it were possible to put down opium smoking -in China, the people would assuredly resort to sam-shu, already so -abundant and cheap, and that would indeed cause China’s decadence: for -then we should have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> the working classes there indulging in spirits, when -the quarrellings, outrages, and kicking of wives to death—which Mr. -Turner admits are never the result of opium smoking—would ensue. I only -wish we could turn our drunkards into opium smokers. If the change would -only save those wretched wives and their helpless children from -ill-treatment by their husbands and fathers, we should have secured one -valuable end. No Government will attempt to interfere with the fixed -habits of the people, especially where those habits have existed many -centuries, if not thousands of years, and where they are known to be not -injurious to themselves or the safety and stability of the State, and to -be, in fact, harmless. We have it from Sir Robert Hart’s book, that as far -as can be ascertained, the probability is that there is about the same -quantity of the drug grown in China as is imported into it. That is -admittedly a mere approximation, and Sir Robert Hart gives no data for it, -save the returns of his Sub-Commissioners, each of which differs from the -other, and which he admits are not reliable. The information upon which -these Commissioners made up their returns is simply the gossip collected -by them at the Treaty Ports of China: no doubt the best, and, indeed, the -only, information which they could procure. But with the light thrown upon -the subject by Messrs. Baber and Spence, and numerous other independent -authorities, no one can doubt that there is at least three times the -quantity produced in China that is imported from abroad.</p> - -<p>Both the Customs and Consular reports on trade in China for the year 1880 -as well as 1881 bear testimony to the ever-increasing production of opium -in the northern and western provinces of China, and missionaries and -others who have recently made journeys in the interior report the poppy -crops to be much larger than before the Imperial decree purporting to -prohibit its cultivation. The report of the Customs’ Assistant-in-charge -at Ichang for 1880 shows that the average annual import of the Indian drug -at that port does not exceed ten pikuls, while the native production in -the Ichang Prefecture is estimated to be over one thousand pikuls per -annum. Mr. W. Donald Spence, in his report on trade for 1880, gives an -estimate of the total crop of opium raised in Western China in 1880, which -is as follows:—Western Hupeh, two thousand pikuls; Eastern Szechuan,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> -forty-five thousand pikuls; Yunnan, forty-thousand pikuls; and Kweichow, -ten thousand pikuls; giving a total of ninety-seven thousand pikuls—as -much, in fact, for these districts as the whole amount of Indian opium -imported into China for that year. What his report for 1881 is I have -already shown you. This, it must be borne in mind, is the production of -Western China only. In Shantung, Chihli, the inland provinces, and -Manchuria it is extensively grown, and in all the other provinces smaller -quantities of the drug are produced. That nothing is being done to check -this widespread cultivation of the poppy is notorious. Messrs. Soltan and -Stevenson, who passed through Yunnan last year on their way from Bhamo to -Chingkiang, described the country as resembling “a sea of poppyâ€; and Mr. -Spence tells us that in 1880 and 1881 a greater breadth of land was sown -with poppies in Western Hupeh than in the previous years. In Manchuria, -which is a large territory forming part of the empire to the north-east of -China, and in the northern provinces of China proper, there was also a -general increase in the area under poppy cultivation. No efforts, in fact, -are being made to stop it. On this subject Mr. Spence, in his report for -1880, remarks:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>In Western Hupeh there has been no interference with opium farmers or -opium cultivation by the officials, nor, as far as I have been able to -ascertain, by any of the authorities of the provinces named in this -report. In Yunnan it receives direct official encouragement, and in -all the cultivation is free. Its production is regarded as a fertile -source of revenue to the exchequer, of pelf to officials and -smugglers, of profit to farmers and merchants, and of pleasure to all. -Nearly everybody smokes, and nearly everybody smuggles it about the -country when he can; and in this matter there is no difference between -rich and poor, lettered and unlettered, governing and governed.</p></div> - -<p>After this testimony, which is corroborated in the strongest manner by -many other and equally disinterested persons, who can pretend to say that -the Chinese Government has any real desire to put down the poppy -cultivation?</p> - -<p>Let us now see what Don Sinibaldo de Mas has to say upon this point. -Having gone into the history of the Indo-Chinese opium trade, and shown -that the sole object of the Chinese Government in objecting to that trade -was to prevent bullion from leaving the country, he says:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>It is totally wrong to suppose that the Mandarins are anxious to -prevent the introduction of opium into the country. Many of these<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> -Mandarins smoke it; most of them, if not all, accept presents and -close their eyes at opium smuggling. With the exception of the famous -Lin-tsi-su and a few others who reside at Court, all the others, and I -think even Ki-Ying himself, have profited by this illegal traffic. Sir -I. F. Davis when in China as Minister Plenipotentiary frequently -called Ki-Ying’s attention to the smuggling that was being carried on -under the connivance and encouragement of rural officials.</p></div> - -<p>I referred in my last lecture to a valuable paper read by Sir Rutherford -Alcock at a recent meeting of the Society of Arts. Everybody knows this -gentleman’s abilities and his high character, which afford the most -perfect assurance that he would be incapable of asserting anything that he -did not know from his own experience, or from unquestionable sources, to -be true. He speaks also with authority. He may be taken to be, therefore, -a perfectly unbiassed witness. He has no personal interest in the -question, and there is no reason why he should state anything but what is -perfectly accurate. He says, in the paper I have mentioned:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Whatever may have been the motive or true cause, about which there -hangs considerable doubt, it is certain that neither in the first -edicts of 1793-6, nor as late as 1832-4, when several Imperial edicts -were issued against the introduction of opium from abroad, no -reference whatever is made to the <i>moral ground</i> of prohibition, so -ostentatiously paraded in later issues, and notably in Li Hung Chang’s -letter to the Anglo-Opium Society last July. The reasons exclusively -put forward in the first of these edicts (in 1793) were that “It -wasted the time and property of the people of the Inner Land, leading -them to exchange their silver and commodities for the vile dirt of the -foreigner.†And as late as 1836, when memorials were presented to the -Emperor, showing the connection of the opium trade with the -exportation of sycee, they generally regarded the question in a -political and financial character, rather than a moral light; and -certainly, in several edicts issued between 1836 and 1839, when Lin -made his grand <i>coup</i>, there is little, if any, reference to the evils -of opium smoking, but very clear language as to the exportation of -bullion. When we reflect that this “vile dirt,†as I will presently -show, was being extensively cultivated in the provinces of China, and -largely consumed by his own subjects, we may be permitted to question -whether the balance of trade turned by the large importation of opium, -and the leakage of the sycee silver, so emphatically and angrily -pointed to in after years, was not the leading motive for the -prohibition of the foreign drug. We have it on authority, that “From -the commencement of the commercial intercourse down to 1828-29 the -balance of trade had always been in favour of the Chinese, and great -quantities of bullion accumulated in China. Since that date the -balance of trade had been in the opposite direction, and bullion began -to flow out of China. As silver became more scarce, it naturally rose -in value, and the copper currency of the realm (and the only one), -already depreciated by means of over-issues and mixture of foreign -coin of an inferior standard, appeared to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> suffer depreciation when -compared with its nominal equivalent in sycee; and the effects of this -change fell heavily upon a large and important class of Government -officers, and ultimately upon the revenue itself. Memorials were -presented to the Emperor on the subject, and the export of sycee was -prohibited.â€</p></div> - -<p>How, after that, it can be said for a moment that the Chinese Government -was actuated by moral considerations, or was really anxious to put down -opium smoking or opium culture, I cannot conceive. The truth is, and it is -so palpable that it really seems to me to require no advocacy whatever, -that the Government, as Sir Rutherford Alcock and Don Sinibaldo so -strongly put it, does not like to see so much bullion leaving the country.</p> - -<p>Now, Sir Rutherford Alcock, unlike the missionaries and the agents of the -Anti-Opium Society, has acquired his knowledge of opium and the opium -trade in the regular course of his ordinary duties, and has necessarily, -therefore, acquired an authentic knowledge of the subject. His testimony, -like that of Messrs. Spence, Baber, and a host of other unimpeachable -witnesses, comes under the head of the “best evidence.†But it is said of -Sir Rutherford by the agents of the Anti-Opium Society, with the view of -discrediting his testimony, that he has changed his opinions; that -formerly he was opposed to the trade which he now defends. I do not -believe there is any solid truth in this assertion; but if there is, what -does the fact prove? Why, simply nothing at all. Show me the public man -who during the past forty or fifty years has not altered or modified his -opinions more or less. Sir Robert Peel, one of the greatest of modern -statesmen, when he was past sixty years of age, changed the opinions he -had held all his life upon free trade. Was he right or wrong in doing so? -If Sir Rutherford Alcock had at an earlier period of his life held -different opinions to those he now holds on the Indo-Chinese opium trade, -it is not unreasonable that on a closer study of the subject, and by the -strong light that has been thrown upon it within the past ten or fifteen -years, he should have modified or even altogether changed his opinions. -This is, again, another instance of the desperate efforts of the -Anti-Opium advocates to hold their ground and maintain their unfounded and -untenable theories.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span>The Government of China have always been protectionists in the strictest -sense of the term. Their idea has been that China can support itself; that -the people can provide themselves with everything they want, and need -nothing from abroad. They will sell the foreigner as much of their produce -as he wishes to buy, and cheerfully take his gold in exchange, but they -will not buy from him if they can help doing so. This is the real end they -are aiming at; but they would not be at all so persistent, or put their -case so much forward as they do, were it not for the attitude taken up by -the missionaries and that most mischievous, intermeddling, un-English -confederacy the Anti-Opium Society, as revealed to them by <i>The Friend of -China</i>. The Government of China have in their employment Chinese clerks -and interpreters who are excellent English scholars. These men explain -everything about the objects of the Anti-Opium Society, and, whilst the -Mandarins laugh at the absurdities put forward by that association, they -are still quite ready to accept the Society as their ally. Hence Li Hung -Chang’s letter to Mr. Storrs Turner, mentioned in Sir Rutherford Alcock’s -paper; one would almost fancy that this letter had been written for Li by -Mr. Storrs Turner himself. No one knew better than Li Hung Chang that this -letter was one tissue of hypocrisy and mendacity. But, stay, there is one -part of it that is certainly true. Li says to Mr. Turner: “<i>Your Society -has long been known to me and many of my countrymen</i>.†There can be no -doubt of the fact. Whilst despising Mr. Storrs Turner and his Society, and -cordially hating him and his fellow missionaries, Li Hung Chang and his -friends play into their hands and humour them in this matter to the top of -their bent. Their real object is to get rid of the Indian opium if they -can; or, if they cannot, to have a higher duty fixed upon it, so as to -reduce its supply; or, at all events, to augment their own revenues by the -higher duty. As matters stand at present, the Chinese Government obtains a -net revenue of over two million pounds sterling from the Indian drug, and -they derive, perhaps, half that amount from the duty on the home-grown -article. They have revenue cruisers constantly watching to put down opium -smuggling, and they adopt other rigid steps to prevent the practice; but -it is still carried on to a considerable extent, not by Englishmen or -other foreigners, mark you, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> by their own countrymen. Very great -misconception, I may here say, prevails upon this point artfully spread -abroad by agents here of the Anti-Opium Society, but I shall sweep this -away before I close. The Chinese Government is quite willing to perpetuate -the Indo-China opium trade if it can only get the duty raised to suit its -purpose. Therein lies their whole object. Mr. Turner speaks about the -paternal character of the Chinese Government. In the <i>Peking -Gazette</i>—which is in some respects analogous to the <i>London -Gazette</i>—Imperial decrees are from time to time published. Amongst -others, there will appear proclamations addressed to the people, warning -them to abstain from this and that evil practice. But they have not the -least effect, nor is it expected that they will have effect. They are mere -shams, and are not heeded; yet they please the people. These proclamations -or injunctions are never seriously intended, and Mr. Turner knows this -perfectly well. Dr. Wells Williams mentions in his book that two thousand -years before Christ the manufacture of spirits was forbidden in China; yet -the trade still flourishes there. Spirits are still drunk in moderation -throughout China, just as opium is smoked.</p> - -<p>Sir R. Hart says that “Native opium was known, produced, and used long -before any Europeans began the sale of the foreign drug along the coast.†-Mr. Watters, one of Her Majesty’s Consuls in China, states that the poppy -is largely cultivated throughout Western China; Mr. Colborne Baber, who -has travelled through nearly the whole of China, not only confirms Mr. -Watters’ statement, but says that from his own experience one-third of the -province of Yunnan is under opium culture. Mr. W. Donald Spence and a host -of others thoroughly well informed upon the question also give the -strongest corroborative testimony. Now, in the face of the statements of -such witnesses as these, can you credit for a moment Mr. Storrs Turner -when he says—believing only what he wishes to be true, but having no data -whatever for his statements—that it is only recently that opium has been -cultivated in China? Of all the existing nations of Asia, the only one -that can now be described as civilized is China; and this is the country -where Mr. Turner, because it suits his purpose, tells us that this -invaluable drug has been only <i>recently</i> known.</p> - -<p>China may be said to be the garden of Asia. Opium has<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> been grown -throughout the fertile plains of that immense continent for thousands of -years, and is it likely that the oldest and most civilized of all Asiatic -nations would be the last to introduce into their country the culture of -that drug to whose curative properties Mr. Storrs Turner bears such strong -testimony in the opening chapter of his book? The only reason that -gentleman could have had for making such a statement is simply, as I have -already intimated, to induce his readers to believe that the Chinese would -not have cultivated the drug, nor have used it for smoking, were it not -for the importation of Indian opium into China. Upon this part of my -subject, I may mention that a book has been written by a very learned man, -Dr. W. A. P. Martin, President of the Tungwen College at Peking, who shows -that China was the cradle of Alchemy, which was known there five hundred -years before it was ever heard of in Europe. Are these a people likely to -be ignorant of this indispensable medicine, as Mr. Turner characterizes -it, or to neglect its cultivation throughout their fertile country? I may -add that all, or nearly all, the medicines of the British PharmacopÅ“ia, -and a great many more also, have been known to the Chinese for hundreds, -if not thousands, of years.</p> - -<p>The eighth fallacy is, <i>that the British merchants in China are making -large fortunes by opium</i>. I have already, I think, pretty well disposed of -this, and I need not say much more upon the subject now. One of the great -points of the Anti-Opium Society and its supporters seems to be that the -British merchants are birds of prey, a set of rapacious and ravenous -creatures, without the feelings of humanity in their breasts, who have -gone out to China to make princely fortunes, after the manner of that -apochryphal youth who, on his departure from the paternal roof, is said to -have received this admonition from his canny sire, “Mak money, ma -boy—honestly if you can—but mak moneyâ€; that thus animated the British -merchant arrives in China like a hawk amid a flock of pigeons, and helps -himself to one of those princely acquisitions, which, to Mr. Storrs -Turner, seem to be as plentiful as blackberries in the flowery land, and -who, after having helped to demoralise and ruin the nation, gracefully -returns home to enjoy his ill-gotten gains. The best answer to this is the -amicable relations that now exist and have always existed between the -natives and these merchants. The British<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> merchants, as a body, have no -interest in the opium trade; nor are any of them engaged in smuggling or -in any practices detrimental to the natives of China. In point of -education, thorough mercantile knowledge, strict integrity, and sound -practical Christianity, these gentlemen are second to no other body of men -in the British Empire.</p> - -<p>Another fallacy, or false assumption, number nine, which the advocates of -the Anti-Opium Society are fond of propagating, and which is as fully -believed in by themselves as by their deluded followers, is—<i>that the -discontinuance of the supply of opium from India would stop or check the -practice of opium smoking</i>. They fully believe that if they could only -succeed in suppressing the Indo-China opium trade they would deal such a -death-blow to this ancient custom, which prevails more or less over the -eighteen provinces of the Chinese empire, that we should in a very short -time hear of there being no opium smoking at all in China! That is as -great a delusion as was ever indulged in. Imagine a person saying that if -we ceased to ship beer, stout, and whiskey to Denmark, France, or Italy, -we should check the consumption of brandy or other alcoholic liquors -throughout Europe, and you have a pretty fair parallel to this assumption.</p> - -<p>Suppose it were possible to stop the supply of opium from British India, -and that such stoppage had in fact taken place, the result would be that -the Chinese would increase the cultivation of the poppy in their own -country still more than they have already done, and the Indian drug known -as “Malwa opium†would still continue to be imported into China, for the -British Government, even if desirous to do so, could not prohibit its -manufacture and exportation. The Portuguese, who were the first to import -Indian opium into China, would cultivate the drug, not only in their -Indian possession of Goa, but in Africa, where they have colonies. -Further, they would encourage its increased cultivation in the native -states of India, which produce the Malwa opium, and which, as I have just -said, we could not prevent. A great stimulus would also be given to the -cultivation of Persian opium. Hear, how I am borne out by Don Sinibaldo de -Mas, an authentic and thoroughly impartial witness. This is what he says, -in his very valuable book:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>It is another fallacy to say that if the East India Company were to -prohibit the cultivation of opium in her territories that the article -would disappear from China altogether. The poppy grows freely between -the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> equator and latitudes 30° to 40°; it is produced in large -quantities in Java, the Phillipines, Borneo, Egypt, and other places, -as well as in China itself, where for many years past some thousands -of chests are annually produced. It may be that the opium grown at -Java has perhaps a different taste from that grown at Malwa and -Benares, and may seem to be of inferior quality, but the consumers -would soon become accustomed to that, and would probably prefer the -former to the latter. Persons who are in the habit of smoking Havanna -dislike Manilla cigars, and those who generally smoke Manillas prefer -them to Havannas. At present opium is not exported from other -countries because Indian Opium is so cheap.</p> - -<p>What, then, may I ask, is the reproach constantly hurled at the East -India Company? That it derives an annual income by the culture of -opium of at least three millions of pounds sterling. Should the -Company prohibit the culture of the drug in order to allow other -nations to derive the emoluments arising from it? I who have travelled -in both upper and lower India, and know something of the country, am -persuaded that the people there are already over-taxed, and to demand -from them a substituted tax for those three millions would be a very -serious matter indeed. And for whom pray would this sacrifice be made? -To reduce the quantity of opium smoked in China? Most assuredly not; -for the Chinese would still smoke just as much. This sacrifice on the -part of England would only benefit those countries which would take up -the cultivation of opium in order to supply the Chinese markets from -which the Indian drug had been withdrawn. And what fault can be found -with the merchants? Is it not the Chinese who ask for opium, and who -buy it of their own free will, although not a single foreigner, either -by example or precept, encourages them to do so. Is it not the Chinese -who go out of their ports to the “Receiving Ships†to fetch it? Is the -Chinese nation composed of children, or of savages who do not know -right from wrong? Ought, for instance, the Queen of England to -undertake to redress Chinese habits, or let us say vices, and to -reform her Custom-house administration by watching the Chinese Coast? -By what right could the English Government or any other Government do -such things? If that is not what is wished, what is? Against whom and -against what is all this outcry?</p> - -<p>It is said that the receiving ships are anchored at the mouth of -rivers, that British war-ships anchor alongside of them, and that the -consuls know this. That is quite true. The consuls admit all this—in -fact, they often send their despatches by these very opium ships to -Hong Kong. How many times has it happened that the consuls have had -discussions with the Chinese governors respecting these receiving -ships? They say, “We do not protect these ships; why do you not drive -them away?†All this, I repeat, is notorious, and it is to be -regretted that it is so; because, under proper legal authorisation, -opium might be introduced into the Chinese Empire with such great -advantage to the Imperial treasury....</p> - -<p>It cannot be expected that the English Government through its naval -commanders should prevent its subjects from carrying on a remunerative -commerce, whilst Americans, Dutchmen, Danes, Swedes, and Portuguese -would continue to carry on the trade with increased profit through the -withdrawal of the English.</p></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span>Were the supply of opium from British India discontinued we should have a -class of merchants who would form syndicates to buy up all the opium that -could be found, and Macao would become the great depôt for Persian, -Javanese, and Malwa opium for the China market, so that we should have -probably four times the quantity of the foreign drug shipped to China that -is now imported into that country, and thus the alleged evils of opium -smoking in China would be intensified. By a stupid though well-meaning -policy, that ultimate demoralisation, degradation, and ruin which the -Anti-Opium Society allege is now being wrought upon the natives of China -by the existing Indo-China opium trade would be enormously accelerated, -whilst England and English missionaries would only earn the contempt of -the Chinese nation and the ridicule of the whole world. I have shown you -that the Government of China is not sincere in its professed desire to put -down opium smoking; for if it was we should never have had the poppy grown -so extensively as it is at present all over the empire. The evidence of -Sir Robert Hart alone upon this point puts the matter beyond the question -of a doubt. How, in the face of that gentleman’s book, this Anti-Opium -agitation can continue I really cannot understand. He is an officer of the -Chinese Government, and he would be the last man to publish anything -damaging to the Government or people of China. Here have these Anti-Opium -agitators been forty years in the wilderness without making any progress, -but only getting deeper into the quagmire of error and delusion. Even now, -although defeated at all points, they persist, as I shall show by and by, -in obstructing public business in the House of Commons by again -ventilating their unfounded theories.</p> - -<p>As matters stand, this book of Sir Robert Hart’s must show to every -impartial mind that the teaching of the Anti-Opium Society, from its -formation to the present time, has been fallacious, misleading, and -mischievous. Yet, in the face of this most damaging official Yellow-Book, -we are still calmly and seriously told from many platforms, by dignitaries -of the highest position in the Church, and by clergymen of all -denominations, that we are demoralising and ruining the whole nation, -because we send the Chinese a comparatively small quantity of pure and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> -unadulterated opium, which is beneficial rather than injurious to them. -But what does Sir Robert Hart, with all his official information, say? -That all this opium, amounting to about six thousand tons annually, is -consumed in moderation by one million of smokers, or one-third of one per -cent. of the whole population of China, estimating the number of people at -three hundred millions only.</p> - -<p>The missionaries and the Anti-Opium Society, in the face of facts which -directly contradict them, say that the Chinese Government has a horror of -opium; but they never tell us that that Government has a horror of -themselves. What was the celebrated saying of Prince Kung to the British -Ambassador? “Take away your opium and your missionaries,†said he. Now the -Chinese Government does not hate opium; it derives a very large revenue -from the drug at present, and it is only anxious to increase the amount. I -have very little doubt that Prince Kung, and all the other Imperial -magnates, including Li Hung Chang, that strictest of moralists, revel in -the very Indian drug they affect so to abhor. But they do detest the -missionaries most cordially; so do the whole educated people of the -empire, and so do Chinamen generally. None know this better than the -missionaries themselves. That disgraceful book, written by a Mandarin, -called “A Death-blow to Corrupt Practices,†which was, by the aid of his -brother Mandarins, extensively circulated throughout China, but too -plainly proves the fact. That infamous volume was aimed at the whole -missionary body in China, Roman Catholic as well as Protestant; it -attributed the foulest crimes, the most disgraceful and disgusting -practices to the missionaries. It was, in fact, the precursor of the -fearful Tientsin massacre; yet the missionaries tell us that if we will -only discontinue the Indo-China opium trade the millennium will arrive. I -may here observe that if opium was the terrible thing, and was productive -of so much misery to its votaries, as the Protestant missionaries and the -Anti-Opium Society would have us believe, it seems strange that no mention -of opium or opium smoking appears in this book. If half the outcry raised -against the Indo-Chinese opium trade were true, here was an excellent -opportunity for the writer to have inveighed against the wickedness of -foreigners in introducing the horrible drug into the country. If the -Gospel is objected to because of this Indian opium, what a fine occasion -for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> author to have enlarged upon the iniquity. If the Chinese mind -had been in any way impressed with the evils proceeding from opium -smoking, can it be supposed for a moment that the author of this book, an -educated Mandarin—one of the <i>literati</i>, in fact—would have omitted the -opportunity of denouncing the missionaries and foreigners generally for -introducing the terrible drug into the country and making profit by the -vices and misery of the Chinese people? Does not the entire omission of -opium from this book prove most eloquently that there is no real truth in -the outcry raised by these missionaries against the opium trade? The real -fact, believe me, is this, the Chinese dislike and distrust the -missionaries not because opium is an evil but because they hate and -despise Christianity. From the Anti-Opium Society one never hears anything -about the removal of the missionaries; it is all “take away your opium.†I -am perfectly sure that, if we agreed to exclude our missionaries from -China, the Government of that country would unhesitatingly admit Indian -opium into the country duty free. No greater proof can be adduced of this -than the zeal and persistency with which the Chinese Government recently -and successfully prosecuted the celebrated Wu Shi Shan case, which was in -the nature of an action of ejectment against a Protestant missionary body -at Foochow. The late Mr. French, the Judge of Her Majesty’s Supreme Court -for China and Japan, tried the case, the hearing of which occupied nearly -two months. It cost the Chinese Government about one hundred thousand -dollars, or twenty thousand pounds; they were well satisfied with the -result, although the land they recovered was not worth a tenth of the -money.</p> - -<p>It is declared by Mr. Turner and the other advocates of the Anti-Opium -Society that we have treated the Chinese with great harshness; that we -have extorted the Treaty of Tientsin from them, and bullied them into -legalizing the admission of opium into the empire; that we began by -smuggling opium into China, and ended by quarrelling with the Chinese. It -must not be forgotten, on the other hand, how the Chinese have treated us. -For more than a century before we introduced opium into China, and began, -as it is said, to quarrel with the Chinese, we had been buying their teas -and silks, and paying for them in hard cash. During<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> all that time we were -treated by the Mandarins with the greatest indignity. Our representatives -and our people were insulted, often maltreated, and sometimes murdered. As -to opium smuggling, about which so much is sought to be made by the -Anti-Opium people, there is one point that the writers and speakers upon -the subject seem to have forgotten. In the first place, I think I will -show you that smuggling, in the proper sense of the term, has never, in -fact, been carried on in China by Englishmen—or, indeed, by other -foreigners—at all. But even admitting, for argument’s sake, that -smuggling in its ordinary acceptation did, in fact, exist, how does the -matter stand? It has been for centuries the recognized international law -of the civilized world that one nation is not bound to take cognizance of -the revenue laws of another. This principle has been carried out in past -times with the greatest strictness. For instance, there was once a very -large contraband trade done between England and France. When brandy was -heavily taxed, and when it was thought more of than it is now, smuggling -it into England was a very profitable business. It was the same as regards -silks, lace, and a great many other articles before free trade became the -law of this country. Our Government knew this very well, but they never -dreamt for a moment of sending a remonstrance to the French Government -upon the subject. Had they done so, the latter would probably have -replied: “We cannot prevent our people from doing this. We give them no -encouragement whatever. We have enough to do to prevent your people from -smuggling English goods into our country, and you must do your best on -your side to prevent our subjects from introducing French goods into -yours.†For I suppose our people, carrying out the principle of -reciprocity, had some contraband dealings with French contrabandists on -their own account. That was the law for centuries, and it is so still.</p> - -<p>But of late years what is called “the comity of nations†has become more -understood, and there is a better spirit spreading between different -states on this subject, although, as I have said, the law is still the -same. If our Government knew that there was now an organized system of -smuggling carried on here with France, they would, I dare say, try to put -a stop to the practice,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> and would, at the least, give such information to -the Government of France as would put their revenue officers on their -guard, and I am sure that the French Government would act in the same way -towards us. That would be due to the better feeling that has arisen -between the two countries within the last forty years. The moment, -therefore, it was found that there was a considerable demand in China for -Indian opium, British and other vessels brought the article to China; and -there can be no doubt that they met with great encouragement from the -Chinese officials, but they got no assistance from us. The opium shippers -carried on the trade at their own risk. All this has been very clearly -shown by Don Sinibaldo de Mas. There was no actual smuggling on the part -of the owners of these vessels. The Chinese openly came on board and -bought and took away the opium, “squaring†matters, so to speak, with the -Mandarins. These so-called smugglers belonged to all nationalities. There -were Americans, Portuguese, and Germans, as well as English, engaged in -it. According to the international law of European countries, the Chinese -Government ought, under the circumstances, to have had a proper preventive -service, and so put down the smuggling. But, instead of this, the practice -was openly encouraged by the Chinese officials, some of them Mandarins of -high position.</p> - -<p>Now and then an explosion would occur; angry remonstrances would be -addressed to the British Government, and bad feeling between the two -nations would be engendered, the Chinese all along treating us as -barbarians, using the most insulting language towards us, and subjecting -our people, whenever opportunity offered, to the greatest indignities. The -missionaries have ignored all this. They appear to have satisfied -themselves so completely that we forced this trade upon the Chinese that -they have lost sight both of fact and reason. The very existence of an -opium-smuggling trade with China shows that the article smuggled was in -very great demand in that country. People never illegally take into a -country an article that is not greatly in request there. They will not -risk their lives and property unless they know large profits are to be -acquired by the venture, and such profits can only be made upon articles -in great demand. It was because there was found to be a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> demand for Indian -opium that this so-called contraband trade sprang up. This furnishes the -strongest proof that the Chinese valued the opium highly, and that it was -on their invitation that the drug was introduced. There is, I believe, a -considerable contraband trade now carried on in tobacco between Germany -and Cuba and England, just because the article is in demand here, and -there is a very high duty upon it. The fact is, that if the arguments of -the Anti-Opium people are properly weighed, they will be found, almost -without exception, to cut both ways, and with far greater force against -their own side.</p> - -<p>Now with respect to smuggling, it is right that I should clear up the -misconception that seems to prevail upon the subject. Whatever may have -been the practice previous to the Treaty of Nankin, which was signed on -the 29th of August 1842, and ratified on the 26th of June 1843—forty -years ago, I say it advisedly, and challenge contradiction, that <i>no -smuggling or quasi smuggling, or any practice resembling smuggling, has -been carried on in China by any British subject</i> since the signing of that -treaty. Although no mention is made of opium in that convention, it is an -indisputable fact that from the time of the making of it until the Treaty -of Tientsin in 1858, Indian opium was freely allowed into the country at -an <i>ad valorem</i> duty. This is shown by Don Sinibaldo de Mas, in his book, -and also by Sir Rutherford Alcock, in his valuable paper. No doubt the -Chinese themselves have since then smuggled opium into their country, and -are doing so still. They are, in truth, inveterate smugglers, and it has -been found impossible for the British authorities of Hong Kong to prevent -the practice. For the past thirty years laws have from time to time been -passed in the colony with the object of checking the practice, which have -not been wholly unsuccessful; for instance, some twenty-five years ago an -Ordinance was passed prohibiting junks from leaving the harbour between -sunset, and, I think, 6 a.m. on the following morning, and compelling -every outward-bound junk to leave at the harbour master’s office a copy of -the “Manifest†before starting, and I have known many prosecutions for -breach of this Ordinance.</p> - -<p>Still smuggling by Chinamen goes on more or less, but not now, I think, to -any large extent. As for any connivance<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> or participation in the practice -by the British authorities or the British people, and, indeed, I may say -the same for all foreigners in China, there is none whatever. I am fully -borne out in this statement by the <i>Friend of China</i>, which you will -remember is the organ of the Anti-Opium Society. It would appear that Sir -John Pope Hennessy, lately Governor of Hong Kong, made a speech last -autumn at Nottingham, on the occasion of the meeting of the Social Science -Congress, in the course of which he made some allusion to smuggling by the -British community of Hong Kong. I have not myself read the speech, but -collect this from the statement of the journal in question, which I shall -now read to you. This is the passage:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The present governor of Hong Kong is extremely unpopular with the -British community under his jurisdiction. Into the occasion and merit -of the feud we do not pretend to enter, but in reproducing the -Governor’s condemnation of the Colony it is only fair to note the fact -of the existing hostility between governor and governed. <i>We are -sorry, too, that Sir John did not state that these desperate smugglers -are of Chinese race. So far as we know there is no ground for -inculpating a single Englishman in Hong Kong in these nefarious -proceedings; the English merchant sells his opium to Chinese -purchasers, and there his connection with the traffic ceases.</i></p></div> - -<p>So much for the delusion as to smuggling by British subjects in China. As -for the “Hoppo†of Canton, who farms from the Chinese Government the -revenue of the provinces of Kwantung and Kwangsi, and whose object it is -to squeeze as much as he can from the mercantile community of these -provinces during his term of office, he has a fleet of fast English-built -steam cruisers, heavily armed, ostensibly to put down smuggling, but -really to cripple the commerce of the port of Hong Kong, they keep the -harbour blockaded by this fleet of armed cruisers to prey upon the native -craft coming to and sailing from the colony. Wild with wrath at the -prosperity of Hong Kong, the Hoppo and his cruisers lose no opportunity of -oppressing the native junks resorting to the place. All those vessels they -think should go to Canton to swell the Hoppo’s income. Many Chinese -merchants have put cases of oppression of the kind in my hands, where -those armed cruisers simply played the part of pirates, seizing -unoffending junks, taking them to Canton, and confiscating junk and cargo; -but I regret to say that only in a very few cases have I been able to -obtain redress. This<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> state of things has been going on for the past -fifteen or twenty years, and should be put down by the British Government. -So far as respects the Chinese authorities, and the junk owners, and -native merchants, it is simply legalised robbery; whilst as regards the -British Government and people of the colony, foreigners as well as -natives, it is a system of insult and outrage—a very serious injury, and -a glaring breach of international law, which no European Government would -tolerate in another. I mention this to show how forbearing and -long-suffering the Government of Hong Kong and the Imperial Government -have been towards China during the continuance of this most nefarious and -unjustifiable state of things. This is in truth a very serious matter. -When Sir Henry Elliott took possession of Hong Kong in 1841 on behalf of -the Queen, he invited by proclamation the Chinese people to settle in the -place, promising them protection for their lives and property, upon the -faith of which the natives took their families and property to the colony. -But how can it be said now that their property is protected when this -piratical fleet, like a bird of prey, hovers round the colony, pouncing -down upon the native craft going to or leaving the port?</p> - -<p>To close this part of my subject, I may say in short, that the charges -brought by the Anti-Opium Society against the importation of Indian opium -into China are exactly on a par with the objections of a Society -established in France for the purpose of prohibiting the importation into -England of cognac, on the grounds that that spirit intoxicated, -demoralised, and ruined the English people. If any set of men in France -were fanatical and insane enough to set forth such views, they would be -laughed down at once. The answer to the objection to the brandy trade -would be, “That the English people manufacture and drink plenty of gin and -whisky, and if they, the French, discontinued sending them brandy the -English would simply manufacture and drink more spirits of their own -production.†No two cases could be more alike.</p> - -<p>Before proceeding to the last of the fallacies by which the opponents of -the Indo-Chinese opium trade have been so long deluding society, I wish to -refer to the statements made by Mr. Storrs Turner in his book, and by the -advocates of the Anti-Opium trade, respecting the Treaty of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> Tientsin. It -is alleged that Lord Elgin, who bore the highest character as a statesman -and Christian gentleman, extorted the treaty from the Chinese, and forced -them to include opium in the schedule to that treaty. Mr. Turner, at p. 95 -of his book, typifies the conduct of England thus:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The strong man knocks down the weak one, sets his foot upon his chest -and demands:—“Will you give me the liberty to knock at your front -door and supply your children with poison <i>ad libitum</i>?†The weak man -gasps out from under the crushing pressure—“I will, I will; anything -you please.†And the strong man goes home rejoicing that he is no -longer under the unpleasant necessity of carrying on a surreptitious -back-door trade.</p></div> - -<p>This metaphor is really absurd, and has no application whatever. Were a -man so infamous as to act in the manner stated, it would be a matter of -little concern to him whether his poison entered by the front or the back -door, so long as he got paid for the article. The fact is, as I have -stated, that since the Treaty of Nankin, in 1842, opium has been openly -allowed in the country without any difficulty or objection. If there is -any point in this metaphor of Mr. Storrs Turner’s at all, it applies not -to the insertion of opium in the tariff, but to the clause in the treaty -as to the admission of missionaries into China, for that was really the -bitter pill the Chinese swallowed. In 1858, when the Treaty of Tientsin -was being drawn up, the tariff upon British goods had to be settled. The -Chinese Commissioners, not only as a matter of course, and without any -pressure whatever, proposed to put down opium in the schedule at the -present fixed duty of thirty taels a pikul, but actually insisted upon -doing so. There was no necessity for using pressure at all, and none in -fact was used. It was included in the tariff just like other goods. Mr. H. -N. Lay, who jointly with Sir Thomas Wade, Her Majesty’s present minister -at Pekin, was Chinese Secretary to Lord Elgin’s special mission, and who -then, I believe, filled the important post in the Chinese service now -occupied by Sir Robert Hart, expresses his opinion on the subject as -follows:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Statements have been advanced of late, with more or less of precision, -to the effect that the legalisation of the opium trade was wrung from -Chinese fears. At the recent meeting in Birmingham Lord Elgin is -credited, in so many words, with having “extorted†at Tientsin the -legalisation of the article in question. There is no truth whatever in -the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> allegation, and I do not think, in fairness to Lord Elgin’s -memory, or in justice to all concerned, that I ought to observe -silence any longer. Jointly with Sir Thomas Wade, our present minister -in China, I was Chinese Secretary to Lord Elgin’s special mission. All -the negotiations at Tientsin passed through me. Not one word upon -either side was ever said about opium from first to last. The revision -of the tariff, and the adjustment of all questions affecting our -trade, was designedly left for after deliberation and arrangement, and -it was agreed that for that purpose the Chinese High Commissioners -should meet Lord Elgin at Shanghai in the following winter. The Treaty -of Tientsin was signed on the 26th of June 1858; the first was -withdrawn, and Lord Elgin turned the interval to account by visiting -Japan and concluding a treaty there. In the meantime the preparation -of the tariff devolved upon me, at the desire no less of the Chinese -than of Lord Elgin. <i>When I came to “Opium†I inquired what course -they proposed to take in respect to it. The answer was, “We have -resolved to put it into the tariff as Yang Yoh</i> (foreign medicine).†-This represents with strict accuracy the amount of the “extortion†-resorted to. And I may add that the tariff as prepared by me, although -it comprises some 300 articles of import and export, <i>was adopted by -the Chinese Commissioners without a single alteration</i>, which would -hardly have been the case had the tariff contained aught objectionable -to them. Five months after the signature of the Treaty of Tientsin, -long subsequently to the removal of all pressure, the Chinese High -Commissioners, the signatories of the treaty, came down to Shanghai in -accordance with the arrangement made, and after conference with their -colleagues, and due consideration, signed with Lord Elgin the tariff -as prepared, along with other commercial articles which had been drawn -up in concert with the subordinate members of the Commission who had -been charged with that duty. <i>The Chinese Government admitted opium as -a legal article of import, not under constraint, but of their own free -will deliberately.</i></p></div> - -<p>Now Mr. H. N. Lay is a gentleman whose testimony is altogether -unimpeachable, and this is his statement. He explains the whole -transaction, and it is substantially and diametrically contrary to the -allegations of Mr. Turner and the Anti-Opium Society. His account of the -matter has the greater force, because I believe he is rather anti-opium in -his views than the opposite, and at the time of the treaty he was in the -service of the Chinese Government. The truth is, that we never should have -had the Chinese urging us to increase the duty had they not been supported -by the Anti-Opium Society. Mr. Laurence Oliphant was Lord Elgin’s -secretary at the time of the Tientsin Treaty. This is what he says on the -subject:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>As a great deal of misconception prevails in the public mind upon this -subject, I would beg to confirm what Mr. Lay has said as to the views -of the Chinese Government in the matter.</p> - -<p>I was appointed in 1858 Commissioner for the settlement of the trade<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> -and tariff regulations with China; and during my absence with Lord -Elgin in Japan, Mr. Lay was charged to consider the details with the -subordinate Chinese officials named for the purpose. On my return to -Shanghai I went through the tariff elaborated by these gentlemen with -the Commissioner appointed by the Chinese Government. When we came to -the article “opium,†<i>I informed the Commissioner that I had received -instructions from Lord Elgin not to insist on the insertion of the -drug in the tariff, should the Chinese Government wish to omit it. -This he declined to do. I then proposed that the duty should be -increased beyond the figure suggested in the tariff; but to this he -objected, on the ground that it would increase the inducements to -smuggling.</i></p> - -<p>I trust that the delusion that the opium trade now existing with China -was “extorted†from that country by the British Ambassador may be -finally dispelled.</p></div> - -<p>But Mr. Storrs Turner will doubtless still say, “Oh! these gentlemen are -Englishmen; you cannot believe them.†I do not think, however, this kind -of objection will have much weight with my readers or the country at -large.</p> - -<p>And now, as I am on the political side of the question, I will say a few -words on the Indian aspect of the case. The Government of India is charged -by Mr. Storrs Turner and the Anti-Opium people generally with descending -to the position of opium manufacturers and merchants, and quotes an -alleged proposal of the late Lord Lawrence to drop the traffic, leaving -the cultivation and exportation of the drug to private enterprise, and -recouping itself from loss by placing a heavy export duty on the article. -If Lord Lawrence ever proposed such an arrangement, which I doubt very -much, I hardly think he could have carefully considered the question. No -doubt, in an abstract point of view, it is contrary to sound policy for -the Government of a country to carry on mercantile business, much less to -take into its own hands a monopoly of any trade, yet the thing has been -done for a great number of years, and is still practised by some -continental Governments without the existence of any special reason for so -doing. The Indo-China opium trade, however, is an entirely exceptional -one. When an exceptional state of things has to be dealt with, -corresponding measures must be resorted to. The opium industry in India is -an ancient one; and the exportation of this drug to China began under the -Portuguese, several centuries ago. Were the Government of India to adopt -the alleged proposals of Lord Lawrence, the result would be that a much -larger quantity of opium than is now produced<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> in India would be turned -out, so that not only would the alleged evils now complained of by the -missionaries and the Anti-Opium Society be intensified, but the Government -of India would find its revenue greatly increased by its export duty on -the drug. This is very conclusively shown by Don Sinibaldo de Mas, a most -competent authority, who has studied the question deeply and can have no -possible object but the revelation of the truth.</p> - -<p>There are numerous objections to throwing open the Indian trade. As -matters now stand, the Government of India annually makes advances to the -opium growers, to enable them to produce the drug. These advances are made -at a low or nominal rate of interest. Let the Government once drop the -monopoly and throw open the trade, and then the small farmers—and they -form perhaps seventy-five per cent. of the whole, whether they cultivate -the poppy or any other crop—would be at the mercy of the usurers, who are -the curse of India. Thus the poor cultivator, instead of paying the -Government two or three per cent. interest for the advance, would have to -pay perhaps five times that amount, with a bill for law costs; and a much -larger bill staring him in the future, in case he should be so unfortunate -as not to be up to time with his payments. The usurers or Márwáris as I -believe they are called, would in such cases profit by the fruits of the -soil instead of the growers. As to the morality of the proposed change, I -do not see what could be gained by such an arrangement. If it is wrong to -derive a revenue from opium by direct, it is equally wrong to do so by -indirect means. Before closing this part of the subject, there is another -point I wish to say a few words upon. It is put forward by Mr. Turner in -his book, with great plausibility, and is, no doubt, accepted by his -disciples as fact, that every acre of land put under opium cultivation -displaces so much rice, the one being a poison, the other the staff of -life. This is perfectly fallacious; wherever rice is grown in China—and I -fancy it is the same in India—there are two crops taken in the year. Rice -is cultivated during the spring and summer months (that is, the rainy -season), for the grain only grows where there is abundance of water.</p> - -<p>The poppy thrives only in the dry season, that is, during the latter part -of the autumn and the winter, when the rice<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> crops have been saved. The -poppy requires a rich soil, so that before planting it the farmers have to -manure the ground well; then, when the poppy crop has been secured, the -land is in good heart for rice, and so the rotation goes on. This I stated -in the first edition of this lecture; since then Mr. Spence’s Report for -1881 has appeared which fully confirms my view. Thus much for the accuracy -of this statement of Mr. Storrs Turner.</p> - -<p>I come now to the last of the fallacies, follies, and fantasies, upon -which the huge superstructure of delusion put forward for so many years by -the Anti-Opium Society has been built. At once the least sustainable, it -is the one which carries the most weight with the supporters of that -Society, for it furnishes the <i>raison d’être</i> of their whole action. It is -<i>that the introduction of Indian opium into China has arrested the -progress of Christianity in that country, and that if the trade were -discontinued the Chinese would accept the Gospel</i>. No greater mistake, nor -more unfounded delusion than this could be indulged in; indeed, it seems -to me something very like a profanation to mix up the Indo-China opium -trade with the spread of the Gospel in the Empire of China. If the -objection to embrace Christianity because we send opium to that country -has ever, in fact, been made by natives, that objection was a subterfuge -only.</p> - -<p>The Chinese are an acute and crafty race; when they desire to attain an -object, they seldom attempt to do so by direct means, but rather seek to -gain their ends indirectly. They despise and hate Christianity, although -they will not tell you so, much less will they argue with you, or enter -into controversy upon the subject. They will rather try to get rid of it -by a side-wind. They are a very polite and courteous people, and -understand this style of tactics very well. I have no doubt whatever that -if the British trade in opium were suppressed to-morrow, and that no -British merchant dealt any longer in the drug, or sent a particle of it -into China, and if a missionary were to go before the Chinese and say, “We -can now show clean hands, our Government has stopped the opium trade,†and -then were to open his book and begin talking to them of Christianity, he -would only be met with derisive laughter. “This man,†they would say, -“thinks that because the English have ceased to sell us opium we should -all become Christians. If they sold us no more rice<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> or broadcloth, we -suppose they would say that we should become Mahomedans.â€</p> - -<p>Knowing the cunning and keen sense of humour of the people, I have no -doubt they would use another argument also. There is a story told of a -Scotch clergyman who rebuked one of his congregation for not being quite -so moderate in his potations as he ought to be. “It’s a’ vera weel,†-returned the other, who had reason to know that the minister did not -always practise what he preached, “but do ye ken how they swept the -streets o’ Jerusalem?†The clergyman was obliged to own his ignorance, -when Sandy replied, “Weel, then, it was just this, every man kept his ain -door clean.†And I can well fancy in the case I have supposed, an equally -shrewd Chinaman saying to the missionary, “What for you want to make us -follow your religion? Your religion vely bad one. You have plenty men -drink too muchee sam-shu, get drunk and fight, and beat their wives and -children. Chinaman no get drunk. Chinaman no beat or kill his wife. Too -muchee sam-shu vely bad. Drink vely bad for Inglismen; what for you don’t -go home and teach them to be soba, plaupa men?†Believe me, the Chinese -know our little peccadilloes and are very well informed respecting our -doings here at home.</p> - -<p>We send but six thousand tons of opium annually to China, which, according -to Sir Robert Hart, who ought to be a reliable authority on the subject, -inflicts no appreciable injury upon the health, wealth, or extension of -the population of that vast empire. The truth is, that the alleged -objection of the Chinese against Christianity amounts simply to this: -because some of our people do what is wrong, and we are not as a nation -faultless in morals, we should not ask them to change their religion for -ours. Perfection is not to be attained by any nation or the professors of -any creed. If we had the ability, and were foolish enough to stop the -exportation of Indian opium to China, the natives of the country would -find some other reason for clinging to their own creeds and rejecting -Christianity. They could, and doubtless would, point to the fearful plague -of intemperance prevailing amongst us; they could also refer to the great -number of distilleries and breweries in the United Kingdom, to our Newgate -Calendar, and to the records of the Divorce Court.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> In short, they would -say, “You do not practise what you preach. What do you mean, then, by -trying to make Christians of us?†The same doctrine has been used over and -over again even in Christian countries, and it is lamentable to see -educated and intelligent men becoming victims to such a delusive mode of -reasoning. This sad hallucination on the part of the missionary clergymen -is the origin of the mischievous and very stupid agitation going on -against the Indo-China opium trade, but now rapidly, I believe and hope, -coming to an end.</p> - -<p>A few years ago I paid a short visit to Japan. Whilst I was at Tokio, the -capital, a lecture was given there by an educated Japanese gentleman, who -spoke English well and fluently. He introduced religion into his lecture, -and considered the question why the Japanese did not embrace Christianity. -“Our minds,†said he, “are like blank paper; we are ready to receive any -religion that is good, we are not bigoted to our own, but we object to -Christianity because we do not consider it a good religion, because we see -that Christians do not reverence old age, and because they are so -licentious, and so brutal to the coolies.†But these reasons are again -merely subterfuges. The Japanese do not smoke opium, and the very same -objection they urge against Christianity might also be used by the -Chinese. The Oriental mind is very much the same, whether Chinese, - -Japanese, or Indian. Upon religious or political questions they well know -how to shift their ground. As to the Chinese embracing Christianity, I -trust the day will come when they will do so. They would then be the most -powerful nation in the whole world, and probably become our own best -teachers on religion and morals; but at present I see no immediate hope of -their conversion. I say this in view of the stand taken by the Protestant -missionaries on this opium question. Nothing, in my opinion, is more -calculated to impede the progress of missionary work than this most absurd -and unfounded delusion. The reason given by the missionaries for the -apparently small success which has hitherto attended their efforts, is -that the so-called iniquitous traffic in opium has been the one stumbling -block in their way. Put a stop to this villanous trade, they say, and the -Gospel will flourish like a green bay-tree. This sort of argument takes -with the missionaries themselves and with religious people generally, and -thus converts to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> anti-opium policy are made. Yet all these statements -rest, I can assure you, on an entirely fallacious foundation. We are not -dealing with a savage but with a civilized people. You may change a -nation’s religion, but you cannot alter its customs, and if China were -evangelised to-morrow the Chinese would still continue opium smokers. The -Reverend Mr. Galpin has hit the nail on the head when he said in his -letter to the missionaries of Peking:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Looking at Christianity in the broad and true sense, as a great -regenerating force breathing its beneficent spirit upon and promoting -the welfare of all, of course the excessive use or abuse of opium and -every other thing, is a serious hindrance to its happy progress. But -this is a very different position from that of supposing that the -present apparently slow progress of mission-work in China is to be -attributed to the importation of Indian opium. China is a world in -itself, and the influence of Christian missions has hitherto reached -but a handful of the people, for there are many serious obstacles to -its progress besides opium.</p></div> - -<p>As before mentioned, the Roman Catholic missionaries have never complained -that their missionary labours were impeded by the opium trade. I had the -honour of being Solicitor at Hong Kong to a wealthy and important -religious community of that persuasion which has missionary stations all -over China, Formosa, and Tonquin, and might call the head of the order a -personal friend, yet I never heard a complaint of the kind from him or any -of his clergy. I was on very intimate terms with a Roman Catholic -gentleman who was in the confidence of the Catholic Bishop at Hong Kong, -and the Roman Catholic community generally, and I have had conversations -with him on missionary matters. He has never uttered such a complaint, -but, on the contrary, has always spoken of the success which attended the -Roman Catholic missions throughout China. In this connection it should not -be forgotten that the Chinese treat all foreigners alike; they know no -distinction between them—English, French, German, Spanish, Americans, -Portuguese, are to them one people. The victims of the Tientsin massacre -were, with the exception, I think, of a Russian gentleman, a community of -French nuns. The petition to the House of Commons set out in my first -letter emanated from the Protestant missionaries alone, and it has not, I -am well assured, been signed by a single Roman Catholic missionary. It is -plain, therefore, that this alleged obstacle to the spread of the Gospel -in China by the English and American missionaries<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> is a monster of their -own creation, and has no real existence. Bishop Burden, of Hong Kong, the -missionary bishop for South China, who, although no authority on the opium -question, ought, on this point at all events, to be well informed, -estimates the number of Protestant converts in China at forty thousand, -and of Roman Catholics at one million. The disparity is great, but then it -should not be forgotten that Roman Catholic missions in China date from a -period probably two centuries earlier than Protestant missions. If out of -these forty thousand converts I allow five per cent., or two thousand, to -be really sincere and able to give a reason for the faith that is in them, -I believe that I am not underrating the precise number of true and <i>bona -fide</i> converts which these missionaries have made. But knowing this as I -do, it is very far from my intention to cast blame upon the missionaries -in consequence. To those who understand the difficulties those devoted men -have to contend with in the progress of their labours, the wonder is not -that they have done so little, but that they have achieved so much. Upon -this point, I would say again, I am very far from attributing any blame to -our missionaries, save in so far as they have allowed themselves to be -cajoled by certain Chinese and others as to opium smoking. No one is more -sensible of their piety, learning, zeal, and industry; and a very sad task -it has been to me to impugn their conduct and controvert their views as I -have done. A good cause, however, cannot and ought not to be promoted by -falsehood; for such this Anti-Opium delusion amounts to, and nothing more, -and there can be no hope for more solid results from the missionary field -until it is swept from the missionaries’ path. Two thousand sincere -converts after all is, in my belief, a great and encouraging result, -considering the tremendous obstacles our missionaries have to encounter in -overcoming in the first instance the prejudice of the Chinese against -foreigners, and then in displacing in their minds the idolatrous and -sensuous creed that has taken such firm root there, and become, so to -speak, engrained in the Chinese nature, and implanting in its stead the -truths of the Gospel. Each of these two thousand converts will prove, I am -well assured, like the grain of mustard seed that will fructify and in -time bring forth much fruit. But it must not be forgotten that China, in -the terse and apposite words of the Rev. Mr. Galpin, is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> “a world in -itself,†containing as it does about a fourth of the whole human race.</p> - -<p>The custom of opium smoking has existed in the Empire of China from time -immemorial. You might as well try to reverse the course of Niagara as to -wean the Chinese from the use of their favourite drug. As to the Treaty of -Tientsin, it is unfair and ungrateful of the missionaries to speak of it -as they do. It did no more than reduce to a formal settlement a state of -things that had been for several years tacitly acquiesced in and agreed to -by the Chinese and British authorities and people. That treaty was -prepared with the greatest deliberation by an eminent statesman who was -singularly remarkable for his humanity and benevolence, assisted by able -subordinates who were in no way deficient in those qualities. The -missionaries seem to forget that this very Treaty of Tientsin, which they -so denounce, is the charter by which they have now a footing in China, -with liberty to preach the Gospel there. They would have no <i>locus standi</i> -in China but for this sorely abused treaty. There is a special clause in -it drawn up by Lord Elgin himself, providing that we should be at liberty -to propagate Christianity in the country. That treaty is the missionaries’ -protection. It is to it they would now appeal if molested by the Mandarins -or people of China. They cry it down for one purpose, and rely upon it for -another. I may here not inappropriately observe that the missionaries of -Peking seem to have been under a misapprehension as to the nature of this -treaty. From their petition to the House of Commons it would appear that -they were under the impression that some special clause legalizing the -importation of opium into China was introduced into it under pressure from -the British Government; but that was a mistake. There is no “clause†-whatever in the treaty on the subject of opium. The only place that the -word “opium†appears is in the schedule, where it is set down amongst -other dutiable articles, such as pepper and nutmegs, exactly as stated by -Mr. H. N. Lay. It is plain, then, that these missionary gentlemen had not -a copy of the Treaty of Tientsin before them when they drew up their -petition, and I doubt very much if any of them ever read the treaty at -all. They appear to have got the delusion so strongly into their heads -that the legalization of opium was wrung from the Chinese Government that -it seems they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> thought it quite unnecessary to read the treaty and took -everything for granted.</p> - -<p>I have now, I think, shown and fully refuted the fallacies which within -the past thirty years have crept into the minds of the opponents of the -Indo-China opium trade, dimming the faculties, blinding the reason, -warping the judgment, ministering to the prejudices, deluding the senses, -gratifying the feelings, until these fallacies have become so interwoven -and welded together as to form and culminate into one <span class="smcaplc">CONCRETE PLAUSIBLE, -FASCINATING, DEFAMATORY LIE</span>! A cruel, false, and treacherous lie, that -misleads alike its votaries and its victims, and that, too, in the names -of religion and charity.—A lie circumstantial,—so highly genteel and -respectable,—so sentimental and pious,—so sleek and unctuous,—so -caressed and flattered,—so bravely dressed, and so beflounced and trimmed -with the trappings of truth, that even those who have bedecked the jade -fail to see the imposture they have created, so that the tawdry quean -struts along receiving homage as she goes, whilst plain honest <span class="smcap">Truth</span> in -her russet gown wends her way unnoticed.—I have shown that this -Anti-Opium scare is a sham, a mockery, a delusion—a glittering piece of -counterfeit coin, which I have broken to pieces and proved to you that, -for all its silvery surface, there is nothing but base metal beneath.</p> - -<p>Let me now recapitulate. I have, I think, made it irrefutably clear—</p> - -<p>1. That the Chinese are a civilized people, very abstemious in their -habits, especially as regards the use of opium, spirits, and stimulants of -all kinds.</p> - -<p>2. That there is and can be no analogy or comparison whatever between -opium eating and opium smoking, as each stands separate and apart from the -other, differing totally in the mode of use and their effects, and that -opium eating is not a Chinese custom.</p> - -<p>3. That an overdose of opium, like an excessive draught of spirits, is -poisonous and produces immediate death.</p> - -<p>4. That opium smoking is a harmless and perfectly innocuous practice, -unless immoderately indulged in, which rarely happens, as seldom, indeed, -as over-indulgence in tea or tobacco in England.</p> - -<p>5. That even when immoderately indulged, any depressing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> effects resulting -from opium smoking are removed simply by discontinuing the use of the drug -for a short period.</p> - -<p>6. That no death from opium smoking, whether indulged in moderately or -excessively, has ever occurred, and that death from such cause is a -physical impossibility.</p> - -<p>7. That opium smoking is a custom far less enslaving and more easily -discontinued than dram drinking or even tobacco smoking.</p> - -<p>8. That opium smoking is a luxury which can only be indulged in by those -who are well-to-do and is wholly out of the reach of the poor, and, save -in Western China and certain other districts, where the poppy is very -extensively cultivated and opium comparatively cheap, beyond the means of -the working classes.</p> - -<p>9. That opium smoking is a universal custom throughout the whole of the -immense empire of China, just as tea, wine, or beer drinking is with the -people of the United Kingdom, its use being limited only by the ability of -the people to procure the drug.</p> - -<p>10. That it is admitted by Sir Robert Hart, a high official of the Chinese -Government, that the greatest quantity of Indian opium of late years -imported into China is only sufficient to supply about one million of -people with a modicum of the drug, and that, in his own words, “neither -the finances of the State, nor the wealth of the people, nor the growth of -its population,†can be specially damaged by a luxury which only draws -from five-pence to eleven-pence a-piece from the pockets of those who -enjoy it, and which is indulged in by a comparatively small number of the -Chinese people.</p> - -<p>11. That the poppy is extensively cultivated in all the provinces of China -proper as well as in Manchuria, and that there is probably three or four -times as much native drug produced annually in China as is imported from -abroad.</p> - -<p>12. That in the western parts of China, where the poppy is more -extensively cultivated and opium more generally smoked than in other parts -of the empire, no decadence whatever is produced in the mental or bodily -health, or the wealth, industry, and prosperity of the people, but on the -contrary, that these very people are peculiarly strong and vigorous.</p> - -<p>13. That the Chinese Government is not, and never was, sincere in its -professed desire to put down the practice of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> opium smoking in the empire, -which is evidenced by the fact that the poppy is largely cultivated -throughout the country, and that a revenue is derived by the Government -from the native drug.</p> - -<p>14. That Hong Kong being the great depôt of Indian opium and the place -where the drug is most largely prepared for smoking purposes, and where -also the native population (about three-fourths of whom are adult males) -are in good circumstances, and therefore better able to indulge in opium -smoking than their countrymen in the mainland of China, is the place where -the alleged evils of opium smoking, if they existed, would be found in -their worst form, yet that <i>those evils are unknown there</i>.</p> - -<p>15. That the outcry, got up and disseminated for so many years past in -England against the Indo-China opium trade has not, and never had, any -substantial foundation; that such outcry has arisen from the complaints, -of the Protestant missionaries in China, which also are equally baseless, -those missionaries having been simply made dupes of by certain designing -and mendacious natives for purposes of their own, or of the Government of -China.</p> - -<p>16. That opium was inserted into the Schedule to the Treaty of Tientsin at -the express desire and request of the Chinese authorities; that Lord Elgin -wished and proposed to those authorities by his Secretary, Mr. Laurence -Oliphant, to place a higher duty than thirty taels on the drug, but that -the Chinese officials declined to do so, fearing that, if the duty were -raised, an impetus would be given to smuggling.</p> - -<p>17. That the career of the Anti-Opium Society has been signalized by a -continuous series of mistakes and blunders—commencing with the monstrous -figment (the invention of an American missionary) that there were twenty -millions of opium smokers in China supplied by the Indian drug, and that -<i>two millions of these smokers died annually from the practice</i>,—and that -the Anti-Opium confederacy is only kept alive by the continued reiteration -of exploded fallacies, sophistries, and mis-statements of the same nature.</p> - -<p>18. That the British merchants connected with China in the past and the -present were and are wholly free from the stigmas cast upon them by the -Anti-Opium Society, anent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> smuggling and the opium trade;<a name='fna_12' id='fna_12' href='#f_12'><small>[12]</small></a> that, so far -from having acted wrongfully towards China and the Chinese, their conduct -towards both has been, and still is, emphatically characterized by honour -and rectitude, and by uniform courtesy and kindness; and that those -merchants, have deserved well of their country.</p> - -<p>19. That the Anti-Opium Society, from its formation to the present time, -has wrought nothing but mischief, crippling by its pragmatical efforts the -action of Her Majesty’s Government, both here and in India and China, -abstracting by its mis-statements enormous sums of money from the -charitable and benevolent, and squandering that money in the propagation -of unfounded theories and injurious reflections against our -fellow-countrymen in China; and that the public should withdraw their -confidence from the Society, and cease to supply it with one farthing -more.</p> - -<p>20. That, save in respect of the blockade of Hong Kong by the armed -cruisers of the Hoppo or Revenue Farmer of the provinces of the two -Kwangs, which inflict great and bitter hardship upon the Chinese merchants -of Hong Kong and the junk owners who trade to that place, the British -nation, by its Government and people, has amply redeemed the promises made -to the people of China by Her Majesty’s representative, Sir Henry Elliott, -on taking over Hong Kong, which is amply verified by the flourishing state -of that Colony, and its large, thriving, and contented Chinese population.</p> - -<p>21. That, whilst it is desirable to maintain the most amicable and cordial -relations with the Government of China and its various viceroyalties, that -most unjustifiable blockade by the Hoppo or Revenue Farmer of Canton -should be promptly suppressed; a matter which has only to be taken in hand -by Her Majesty’s Consul at Canton, supported, if necessary, by the British -Minister at Peking, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> firmly but courteously pressed upon the Viceroy -of the two Kwangs, who cannot but acknowledge the gross injustice and -cruel wrong inflicted on Hong Kong and its native merchants by those -cruisers, and who has the power and only wants the will to let right be -done.</p> - -<p>In the course of these lectures I have spoken of some of the vices of the -Chinese, and of our own also. The people of England have, however, many -virtues, the growth of centuries; one of these is a broad and liberal -charity, that pours forth a continuous stream of benevolence over the -whole world. It is a virtue that pervades all classes, from our honoured -Queen to the humblest of her subjects. It is not without a swelling heart -that one can walk through the streets of London and see the noble -charitable institutions surrounding him upon all sides, such as hospitals, -convalescent institutions, homes for aged and infirm people, educational -institutes, and such like, <i>supported by voluntary contributions</i>—living -evidences of the charity and benevolence of our people in the past and -present. Yet these splendid monuments but faintly testify to the flow of -munificence perpetually running its course around us. Observe how -liberally the public respond to the appeals made to it almost daily. Look -at the case of the persecution of the Jews in Russia, the famine in the -North of China, the distress and troubles in Ireland. Then, again, there -is the charity “that lets not the left hand know what the right hand -doeth,†of which the world sees nothing, but which is known to go on -unceasingly, and which probably is the most liberal of all. The history of -the world, so far as I am aware, does not record a parallel to this in any -other nation or people. With such an active and unceasing charity going on -amongst us, we should take care that this beneficent stream is not -diverted into worthless channels, for that would be a matter concerning -the whole public.</p> - -<p>Now, though I hold in respect all the officers and supporters of the -Anti-Opium Society, who are actuated, I admit, by the best motives, and -whose characters for benevolence and good faith I do not question, I -cannot forbear from repeating that their crusade against the Indo-China -opium trade is as unjustifiable as it is mischievous, and is well -calculated to produce the results I have deprecated. It encourages the -Chinese Government to make<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> untenable demands upon us, under false -pretences, and it is an unwarranted interference with an industry, wholly -unobjectionable on any but sentimental grounds, affording subsistence to -millions of our fellow-subjects in India. It aims, also, at cutting off -some eight or ten millions sterling from the revenue of that vast -dependency, now expended in ameliorating the condition of its dense -population. Furthermore, it offers to useful and legitimate legislation an -opposition and obstruction of the worst kind, seeing that it obtrudes upon -the Legislature its unfounded and exploded theories, to the displacement -or delay of really useful measures.</p> - -<p>I say that the Anti-Opium Society, in the course of its agitation for the -abolition of this Indo-China opium trade, is vilifying its countrymen and -blackening this country in the eyes of the whole world, so that the -foreigner can convict us out of our own mouths, and jibe at us for -hypocrisy and turpitude we are wholly innocent of, and for crimes we have -never committed.<a name='fna_13' id='fna_13' href='#f_13'><small>[13]</small></a> I say that the history of this Society presents -nothing but a dreary record of energies wasted, talents misapplied, wealth -uselessly squandered, charity perverted, and philanthropy run mad. The -members of this Society never think, perhaps, of the mischief they have -done and are doing. Here has our Government been trying for the past seven -or eight years to agree upon a revised commercial treaty with the -Government of China, and here also, side by side, is an irresponsible -political body doing its utmost to cripple, paralyse, and defeat our -Government in its efforts, taking up, in fact, a downright hostile -attitude to the action of the Imperial and Indian Governments, by carrying -on an unauthorized unofficial correspondence with Li Hung Chang, the Prime -Minister, and the most influential public man in China, who is a master of -the arts of diplomacy, and who is doing his utmost to get the better of us -if he can in the matter of the Chefoo Convention. Here, I say, is this -society putting forward Li’s audacious and misleading letter to its -secretary, Mr. Storrs Turner, as an embodiment of truth and justice. Is -this patriotic or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> proper on the part of this Anti-Opium Society? Should -that body, instead of setting itself up as a junto, with a quasi-official -standing, having a monopoly of all the virtues, be allowed by the -Government to carry on its mischievous organization any longer? I think -not. I believe there is no other country in the world—not even America, -where liberty has run to seed—where such an intermeddling, anti-national -and mischievous confederacy would be permitted to exist. Instead of trying -to thwart Her Majesty’s Government, as it is doing, it should be the duty -of its members, of every Englishman interested in China, and, indeed, of -the whole country, to strengthen as far as possible the hands of the -Government in its endeavour to bring the pending negotiations for a -commercial treaty with China to a successful close. Yet what are the -present plans of this pragmatical body? In its latest publication, a -compilation of the most fallacious and misleading matter, bearing a title -meanly plagiarized from this book, it is announced that the following -motion stands upon the Order Book of the House of Commons, and is intended -to be moved in the Session for 1883, viz:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that in -the event of negotiations taking place between the Governments of Her -Majesty and China, having reference to the duties levied on opium -under the Treaty of Tientsin, the Government of Her Majesty will be -pleased to intimate to the Government of China that in any such -revision of that treaty <i>the Government of China will be met as that -of an independent State, having the full right to arrange its own -import duties as may be deemed expedient</i>.</p></div> - -<p>What a modest proposition! The Queen’s Ministers, it appears, cannot be -trusted in their negotiations with the Government of China, and Her -Majesty in consequence is to be asked to ignore her constitutional -advisers, and personally inform the Chinese Minister that his Government -shall be treated as an independent state, and so forth. In fact, this -proposal is tantamount to a vote, <i>pro tanto</i> at least, of want of -confidence in the Government, which, I have little doubt, would be -rejected by an overwhelming majority of both sides of the House. I only -hope it will be pressed to a division, as the result, I believe, will show -to the country in an unmistakable manner, once and for all, the utter -insignificance of the Anti-Opium confederacy as a political body,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> the -falsity and mischief of its teaching, and prove the knell of its -existence. If motions like this were to be passed, it would be impossible -to carry on Her Majesty’s Government. The matter is really too absurd to -be seriously dealt with by Parliament, and I bring it before my readers -more for the purpose of showing the downright folly, infatuation and -fanaticism which characterize this Anti-Opium confederation than for any -other purpose. To these political philanthropists and amateur statesmen I -would recommend these lines, which seem to me to meet their case -exactly:—</p> - -<div class="container"> -<p class="poetry">“No narrow bigot he, his reasoned view<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Thy interest, England, ranks with thine, Peru;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">War at our doors, he sees no danger nigh,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">But heaves for all alike the impartial sigh;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">A steady patron of the world alone,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">The friend of every country—save his own.â€</span></p></div> - -<p>Of the missionaries themselves, beyond this opium craze that has -unfortunately possessed them, I have nothing to say except to their -credit. A more conscientious and deserving body of men this world has -never produced; under hardships, troubles, and unspeakable difficulties, -they have sped their way with courage and cheerfulness, undeterred by -dangers, great privations and hardships which nothing but their strong -faith and unflagging zeal in their sacred mission could have enabled them -to surmount. Of their ultimate success I entertain, perhaps, as little -doubt as they do themselves; but on this opium question the “zeal of their -house hath eaten them up,†and they have unconsciously been playing the -game of the crafty heathen. Let them pursue their good cause, and not -allow themselves to be cajoled by their bitterest enemies; above all, let -them keep clear of politics. No clergyman ever improves by intermeddling -in such matters, but, on the contrary, by doing so he invariably becomes a -bad politician and a worse priest. Let these vast sums, subscribed for the -promotion of a chimera, be transferred to the missionaries’ fund, so as to -improve the lot of these missionaries and give them a little more comfort -in the hostile climate and the bitter fight that is before them. “The -labourer is worthy of his hire,†and it is starving the missionary work -not to pay its servants liberally, I should say most liberally. With -respect to the Rev. Mr. Storrs Turner, whose name I have so often -mentioned, and whose writings I have so frequently<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> animadverted upon, I -had the pleasure of knowing him in China. No worthier or better gentleman, -and no more able and zealous missionary clergyman ever set foot there. In -referring to him and his writings as I have done, nothing was further from -my thoughts than to impute to him for a moment an unworthy motive. He is -in the first rank of the missionary clergymen who stood the brunt of the -battle, and is deserving of praise and honour. As yet the missionaries -have been like husbandmen tilling an unkindly soil, trying to produce -wholesome fruit where only gross weeds grew before; and although small -apparently has been the fruit as yet, the unfriendly soil has shown signs -of yielding, and I feel assured that the day will come when their labours -shall be rewarded with a plenteous harvest.</p> - -<p>I have now told the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth on -the opium question; certainly such has been my intention. In doing so I am -afraid I may have given pain to many good and excellent people; I know -that I have given pain to myself. I can only repeat that I have never -intended to impute a wrongful or unworthy motive to any of them. Those who -are and have been engaged in the Anti-Opium agitation are, I admit, -influenced by the best motives. I have myself throughout been solely -actuated by a desire to remove the unfounded delusions that have got -possession of these worthy people, which have done great injustice to our -fellow-countrymen in China, as well as to the benevolent British public, -which has kept this Anti-Opium Society provided with the funds that have -enabled them to carry on their operations, to the embarrassment of the -administration of our great Indian Entire. Personally, I say again, that I -have no interest whatever in the matter, nor have I any leaning towards -the interests of any of the merchants now engaged in the opium trade. My -hands in this matter are absolutely clean. In the preface to the first -edition of these lectures I have explained how and why I came to deliver -them; that is my explanation without any mental reservation whatsoever. I -have, I admit, a very strong feeling upon the subject, but so also have -those who differ from me; and I would ask those most excellent and -honourable people to remember that there are two sides to most -questions,—to imagine, if they can, that there are other persons, totally -opposed to their views, who are quite as honest in their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> convictions as -they are themselves,—to look upon me as one of those persons, and to -measure my feelings by the strength of their own. I say this because I -have heard that a rumour to the effect of my being in some way personally -interested in the Indo-China opium trade has been circulated. If such is -the case, this rumour has no foundation in fact. I cannot prevent the -dissemination of such reports; but they are, I repeat, utterly groundless. -Honest in my purpose, I can afford to treat them with unconcern, and can -justly add, whilst far from setting myself up as better than my -neighbours, that—</p> - -<div class="container"> -<p class="poetry">“I am arm’d so strong in honesty,<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">That they pass me by as the idle wind,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Which I respect not.â€</span></p></div> - - - - -<p> </p><p> </p> -<hr style="width: 50%;" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span></p> -<h2><a name="APPENDIX" id="APPENDIX"></a>APPENDIX.</h2> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span></p> - - -<p> </p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span></p> -<p class="title">APPENDIX.</p> - - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang"><i>Being an Official Letter from the Hon. Francis Bulkeley Johnson, of -the firm of Jardine, Matheson, & Co., Chairman of the Hong Kong -Chamber of Commerce, to Charles Magniac, Esq., M.P., President of the -London Chamber of Commerce.</i></p></div> - -<p> </p> -<p class="right"><span style="padding-right: 5em;">Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce,</span><br /> -<span style="padding-right: 1em;">Hong Kong, 22nd November, 1882.</span></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Sir</span>,—The attention of the Committee of this Chamber has been called to -certain statements recently made in the United Kingdom regarding this -Colony, on what must unfortunately appear to the public mind to be -competent authority, but which are nevertheless unwarranted and -misleading.</p> - -<p>The statements referred to are, in the opinion of the Committee, -calculated not only to affect injuriously the reputation of the Colony, -but to damage its interests by prejudicing the policy of the Home -Government and the Imperial Parliament, when dealing with the settlement -of questions arising out of the close political and commercial relations -which the Island of Hong Kong from its juxta-position must necessarily -hold with the Empire of China.</p> - -<p>The Committee offers no apology for addressing you on this subject as it -ventures to believe that the promotion of British Commercial enterprise -abroad in all legitimate channels is one of the objects the London Chamber -of Commerce has in view, and, to that end, it is clearly desirable that a -true appreciation should prevail, not only among the members of your -influential Committee, but throughout the United Kingdom, as to the -position and character of British trade and traders in the Colonies and -foreign countries.</p> - -<p>In the course of an address on the Repression of Crime delivered at the -Social Science Congress, recently held in Nottingham, Sir John Pope -Hennessy, Governor of this Colony, now on leave of absence in England, is -reported to have said—I quote from the <i>Nottingham and Midland Counties -Daily Express</i>, of the 22nd September:—“In the little Colony under my -government one million sterling changes hands every month in the article -of opium. But, with commercial activity and profits, there comes an -increase of crime from opium, from its consumption, and from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> its -smuggling. Hong Kong wages a chronic opium war on a small scale with -China. A desperate class of men, the opium smugglers make the Colony the -base of their operations—they purchase cannon and ammunition there, they -fit out heavily armed junks and engage, within sight of the island, in -naval battles with the revenue cruisers of the Emperor of China. Sometimes -the Emperor’s revenue officers are killed, sometimes the smugglers. Not -unfrequently wounded men of both sides are brought into the Colony. All -this gives rise to a class of crimes difficult for the Governor to -repress, difficult on account of the influence of those who profit by it, -whether they are local traders or the financiers of a Viceroy.â€</p> - -<p>The picture thus sensationally drawn is one which, from its great -exaggerations, gives an untrue representation of the state of things -prevailing in these waters, and cannot fail to lead to the formation of -wholly incorrect inferences as to the relations existing between the -population of this island, for the most part law-abiding and pursuing -honest and industrious callings, and the authorities of the neighbouring -mainland.</p> - -<p>Sir John Hennessy states that opium, to the extent of a million sterling, -<i>changes hands</i> in this Colony every month, and this assertion as to the -magnitude of the trade was obviously made in order to show the vast and -wide-spread interests involved in it, and the influential protection -therefore likely to be afforded to a traffic which the general tenour of -the remarks just quoted cannot fail to lead ordinary readers to suppose is -to a very large extent, if not mainly, contraband.</p> - -<p>Your Committee will be able to judge from the following facts how far the -injurious imputation, thus plausibly insinuated, if not directly stated, -is to be justified by the actual position of affairs.</p> - -<p>The import of opium from India and Persia to Hong Kong and <i>the whole of -China</i>, for the year 1881 was—</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" summary="table"> -<tr><td>Of Malwa, from Bombay</td> - <td><span class="spacer"> </span></td> - <td align="right">35,729</td> - <td>chests.</td></tr> -<tr><td>Bengal, from Calcutta</td> - <td> </td> - <td align="right">44,124</td> - <td align="center">"</td></tr> -<tr><td>From Persia</td> - <td> </td> - <td align="right" class="botbor">6,763</td> - <td align="center">"</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">Total</td> - <td> </td> - <td align="right">86,616</td> - <td>chests.</td></tr></table> - -<p>of an approximate value of £10,000,000 sterling.</p> - -<p>With some slight and unimportant exceptions the whole of this opium, the -trade in which it is worthy of note is now practically monopolized by -British Indian firms, passes through this harbour, but by far the larger -proportion of it can only be classed under the head of Hong Kong trade in -the sense in which the traffic through the Suez Canal can be considered as -Egyptian trade. About one half of the quantity of opium I have named as -the entire import, is immediately sent on either in the original foreign -vessels conveying it here, or by other vessels, also foreign, to Shanghai, -where it is entered regularly at the Custom House under official foreign -superintendence.</p> - -<p>Of the remainder, about one half, that is to say, one quarter of the -whole, is shipped by foreign vessels to other treaty ports open to foreign -trade, where it is duly entered at the Customs. The local trade proper of -the Colony, whether for shipment to Macao or Canton by foreign and native -vessels, or in native bottoms, to non-treaty ports,—<i>i.e.</i> to ports and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> -places with which foreign vessels cannot trade,—for consumption on the -island, and for re-export in a prepared state to California and Australia, -or for smuggling purposes, embraces therefore about one fourth of the -entire export to China from India and Persia, or say, in quantity about -21,000 chests of an approximate value of £2,500,000, or about £200,000 per -month instead of £1,000,000 per month as asserted by Governor Hennessy.</p> - -<p>There being no Custom House at this port, it is impossible to obtain -thoroughly accurate statistics as to the disposition of the 21,000 chests -of opium which form the local trade of the Colony. As regards the local -consumption and export in a prepared state, it may be estimated that from -2,500 to 5,000 chests are boiled in the Colony every year, leaving a -balance of 16,000 to 18,500 chests to be accounted for. To suppose that -this quantity is taken into China by smugglers would be to disregard all -the known conditions of the trade and the fact that the preventive service -of the Chinese Empire is probably in point of espionage the most carefully -organized one in the world. On every road, in every village bordering on a -river or waterway, at every port, village, and fishing station along the -coast, there is a watchful Customs Station rendering it very difficult for -a boat of the smallest size to touch the shore without being overhauled -and made to pay levies purporting to be imperial or local dues. To what -extent such dues are honestly levied and declared, there is no means of -ascertaining. The Customs Stations are believed to be farmed out by the -provincial authorities to officials who pay for their appointments, and -although a service thus organized would be considered as a demoralized one -and its system unreservedly condemned according to Western ideas, it is -probable that the receipts of perquisites, and the partial remission of -duties by Customs officials who farm the revenue, is a <i>quasi</i> recognized -practice acquiesced in by all classes throughout the Empire.</p> - -<p>With this system, however, the Colony and merchants of Hong Kong have no -concern, and for its results they are in no way responsible. As the vast -majority of the junks which leave the mainland with produce or arrive -there with imports, undoubtedly obtain from the local Custom Houses port -clearances and bills of entry, the large trade, whether in opium or other -goods, carried on between this port and places on the coast in native -bottoms, being thus subjected to the ordinary fiscal dues levied on the -China coast according to the practice of the Empire, is for the most part -a strictly legal one.</p> - -<p>Smuggling between this island and the mainland in goods other than opium -scarcely exists, as an evasion of the low <i>ad valorem</i> duty of five per -cent. which is payable on entry at the treaty ports, and is probably the -maximum similarly leviable at other ports, would not compensate for the -heavy charges which must be incurred by transit over unusual routes even -if the ubiquitous Customs officials could be avoided. Opium, owing to its -portable character, the facility with which it can be hidden beneath water -without serious deterioration, and the high duty imposed upon it, is more -readily and profitably smuggled, but the returns which have been received -through the Native Custom House at Canton make it nearly certain that the -quantity which evades the payment of duty, either at the treaty ports or -the ports and places not open to foreign trade, is not greater than 2,000 -to 3,000 chests per annum. (See Parliamentary <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span>Papers—China No. 2, 1880.) -And the quantity thus estimated to be smuggled is not conveyed, as alleged -by Governor Hennessy, in junks heavily armed for the purpose, fighting -their way to the mainland through the revenue cruisers, but is concealed, -a few balls at a time, about the persons, and in the luggage of Chinese -passengers by the steamers plying between this port and Canton, and other -places on the coast, or in ordinary trading junks and fishing boats of -unpretentious character, or fast pulling boats propelled by a number of -rowers, or by various devices such as are practised by the persons who -evade the duties on tobacco in the United Kingdom. That the revenue -cruisers which surround this island keep up an effective blockade which -prevents the smuggling of opium on a much larger scale than at present -takes place, is probably true, and it is also true that Chinese junks and -boats in the estuary of the Canton river, which do not promptly submit to -be overhauled by the cruisers, are chased and brought to for examination, -if necessary, by being fired upon. The propinquity, however, of this -island to the mainland, so far from being a cause of injury to the Chinese -Customs Revenue, operates most advantageously for the collection of fiscal -levies upon the foreign trade of the southern coast of the Empire. Were -the island situated at a greater distance from the mainland than it is, or -did not exist in its present conditions as a free port under a foreign -government, the difficulties which would be placed in the way of the -Chinese authorities, when engaged in checking smuggling in opium, would be -much greater than they now are. Opium in that case would probably be -shipped in native vessels from more distant depôts, such as Singapore, -Saigon or the French mediatized territory of Tonquin, to Chinese ports and -places, and it would be impossible for the revenue cruisers to watch the -entire line of their own coast as effectively as they are now able to -blockade this island in which the trade is centred and controlled.</p> - -<p>There is, therefore, no ground for Governor Hennessy’s statement that this -Colony is engaged in chronic war with the neighbouring mainland, or for -his implied imputation that the course of its trade is injurious to the -Chinese fiscal revenue. On the contrary, the facts of the case show that -the physical conditions of the island of Hong Kong not only afford the -ready means by which the Chinese Government is enabled to protect its -legitimate revenue, but also unfortunately place it in the power of the -authorities of the province of Quangtung to surcharge the trade in foreign -goods, carried on in native vessels between Hong Kong and the southern -ports of China, with additional taxation in excess of that authorized by -the foreign treaties.</p> - -<p>With the view to make a representation to H.M. Government in support of -which it may hereafter be necessary to invite the good offices of your -Committee, this Chamber is now engaged in an investigation into the facts, -so far as they can be ascertained, relating to this alleged surcharge of -duties upon the Colonial trade for the collection of which, as well as for -the prevention of an illicit traffic in opium, there is reason to believe -the blockade of this island by Chinese revenue cruisers is maintained.</p> - -<p>So much as regards the general conditions of the trade of the Colony which -evidence the grave misrepresentations contained in the Nottingham address, -but in order to show conclusively, by official returns on matters of fact, -the groundlessness of the specific accusation made by Sir John Pope -Hennessy, your attention is invited to the annexed copies of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> -correspondence, with its enclosures, between the Colonial Government and -the Committee of this Chamber.</p> - -<p>In response to the request of the Committee, the Acting Colonial Secretary -under the direction of His Excellency the Administrator has furnished the -Chamber with the following documents, viz.:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">1. Extracts from a Report by the Colonial Treasurer and Registrar -General upon the Opium Trade of the Colony.</p> - -<p class="hang">2. Return from the Harbour Master, showing the character of the native -vessels engaged in Opium Smuggling and the number of cases of alleged -smuggling brought before the Marine Court since April 1877.</p> - -<p class="hang">3. Return from the Captain Superintendent of Police, showing the total -number of attacks and seizures made by Customs Revenue Cruisers in the -neighbourhood of the Colony and reported to the Police since 1st -January 1877.</p></div> - -<p>The Colonial Treasurer’s Report on the Opium Trade for 1876, confirms the -figures of the approximate estimate made by this Chamber from independent -sources and given above, as to the probable quantity of opium smuggled -into China from this Colony.</p> - -<p>The Harbour Master’s Return shows that there is no special class of -vessels fitted out in the Colony and heavily armed for the purpose of -opium smuggling, as alleged by Governor Hennessy, and in the five cases -cited in the report which comprise the whole number brought before the -Marine Court in the course of five years, it will be seen that the -quantity of opium found in the vessels charged with being engaged in -illicit trade was so inconsiderable, as to make it obvious that the -concealment of opium took place in each case in an ordinary trading junk. -It is also clear from this Return that nothing is known in the Harbour -Master’s Department of the armed organization for the purpose of opium -smuggling which is stated by Governor Hennessy to carry on a chronic war -with the Empire of China.</p> - -<p>The return from the Captain Superintendent of Police dealing with the -entire number of cases reported to the police authorities during the years -1878 to 1882 (inclusive) of seizures by Chinese Revenue cruisers and -affrays between the cruisers and native vessels on the neighbouring China -coast, is instructive.</p> - -<p>The number of cases is 23, but of these only 6 are reported to be -connected with the opium trade and the value of the opium seized varies -from $3 in one case to the maximum amount in another of $800, showing, in -confirmation of the Report by the Harbour Master to a similar effect, the -comparatively unimportant character of the opium smuggling which prevails -in these waters, and the absurdity of the allegation that there is a large -contraband trade conducted in heavily armed junks fitted for the purpose -in this harbour.</p> - -<p>The remaining 17 cases of seizures by revenue cruisers during five years -do not appear by the returns to have been connected with opium; 7 of them -were salt junks, 1 sulphur and saltpetre, 3 general cargo, and 2 sugar. In -4 cases the particulars of cargoes are not stated.</p> - -<p>The return shows the number of casualties with fatal results reported to -the police as having occurred in affrays between native vessels and the -revenue cruisers during the period of five years under review. Such -casualties have been 8 in number, but not one of them appears to have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> had -any connection with opium smuggling, or to have arisen out of any case of -contraband trading with which this Colony was concerned.</p> - -<p>In August 1878, a fisherman on the Hong Kong shore was accidentally killed -by a shot fired by a revenue cruiser when pursuing a junk ultimately -seized for some breach of Chinese regulations with general cargo on board.</p> - -<p>In May 1879, three men of a revenue cruiser were killed in an affray with -a junk carrying salt. As salt is not produced or prepared in this island, -this affray was not generated in the Colony or within Colonial waters. The -preparation of salt in China is conducted as a very strict monopoly by -means of Government licenses, and trade in it other than by duly -authorized persons is contraband. Serious affrays between salt smugglers -and revenue officers are well known to be common throughout the Empire, -they are frequently alluded to in the <i>Peking Gazette</i>, and in the case -referred to in the Police Report, the junk must have been passing from one -part of the territory of China to another part outside of British waters.</p> - -<p>On 28th November 1881, a man was killed in a boat which was conveying two -gentlemen of this Colony who were returning from a shooting expedition on -the mainland. Passing by a Customs Station on the Chinese side of the -channel the boat was ordered to heave to; not doing so promptly, musket -shots were fired at it and one of the crew was most unfortunately killed. -In this case there appears to have been no smuggling attempted.</p> - -<p>In April this year a man was killed on board a rowing boat in the narrow -channel separating Hong Kong from the mainland, and in June last two men -were killed outside British waters in a trading junk carrying sulphur and -saltpetre, which are contraband articles of trade in China. In neither -case does it appear that opium was concerned.</p> - -<p>With reference, therefore, to Sir John Pope Hennessy’s allegations, which -were to the following effect:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang"><i>a.</i>—That this island is the base of operations for a class of -desperate men who carry on a large contraband trade in opium with -China;</p> - -<p class="hang"><i>b.</i>—That for the purpose of carrying on that trade, junks heavily -armed with cannon are fitted out here and wage a chronic war with the -neighbouring Empire;</p> - -<p class="hang"><i>c.</i>—That these junks engage, within sight of the island, in naval -battles with the Chinese Revenue cruisers resulting in large loss of -life on both sides;</p></div> - -<p>The facts are:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang"><i>a.</i>—There is no large contraband trade in opium carried on between -this Colony and the China coast. On the contrary, the opium smuggled, -considering the extent of the trade, is inconsiderable, and for the -most part is carried into China in small quantities, portable and -easily concealed, just as parcels of tobacco are smuggled into the -United Kingdom.</p> - -<p class="hang"><i>b.</i>—That within the knowledge of the Harbour Master and the Colonial -police authorities no armed junks have been fitted out in this harbour -during the last five years for the purpose of opium smuggling. -Smuggling of opium, when attempted at all otherwise than by passengers -in the various steamers trading to the coast of China, is carried on -in ordinary trading junks or in rowing boats dependent for success in -their illicit trade upon their swiftness and small size.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span></p> - -<p class="hang"><i>c.</i>—No such contests as those referred to in allegation <i>c</i> have -taken place within the last five years, and no loss of life in -connection with opium smuggling during the same period has come under -the notice of the police. Any serious affrays attended with loss of -life which have occurred in the neighbourhood of this Colony between -native vessels and revenue cruisers, have been in connection with -contraband traffic in other articles on the adjacent China coast with -which, so far as is known, this Colony has had no concern. The only -instance reported by the police in which revenue officers have been -injured, was the case of the salt junk referred to above and shown to -be a purely Chinese affair.</p></div> - -<p>It may be added that on goods other than opium there is very little, if -any, illicit trade carried on between the Colony and the mainland, and -that no allegation has ever been made that foreigners are engaged directly -or indirectly in smuggling of any kind.</p> - -<p>In conclusion, the Committee cannot refrain from expressing regret that -Sir John Pope Hennessy having had the fullest opportunities, as Governor -of this island for five years, of obtaining accurate information with -regard to occurrences taking place and the state of affairs prevailing -here during his term of office, should have been led to make statements, -unfounded in fact and misleading in the inferences they are calculated to -raise, which could not fail to damage the character of the Colony, the -legitimate interests of which it might justly have been expected he would -have been most anxious to defend.</p> - -<p>Copies of this letter will be sent through His Excellency the -Administrator to Her Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for the -Colonies, and to the various Chambers of Commerce in the United -Kingdom.—I am, Sir, your most obedient Servant,</p> - -<p><span style="margin-left: 4em;">(Signed)</span><span class="spacer"> </span><span class="smcap">F. Bulkeley Johnson</span>,<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 16em;"><i>Chairman</i>.</span></p> - -<p>Charles Magniac, Esq., M.P.,<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">President of the London Chamber of</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Commerce, London.</span></p> - - - -<p> </p> -<p class="center"><small>LONDON:<br /> -PRINTED BY W. H. ALLEN AND CO., 13 WATERLOO PLACE.</small></p> - - - -<p> </p><p> </p> -<hr style="width: 50%;" /> -<p><b>Footnotes:</b></p> - -<p><a name='f_1' id='f_1' href='#fna_1'>[1]</a> “British Opium Policy, and its Results to India and China.â€</p> - -<p><a name='f_2' id='f_2' href='#fna_2'>[2]</a> The loose control possessed by the Emperor over his officials was well -described by one of the most trusted ministers of the great Emperor Keen -Lung. He said to one of the Jesuit missionaries at Pekin, that “the -Emperor himself cannot put a stop to the evils that exist in the service. -To displace those officials who have misbehaved themselves, he may send -others, but instead of removing the evil they generally commit greater -exactions than their predecessors. The Emperor is assured that all is -well, whilst affairs are at their worst and the people are oppressed.â€</p> - -<p><a name='f_3' id='f_3' href='#fna_3'>[3]</a> “China: a History of the Laws, Manners, and Customs of the People.â€</p> - -<p><a name='f_4' id='f_4' href='#fna_4'>[4]</a> “The Middle Kingdom.†A Survey of the Geography, Government, -Education, Social Life, Arts, Religion, &c., of the Chinese Empire, and -its Inhabitants.</p> - -<p><a name='f_5' id='f_5' href='#fna_5'>[5]</a> As a matter of fact the skull of a Chinaman is fully double the -thickness of that of a European.</p> - -<p><a name='f_6' id='f_6' href='#fna_6'>[6]</a> “The River of Golden Sand; the Narrative of a Journey through China -and Eastern Thibet to Burmah,†by Capt. William Gill, R.E.</p> - -<p><a name='f_7' id='f_7' href='#fna_7'>[7]</a> “The Principles and Practice of Medical Jurisprudence,†by Alfred -Swaine Taylor, M.D., F.R.S.</p> - -<p><a name='f_8' id='f_8' href='#fna_8'>[8]</a> I have a distant recollection of a syllogism with which schoolboys -once used to exercise the minds of their juniors, which ran, I think, -thus:—</p> - -<div class="container"> -<p class="poetry">Epimenides said all Cretans were liars,<br /> -Epimenides himself was a Cretan,<br /> -Therefore Epimenides was a liar,—therefore he was not a liar.</p></div> - -<p><a name='f_9' id='f_9' href='#fna_9'>[9]</a> “L’Angleterre, la Chine, et l’Inde.†I am indebted for a transcript of -the chapter in question to Mr. H. Henry Sultzberger, Merchant, of No. 10 -Cannon Street, City, who has taken such an interest in the opium question -that he had the chapter printed at his own expense; and also to M. -d’Audlan, a teacher of modern languages, for a translation of it.</p> - -<p><a name='f_10' id='f_10' href='#fna_10'>[10]</a> “Annals of Chemical Medicine, including the Application of Chemistry -to Physiology, Pathology, Therapeutics, Pharmacy, Toxicology and Hygiene.â€</p> - -<p><a name='f_11' id='f_11' href='#fna_11'>[11]</a> In those days about £100 sterling.—W. H. B.</p> - -<p><a name='f_12' id='f_12' href='#fna_12'>[12]</a> The unfounded charge of smuggling by British merchants and foreigners -in Hong Kong has been completely refuted by the Honourable Francis -Bulkeley Johnson, the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of the Colony, -in a very able letter to Charles Magniac, Esq., M.P., the President of the -London Chamber of Commerce. This letter, which reached me just before -going to press, will be found set out <i>in extenso</i> by way of Appendix. It -is full of valuable and interesting information on the Indo-China opium -trade, and is well worthy of careful study.</p> - -<p><a name='f_13' id='f_13' href='#fna_13'>[13]</a> In a recent number of the <i>Temps</i>, England was flouted with playing a -humanitarian, hypocritical part towards Tunis, whilst we oppressed the -natives of China by forcing them to smoke opium, in order to augment the -revenue of the Indian Government.</p> - - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Truth about Opium, by William H. 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Brereton - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Truth about Opium - Being a Refutation of the Fallacies of the Anti-Opium - Society and a Defence of the Indo-China Opium Trade - -Author: William H. Brereton - -Release Date: October 26, 2013 [EBook #44043] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TRUTH ABOUT OPIUM *** - - - - -Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive/American -Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - - THE TRUTH ABOUT OPIUM. - - - BEING A - - _REFUTATION OF THE FALLACIES - OF THE ANTI-OPIUM SOCIETY AND A DEFENCE - OF THE INDO-CHINA OPIUM TRADE_. - - - BY WILLIAM H. BRERETON, - LATE OF HONG KONG. - - - "_Let truth and falsehood grapple; who ever knew truth put to the worse - in a free and open encounter?_"--JOHN MILTON. - - - _SECOND EDITION._ - - - LONDON: - W. H. ALLEN & CO., 13 WATERLOO PLACE. - PUBLISHERS TO THE INDIA OFFICE. - - 1883. - - (_All rights reserved._) - - - - - LONDON: - PRINTED BY W. H. ALLEN AND CO., 13 WATERLOO PLACE. - - - - -PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. - - -In the preface to my first edition I expressed a hope that these lectures, -however imperfect, would prove in some degree instrumental towards -breaking up the Anti-Opium confederacy, and I have the satisfaction of -knowing that my anticipations have not been altogether disappointed. The -lectures were well received by the public and the press, and struck the -Anti-Opium Society and its versatile Secretary, the Rev. Mr. Storrs -Turner, with such consternation that, in the language of people in -difficulties, "business was discontinued until further notice." Mr. Storrs -Turner,--the motive power which kept the Anti-Opium machine working,--who -had hitherto been so active, aggressive, and demonstrative--a very -Mercutio in volubility and fertility of resource,--became suddenly silent, -mute as the harp on Tara's walls. He who once was resonant as the lion, -like Bottom the Weaver, moderated his tone, and roared from thenceforth -"gently as any sucking dove." Until the delivery of my lectures, no lark -at early morn was half so lively or jubilant. Letters to the newspapers, -articles in magazines, improvised lectures and speeches, flew from him -like chaff from the winnowing-machine. Heaven help the unlucky individual -who had the temerity to differ from him on the opium question, for Mr. -Storrs Turner would, as the phrase goes, "come down upon him sharp." - -This kind of light skirmishing suited him exactly; it kept alive public -interest in the Anti-Opium delusion, and no doubt brought grist to the -mill, without committing him to anything in particular, or calling for any -extraordinary draft upon his imagination or resources. He had only to -reiterate loud enough the cuckoo cry that his deluded followers had so -long recognised as the paean of victory. But when my lectures were -delivered, and it was announced that they would be published, "a change -came o'er the spirit of his dream." Having for so many years had -practically all the field to himself, it had never occurred to him that -another and more competent witness from China, where all these imaginary -evils from opium smoking were alleged to be taking place,--who had had -better opportunities of learning the truth about opium than he could -possibly have had, and who had turned those opportunities to good -account,--should appear and refute his fallacies. This was a _denouement_ -that neither he nor his Society was prepared for, and dismay and silence -prevailed in consequence in the enemy's camp. - - And the tents were all silent,--the banners unflown,-- - The lances unlifted,--the trumpet unblown. - -My lectures were delivered in February, 1882. The Rev. Mr. Storrs Turner -attended them and corresponded with me upon the subject. In those lectures -I criticized his book and pointed out its misleading features and -inaccuracies; but, recognizing the force of Sir John Falstaff's maxim, -that "the better part of valour is discretion," he never attempted to -controvert my case, nor justify himself or the Anti-Opium Society, who for -so many years had made such noise in the world. It was only in October, -1882,--eight months after my lectures had been delivered,--after an -article appeared in the _London and China Telegraph_, commenting on the -collapse of the Anti-Opium Society,--that Mr. Storrs Turner, like -Munchausen's remarkable hunting-horn, gave utterance to a few feeble -notes, to the effect that his Society was still alive; for he well knew -that all that I had stated in those lectures I could prove to the -hilt,--aye, ten times over. - -But if Mr. Storrs Turner has declined the contest, an acolyte of his, Mr. -B. Broomhall,--who appears to be the Secretary of the Inland China -Mission, and one of the "Executive Committee" of the Anti-Opium -Society,--comes upon the scene like King Hamlet's ghost, declaring that he -"could a tale unfold, whose lightest breath would harrow up your souls, -freeze the hot blood, and make each particular hair to stand on end." -Plagiarising, if not pirating, my title, with a colourable addition of the -word "Smoking," he produces, in November 1882, a compilation entitled "The -Truth about Opium-_Smoking_," rather a thick pamphlet, made up of excerpts -from all the writings and speeches, good, bad, and indifferent, that have -been published and delivered within the last thirty years on the -Anti-Opium side of the question, with some critical matter of his own, -from all of which it appears most conclusively that he, Mr. B. Broomhall, -is perfectly innocent of the subject he undertakes to enlighten the world -upon. I think I see through this gentleman and his objects pretty well. -With respect to the authors of these writings and speeches, I may say at -once that I hold them in as much respect as Mr. B. Broomhall does himself. -Some of them are very eminent men, who, apart from this opium delusion, -are ornaments to their country, and all, I have no doubt, are men of -spotless honour and integrity; but what, after all, does that prove? Why, -simply the _bona fides_ of these gentlemen, which no one ever questioned, -and nothing more;--that in writing those pamphlets and articles they -honestly believed they were giving utterance to facts and recording -circumstances which were true, and which it was for the good of society -should be widely known. The good and just man is as liable to be deceived -as he who is less perfect,--indeed, more so, for his very amiability and -guilelessness of heart allay suspicion and make him an easier prey to the -designing and unscrupulous. Not one of those gentlemen, save Sir -Rutherford Alcock, and one or two others, whose opinions are coincident, -in fact, with my own, have had any actual personal knowledge of the facts -they write about, and such a statement as the following might well be -printed in the front of each of their books or writings, viz.: "I have -read certain books and articles in newspapers, and heard speeches upon the -opium question, which I believe to be true, and on such assumption the -following pages are my views upon the subject." To prove to my readers the -utterly unreliable and deceptive character of Mr. Broomhall's compilation, -it is only necessary to refer to one passage, which will be found at page -122, where it is gravely put forward THAT THE INDIAN MUTINY WAS BROUGHT -ABOUT BY THE INDO-CHINA OPIUM TRADE! After that, Tenterden Steeple and the -Goodwin Sands will hardly seem so disconnected as has been hitherto -commonly supposed. But then the book is illustrated; there are the -pictures copied from the _Graphic_. There is the poppy, and there is the -opium pipe. Of course Mr. B. Broomhall knows all about opium smoking,--or -the illustrations would not be there. Mr. Crummles, with his "splendid tub -and real pump," could not have done better. - -As to Mr. B. Broomhall's remarks respecting my book I have very little to -say; there is nothing in them. Like Mr. Storrs Turner, he has found it a -poser, and has said very little respecting it. When your opponent gets the -worst of an argument, if he does not honestly acknowledge his -discomfiture, he generally follows one of two courses--either he loses his -temper and takes to scolding, or he suddenly discovers something -wonderfully funny in your arguments which no one else was able to detect. -Mr. B. Broomhall eschews the former, but adopts the latter course. He -selects a paragraph or two, and says, "That is ludicrous," but he never -condescends to enlighten his readers as to where the fun lies, or in what -the drollery consists. - -But, although Mr. B. Broomhall makes light of my book, he has thought -proper to imitate its title. He evidently thought there was nothing -ludicrous in _that_. This was very "smart," but smartness is a quality not -much appreciated on this side of the Atlantic. As my book had dealt a -heavy blow to the Anti-Opium Society, and a cheap edition might prove -still more damaging, an opposition book, with a similar title, might so -confuse the public as to be mistaken for mine. Imitation has been said to -be the sincerest flattery, but I dislike adulation even when administered -by the Anti-Opium Society. This gentleman and his compilation bring very -forcibly to my mind the profound Mr. Pott, of the _Eatanswill Gazette_, -who, having written a series of recondite articles on _Chinese -Metaphysics_, brought his lucubrations to the notice of his friend, Mr. -Pickwick. That gentleman ventured to remark that the subject seemed an -abstruse one. "Very true," returned Mr. Pott, with a smile of intellectual -superiority, "but I crammed for it--I read up the subject in the -_Encyclopaedia Britannica_. I looked for metaphysics under the letter M, -and for China under the letter C, and combined the information." This -seems to be the sort of process by which Mr. B. Broomhall has arrived at -his knowledge on the opium question, and with similar results. I do not -wish to be too hard upon this gentleman, who, after all, may have been -only a cat's-paw in the matter--for it must not be forgotten that there is -Mr. Storrs Turner in the background; but he himself, on reflection, must, -I think, admit that it was going a little too far to introduce into his -compilation a parody--which some might call a vulgar parody--on one of the -verses of Bishop Heber's very beautiful and world-renowned Missionary -Hymn. I will not give my readers the "elegant extract," but they can find -it for themselves at page 117. - -I have in this edition amplified the matter and given extracts from the -Reports of Mr. William Donald Spence, Her Majesty's Consul at Ichang, and -Mr. E. Colborne Baber's _Travels and Researches in Western China_, which -throw a flood of light upon the opium question. I have also quoted from a -very valuable work of Don Sinibaldo de Mas, an accomplished Chinese -scholar, formerly Spanish Minister to the Court of Peking, published in -Paris in 1858, which in itself is a complete vindication of the opium -policy of Her Majesty's Government in India and China, and an able -refutation of the unfounded views of the Anti-Opium Society; and I believe -this edition of _The Truth about Opium_ will be found a very complete -defence of the Indo-China opium trade. - -_30th January 1883._ - - - - -PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. - - -The following lectures were given in pursuance of a determination I came -to some six years ago in Hong Kong, viz. that if I lived to return to -England I should take some steps, either by public lectures or by the -publication of a book, to expose the mischievous fallacies disseminated by -the "Anglo-Oriental Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade." About -that time nearly every mail brought out newspapers to China containing -reports of meetings held in England condemnatory of the Indo-China opium -trade, at which resolutions were made containing the grossest -mis-statements and exaggerations as to opium-smoking, and also the most -unfounded charges against all parties engaged in the opium trade, showing -clearly, to my mind, that not one of the speakers at those meetings really -understood the subject he spoke about so fluently. I have now, happily, -been able to carry out my intention. Unfortunately, I was deprived of the -opportunity of delivering these lectures in Exeter Hall, which was not -only more central than St. James's Hall, but where I could have selected a -more convenient hour for the purpose than the only time the Secretary of -the latter Company could place at my disposal, the reason being that the -Committee of Exeter Hall refused to allow me its use for the purpose of -refuting the false and untenable allegations of the Anti-Opium Society, an -act of intolerance which I think I am justified in exposing. I trust, -however, that any drawback on this account will be compensated for by the -publication of the lectures. I am well aware that this volume has many -imperfections, but there is one respect in which I cannot reproach myself -with having erred, and that is, in having overstepped the bounds of truth. -I have the satisfaction of knowing that all I have stated in the lectures -is substantially true and correct, and with such a consciousness I -entertain a confident hope that they will prove in a humble way -instrumental towards breaking up the Anti-Opium confederacy, the objects -of which are as undeserving of support as they have proved mischievous in -their tendency. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - -LECTURE I. - -Objects of the Lectures.--Lectures based upon principle and not upon -grounds of expediency.--Lecturer's knowledge of the Opium question derived -from actual acquaintance with the facts, acquired during nearly fifteen -years' residence in Hong Kong.--Opium smoking as practised by the Chinese -perfectly innocuous, beneficial rather than injurious.--Opinion of Dr. -Ayres.--Charges made by the Anti-Opium Society and its supporters false -and unfounded.--Alleged knowledge of the members and supporters of the -Anti-Opium Society founded on hearsay evidence of the worst and most -untrustworthy character.--Lecturer not acting in the interests of the -British merchants in China, nor of any other party or person.--Has no -personal interest in the Opium question, and is actuated only by a desire -to dispel the false and mischievous delusions spread abroad in England by -the Anti-Opium Society.--British and other foreign residents in China hold -opposite views to those disseminated by the Anti-Opium people.--British -merchants as a body have no interest in the trade.--China a great Empire -as large as Europe, with a much greater population.--Country and people of -China described.--Impossible to demoralize and debase such a people.--Opium -smoking a general custom throughout the eighteen provinces of China.-- -Reasons for the prolonged existence of the Anti-Opium Society.--False -charges of the Anti-Opium Society respecting the Indo-China Opium trade -more fully formulated.--Petition to the House of Commons of the Protestant -Missionaries at Peking.--Refusal to sign it of the Rev. F. Galpin.--If -half those charges were true the British residents in China would be the -first to raise their voices against the Opium trade.--Official Yellow -Book published by Sir Robert Hart, the Inspector-General of Chinese -Customs, negatives the allegations of the members of the Anti-Opium -Society and the Protestant Missionaries.--Roman Catholic Missionaries make -no complaint against the Indo-China Opium trade.--Allegations of the -Anti-Opium Society that British trade with China has suffered from the -alleged forcing of Opium upon China untrue.--Friendly relations between -the British merchants in China and the Chinese people.--Englishmen more -esteemed by the Chinese than any other nation.--Hong Kong described.-- -Government of China described.--Hong Kong the head-quarters of the -Indo-China Opium trade, Chinese residing there have better means of -procuring the drug than elsewhere--no sufferers from Opium smoking found -there.--Exposure by Dr. Ayres, the Colonial Surgeon of Hong Kong, of the -fallacy that Opium smoking, although indulged in for years, cannot be -dropped without injury to the system.--Fallacy of comparing the Chinese -with the savages of Central Africa by the Secretary of the Anti-Opium -Society exposed.--Archdeacon Gray, a resident for twenty years at Canton, -silent, in his recent work on China and her people, as to the alleged -iniquity of the Indo-China Opium trade.--Character of the Chinese as -described by various authors.--Chinese a frugal and abstemious people.-- -Opium smoking less injurious than beer or tobacco.--Charges of the -Anti-Opium Society based upon fallacies; those fallacies detailed.-- -Alleged objections of the Chinese to receive the Gospel on account of the -Indo-China Opium trade the merest subterfuge, and utterly absurd and -untenable.--The opinion of the late John Crawfurd, Esq., F.R.S., formerly -Governor of the Straits Settlements.--His Dictionary of the Indian Islands -and Adjacent countries. - - Pages 1-49 - - -LECTURE II. - -Hearsay testimony upon which charges of the Anti-Opium Society founded -explained.--Chinese a polite people and treat Missionaries courteously, -but despise Christianity, and will not tell Missionaries the truth about -Opium.--Respectable Chinese would become an object of scorn and disgrace -to their fellow-countrymen if they embraced Christianity.--Professing -Chinese Christians in most cases impostors.--Heathen Chinese as a rule -more trustworthy than so-called Christian converts.--Missionary clergymen -in China have not the confidence of the Chinese people, and draw their -information as to Opium smoking from polluted sources.--Difference between -Missionary clergymen in China and the clergymen of all denominations in -England as regards knowledge of the people they live amongst.--Missionaries -in China wholly responsible for the imposture prevailing in England as to -Opium smoking in China.--Although the Chinese are a spirit-drinking -people, they never drink to excess.--Drunkenness unknown amongst -Chinese.--Chinese-American treaty a sham as regards Opium.--Sir J. H. -Pease, M.P., duped by the "bogus" clause as to Opium.--His speech on the -Opium question in 1881.--Chinese smoke Opium wherever they go.--As much -Opium imported into China now as before the sham treaty.--Opium a luxury -which only the well-to-do can freely indulge in.--Explanation of the means -by which unfounded statements respecting Opium are propagated.--Apologue -by way of example.--Proof of the state of things explained by the apologue -furnished by the Rev. Storrs Turner and Dr. Ayres.--First fallacy, that -the poppy is not indigenous to China, but has been recently introduced -there, presumably by British agency, and the second fallacy, that Opium -smoking in China is now and always has been confined to a small -per-centage of the population, but which, owing to the importation into -the country of Indian Opium, is rapidly increasing, refuted and the truth -fully stated.--Testimony of Mr. W. Donald Spence and Mr. E. Colborne -Baber, and Sir Rutherford Alcock. - - Pages 50-100 - - -LECTURE III. - -Third and fifth fallacies upon which the members of the Anti-Opium Society -and its supporters are misled.--Opium eating and Opium smoking contrasted -with spirit drinking.--Valuable curative properties of Opium.--Spirit -drinking produces organic and incurable diseases, is a fruitful cause of -insanity, and leads to ruin and destruction.--The like effects admittedly -not due to Opium.--Opium eating and Opium smoking totally distinct.-- -Whatever the effects of Opium eating, Opium smoking perfectly innocuous.-- -Anti-Opium advocates cunningly try to mix the two together.--Disingenuous -conduct in this respect of the Rev. Storrs Turner--Mr. Turner so great an -enthusiast as not to be able to see the difference.--Testimony of Dr. -Eatwell as to the use of Opium.--Difference between Opium eating and -Opium smoking explained in the case of tobacco smoking.--Tobacco taken -internally a deadly poison, harmless when smoked.--Medical testimony as to -the poisonous quality of tobacco and its alkaloid, nicotine.--Opium a -valuable medicine, without any known substitute.--Anti-Tobacco Smoking -Society, once formed the same as the Anti-Opium Society, put down by the -common sense of the community, the like fate awaits the Anti-Opium -Society.--Testimony of Dr. Sir George Birdwood, Surgeon-General Moore, Sir -Benjamin Brodie, Dr. Ayres, and W. Brend, M.R.C.S., as to Opium.--Small -quantity of Indian Opium imported into China.--Enormous amount of spirits -consumed in the United Kingdom.--Anti-Opium Society blind to the latter, -energetic as to the former a purely sentimental grievance.--Fallacy of -Anti-Opium Society that supply creates demand refuted and exposed.-- -Remaining fallacies refuted.--Effects of suppression of Indo-China Opium -trade.--Missionaries detested in China.--Indian Opium welcomed.--Saying of -Prince Kung.--Treaty of Tientsin explained and defended.--Erroneous -notions of the Protestant Missionaries as to that treaty.--Abused by -Missionaries, yet the treaty the Missionaries only charter.--Testimony of -H. N. Lay and Lawrence Olyphant.--Spurious copy of De Quincey's -"Confessions of an Opium Eater," published by Anti-Opium people.-- -Testimony of Don Sinibaldo de Mas, formerly Spanish Minister in China, a -powerful defence of the Indo-China Opium trade.--Policy of the Indian -Government as regards Opium wisest and best.--Alleged proposal of Lord -Lawrence to alter that policy.--Fallacy involved in such proposal -exposed.--Abrogation of Indo-Opium trade injurious if not destructive to -the spread of the Gospel in China.--False charge of smuggling by British -merchants in China exposed and refuted.--Un-English policy of the -Anti-Opium Society exposed.--Recapitulation.--Benevolence of the British -public.--Necessity for seeing that it is not diverted into worthless -channels.--Anti-Opium Society, mischievous, presenting a melancholy record -of energies wasted, talents misapplied, wealth uselessly squandered, -charity perverted, and philanthropy run mad.--Society should be dissolved -and its funds transferred to Missionaries.--Missionaries should not mix up -Christianity and Opium.--Missionaries defended and encouraged. - - Pages 101-174 - - -APPENDIX. - -Official Letter of Francis Bulkeley Johnson, Esq., of the firm of Jardine, -Matheson & Co., of Hong Kong and China, Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber -of Commerce, to Charles Magniac, Esq., M.P., the President of the London -Chamber of Commerce, respecting the charge of smuggling against the -British merchants in China, and giving particulars of the Indo-China Opium -trade. - - Pages 177-183 - - - - -THE TRUTH ABOUT OPIUM. - - - - -LECTURE I. - - -The object of these lectures is to tell you what I know about opium -smoking in China--a very important subject, involving the retention or -loss of more than seven millions sterling to the revenue of India, and -what is far more precious, the character and reputation of this great -country. With respect to the former, I would simply observe that I do not -intend to deal with the question on mere grounds of expediency, strong as -such grounds unquestionably are, for, if I believed that one-half of what -is asserted by the "ANGLO-ORIENTAL SOCIETY FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF THE -OPIUM TRADE," as to the alleged baneful effects of opium smoking upon the -Chinese, were true, I should be the first to raise my humble voice against -the traffic, even though it involved the loss, not of seven millions -sterling, but of seventy times seven. But it is because I know that these -statements and all the grave charges made by the supporters of that -society, and repeated from day to day, against the Government of India and -the Government of this country, and also against the British merchants of -China, to be not only gross exaggerations but absolutely untrue--mere -shadowy figments, phantasies, and delusions--that I come forward to draw -aside the curtain, and show you that behind these charges there is no -substance. Were my knowledge of the opium question derived merely from -books and pamphlets, articles in the newspapers, and ordinary gossip, I -would not venture to trespass upon your time and attention, because in -that respect you have at your disposal the same means of information as I -have myself. But I come before you with considerable personal experience, -and special knowledge of the subject, having lived and practised as a -solicitor for nearly fifteen years in Hong Kong, where I had daily -experience, not only of the custom and effects of opium smoking, but also -of the trade in opium in both its crude and prepared state. I had there -the honour of being solicitor to the leading British and other foreign -firms, as well as to the Chinese, from the wealthy merchant to the humble -coolie; so that during the whole of that period down to the present time I -have had intimate relations in China with foreigners and natives, -especially with those engaged in the opium trade. Under these -circumstances I had daily intercourse with the people from whom the best -and most trustworthy information on the subject of opium and opium smoking -could be obtained, and my experience is that opium smoking, as practised -by the Chinese, is perfectly innocuous. This is a fact so patent that it -forces itself upon the attention of every intelligent resident in China -who has given ordinary attention to the subject. The whole question at -issue is involved in this one point, for if I show you that opium smoking -in China is as harmless, if, indeed, not more so, as beer drinking in -England, as I promise you I shall do most conclusively, then _cadit -quaestio_, there is nothing further in dispute; the Indo-Chinese opium -trade will then stand out--as I say it does--free from objection upon -moral, political, and social grounds, and the occupation of the Anti-Opium -agitators, like Othello's, will be gone. It is true that the opponents of -the Indo-Chinese opium trade interlard their case with political matters -wholly beside the question; this they do to make that question look a -bigger one than it really is, so as to throw dust in the eyes of the -public and impose upon weak minds. For instance, they drag in the -miscalled "Opium War" and ring the changes upon it. That war, whether -justifiable or not, cannot affect the points at issue. It is an -accomplished fact, and it is idle now to introduce it into the present -opium question. And though I shall be obliged to go pretty fully into the -whole controversy, I ask you to keep your minds steadily fixed upon the -real question, which is briefly this: Is opium smoking, as practised in -China, detrimental to health and morals, and if so, does the Indo-Chinese -opium trade contribute to these results? - -I may now at the outset assure you that I do not give expression to my -views in the interests of the merchants of China, whether native or -foreign, or on behalf of any party whatsoever; nor do I come before you -with any personal object, because neither directly nor indirectly have I -any pecuniary or personal concern in the opium question, nor, indeed, in -any commercial matter in Hong Kong or China. I simply find that unfounded -delusions have taken possession of the public mind upon the subject, which -have had most mischievous consequences, and are still working much evil. -These I wish to dispel, if I can. Furthermore, I have delivered and -published these lectures at my own cost, unaided by any other person, so, -I think, under these circumstances, that I have some right to be regarded -as an impartial witness. - -I am aware of no subject, involving only simple matters of fact, and -outside the region of party politics, upon which so much discussion has -been expended, and about which such widely different opinions are -prevalent, as this opium question. On the one side, it is said that, for -selfish purposes, we have forced and are still forcing opium upon the -people of China; that the Indian Government, with the acquiescence and -support of the Imperial Government, cultivates the drug for the purpose of -adding seven or eight millions sterling to its revenue, and, with full -knowledge of its alleged baneful consequences to the natives of China, -exports it to that country. A further charge, moreover, is brought against -the British merchants, that they participate in this trade for gain, or, -as it is put by the Rev. Mr. Storrs Turner, formerly a missionary -clergyman at Hong Kong, but now and for many years the active and -energetic Secretary of the Anti-Opium Society, to enable them to make -"princely fortunes." That is the favourite expression of Mr. Turner, who -finds, no doubt, that it takes with certain small sections of the public, -readier to believe evil of their own countrymen than of the people of -other countries, under the belief, perhaps, that in doing so they best -display the purity and disinterestedness of their conduct. - -The Anti-Opium Society and its supporters assert as an incontestable fact -that opium smoking is fatal, not only to the body but to the soul; -meaning, I suppose, that the custom is destructive to the physical, and -demoralising to the moral nature of its votaries, and that the opium -traffic is regarded by the people of China with such horror that it -prevents the natives from receiving the Gospel from those who help to -supply them with this drug, viz., the British people. It is alleged that -the use of opium demoralises the Chinese, that it ruins and saps the -manhood of the whole nation, with a host of concomitant evils, to which I -shall by and by refer more particularly, the whole involving the utmost -turpitude, the greatest guilt and the worst depravity on the part of -England and the English Government, and still more especially on that of -the Indian Government and the British merchants in China. Here I may -observe, in passing, that if the objection to opium on the part of the -Chinese is so strong, it is rather remarkable that they should not only -greedily purchase all the Indian opium we can send them, but cultivate the -drug to an enormous extent in their own country. The Anti-Opium Society -and its supporters further say that opium culture and opium smoking are of -comparatively recent origin in China; and although they do not directly -allege that we have introduced those practices, there is throughout all -their writings and speeches "a fond desire, a pleasing hope" that the -readers or hearers of their books and speeches will form that opinion for -themselves. I should tell you that those who hold directly contrary views -consist of all the British residents in China, with the exception of some -of the Protestant missionaries (of whom I desire to speak with respect), -comprising the British merchants, their numerous assistants (an educated -and most intelligent body), professional men, traders of all classes, and -also all the other foreign merchants and residents in the country--German, -American, and others, for there are many nationalities to be met with in -China, who with the British form one harmonious community. - -Take all these men, differing in nationality and religious persuasions as -they do, and I venture to say that you will not find one per cent. of them -who will not tell you that the views put forward by these missionaries and -the Anti-Opium Society are utterly preposterous, false, and unreal--who -will not declare that opium smoking in China is a harmless if not an -absolutely beneficial practice; that it produces no decadence in mind or -body, and that the allegations as to its demoralising effects are simply -untrue. Those who have taken a special interest in the subject know that -the poppy is indigenous to China, as it is to the rest of Asia, that opium -smoking is and has been a universal custom throughout China, probably for -more than a thousand years; that this custom is not confined to a few, but -is general amongst the adult male population; limited only, in fact, by -the means of procuring the drug. That is my experience also; it is -corroborated by others, and therefore I may assert it as a fact. I have -used the adjective "Protestant" because, although there are a great number -of Roman Catholic and some Greek missionaries in China, no complaint -against the opium trade has ever to my knowledge been made by one of these -missionaries. - -Now, why is this belief so prevalent? Because those foreign residents -daily mix with the Chinese, know their habits and customs, hear them talk, -sell to them, and buy from them, and being aware, as they all are, of the -controversy going on here about opium, and the strenuous efforts that are -being made in this country to prevent the Indian Government from allowing -opium to be imported into China, they take a greater interest in the -subject, and examine the question more carefully than they otherwise -might. They, I say, being on the ground and knowing the very people who -smoke opium and who have smoked it for years, without injury or decay to -their bodily or mental health, have irresistibly come to the same -conclusion as I have. For myself, I may say that I have taken a very great -interest in the subject, particularly during the past five or six years. I -have tried in vain to find out those pitiable victims of opium smoking who -have been so much spoken of in books, in newspapers, and on public -platforms. Day after day I have gone through the most populous parts of -Hong Kong, which is a large city, having about one hundred and fifty -thousand Chinese inhabitants--in both the wealthiest and poorest quarters. -I have daily had in my office Chinese of all classes, seeing them, -speaking to them, interrogating them upon different subjects, and I have -never found amongst them any of these miserable victims to opium smoking. -On the contrary, more acute, knowing, and intelligent people than these -very opium smokers I have rarely met with. - -Now, Hong Kong may be said to be, and is, in fact, the headquarters in -China of the opium trade. It is there that all the opium coming from India -and Persia is first brought. It is, in fact, the entrepot or depot from -which all other parts of China are supplied with the drug. Furthermore, it -is the port whence "prepared opium," the condition in which the drug is -smoked, is mostly manufactured and exported to the Chinese in all other -parts of the world, for wherever he goes, the Chinaman, if he can afford -it, must have his opium-pipe. Moreover, the Chinese of Hong Kong get much -better wages and make larger profits in their trades and businesses than -they could obtain in their own country; and can, therefore, better afford -to enjoy the luxury of the pipe than their own countrymen in China. So -that if opium smoking produced the evil consequences alleged, Hong Kong is -unquestionably the place where those consequences would be found in their -fullest force. They are not to be found there in the slightest degree. One -fact is worth a thousand theories, and this I give you as one which I -challenge Mr. Storrs Turner or any other advocate of the Anti-Opium -Society to disprove. I will now show you how I am corroborated. I have a -witness on the subject whose testimony is simply irrefragable. Dr. Philip -B. C. Ayres, the learned and efficient Colonial Surgeon, and Inspector of -Hospitals of Hong Kong, confirms my statement in the strongest possible -manner. That gentleman has held the important office I have mentioned for -about ten years. Previous to taking up his appointment at Hong Kong he had -been on the Medical Staff of India, where he had made opium and opium -eating--for the drug is not smoked in India--a special study. In Hong Kong -he has had abundant opportunities of studying the effects of opium smoking -and making himself thoroughly acquainted with the wonderful drug, such -opportunities, indeed, as few other medical men have ever had. It is part -of his daily duties to inspect the Civil Hospital of Hong Kong,--a -splendid institution open to all nationalities, and conducted by able -medical men,--the Gaol, the Chinese Hospital, called the Tung Wah, which -is under exclusive Chinese management, and all other medical institutions -in the Colony. Thus a wide field of observation is presented to him. I may -add here that Dr. Ayres is the only European physician who has succeeded -in removing the prejudice among the better class of the Chinese against -European doctors and in obtaining a large native practice. This fact -speaks volumes as to his general abilities as well as to his professional -attainments and his means of acquainting himself with the social life of -the Chinese. In his annual Report presented to the Government of Hong Kong -for the year 1881, a copy of which, I believe, is now, or ought to be, in -the pigeon-holes of the Colonial Office in Downing Street, there is the -following passage:-- - - I have come to the conclusion that opium smoking _is a luxury of a - very harmless description_, and that the only trouble arising from its - indulgence is a waste of money that should be applied to necessaries. - Eight mace is equivalent to an ounce and twenty-nine grains, a - quantity of opium sufficient to poison a hundred men, smoked by one - man in a day, and this he has been doing for twenty years: that is to - say, he has consumed in smoke in that time about one thousand pounds - sterling, and for this indulgence he has to deny himself and his - family many absolute necessaries. The list of admissions contains - thirty-five opium smokers, and the amount smoked between them daily - was eighty-four mace and a half, or seven dollars worth of opium. The - result of my observations this year is only to confirm all I said on - the subject of opium smoking in my report for 1880. - -Again, Dr. Ayres has published from time to time in the "_Friend of -China_," the organ of the Anti-Opium Society, various interesting papers -on medical subjects. This is what he says in an article which will be -found at length at p. 217 of vol. 3 of that journal:-- - - My opinion of it is that it [opium smoking] may become a habit, _but - that that habit is not necessarily an increasing one_. Nine out of - twelve men smoke a certain number of pipes a day, just as a tobacco - smoker would, or as a wine or beer drinker might drink his two or - three glasses a day, without desiring more. _I think the excessive - opium smoker is in a greater minority than the excessive spirit - drinker or tobacco smoker._ In my experience, the habit does no - physical harm in moderation.... I do not wish to defend the practice - of opium smoking, but in the face of the rash opinions and exaggerated - statements in respect of this vice, it is only right to record that no - China resident believes in the terrible frequency of the dull, - sodden-witted, debilitated opium smoker met with in print, nor have I - found many Europeans who believe they ever get the better of their - opium-smoking compradores in matters of business. - -Let Mr. Storrs Turner refute this, if he can. If he cannot, what becomes -of his book[1] published in 1876, which may be called the gospel of the -Anti-Opium Society, with which I shall make you better acquainted by and -by. And what should become of the Anti-Opium Society itself, which has -wasted on its chimerical projects hundreds of thousands of pounds--the -contributions of the benevolent British public, which might have been -spent in alleviating the misery and distress in this vast metropolis, or -been otherwise usefully applied. - -The Government of Hong Kong, for the purposes of revenue, has farmed out -the privilege or monopoly of preparing this opium and selling it within -the colony, and I dare say you will be surprised to hear that the amount -paid by the present opium monopolist for the privilege amounts to about -forty thousand pounds sterling a year. To elucidate this, I should tell -you, that opium as imported from India, Persia, and other places is in a -crude or unprepared state. In this condition it is made up in hard round -balls, each about the size of a Dutch cheese, but darker in colour. To -render it fit for smoking it has to be stripped of its outer covering, -shredded, and boiled with water until it becomes a semi-fluid glutinous -substance resembling treacle in colour and consistence. In this state it -is known as "prepared opium." As such it is put up into small tins or -canisters, hermetically sealed, so that it can be exported to any part of -the world. Now, I have been the professional adviser of the opium farmer -for at least ten years, and from him and his assistants I have had -excellent opportunities of learning the truth about opium. I have thus -been able to get behind the scenes, and so have had such opportunities of -acquainting myself with the subject as few other Europeans have possessed. -I knew the late opium farmer, whom I might call a personal friend, -intimately from the time of my first arrival in China. When I call him the -opium farmer I mean the ostensible one, for the opium monopoly has always, -in fact, been held by a syndicate. My friend was the principal in whose -name the license was made out, and who dealt with the wholesale merchants, -carried on all arrangements with the Government of the Colony, and -chiefly managed the prepared opium business. I knew him so intimately and -had so many professional dealings with him, irrespective of opium, that I -had constant opportunities of becoming acquainted with all the mysteries -of the opium trade. Now the conclusion to which my own personal experience -has led me I have told you of before, and I have never met anyone who has -lived in China, save the missionaries, whose experience differed from -mine. I have tried to find the victims of the so-called dreadful drug, but -I have never yet succeeded. - -Many people in this country, I dare say, owing to the false and -exaggerated stories which have been disseminated by the advocates of the -Anti-Opium Society, think that if they went to Hong Kong they would see -swarms of wretched creatures, wan and wasted, leaning upon crutches, the -victims of opium smoking. If they went to the colony they would be greatly -disappointed, for no such people are to be met with. On the contrary, all -the Chinese they would see there are strong, healthy, intelligent-looking -people, and, mark my words, well able to take care of themselves. I don't -suppose there were five per cent. of my Chinese clients who did not, to a -greater or less extent, smoke opium. I have known numbers, certainly not -less than five or six hundred persons in all, who have smoked opium from -their earliest days--young men, middle-aged men, and men of advanced -years, who have been opium smokers all their lives, some of them probably -excessive smokers, but I have never observed any symptoms of decay in one -of them. I recall to mind one old man in particular, whom I remember for -more than fifteen years; he is now alive and well; when I last saw him, -about two years ago, he was looking as healthy and strong as he was ten -years before. He is not only in good bodily health, but of most -extraordinary intellectual vigour, one of the most crafty old gentlemen, -indeed, that I have ever met; no keener man of business you could find, or -one who would try harder to get the better of you if he could. The only -signs of opium smoking about him are his discoloured teeth, by which an -excessive smoker can always be detected, for immoderate opium smoking has -the same effect, though in a less degree, as the similar use of tobacco, -the excessive smoking of which, as I shall by and by show you, is the more -injurious practice of the two. The Chinese, as a rule, have extremely -white teeth--the effect, perhaps, of their simple diet, and their -generally abstemious habits. They are proud of their teeth, which they -brush two or three times a day, so that there is no difficulty in -distinguishing heavy smokers from those who smoke in moderation. It is -easy to compare the one with the other, and I may state that although the -former be not often met with, he will be found to be not a whit inferior -to the other in wit or sharpness. The old gentleman I have referred to, -like many others of his countrymen, will settle himself down of an -evening, when the business of the day is over, and enjoy his opium pipe -for two or three hours at a stretch, yet, notwithstanding this terrible -excess, as the Anti-Opium people would say, he continues strong and well. -Nay, more, he has two sons of middle age, healthy, active men, who indulge -in the pipe quite as regularly as their aged father. I have known many -others like these men, but have never seen or heard of any weakness or -decay arising from the practice. - -Now, I have told you that the British merchants in China hold the same -views as I do upon the opium question. But it may be said that the -merchants are interested persons, and in point of fact Mr. Storrs Turner -says as much in his book. And, of course, he would have it inferred that -what _they_ allege or think on the subject should not have any weight, -because they are the very persons in whose interest this so-called -iniquitous traffic is being carried on, and that, therefore, they would -not say anything likely to dry up their fountain of profit. I only wish -for the sake of my fellow-countrymen that all these declarations about -princely fortunes were true. Hills look green afar off, but when you -approach them they are often found as arid as the desert; and, -unfortunately, like Macbeth's air-drawn dagger, these splendid visions are -not "sensible to feeling as to sight," but simply _princely fortunes_ of -the mind "proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain." Mr. Turner mentions -in his book one eminent firm in particular, the oldest and probably the -greatest in China or the far East, a firm respected throughout the whole -mercantile world, whose public spirit, boundless charity, and general -benevolence are proverbial, whom he stigmatizes as "opium merchants," and -who are, of course, making the imaginary "princely fortune" by opium. Now -if that gentleman had taken the least trouble to inquire before he -launched his book upon the world, he would have found that the firm he -refers to in such terms had had little or nothing to do with opium for at -least twenty years. That is not, perhaps, a matter of much importance. If -he had taken the trouble to make further inquiry, he could have had no -difficulty in ascertaining, what I tell him now as a fact, and one within -my own personal knowledge, that the only merchants in China who are making -large profits out of opium are just two or three firms, who, by the -undulations and fluctuations inseparable from commerce, have got the bulk -of the trade into their hands, and that all the other British merchants -throughout China, and all the foreign merchants, Germans, Americans, and -others, have really little or nothing to do with the opium trade at all. -Of course, merchants now and then will have to execute orders for opium -for a constituent who may require a chest or two of the drug, but that is -only in the course of business, and is not attended with any profit to -speak of. And I am perfectly sure that if it were possible to put a stop -to this opium traffic, which is said to be the source of so much profit to -many, that, saving the two or three firms I have mentioned, the -suppression of the trade would make no difference to the other firms. This -gross blunder of Mr. Storrs Turner is characteristic of the general -inaccuracy of his book. Before casting odium upon an eminent firm common -decency, if not prudence, to say nothing of good taste, should have -induced him to make careful inquiries upon the subject. This, it is clear, -he has not done, and, as if to make matters worse, although his book -appeared so long ago as 1876, in an article published in the "Nineteenth -Century" for February 1882, he has again gratuitously referred to this -firm in terms as unjustifiable as they are absolutely unfounded. He -couples the firm with another house now dissolved, and says, "they were -legally smugglers, but the sin sat lightly upon their consciences." Very -pretty this for a minister of the Gospel and the Secretary of the -Anglo-Oriental Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade. The -statement, even if true, was wholly unnecessary for the professed object -of the writer, and why he made it is best known to himself. This is the -gentleman by whose persistent efforts those fallacious and mischievous -views upon the opium question have during the past eight years been -mainly forced upon the public, and to whom the prolonged existence of that -most mischievous organization, the Anti-Opium Society, is due. He is the -Frankenstein who has created the monster that has deceived and scared so -many excellent people. I will show you that this monster is but a poor -bogey after all, with just as much form and substance as that with which -Mrs. Shelley affrights her readers in her clever romance. On the other -hand, do not let it be thought, as I believe has been said by some -enthusiasts, that it is owing to the British merchants in China having -discovered that opium is an unclean thing, and to their having washed -their hands of all participation in the traffic, that the trade has fallen -into the hands of a few, who of course would, by parity of reasoning, be -set down as very unscrupulous people. That is a fallacy, and, what is -more, it is an untruth. I do not believe there is a British firm, or a -firm of any other nationality, in China, which would not, if the -opportunity presented itself, become to-morrow "opium merchants," as Mr. -Turner expresses it, if they thought the trade would prove a source of -profit, because they hold, with me, that the opium traffic is a perfectly -proper and legitimate one, quite as much so as traffic in tobacco, wine, -or beer; and a thousand times less objectionable than the trade in ardent -spirits. - -Before proceeding further, it is important that I should bring to your -notice some particulars about China and its people. It is actually -necessary to do so, to enable you to grasp the facts and see your way well -before you. Although the opium question ought to be a simple one, yet, -owing to the sophistries and misrepresentations of the Anti-Opium Society, -and in particular of its Secretary and living spirit, Mr. Storrs Turner, a -wide field is opened to us across which it will be necessary to lead you -to chase the phantom off the plain. The public here are very apt to think -of China as if it were a country like Italy, France, or England. They -never dream for a moment of the immense empire which China actually is. -Perhaps if they did, and could take in the whole situation, they would be -slower to believe the extraordinary stories which are spread about our -_forcing_ opium upon the Chinese, and, by doing so, demoralizing the -nation. We forget, as we grow old, much that we have learned in our youth, -especially geography, and I daresay many a schoolboy could enlighten -myself and others upon that particular branch of education. China, it -must be remembered, is a country which cannot be compared with France, -Spain, or England, for it is a vast empire, as large as Europe, with a -population some fifty or sixty millions greater. Now, what a stupendous -feat to be able to storm, as it were, that enormous empire, and for a -handful of British merchants to succeed in forcing opium upon, and, by -doing so, debasing the whole of this wonderful people. Yet this is what is -alleged by the anti-opium philanthropists and by Mr. Storrs Turner, who is -their priest and prophet, and so his enthusiastic disciples believe, to -whom I would merely say,--"Great is thy faith." These plain facts are not -brought forward by the Anti-opium people. The public are addressed and -pleas are put forward for their support on the ground that we are dealing -with a country of the like extent as our own, inhabited by a primitive -semi-civilized people. No greater fallacy, no more downright untruth could -be put forward. The Chinese are not only a civilized but an educated -people. Until quite recently there were more people in the British -Islands, in proportion to their population, who could neither read nor -write than in China. - -It must be borne in mind that the empire of China comprises eighteen -provinces, quite large enough to form eighteen separate kingdoms. I am -speaking now of China Proper, and am leaving out Thibet, Mongolia, and -Manchuria, immense countries to the West, North-West, and North of China, -and also the vast possessions of China in Central Asia, all forming part -of that great empire. Many of these eighteen provinces are larger than -Great Britain; one of them is equal in extent to France. Although there is -in one sense a language common to the whole country, yet not only has each -province a dialect of its own, different from that of the others, but it -has, so to speak, innumerable sub-dialects. Dialect, perhaps, is hardly -the correct word; it is more than a dialect, for not only each province, -but each district or county, has a dialect, differing so essentially from -each other that the people of one province, or one district, can, in most -instances, no more make themselves colloquially understood by those of -another than a Frenchman could make himself intelligible to an Englishman, -if neither knew the language of the other. You will often find people -living in villages not more than fifteen or twenty miles apart who cannot -converse with one another. I have seen in my own office a man belonging to -the province of Kwang-tung, in the south of China, unable to speak in -Chinese to a native of the adjoining province of Fuh-kien. In this case -the native villages of these two were not more than ten miles apart, and -the only medium of conversation was the barbarous jargon in which -Europeans and Chinese carry on their dealings, called "pidgin English"--a -species of broken English of the most ridiculous kind. Now, when you take -into account that each province differs in language from each other--for -that is really what the case practically comes to--that they have separate -dialects in each province, and also, to a certain extent, different -customs and certain prejudices, I ask you, does it not appear a gigantic, -if not an impossible, task for England, a small and distant country, to be -able to demoralize, debase, and corrupt the people of each of these -eighteen provinces? Yet that is really the allegation of the Anti-Opium -Society against their own country, this small and distant England! - -I have said that there are customs peculiar to each of these provinces, -but there are others common to all; one of them is opium smoking; another, -I am sorry to say, is hatred and contempt of foreigners. They one and all -agree in regarding foreigners as an inferior race, whose customs, -language, and religion they despise. Among the common people every -foreigner, of whatsoever nationality, is called "Fan-Qui," or "foreign -devil." The designation of foreigners amongst the better classes of people -is "outer barbarian." No better instance could I give you than this to -show the strong prejudice held by the whole nation against foreigners. -"Fan-Qui" is still the term used by the lower orders to denote foreigners, -even in the British colony of Hong Kong. To remedy this state of things, -at the time of the making of the Treaty of Tientsin in 1858 (which is the -existing treaty between the two nations), Lord Elgin, the author of the -treaty, had very properly a stipulation inserted that the term "outer -barbarian" should no longer be applied to British subjects. Now, when you -take into account that not only are these three hundred and sixty millions -of people spread over an enormous empire, having a prejudice common to all -parts alike against foreigners, as well as their own prejudices against -each other, forming eighteen separate provinces or kingdoms, speaking -different languages, is it reasonable to suppose that they would, so to -speak, simultaneously adopt the practice of opium smoking when introduced -by the despised foreigner? If these people still despise our customs, as -they do our religion, as they do everything, in fact, belonging to us, how -can it be said that we are forcing this foreign drug upon them to their -destruction? - -I have already mentioned that the custom of opium smoking is common to all -the people of these eighteen provinces. Whether they live in the valleys -or on the hills they smoke opium. Now Mr. Turner is a great enemy of opium -smoking; he is its determined opponent, and I do not think I wrong him--I -certainly do not mean to do so--when I describe him as a person strongly -prejudiced against the practice. The best, the wisest, and ablest among us -have prejudices, and it is casting no stigma upon that gentleman to say -that he has his. When I make you better acquainted with his book, which I -shall soon do, you will, I think, agree with me on this point. When people -have those strong prepossessions they are prone not to judge facts fairly; -they see things, in short, through a false medium. That which to an -ordinary person appears plain and clear enough, to one under the influence -of prejudice stands out in different colours, and is passed over as untrue -or misleading; sometimes, however, the plain truth will leak out, in spite -of prejudice. It is laid down by legal text writers that truth is natural -to the human mind, that the first impulse of a man if interrogated upon a -point is to tell the truth, and that it is only when he has had time to -consider, that he is inclined to swerve from it. Now in this book of Mr. -Turner's, at p. 13, he confirms my statement. This is what he says. I need -not read to you the previous part, because the context does not alter the -sense of my quotation. He is arguing against the allegation of pro-opium -people that opium has a beneficial result in counteracting the effects of -malaria and ague, and he says:-- - - These curious arguments are two. First, that the universal - predilection of the Chinese for opium is owing to the malarious - character of the country; secondly, that the use of opium is a - wholesome corrective to the unwholesome, even putrid, food which the - Chinese consume. The reply to the first is that the country over which - opium is smoked is in area about the size of Europe, and includes, - perhaps, an equal variety of sites, soils, and climates, great plains - level as our own fen district, and mountainous regions like the - Highlands of Scotland. Ague is almost unknown in many of the - provinces--_yet everywhere, in all climates and all soils, in every - variety of condition and circumstance throughout that vast empire, the - Chinese smoke opium_. - -Now that is the testimony of the Rev. Storrs Turner, the most strenuous -and, as I believe, the ablest advocate against the Indo-China opium trade. -But then he adds:-- - - But nowhere do they all smoke opium. The smokers are but a per-centage - greater or smaller in any place. - -Well, nobody ever said they all did smoke opium. Females, as a rule, do -not smoke, and children don't smoke. It is only the grown men, and those -who can afford to buy the drug, who smoke it. China, for its extent and -its vast and industrious population, is still a poor country. Although its -natural resources are considerable, the great bulk of the people are in -poor circumstances. It is only those above the very poor who can afford to -smoke opium occasionally, and only well-to-do people who are able to do so -habitually. Opium smoking is, in fact, a luxury in which, every Chinaman -who can afford it indulges more or less, just as English people who have -sufficient means drink tea, wine, and beer, or smoke tobacco. The effects -of opium smoking are no more injurious than are those articles, in daily -use in England, nor is its use more enslaving. On the contrary, from my -own observation, I feel persuaded that those who habitually drink wine or -spirits are far more liable to abuse and become enslaved to the habit than -the smoker of opium. This, as you are now aware, is confirmed by the great -authority of Dr. Ayres. Yet Mr. Storrs Turner, in the face of that most -damaging admission, and his disciples would have the British public -believe that by supplying the Chinese with a small quantity of opium, -which is used and grown largely in almost every province, district, and -village of China, we are demoralizing and degrading the whole people. Now, -if this practice of opium smoking has existed, and does exist, throughout -these eighteen provinces, over this large and mighty empire, as Mr. Storrs -Turner admits, can it be urged for a moment that England has had anything -to do with it more than that Englishmen, in common with other foreigners, -have imported for the last forty or forty-five years a quantity of the -drug very much less than that actually grown in China itself? I say she -has not. I say that opium smoking has existed for a thousand years or -more, and that its use by the natives of China is simply limited by the -extent of their purchasing power. But how is it that such divergent -opinions can exist between Englishmen living in China and certain -Englishmen here at home? My answer is, that the former, the English -residents in China, derive their knowledge on the subject from actual -experience formed from personal intercourse with the natives, from seeing -with their own eyes, and hearing with their own ears; whilst people in -England obtain their information from hearsay only. Hearsay testimony is -their sole guide; and, as I shall show you by and by, this hearsay -evidence is of the worst and most unreliable kind. But still the question -remains why this should be so; why is it that among the educated and -intelligent people of England, in an age when newspapers are universal, -and books of travel cheap and plentiful, that such an extraordinary -difference of opinion should exist? I will now give you the explanation of -these opposite views. - -The first is this:--China is ten thousand miles away. If that country were -as near to us as the Continent of Europe, to which it is equal in extent, -the people of England, including all these Anti-Opium advocates, would be -of the same mind as their countrymen in China. The field of the imposture -would then be so close to us that the delusion could no longer be -sustained--if, indeed, under such circumstances it could ever have -existence--it would be seen through at once. If it were sought to prove -that we were corrupting and demoralizing the whole of the natives of the -Continent by selling them spirits, beer, or opium, and if the persons who -did so were to pity, patronize, and caress those people as if they were an -inferior race, and but semi-civilized, as the anti-opium people do with -the Chinese,--the persons who attempted to act in such an extraordinary -manner would be scoffed at as visionaries, if not downright fools; yet the -parallel is complete. Indeed, taking into account the existing prejudices -of the Chinese against foreigners, the sound sense of the people of China -and their frugal and abstemious habits, there should be less difficulty in -effecting such wonderful results in Europe than in China. Perhaps, -however, the best illustration of this is that afforded by the present -agitation here in England, under the leadership of Sir Wilfrid Lawson -against the liquor traffic. The evils of intemperance, unlike those -alleged against opium smoking, are real evils, and are admitted to be so -by all. Everyone is agreed upon this point; yet a large portion of our -revenue, amounting to some twenty-six millions sterling, is derived from -taxes upon spirits, wine, and beer, the abuse of which produces these -evils. Sir Wilfrid Lawson is as determined a foe to the Indo-China opium -trade as he is to the liquor traffic. Why does he not apply the same rule -to the one as to the other? Why does he ask the Government to forego the -eight millions derived from opium in India, and not demand the abrogation -of these spirit, wine, and beer duties which are derived from so wicked a -source here in England? He and his Anti-Opium friends would, if they -could, prohibit the cultivation and exportation of opium in India, why do -not he and his fellow teetotallers call upon the country to prohibit the -manufacture of alcoholic liquors? Some few months ago an Anti-Opium -meeting took place at, I think, Newcastle, attended by Sir Wilfrid Lawson. -In the course of a facetious speech the Honourable Baronet, becoming -serious, made quite light of this ridiculously small sum of eight millions -sterling derived from the opium trade, and declared that he who did not -believe that a substitute for it could be found was a "moral -atheist"--whatever that may mean. Why does he not call upon the Government -to forego the sum of twenty-six millions derived from alcohol, which is -not more to England, if indeed so much, as the eight millions are to -India, and declare that any person who said we could not find a substitute -was a "moral atheist"? I answer thus: because the one concerns matters -here at home with which he and the rest of the public are well acquainted, -whilst the other relates to affairs ten thousand miles away, about which -he and they know little or nothing. Sir Wilfrid and his followers very -well know that if they advocated the abolition of the duties on spirits, -wine, and beer, they would be simply scoffed at by the public as fools and -visionaries, and that, on the other hand, if they required all our -distilleries and breweries and all public-houses to be closed, they would -be treated as downright lunatics; but it is quite different as regards -India and China. With matters in those countries these enthusiastic -gentlemen can and do disport themselves very much as they please, -oblivious to the plainest facts. - -The second is this:--There is, here in England, that powerful association, -"_The Anglo-Oriental Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade_," -whose sole object is to attain the end which its name imports, the -abolition of the Indo-China opium trade, on the alleged ground that it is -demoralizing and ruining the natives of China. That Society, I deeply -regret to say, is supported by some of the most influential people in -England--noblemen, archbishops, and other dignitaries of the Church, -clergymen of all denominations, people justly and deservedly commanding -the respect of their fellows--but who, on this opium question, simply know -little or nothing, who implicitly believe all that is told to them by the -agents of that Society, but otherwise have no knowledge of the facts. When -it is taken into account that this body has immense funds at its command, -that it has the support of a large part of what is known as the "religious -world," and that the Society has branches and agencies ramified throughout -the whole country, the reader will not fail to perceive how this -extraordinary hallucination, these false and unfounded delusions -respecting opium smoking, have got possession of the public mind. In -former times we have had associations formed for the purpose of carrying -out great public objects and of disseminating knowledge necessary for the -country to comprehend those objects; but you will find that for the most -part these societies have dealt with acknowledged and existing facts. For -instance, there was the "Anti-Corn Law League." The purposes of that -league were understood by everyone; the main facts were admitted because -they existed here in England and were patent to all. It was only a matter -of opinion between two great political parties whether they should be -dealt with in one particular way or not. That league was formed for a -great national object; but the Anti-Opium Society of which I am speaking -has been got up to carry out the opinions of a few individuals, most -respectable, I admit, but at the same time most enthusiastic--I may say, -indeed, fanatical--holding views the most incorrect and delusive upon a -subject with which they are most imperfectly acquainted. - -Meantime, this Society, through its ubiquitous and indefatigable -Secretary, who may be called the "Head Centre" of the confederacy, and its -other agents, is for ever on the alert. Let any gentleman who has bad -experience of opium smoking, whether in India or China, write to the -newspapers; let him read a paper at a meeting of any of our scientific -bodies disputing the alleged facts of the opium-phobists, and he is marked -out as a prey. Sir Rutherford Alcock, whose high character, thorough -knowledge of China, and great abilities are well known, with a view of -putting the opium question before the public in a correct and proper -light, published an able and, indeed, unanswerable article in the -"Nineteenth Century" for December 1881 ("Opium and Common Sense"), when -Mr. Storrs Turner plunged into print with a counter article in the number -for February 1882 of the same Review ("Opium and England's Duty"), to -which I have already alluded. This article purports to be an answer to the -former one, but it is nothing of the kind, for it is a mere _rechauffe_ of -his book, and wholly fails in its alleged purpose. Again Sir Rutherford -Alcock, with the same laudable object, early in 1882, read an able and -interesting paper on the opium question before the Society of Arts. It was -listened to by many scientific gentlemen and others. Sir Rutherford knows -the truth about opium, and he told it in his paper. The Rev. Storrs Turner -was there; he knew the damaging revelations which Sir Rutherford Alcock -had made, and so much afraid was he of the effects of the fusillade, that -to rally his dismayed followers he improvised a meeting of his most -devoted disciples two or three days afterwards at the Aquarium. I venture -to say there was not a pro-opium advocate present at his meeting I do not -think the meeting was ever advertised--I certainly saw no advertisement of -it in the newspapers--and Mr. Turner, on that occasion, exhorted his -followers to hold fast to the true faith, refuting in the way, no doubt -most satisfactory to himself and his audience, the facts, figures, and -arguments of Sir Rutherford. So it is with articles and letters in the -newspapers. Many gentlemen well-informed upon the opium question have -published letters dealing with this question on the pro-opium side; -whereupon Mr. Turner and other anti-opium advocates at once pounce down -upon them, and repeat the same old stale exploded stories about -demoralization and what not. But latterly, and since the first edition of -these lectures was published, Mr. Turner has preferred to carry on the -anti-opium agitation more quietly, for I think I have thrown cold water -upon the zeal of him and his friends. His plan now is to get together in -private conclave a few medical gentlemen and others whose opinions he has -first made sure of; certain resolutions are then produced ready cut and -dry, which are passed with acclamation and inserted in the newspapers. -This sort of thing deceives nobody but the infatuated dupes of the -Anti-Opium Society, for whose edification they are principally intended; -just as the American orator, though speaking to empty benches in Congress, -made what his constituents at Bunkum considered a capital speech. - -All these anti-opium articles, speeches, and resolutions are based upon -the same model. They assume certain statements as existing and -acknowledged facts which have never been proved to be such, and then -proceed to draw deductions from those alleged facts. This style of -argument can scarcely be praised for its fairness; it certainly places -those who hold contrary views, and who object to employing similar -tactics, at a disadvantage. This is especially remarkable in Mr. Storrs -Turner's article in the "Nineteenth Century." There the writer, taking all -his facts for granted, plunges at once _in medias res_, and proceeds to -enlighten his readers with all the confidence of the pedagogue who, strong -in his axioms and postulates, explains to his admiring pupils the -mysteries of the "Asses' Bridge." The English people have hitherto had -little or no knowledge of the opium question, save what they hear through -the Anti-Opium Society, in whose teaching some of them put faith, if only -for the reason that they are mostly clergymen and others of high -character. And here I may observe that, supposing the pro-opium advocates, -or perhaps I should more correctly say the general public, had a counter -society to disseminate their opinions, that they had organised a committee -with command of ample funds, and had officers to carry out their views, -this Anglo-Oriental Society would be strangled in three months; for -fiction, however speciously represented, cannot hold its own against fact. -There is an old saying that "what is everybody's business is nobody's -business," and so it has been with the pro-opium side of the question. The -foreign merchants in China, as a body, have no interest in the Indo-China -opium trade. They would not care if the trade were to be suppressed -to-morrow, and therefore they take no active part in opposing the -Anti-Opium Society. The general public also take little or no interest in -the matter, and it is really only those who are actuated by a sense of -duty, or who, like myself, have followed the question, and who, from -practical acquaintance and a thorough research into all its bearings, take -more than ordinary interest in the subject, who think of refuting the -monstrous misrepresentations of the anti-opium people. Therefore it is -that the other side have had practically the whole field to themselves. -Upon the like conditions any imposture could for a time be successfully -carried on. The days of the anti-opium agitation are, however, happily -drawing to a close. A flood of light from various sources has within the -past year been thrown upon the subject. The unwholesome mists of -ignorance, prejudice, and fanaticism are clearing away, and the truth -about opium is becoming visible at last. And here I would observe that in -using the word "imposture" I do not mean to impugn the motives of any of -the good and benevolent people who support this Society. I speak of the -thing, not of those who have created or are supporting it. - -I have before slightly touched upon the charges brought against the -British Government and the British nation respecting opium. I will -formulate them more particularly now; as the subject cannot, I think, be -thoroughly understood unless I do so. I have read Mr. Storrs Turner's book -and his reply to Sir R. Alcock, very carefully; I have read anti-opium -speeches delivered in London, Manchester, Leeds, and London upon the -subject; they all come to the same thing--one is a repetition of the -other. As I understand the matter, this is what the charges of the -Anti-Opium Society amount to. It is alleged that opium smoking, once -commenced, cannot be laid aside, that it poisons the blood, reduces the -nervous and muscular powers, so that strong men under the use of opium -speedily become debilitated and unfit for labour; that opium smoking -paralyses the mind as well as the body, and produces imbecility, or at -least mental weakness; that it so demoralises the people using it, that it -converts honest and industrious men from being useful members of society -into lazy, dishonest scoundrels; that it saps the manhood and preys like a -cankerworm upon the vitals of the Chinese people, injuring the -commonwealth and threatening even the existence of the nation if the -custom of opium smoking be not stopped, which, it is alleged, can be -effected only by the supply of opium from India being discontinued. It is -urged, in fact, that the sale of Indian opium to the Chinese is a crime -not only against the people of China but against humanity; that much, if -not all, of the misery and crime prevalent throughout China are due, -either directly or indirectly, to the use of opium; and for all these -fearful results England is held responsible. It is further said, that the -sale of British opium to the Chinese interferes with legitimate commerce, -creating, it is alleged, so much bitterness in the native mind against the -English nation, that the Chinese refuse to buy our goods. And, above all, -it is contended that the Indo-China opium trade impedes the progress of -Christianity, the Chinese refusing to accept the Gospel from a people who -have such terrible crimes to answer for as the introduction of Indian -opium into China. Since the days of Judge Jeffereys never was there such a -terrible indictment, nor one so utterly unfounded as happily it is. In -fact, all the objections that in old times were made against negro slavery -have been brought forward against this harmless and perfectly justifiable -Indo-China opium trade. Indeed Mr. Storrs Turner, in his article in the -"Nineteenth Century," coolly places the two in the same category, and -modestly proposes that the revenue from opium should be discontinued, and -that England should compensate the Indian Government for the loss, just as -she did the slave owners. It is astonishing how liberal your political -philanthropist can be in the disposal of other people's money. Well, I had -always thought that the Government of India, for the past sixty years at -least, had been actuated by one great and prominent object--the -amelioration, the happiness, and prosperity of the teaming millions -committed to its care, and I think so still. I have always believed that -the Imperial Government, no matter which party was from time to time in -power, had the prosperity, honour, and dignity of their country at heart, -and were influenced by a sincere desire towards all the world to be just -and fear not, and to diffuse as much happiness as possible amongst our own -people, and all other nations and races with whom we became associated all -over the world, and I remain of that opinion still. Some fifty years ago -we washed the stain of slavery from our hands, performing that great act -of justice from a pure sense of duty, without any outside pressure, and -also without shedding a drop of blood. This act was unique, for at the -time slavery existed in every country, and had so existed for thousands of -years. We know that, thirty years later, a similar achievement cost a -kindred nation a long and bloody war, and an aggregate money expenditure -far exceeding our own national debt--the growth of centuries. That feat of -ours showed what the mind and heart of this great nation then were, and I -do not believe that we have since degenerated. Since then we have spent -many millions of money in sweeping slavery from the seas and in -endeavouring to put an end to that accursed evil throughout the world. In -doing this our pecuniary loss has been the least of our sacrifices. We -have spent more than money. We have lost in the struggle the lives of some -of the best and noblest of England's sons. These are acts worthy of a -great nation; compared with them the objects of the Anti-Opium Society -sink into utter insignificance. The sublime and the ridiculous could not -be brought more vividly face to face. - -For the last fifty years there has been one feeling predominant in the -minds of the people of England, and that is a manly, generous anxiety to -protect the weak against the strong all over the world. Yet these foul and -untenable charges against England are now spread broadcast by this -Society, whose only warrant for doing so are the statements made to them -by a handful of fanatical missionary clergymen, whose unfounded and -fantastic views are accepted as so much dogma which it would be heresy to -doubt. Why, if we were guilty of but half the wickedness attributed to us, -it would not require this Anti-Opium Society to cry it down; the nation -would rise as one man to crush it for ever. There is not a British -merchant in China who would not raise his voice against it, aye, though he -was making that princely fortune which Mr. Turner refers to in his book; -for let me assure you that your fellow-countrymen in China, who are but -sojourners in that land, as they all hope to end their days at home, have -as warm a love for their country and as keen a sense of their country's -honour and dignity as any set of Englishmen residing here at home, however -high their station and great their wealth. - -To prove to you, if indeed further proof is necessary, that I have not -overstated the case as regards the extreme views of the missionaries and -the Anti-Opium Society, I will give you their latest production. It comes -from the fountain-head, and takes the form of a petition of "the Ministers -of the Gospel in China" to the House of Commons. This petition was -prepared by the Missionaries of Peking, and is a gem in its way. It would -never do to put the reader off with a mere extract, so I give it _in -extenso_. It was drawn up and sent round for signature during the past -summer, and appeared in the Shanghai and Hong Kong newspapers. This is the -document:-- - - _To the Honourable_ - THE BRITISH HOUSE OF COMMONS. - - The petition of the undersigned Missionaries of the Gospel in China - humbly sheweth: - - That the opium traffic is a great evil to China, and that the baneful - effects of opium smoking cannot be easily overrated. It enslaves its - victim, squanders his substance, destroys his health, weakens his - mental powers, lessens his self-esteem, deadens his conscience, unfits - him for his duties, and leads to his steady descent, morally, - socially, and physically. - - That by the insertion in the British Treaty with China of the clause - legalizing the trade in opium, and also by the direct connection of - the British Government in India with the production of opium for the - market, Great Britain is in no small degree rendered responsible for - the dire evil opium is working in this country. - - That the use of the drug is spreading rapidly in China, and that, - therefore, the possibility of coping successfully with the evil is - becoming more hopeless every day. In 1834 the foreign import was - twelve thousand chests; in 1850 it was thirty-four thousand chests; in - 1870 it was ninety-five thousand chests; in 1880 it was ninety-seven - thousand chests. _To this must be added the native growth, which, in - the last decade, has increased enormously, and now at least equals, - and according to some authorities doubles, the foreign import._ - - That while the clause legalizing the opium traffic remains in the - British Treaty, the Chinese Government do not feel free to deal with - the evil with the energy and thoroughness the case demands, and - declare their inability to check it effectively. - - That the opium traffic is the source of much misunderstanding, - suspicion, and dislike on the part of the Chinese towards foreigners, - and especially towards the English. - - That the opium trade, by the ill name it has given to foreign - commerce, and by the heavy drain of silver it occasions, amounting, at - present, to about thirteen million pounds sterling annually, has - greatly retarded trade in foreign manufactures, and general commerce - must continue to suffer while the traffic lasts. - - That the connection of the British Government with the trade in this - pernicious drug excites a prejudice against us as Christian - missionaries, and seriously hinders our work. It strikes the people as - a glaring inconsistency, that while the British nation offers them - the beneficent teaching of the Gospel, it should at the same time - bring to their shores, in enormous quantities, a drug which degrades - and ruins them. - - That the traffic in opium is wholly indefensible on moral grounds, and - that the direct connection of a Christian Government with such a trade - is deeply to be deplored. - - That any doubt as to whether China is able to put a stop to opium - production, and the practice of opium smoking in and throughout her - dominions should not prevent your Honourable House from performing - what is plainly a moral duty. - - Your petitioners, therefore, humbly pray that your Honourable House - will early consider this question with the utmost care, take measures - to remove from the British Treaty with China the clause legalizing the - opium trade, and restrict the growth of the poppy in India within the - narrowest possible limits. - - Your Honourable House will thus leave China free to deal with the - gigantic evil which is eating out her strength, and creates hindrance - to legitimate commerce and the spread of the Christian religion in - this country. - - We also implore your Honourable House so to legislate as to prevent - opium from becoming as great a scourge to the native races of India - and Burmah as it is to the Chinese; for our knowledge of the evil done - to the Chinese leads us to feel the most justifiable alarm at the - thought that other races should be brought to suffer like them from - the curse of opium. - - We believe that, in so doing, your Honourable House will receive the - blessing of those that are ready to perish, the praise of all good - men, and the approval of Almighty God. - - And your petitioners will ever pray. - -The thoughts that occurred to me after reading this petition were -these:--First it struck me that the missionaries, like the unfortunate -Bourbons, "had learnt nothing and forgotten nothing." I thought next of -the wonderful solicitude shown by these missionaries for the mercantile -interest. "By the ill name the opium trade has given to foreign commerce," -they say, "the trade in foreign manufactures and general commerce has been -retarded, and must continue to suffer while the opium traffic lasts." -Well, it is remarkable that this complaint is not made by the people whose -interests are alleged to have so suffered, but by missionary clergymen, -who ought to know little or nothing upon the subject; they are not -merchants, and associate very little with mercantile men, either native or -foreign, and certainly, if they minded their own business, could not -possibly have that knowledge of mercantile affairs with which they appear -to be so familiar. The persons who ought to know whether foreign -manufactures or foreign trade have fallen off owing to the opium traffic, -are the foreign merchants resident in China, whose especial duty it is to -look after those interests, yet these gentlemen, strange to say, have made -no complaint of the kind. Those merchants are directly concerned in -foreign manufactures and general commerce either as principals or as -agents for absent principals in England and elsewhere; they, in fact, -exclusively manage foreign trade in China. There is a chamber of commerce -in Hong Kong and another in Shanghai, whose members are all keen men of -business, actively alive to their own and their constituents' interests, -and in constant communication with similar mercantile bodies at home; -moreover, there are excellent daily papers published in both these places, -where such grievances, if they existed, could be freely ventilated; yet -the missionaries of the Gospel in Peking would have the House of Commons -and the world believe that the foreign merchants in China, who are always -wide-awake, are blind to their own interests and slumbering at their -posts. Now why have not these merchants ever complained that commerce has -suffered from the opium traffic? Why, simply because there is no -foundation in fact for such complaint. I am afraid that with the -missionaries who make this most unfounded statement the "wish was father -to the thought." Every man ought to know his own business best, and you -will generally find that when a stranger professes great interest in your -affairs, and presses upon you gratuitous advice upon the subject, he is -not really actuated by a desire to promote your interests, but has some -other and totally different object in view. So it is with these missionary -gentlemen at Peking. There is just one other point connected with this -remarkable Petition to which I would call attention. Evidently feeling the -ground slipping from under their feet, the framers, adding another string -to their bow, extend their sympathies beyond China, and take British -Burmah under their patronage. Indeed, it seems to me that these missionary -clergymen of Peking would, if they could, not only supersede the Viceroy -of India in his management of the Indian Empire, but even Her Majesty the -Queen and her immediate Government. - -I should here, however, in justice to the entire missionary body, say, -that _all_ of them are not so deluded as their brethren at Peking. There -is one bright, particular star, at least, which shines through the -Egyptian darkness that enshrouds the rest. The Reverend F. Galpin, of the -English Methodist Free Church, is a respected missionary clergyman at -Ningpo, an important port on the east coast of China. He, unlike most of -his brethren at other places in that country, when asked to sign this -curious petition, very properly declined to do so. All honour to Mr. -Galpin. He was not afflicted with the midsummer madness of his brethren at -Peking. Were all the Protestant missionaries in China like him, we should -not have heard of these absurd and monstrous stories respecting the -Indo-China opium trade, and there would, perhaps, be larger and better -results from the missionary's labours. This is the manly, sensible, and -dignified reply of Mr. Galpin:-- - - The REV. J. EDKINS and others, Peking. - - SIR,--I beg to acknowledge receipt of a copy of your circular, dated - June 24th, with form of petition to the British House of Commons - against the importation of Indian opium, and also to express my - sympathy with the spirit and motives that have suggested the petition; - but, at the same time, I must also express disapproval of the proposed - petition, and disbelief of many of the statements contained therein. - - Looking at Christianity in the broad and true sense, as a great - regenerating force breathing its beneficent spirit upon and promoting - the welfare of all, of course the excessive use or abuse of opium, and - every other thing, is a serious hindrance to its happy progress. _But - this is a very different position from that of supposing that the - present apparent slow progress of mission-work in China is to be - attributed to the importation of Indian opium._ China is a world in - itself, and the influence of Christian missions has hitherto reached - but a handful of the people, for there are many serious obstacles to - its progress besides opium. - - Then, again, I beg to express my hearty dissent from the idea - presented in the petition, that the Chinese people or Government are - really anxious to remove the abuse of opium. The remedy has always - been, as it is now, in their own hands. - - Neither do I believe that if the importation of Indian opium ceased at - once, the Chinese Government would set about destroying a very - fruitful means of revenue. On the contrary, I feel sure that the - growth of Chinese opium would be increased forthwith. - - I therefore beg to return the petition in its present form, with the - suggestion that Christian missionaries had better direct their - attention to, and use their influence upon, Chinese. - - Yours truly, - F. GALPIN, - _English Methodist Free Church_. - - Ningpo, 15th July. - -No doubt these most estimable and respectable but infatuated gentlemen -suppose that their petition will have some weight with the Legislature. I -believe and hope it will, but not exactly of the kind expected; for I -shall be surprised indeed, if it be not treated as it deserves, _i.e._ as -a downright contempt of the House of Commons; for it seems to me to be an -insult to the common sense not only of the House in its collective -capacity, but of every individual member. In saying this I am far from -attributing to these missionary clergymen a wilful intention to state what -they knew to be untrue, nor to insult or mislead the Legislature, for I am -assured that one and all of them would be incapable of so doing. I am sure -they thoroughly believe every word they have stated to be true; but then -it must be remembered that the effect upon the public mind and the injury -done to society by the publication of fallacious and untrue statements, -are in no way lessened because their authors suppose those statements to -be, in fact, true and correct. - -I have shown you that Mr. Turner admits that opium smoking is common all -over China. But, he says, the Chinese do not all smoke. In his book he -affirms that it is only in recent years that opium has been grown in -China. This is the passage, it occurs at page 2:--"Indigenous in Asia, the -first abode of the human species, the poppy has long been cultivated in -Egypt, Turkey, Persia, and _recently_ in China and Manchuria. It is well -known in our gardens, grows wild in some parts of England, and is -cultivated in Surrey for the supply of poppy heads to the London market. -From the time of Hippocrates to the present day _it has been the -physician's invaluable ally in his struggles against disease and death_." - -This is about the most remarkable statement I have ever read. The greater -includes the less, and if the poppy is indigenous to Asia it is, of -course, indigenous also to China and Manchuria, which with the other -dominions of China comprise fully one-fourth of the entire Asiatic -continent. This, indeed, Mr. Storrs Turner does not deny in terms, but it -is plain he wished his readers to believe that the poppy was _not_ -indigenous to those countries, and was only recently introduced there. The -passage involves that sort of fallacy which Lord Palmerston termed "a -distinction without a difference." As to the poppy being indigenous to the -whole of Asia and notably to the most fertile parts of it, _e.g._ China -and Manchuria, there can be no doubt, and therefore no difference, but -the distinction is that it is only of late years that it has been -_cultivated_ in those countries. The poppy may grow wild over a continent, -but be cultivated only in a part. I will show you by-and-by, upon -excellent authority and by the strongest grounds for inference, that the -poppy is not only indigenous to China, but has been cultivated there for -various purposes other than for medical ones and for smoking, certainly -for two thousand, and probably for four or five thousand years. An -ordinary reader, especially one not familiar with the geography of Asia, -would conclude from this passage in Mr. Turner's book that China and -Manchuria were not in Asia at all, but that of late years the poppy had -been introduced into those countries from that continent. Thus much for -the Gospel of the Anti-opiumists. - -I now confront Mr. Storrs Turner with another book, which everyone must -admit is of greater authority than his. It is a book published towards the -close of 1881 by a high official of the Chinese Government, then Mr. but -now Sir Robert Hart, G.C.M.G., the Inspector-General of Chinese Customs, a -man who knows China and the Chinese better, perhaps, than any living -European. That gentleman tells a very different tale about opium to what -the Anti-Opium Society has hitherto regaled the world with. This book is -an official one, issued from the Statistical Department of the -Inspector-General of Chinese Customs at Shanghai for the use and guidance -of the Chinese Government. It stands upon a very different footing to the -volume published by Mr. Turner, the paid secretary and strenuous advocate -of the Anti-Opium Society. Sir Robert Hart has entire control over the -revenue of China as far as regards foreign trade. At every treaty port -open to foreign vessels there is a foreign Commissioner of Customs, and -Sir Robert Hart is the supreme head of these commissioners. He is a man -deservedly trusted and respected by the Chinese Government; a man of -learning and talents, and I need hardly add of the very highest character, -and, I believe, he is one of the most accomplished Chinese scholars that -could be found. He says that opium has been grown in China from a remote -period, and was smoked there before a particle of foreign opium ever came -into the country. This is the passage from his--the now famous -yellow-book:-- - - In addition to the foreign drug there is also the native product. - Reliable statistics cannot be obtained respecting the total quantity - produced. Ichang, the port nearest to Szechwan, the province which is - generally believed to be the chief producer and chief consumer of - native opium, estimates the total production of native opium at - twenty-five thousand chests annually; while another port, Ningpo, far - away on the coast, estimates it at two hundred and sixty-five - thousand. Treating all such replies as merely so many guesses, there - are, it is to be remarked, two statements which may be taken as facts - in this connection: the one is that, so far as we know to-day, the - native opium produced does not exceed the foreign import in quantity; - _and the other that native opium was known, produced, and used long - before any Europeans began the sale of the foreign drug along the - coast_. - -So much for Mr. Storrs Turner's bold assertion that it is only recently -that opium has been cultivated in China; the obvious inference which he -wished the reader to draw from it being that it was the importation of the -Indian drug into China that induced the natives to plant opium there. Now, -with respect to that most unfounded charge of the Chinese disliking the -English for introducing opium into their country, and British commerce -declining in consequence, I assure you that all that is simply moonshine. -These statements are not merely false assumptions, they are simply untrue. -No one who has had any experience of China and its people, does not know -perfectly well, that of the whole foreign trade with China the British do -at least four-fifths; not only have we the lion's share of the trade, but -it is an unquestionable fact that of all the nations who have made -treaties and had dealings with China, the British are and have been for -many years the most respected by the Chinese people. It is, I say, an -indisputable fact, that notwithstanding all our past troubles about -smuggling and our wars with China, which Mr. Turner is so fond of dilating -upon, that at this day, by high and low, rich and poor, from the mandarin -to the humble coolie, England is held in higher regard than any other -nation. If trade with China has in any way declined, the fact is traceable -to other and different causes, which it is not my province to enter upon. - -Now, why are England and Englishmen thought so well of by the Chinese? It -is simply because the British merchants and British people in China have -acted towards the Chinese, with whom they have been brought into contact, -with honour and rectitude--because in their intercourse with the natives -they have been kind, considerate, and obliging--because, instead of -resenting the old rude and overbearing manners of the Chinese officials -and others, they have returned good for evil, and shown by their -conciliatory bearing, and gentlemanly and straightforward conduct, that -the British people are not the barbarians they had been taught to believe. -By such means the British residents in China have gone far to break down -the barrier of prejudice towards foreigners behind which the people of -that country had hedged themselves, thus preparing the way for the labours -of the missionaries and making, in fact, missionary work possible. If -further proof were wanting that the British are held in high estimation by -the people and the Government of China, it will be found in the fact, that -our own countryman, Sir Robert Hart, who before entering the service of -the Chinese Government had been in the diplomatic service of his own -country, now occupies the high and honourable position of -Inspector-General of Chinese Customs, and is, I may add, the trusted -counsellor of the Government of China. - -It is not very long since the Governor of Canton paid a visit to the -Governor of Hong Kong; such an act of courtesy to Her Majesty's -representative on the part of so great a Chinese magnate was until then, I -believe, unprecedented. The constant exclamation of the great mandarin as -he was being driven through the streets of Hong Kong was--"What a -wonderful place! What a wonderful place!" in allusion to the fine -buildings, the wide and clean streets,--a strong contrast to those of -Canton--and the dense and busy population around him. And yet more -recently, that is during the summer of 1882, a greater personage still -paid an official visit to the Hon. W. H. Marsh, who during the absence of -Sir George Bowen, the Governor, worthily administers the affairs of the -colony--I refer to the present viceroy of the provinces of Kwantung and -Kwangsi, commonly called the "two Kwangs," an official only next in -importance to His Excellency Li Hung Chang, the Governor of Petchili. Do -you think we should have such a state of things if we were demoralizing -and ruining the people of China, as is alleged by the Anti-Opium Society, -or if, indeed, the Chinese people or Government had any real grievance -against us. - -Upon this point I cannot refrain from mentioning an incident that occurred -soon after I arrived in China. A respectable Chinaman asked me to prepare -his will. He gave me for the purpose, written instructions in Chinese -characters, which I had translated. On reading the translation I found his -instructions very clearly drawn up, but what was gratifying to me, and -what is pertinent to my subject, was the following passage, with which he -commenced them:--"Having," said he, "under the just and merciful laws -administered by the English Government of Hong Kong, amassed in commerce -considerable wealth, I now, feeling myself in failing health, wish to make -a distribution of the same." There are thousands like that Chinaman in -Hong Kong, and also in Shanghai, and in all the treaty ports of China. In -speaking as this man did, he was only giving expression to the feelings of -all his countrymen who have had dealings with the English in China. Are -such feelings on the part of these Chinese consistent with the -consciousness that we are enriching ourselves by ruining the health and -morals of their countrymen, as is most wrongfully put forward by the -Anti-Opium Society and its allies the Protestant missionaries? No; they -bespeak perfect confidence, respect, and gratitude towards us; for -oppressed and plundered as the Chinese have been by their own officials, -there is no other people on the face of the earth who more thoroughly -appreciate justice and equity in the administration of public affairs; -thus it is that they respect the British rule, which they have found by -experience to be the embodiment of both. - -There are very few, perhaps, in this country who know what Hong Kong -really is. It is now a flourishing and beautiful city, standing upon a -site which, but the other day, was a barren rock. Commerce with its -civilising influence has transformed it into a "thing of beauty," "an -emerald gem of the _eastern_ world." Forty years ago, the English -Government sent out a commissioner to report upon the capabilities of the -place for a town or settlement. He sent home word that there was just room -there for _one_ house. He little dreamt that upon that barren inhospitable -spot within a few years would be realised the poet's dream when he -wrote:-- - - Oh, had we some bright little isle of our own - In a blue summer ocean far off alone, - Where a leaf never dies, midst the still blooming bowers, - And the bee banquets on through a whole year of flowers. - -He little thought that on that very site there would soon be many -thousands of houses, some of them palatial buildings, including many -Christian churches and some heathen temples, for liberty of conscience -reigns there supreme; with a Chinese population of over one hundred and -fifty thousand. These people are all doing well. Some of them are wealthy -merchants; many of them are shop-keepers; others are artificers; and a -very large number of them are labourers or coolies. There is no pauperism -in the colony. The people there are all well-to-do, or able to live -comfortably, and, what is more, they are all happy and contented. A -comparatively small body of police preserves the peace of the colony; for, -thanks to a succession of wise and able governors, local crime has been -reduced to a minimum; serious offences are very rare amongst the regular -inhabitants. It is the criminal classes from the mainland which really -give trouble, for Hong Kong labours under the disadvantage of being close -to two large cities on the Pearl River--Canton and Fatchan, notorious for -piratical and other criminal classes. You might send a child from one end -of the town to the other without fear of molestation. Indeed, the natives -themselves are the very best police; for, take the Chinese all round, they -are the most orderly and law-abiding people in the world. They respect the -British Government as much as the British people do themselves. They bring -their families to Hong Kong, settle down there, and make themselves -perfectly at home, finding more security and happiness there than they -ever could attain in their own country; because in Hong Kong there is and -has always been perfect equality before the law for every man, -irrespective of race, colour, or nationality. The life and property of -every man there is secure. This is not the case in China. - -These are the fruits of commerce which brings peace and plenty in its -train, which sweeps aside the dust of ignorance, fanaticism, and -superstition--which has reclaimed the deserts of Australia and North -America, and spread flourishing cities there, where law and order, truth -and justice, peace and happiness, religion and piety are established. -These are the achievements of British merchants who have won for our -Sovereign the Imperial diadem she wears, and made their country the -mistress of the world. These are the people who have done all this, and -better still, made the name of England honoured and respected throughout -the whole world, and sent the Gospel into every land. Yet those very men -Mr. Storrs Turner and other anti-opium fanatics would cover with obloquy, -because, forsooth, some British merchants have been concerned in this -perfectly justifiable Indo-Chinese opium trade. - -Mr. Turner in his book speaks of the Chinese Government as a paternal -Government, which, the moment it finds any practices on foot injurious to -the people, at once takes steps to put them down. I tell you, as a fact, -that a more corrupt Government,[2] so far at least as the Judges and high -Mandarins downwards are concerned, never existed in the whole world. There -is no such thing as justice to be had without paying for it; if it is not -a misnomer to say so, for this so-called justice is bought and sold every -day. Corruption pervades the whole official class. I could detail facts as -to the punishment of the innocent and the escape of the guilty, which came -under my own observation, that would make one's flesh creep. This is why -the Chinese of Hong Kong respect so much the British Government, whose -rule is just and equitable. - -Now there is another point which I wish more particularly to impress upon -you, it is this: Anyone hearing of the alleged dreadful effects upon the -Chinese of opium smoking, and our wicked conduct in forcing the drug upon -them, and making them buy it whether they wish to do so or not, would -think that these Chinese were a simple, unsophisticated people, something -like the natives of Madagascar,--a people lately rescued from barbarism by -missionaries; that they were a weak race, without mental stamina or -strength of mind--a soft simple, easily-persuaded race. These are some -more of the erroneous views which the Anti-Opium Society tries to impress -upon the public mind, and which its Secretary, Mr. Storrs Turner, in -particular, artfully endeavours to inculcate. To prove that this is so, I -have only to read you a passage from his work. But before doing so, let me -assure you that there is not a more astute, active-minded, and knowing -race of people under the sun than the Chinese. For craft and subtlety I -will back one of them against any European. At page 3 you will read:-- - - More opium is consumed in China than in all the rest of the world, and - nearly the whole of the opium imported into China is shipped from - Calcutta and Bombay. The East and the West, England, India, and China, - act and re-act upon each other through the medium of poppy-juice. - Simple mention of the relations which these three great countries bear - to the drug is enough to show that a very grave question is involved - in the trade. England is the grower, manufacturer, and seller; India - furnishes the farm and the factory; China is buyer and consumer. The - question which obviously arises is this, Is it morally justifiable and - politically expedient for the English nation to continue the - production and sale of a drug so deleterious to its consumers? Before, - however, we enter upon a consideration of this question, we must - explain how it has come to pass that the British nation has got into - this unseemly position. Otherwise, the fact that the British - Government is actually implicated in such a trade may well appear - incredible. If, for instance, any minister could be shameless enough - to suggest that England should embark on a vast scale into the - business of distillers, and with national funds, by servants of - Government, under inspection and control of Parliament, _produce and - export annually ten or twenty millions' worth of gin and whisky to - intoxicate the populous tribes of Central Africa, he would be greeted - by a general outcry of indignation. Yet the very thing which we scout - as an imagination, we consent to as a reality._ We are maintaining our - Indian Empire by our profits as wholesale dealers in an article which, - to say the best of it, is as bad as gin. - -Now, is that a fair parallel? Is it honest or just to place the civilized, -wise, and educated Chinese in the same category with the barbarous natives -of Central Africa? This, I assure you is but a fair specimen of the -misleading character of Mr. Turner's book and an example of the teaching -by which people are made the dupes of the Anti-Opium Society. This is the -language which Mr. Storrs Turner applies to his country and countrymen to -gratify himself and his fanatical followers. China, though a heathen, is a -civilized nation. The civilization of the Chinese does not date from -yesterday. When England was inhabited by painted savages, China was a -civilized and flourishing Empire. When ancient Greece was struggling into -existence, China was a settled nation, with a religion and with laws and -literature dating back to a period lost in the mist of ages. When -Alexander, miscalled the Great, fancied he had conquered the world, and -sighed that there was no other country to subdue, the mighty Empire of -China, with its teeming millions, and a civilization far superior, taken -altogether, to any that he had yet known, was a flourishing nation, and -happily far away from the assaults of him and his conquering force. Five -thousand years ago, as the Rev. Dr. Legge, the Professor of Chinese at -Oxford, tells us, the Chinese believed in one God and had, in fact, a -theology and a system of ethics known now as Confucianism, certainly -superior to that of Greece or Rome. They had then and still have a written -language of their own, in which the works of their sages and philosophers -are recorded. There are books extant in that language for more than three -thousand years ago. In a learned and very interesting book, written by Dr. -Legge, entitled "The Religions of China," it is shown that the Chinese, -not only of to-day, but of five thousand years ago, were a great nation. -Was it then, I again ask, honest or fair of the Rev. Storrs Turner, who is -himself no mean Chinese scholar, to mislead his readers by making use of -so forced and inapplicable a comparison? Can there, in fact, be any -analogy whatever between the Indo-China opium trade, even supposing that -the smoking of the drug were as deleterious to the system as is alleged, -and sending whisky from England to the savages of Central Africa? No man -could have known better than Mr. Turner that his simile was false and -misleading, for he has lived in China for many years. An ordinary person -reading that gentleman's book would swallow this simile as one precisely -in point, and end by feeling horrified at the iniquities we were -perpetrating in China, which is, no doubt, the exact result that he looked -for. I recently met a lady with whom I had been in correspondence for some -time on professional business. In the course of conversation we happened -to speak about opium, and the moment the subject was mentioned she turned -up her eyes in horror and declared that she was ashamed of her country for -the wrong it was inflicting upon the natives of China. Mr. Turner's -wonderful parallel between the civilized Chinese and the African savages -had plainly produced its desired effect upon her. I very soon, however, -undeceived her on the point, as I have since had the pleasure of doing -with many others labouring under the like delusions. I am sorry to say -that it is with the gentler sex that our Anti-Opium fanatics make their -most profitable converts. I honour those ladies for their fond delusion, -which shows that their hearts are better than their heads; that their good -intentions run in advance of them, and make them ready victims. Well, -well, I trust their charity will soon be diverted into worthier channels. -Unfortunately, the minds of many in England have become imbued with the -same erroneous belief, which is entirely owing to the mischievous teaching -of the Anti-Opium Society, and to the powerful machinery that this Society -has available for disseminating its doctrines. I am sorry, indeed, to have -to allude thus to Mr. Storrs Turner and his book, for I respect him as a -clergyman, a scholar, and a gentleman; but I cannot avoid doing so, for -certain it is that if you mean to refute Mahomedanism you cannot spare -Mahomed or the Alkoran. - -I have already told you something as to the character of the Chinese -generally. I will now mention from authority some more specific -characteristics of these people, because it is really important that you -should thoroughly understand what manner of men these Chinese are, for -that is a matter going to the root of the whole question. If I show you, -as I believe I shall be able to do most conclusively, that the Chinese are -as intelligent and as well able to take care of themselves as we are, with -far more craft and subtlety than we possess, you will, I think, be slow to -believe that they are silly enough to allow us to poison them with opium, -as it is alleged we are doing. A stranger mixture of good and evil could -hardly be met with than you will find in the Chinese--crafty, -over-reaching, mendacious beyond belief, double-dealing, distrustful, and -suspicious even of their own relations and personal friends; -self-opinionated, vain, conceited, arrogant, hypocritical, and deceitful. -That is the character that I give you of them; but it is the worst side of -their nature, for they have many redeeming qualities. I will now place -before you their character from another and a more competent authority. -The Venble. John Gray, D.D., was, until recently, for about twenty-five -years, Archdeacon of Hong Kong, but during the greater part, if not the -whole of that time, he was the respected and faithful incumbent of the -English Church at Canton, where he resided. Now Dr. Gray, who is still in -the prime of life, is a learned and able man; a keen observer of human -nature; a sound, solid, sensible Churchman, and so highly esteemed for his -excellent qualities, that I do not think any Englishman who ever lived in -China has left a more honoured name behind him than he has. He mixed a -great deal amongst the Chinese as well as amongst his own countrymen. He -also travelled much in China, and there really could not be found a more -competent authority as to the character of the Chinese people; and indeed -as to all matters connected with China. In 1878 he published a valuable -and trustworthy book.[3] It is not the production of a person who has -merely made a flying visit to China; but it is the work of an old and -sagacious English resident in that country, a profound thinker and -observer, of a man who has studied deeply and made himself thoroughly -acquainted with his subject. He says, at p. 15, vol. i.:-- - - Of the moral character of the people, who have multiplied until they - are "as the sands upon the sea-shore," it is very difficult to speak - justly. The moral character of the Chinese is a book written in - strange letters, which are more complex and difficult for one of - another race, religion, and language to decipher than their own - singularly compounded word-symbols. In the same individual virtues and - vices apparently incompatible are placed side by side--meekness, - gentleness, docility, industry, contentment, cheerfulness, obedience - to superiors, dutifulness to parents, and reverence to the aged, are, - in one and the same person, the companions of insincerity, lying, - flattery, treachery, cruelty, jealousy, ingratitude, and distrust of - others. - -This is the character which an English clergyman and scholar gives of the -Chinese. Dr. Gray was not a missionary, and it is to the missionary -clergymen generally that the extraordinary and delusive statements -respecting opium which I am combating are due; the reason for which I -shall by and by give you. I hold these missionary gentlemen in the very -highest respect. In their missionary labours they have my complete -sympathy, and no person can possibly value them as such more than I do, -nor be more ready than I am to bear testimony to the ability, piety, -industry, and energy which they have always displayed. But they are not -infallible, and when they forsake or neglect their sacred functions, and -enter the arena of politics; when they cast aside the surplice and enter -the lists as political gladiators, they are liable to meet with opponents -who will accept their challenge and controvert their views, and have no -right to complain if they now and then receive hard knocks in the -encounter. They are enthusiastic in their sacred calling; but that fact, -whilst it does them honour, shows that their extraordinary assertions as -to the opium trade should be received with caution, if not distrust. They -are the men who are responsible for the unfounded views which have got -abroad on this question. - -Now, is it not significant that Dr. Gray, whom the people of Canton -esteemed and respected more than any European who has lived amongst them, -except, perhaps, the late Sir Brooke Robertson (who was more Chinese than -the Chinese themselves), should have said nothing against opium in that -valuable and exhaustive work of his? Is it not passing strange that this -shrewd observer of men and manners, this intelligent English clergyman, -who has passed all these years at Canton, which, next to Hong Kong is the -great emporium of opium in the south of China, should be silent upon the -alleged iniquities that his countrymen are committing in that country? Dr. -Gray is a patriotic English gentleman. Can you suppose for a moment, that -if we were demoralizing and ruining the people of the great city of -Canton, and above all, that we were impeding the progress of the Gospel in -China, that his voice would not be heard thundering against the iniquity? -Dr. Gray is an earnest and eloquent preacher as well as an accomplished -writer; yet his voice has been silent on this alleged national crime. Is -it to be thought that, if there were any truth in the outcry spread abroad -by Mr. Storrs Turner and the Anti-Opium Society, he would have omitted to -have enlarged upon the wickedness of the opium trade when writing this -book upon China and the manners and customs of the Chinese? Is it not -remarkable that he has said not a word about that wickedness, and that all -these alleged evils arising from the trade are only conspicuous in his -book by their absence? And here I would ask, is not the silence of Dr. -Gray on this important opium question, under all the circumstances, just -as eloquent a protest against the anti-opium agitation, as if he had given -a whole chapter in his book denouncing the imposture? - -But to return to the character of the Chinese. Dr. Wells Williams, a -missionary clergyman of the highest character, who, being a missionary, I -need hardly say, does not hold the views that I do, has written another -admirable book upon China.[4] In it he has described the Chinese character -very fully. He first tells us, at page 2 of the second volume, what one, -Tien Kishi--a popular essayist--thinks of foreigners. - - "I felicitate myself," he says, "that I was born in China, and - constantly think how different it would have been with me if I had - been born beyond the seas in some remote part of the earth, where the - people, far removed from the converting maxims of the ancient kings - and ignorant of the domestic relations, are clothed with the leaves of - plants, eat wood, dwell in the wilderness, and live in the holes of - the earth. Though born in the world in such a condition, I should not - have been different from the beasts of the field. But now, happily, I - have been born in the 'Middle Kingdom.' I have a house to live in, - have food and drink and elegant furniture, have clothing and caps and - infinite blessings--truly the highest felicity is mine." - -That is still the opinion of every Chinaman respecting foreigners, save -those at Hong Kong, Shanghai, and the other treaty ports of China who, -having intermixed with foreigners, have found that their preconceived -notions respecting them were untrue, but they are but a handful, a drop in -the ocean; yet these are the people who, it is said, at our bidding and -instigation, are ruining their prospects and their health by smoking our -opium. Dr. Williams further says of them, at page 96 of the same volume:-- - - More ineradicable than the sins of the flesh is the falsity of the - Chinese and its attendant sin of base ingratitude. Their disregard of - truth has, perhaps, done more to lower their character in the eyes of - Christendom than any other fault. They feel no shame at being detected - in a lie, though they have not gone quite so far as to know when they - do lie, nor do they fear any punishment from the gods for it. Every - resident among them and all travellers declaim against their - mendacity. - -I shall give you by-and-by instances--actual facts known to myself, to -prove that every word Dr. Williams has said is true; and further, that the -Chinese will indulge in falsehood, not merely for gain or to carry out -some corrupt purpose, but for the mere pleasure of romancing, or to -gratify and oblige a friend. Dr. Williams then goes on to moralize, and -admits that the Chinese have a great many virtues as well as a great many -very foul vices. Unquestionably they have a great many virtues, aye, and -virtues of sterling character, and amongst these are commercial honour and -probity. For commercial instincts and habits I place them next to the -British. In their affection for their parents, their attachment to the -family homestead, their veneration for the aged and the virtuous, they -surpass every other nation. These are not the class of men to allow -themselves to be befooled with opium. Another virtue they possess, and it -is one very pertinent to the subject of this lecture, is abstemiousness; -they are positively the most frugal, self-denying, and abstemious people -on the face of the earth. - -Not only are the Chinese abstemious in their use of opium, but also as -regards alcoholic liquors. It is not, I think, generally known that there -is a species of spirit manufactured, and extensively used throughout -China, commonly called by foreigners "sam-shu." It is very cheap, and -there is no duty upon it in Hong Kong, nor is there any, I believe, in -their own country. I suppose a pint bottle of it can be bought for a -penny. It is a sort of whisky distilled from rice. The Chinese use it -habitually, especially after meals, and I do not think there is a single -foreign resident of Hong Kong, or any of the Treaty Ports, who does not -know this fact. The practice in China is, for the servants of Europeans to -go early to market each morning and bring home the provisions and other -household necessaries required for the day's use. I have seen, in the case -of my own servants, the bottle of sam-shu brought home morning after -morning as regularly as their ordinary daily food. Yet I never saw one of -my servants drunk or under the influence of liquor. What is more than -that, although sam-shu is so very cheap and plentiful, and is used -throughout the whole of Hong Kong, I never saw a Chinaman drunk, nor ever -knew of one being brought up before the magistrate for intemperance. I -cannot say the same thing of my own countrymen. Does not that form the -strongest possible evidence that the Chinese are an extremely steady and -abstemious race? Yet these are the people whom Mr. Storrs Turner would put -in the same category as the savages of Africa? Well, then, is it likely -that a people so abstemious in respect of spirit drinking would indulge -to excess in opium, especially if the drug has the intoxicating and -destructive qualities ascribed to it by the missionaries? - -The Chinese, I have also said, are a very frugal people. Six dollars, or -about twenty-four shillings of our money, per month are considered -splendid wages by a coolie. On two dollars a month he can live -comfortably. He sends, perhaps, every month, one or two dollars to his -parents or wife in his native village; for generally a Chinaman, be he -never so poor, has a wife, it being there a duty, if not an article of -religion, for the males, to marry young. The remainder they hoard for a -rainy day. Now, I say again, if the Chinese are such abstemious and frugal -people, and that they are so is unquestionable, does not the same rule -apply to opium as to spirits? The truth of the matter is, that it is a -very inconsiderable number of those who smoke opium who indulge in it to -any considerable extent--probably about one in five thousand. When a -Chinaman's day's work is over, and he feels fatigued or weary, he will, if -he can afford it, take a whiff or two of the opium pipe, seldom more. If a -friend drops in he will offer him a pipe, just as we would invite a friend -to have a glass of sherry or a cigar. This use of the opium pipe does good -rather than harm. Those who indulge in it take their meals and sleep none -the worse. The use of the pipe, indeed, wiles them from spirit drinking -and other vicious habits. My own belief is that opium smoking exercises a -beneficial influence upon those who habitually practise it, far more so -than the indulgence in tobacco, which is simply a poisonous weed, having -no curative properties whatever. I have seen here in England many a youth -tremble and become completely unhinged by excessive smoking, so terrible -is the effect of the unwholesome narcotic on the nervous system when it is -indulged in to excess; indeed I have heard it often said that excessive -indulgence in tobacco frequently produces softening of the brain: such a -result has never proceeded from opium smoking. - -I have stated in my programme of these lectures that the views put forward -by the "Anglo-Oriental Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade" -were based upon fallacies and false assumptions, which account for the -many converts the advocates of that Society have made. I have now to tell -you what these fallacies and false assumptions are. In fact, these explain -pretty clearly how it has come to pass that so many otherwise sensible, -good, and benevolent people have been led astray on the opium question. - -The first of these fallacies is, _that the poppy is not indigenous to -China, but has been recently introduced there, presumably by British -agency_. The truth being that the poppy is indigenous to China, as it -admittedly is to Asia generally, and has been used in China for various -purposes for thousands of years. - -The second is, _that opium smoking in China is now and always has been -confined to a small per-centage of the population, but which, owing to the -introduction into the country of Indian opium, is rapidly increasing_. The -fact being that the custom is, and for many centuries has been, general -among the male adults throughout China, its use being limited only by the -ability to procure the drug. - -The third is, _that opium smoking is injurious to the system, more so than -spirit drinking_. The truth being that the former is not only harmless but -beneficial to the system, unless when practised to an inordinate extent, -which is wholly exceptional; whilst spirit drinking ruins the health, -degrades the character, incites its victims to acts of violence, and -destroys the prospects of everyone who indulges to excess in the practice. - -The fourth is, _that the supply of opium regulates the demand, and not the -demand the supply_. When I come to consider this in detail, I think I -shall rather surprise you by the statements in support of this -extraordinary theory put forward by Mr. Storrs Turner in this wonderful -book of his. The use of so utterly untenable a proposition shows to what -extremes fanatical enthusiasts will resort in support of the hobby they -are riding to death; how desperate men, when advocating a hopeless cause, -will grasp at shadows to support their theories. When such persons wish a -certain state of things to be true and existing, they never stop to -scrutinize the arguments they use in support of them. If Mr. Storrs Turner -had not opium on the brain to an alarming extent, and was writing by the -light of reason and common sense, he would no more dream of putting -forward such a theory than he would entertain the faintest hope of finding -any person silly enough to believe in the doctrine. - -The fifth fallacy is, _that opium smoking and opium eating are equally -hurtful_. The fact being that there is the widest difference in the world -between the two practices, as I shall hereafter conclusively prove to you. -Upon this point, I may tell you, that Mr. Storrs Turner, in the appendix -to his book, gives numerous extracts from evidence taken on various -occasions as to opium _eating_, which has no relevancy to opium smoking; -not that I am even disposed to admit that even opium eating in moderation -is a baneful practice, the medical evidence on the subject being at -present very conflicting. And here I may appropriately say, that although -an overdose of opium may cause death, the mere _smoking_ of the drug in -any quantity will not do so. No case of poisoning by opium smoking has -ever been reported or heard of; such a thing, in fact, is a physical -impossibility. I daresay this may surprise some people, but it is, -nevertheless, an irrefragable fact. - -The sixth is, _that all, or nearly all, who smoke opium are either -inordinate smokers or are necessarily in the way of becoming so, and that -once the custom has been commenced it cannot be dropped; but the victim to -it is compelled to go on smoking the drug to his ultimate destruction_. -That, I shall show you, upon the best evidence, is altogether untrue, -thousands of Chinese having been to my knowledge habitual and occasional -opium smokers, who showed no ill effects whatever from the practice, -which, by the way, is far more easily discontinued than the use of -alcoholic liquors. - -The seventh is, _that the Chinese Government is, or ever was, anxious to -put a stop to the custom, or even to check the use, of opium amongst the -people of China_. This is one of the most ridiculous and unfounded notions -that ever entered the mind of man. There is a saying that "none are so -blind as those who will not see," and here, I shall show you, is the -strongest proof of the adage. - -The eighth is, _that the British merchants in China are making large -fortunes by opium_. The fact being that the Indo-China trade is profitable -to a very few merchants only, whilst the British merchants as a body have -no interest in the trade whatever. This is a pet fallacy of Mr. Storrs -Turner, and he has shown throughout his book, and notably in his article -in the "Nineteenth Century," a determination to make the most of it. He -has evidently persuaded himself that some large English firms have made -enormous fortunes by the drug, and he seems to have made up his mind never -to forgive the enormity. - -The ninth is, _that the discontinuance of the supply of opium from British -India would stop, or effectually check, the practice of opium smoking in -China_. The fact being that the suppression of the present Indo-China -opium trade, if indeed it were possible to suppress it, would have -precisely the contrary effect. I shall prove to you clearly, that if the -Indo-China opium trade, as at present carried on, were put an end to, such -an impetus would be given to the importation of opium into China as would -enormously add to the consumption of the drug, and that then British and -other merchants who have now no dealings in opium, would in such case -become largely engaged in the trade; whilst opium smuggling, the cause of -so much strife and unpleasantness in past times, would again become -general upon the coast of China. - -The tenth is, _that the opposition of Chinese officials to the -introduction of opium into China arose from moral causes_. The fact being, -as every sane man acquainted with China knows, that the true reason for -such opposition was a desire to protect and promote the culture of native -opium to keep out the foreign drug, and thus prevent the bullion payable -for the latter from leaving the country. - -Last, but by no means least, is the fallacy and fond delusion, _that the -introduction of Indian opium into China has arrested and is impeding the -progress of Christianity in that country, and that if the trade were -discontinued, the Chinese, or large numbers of them, would embrace the -Gospel_. The fact being, that opium smoking has had nothing whatever to do -with the propagation of Christianity in China, any more than rice or -Manchester goods, as I confidently undertake to show you when I come to -deal more fully with this outrageous fallacy. I will only now observe that -it is a remarkable fact, that while China is covered with a network of -Roman Catholic missionaries, some of whom I had the pleasure of knowing -quite intimately, I have never heard of a similar complaint having been -made by any of them, but, on the contrary, have always known them to speak -triumphantly of their great success in their missionary labours; but then -it must be remembered that these Roman Catholic missionaries, greatly to -their credit, throw their whole soul into their work, and devote their -whole time to their missionary labours, never mixing in politics or -interfering with matters of State. These are the figments which have got -hold of the Anti-Opium mind, from which has sprung the monstrosity put -forward by the Anti-Opium Society. I shall, in future lectures, return to -these fallacies, and dispose of each in turn. - -I will close this lecture by giving you the testimony of a very high and -entirely impartial authority as to the innocuous effects of opium, which -strongly confirms all that I have already stated. The late John Crawfurd, -F.R.S., was a _savant_ of high reputation in England, throughout the East, -and, I believe, in Europe. He was the contemporary and intimate friend of -the late Sir Benjamin Brodie, the eminent surgeon. Mr. Crawfurd had, -previous to 1856, been Governor of the three settlements of Singapore, -Penang, and Malacca. He resided for a great number of years in the far -East, studying there the country and people; he visited Siam, Java, -Borneo, and the Phillipine Islands, making himself thoroughly acquainted -with those places, the Malay peninsula, and various other countries in the -Indian Ocean and China Sea. In 1820 he published, in London, "A History of -the Indian Archipelago" (then comparatively but seldom visited by, and -less known to, Europeans), a work, I understand, of considerable merit. -Thirty-six years afterwards, that is, in the year 1856, having during the -interval spent seven years in travelling through India and otherwise -making himself perfectly acquainted with his subject, he published "A -Dictionary of the Indian Islands and Adjacent Countries." The book was -brought out in London by the well-known firm of Bradbury and Evans, and I -have it now before me. It was lent to me by a friend since the first -edition of these lectures was published. It is an interesting and valuable -volume, affording abundant evidence of the learning, research, vast -information and talents, and the studious and energetic character of the -writer. The book was published many years before this wonderful -confederation "The Anglo-Oriental Society for the Suppression of the Opium -Trade" sprang into existence, and, indeed, before there was any -considerable controversy upon the opium question. The opinions of this -eminent man on the subject of opium should, therefore, be viewed as wholly -unbiassed, for it is certain that he had no selfish ends to gratify. -Turning to the word "Opium" at page 313, we find the following:-- - - Opium is at present largely consumed in the Malayan Islands, in China, - in the Indo-Chinese countries, and in a few parts of Hindustan, much - in the same way in which wine, ardent spirits, malt liquor, and cider - are consumed in Europe. Its deleterious character has been much - insisted on, but generally, by parties _who have had no experience of - its effects_. Like any other narcotic or stimulant, the habitual use - of it is amenable to abuse, and as being more seductive than other - stimulants, perhaps more so; but this is certainly the utmost that can - be safely charged to it. Thousands consume it without any pernicious - result, as thousands do wine and spirits, without any evil - consequence. I know of no person of long experience and competent - judgment who has not come to this common-sense conclusion. Dr. Oxley, - a physician and a naturalist of eminence, and who has had a longer - experience than any other man of Singapore, where there is the highest - rate of consumption of the drug, gives the following opinion:--"The - inordinate use, or rather abuse, of the drug most decidedly does bring - on early decrepitude, loss of appetite, and a morbid state of all the - secretions; but I have seen a man who had used the drug for fifty - years in moderation, without any evil effects; and one man I recollect - in Malacca who had so used it was upwards of eighty. Several in the - habit of smoking it have assured me that, in moderation, it neither - impaired the functions nor shortened life; at the same time fully - admitting the deleterious effects of too much." There is not a word of - this that would not be equally true of the use and abuse of ardent - spirit, wine, and, perhaps, even tobacco. The historian of Sumatra, - whose experience and good sense cannot be questioned, came early to - the very same conclusion. The superior curative virtues of opium over - any other stimulant are undeniable, and the question of its - superiority over ardent spirits appears to me to have been for ever - set at rest by the high authority of my friend Sir Benjamin Brodie. - "The effect of opium, when taken into the stomach," says this - distinguished philosopher, "is not to stimulate but to soothe the - nervous system. It may be otherwise in some instances, but these are - rare exceptions to the general rule. The opium eater is, in a passive - state, satisfied with his own dreamy condition while under the - influence of the drug. He is useless but not mischievous. It is quite - otherwise with alcoholic liquors."--"Psychological Inquiries," p. 248. - - It may be worth while to show what is really the relative consumption - in those countries in which its use is alleged to be most pernicious. - In the British Settlement of Singapore, owing to the high rate of - wages, and the prevalence of a Chinese population, the consumption is - at the rate of about three hundred and thirty grains, or adult doses, - a year for each person. In Java, where the Chinese do not compose - above one in a hundred of the population, and where wages are - comparatively low, it does not exceed forty grains. Even in China - itself, where the consumption is supposed to be so large, it is no - more than one hundred and forty grains, chiefly _owing to the poverty - of the people, to whom it is for the most part inaccessible_. It must - not be forgotten, that some of the deleterious qualities of opium are - considerably abated, in all the countries in question, by the manner - in which it is prepared for use, _which consists in reducing it to a - kind of morphine and inhaling its fumes in this state_. Moreover, - everywhere consumption is restricted by heavy taxation. The opium of - India pays, in the first instance, a tax which amounts to three - millions sterling. The same opium in Singapore, with a population of - sixty thousand, pays another impost of thirty thousand pounds; and, in - Java, with a population of ten millions, one of eight hundred thousand - pounds. _Not the use, then, but the abuse, of opium is prejudicial to - health_; but in this respect it does not materially differ from wine, - distilled spirits, malt liquor, or hemp juice. There may be shades of - difference in the abuse of all these commodities, but they are not - easily determined, and, perhaps, hardly worth attempting to - appreciate. There is nothing mysterious about the intoxication - produced by ordinary stimulants, because we are familiar with it; but - it is otherwise with that resulting from opium, to which we are - strangers. We have generally only our imaginations to guide us with - the last, and we associate it with deeds of desperation and murder; - _the disposition to commit which, were the drug ever had recourse to - on such occasions, which it never is, it would surely allay and not - stimulate_. - - - - -LECTURE II. - - -I closed my first lecture with a list of fallacies, upon which the -objections to the Indo-China opium trade, and the charges brought against -England in relation to that trade, are founded, stating that I should -return to them and dispose of each separately. I also said in the earlier -part of my lecture, that the extraordinary hallucinations which had taken -hold of the public mind, with respect to opium smoking in China, arose, -amongst other causes, from the fact that the public had formed their -opinions from hearsay evidence, and that of the very worst and most -untrustworthy kind. I say untrustworthy because hearsay evidence, although -in general inadmissible in our law courts, may be in some cases very good -and reliable evidence. As this point goes to the root of all these -fallacies and false assertions, and the delusions based upon them, I wish -to show you why hearsay evidence is, in this case, of the worst and most -unreliable kind. In the first instance, I would refer you to the general -character of the Chinese for mendacity and deceit, admitted by all writers -upon the subject of China and the Chinese, and supported by the general -opinion of Europeans who have dwelt amongst them. Now, I am far from -saying that every Chinaman is necessarily a liar, or habitually tells -untruths for corrupt purposes. The point is, rather, that the Chinese do -not understand truth in the sense that we do. The evidence of Chinese -witnesses in courts of justice is notorious for its untrustworthy -character. The judges are not generally contented with the direct and -cross-examination to which witnesses are ordinarily subjected by counsel, -but frequently themselves put them under a searching examination, and -generally require more evidence in the case of Chinese than they would -if Europeans were alone concerned. - -From my acquaintance of the Chinese I can say that they are a very -good-natured people, especially when good-nature does not cost them much; -but they are also a very vindictive people, as, I suppose, most heathen -nations are. I have known cases where, to gratify private malice, or to -obtain some object, the reason for which would be hard for us to -appreciate, a Chinaman has got up a charge without foundation in fact, but -supported by false witnesses, who were so well drilled and had so -thoroughly rehearsed their parts that it was hard to doubt, and almost -impossible to disprove, the accusation. By such means innocent men have -been condemned and sentenced to severe punishments, or been unjustly -compelled to pay large sums of money. I have, on the other hand, known -cases which, according to the evidence brought before me, appeared -perfectly clear and good in law; but on taking each witness quietly into -my own office, and going through his evidence, the whole fabric would -tumble down like a pack of cards; so that, although my client's case might -still be intrinsically good, the witnesses he brought in support of it -knew nothing about it beyond what they had heard from others. It would -turn out that they had been told this by one person, that by another, and -so on, throughout the series of witnesses, not one of them would have any -actual knowledge of the alleged facts. In cases like these there would -probably be no corrupt motive whatever. - -While upon this point I may allude to another peculiar phase in the -Chinese character. They are so addicted to falsehood that they will -embellish truth, even in cases where they have the facts on their own -side. On such occasions they like to add to their story a fringe of -falsehood, thinking, perhaps, that by doing so, they will make the truth -stand out in brighter colours and appear more favourable in the eyes of -the Court and the Jury. Another Chinese peculiarity is the following:--If -you put leading questions to a Chinaman upon any particular subject, that -is to say, if you interrogate him upon a point, and by your mode of doing -so induce him to think that you are desirous of getting one particular -kind of answer, he gives you that answer accordingly, out of mere -good-nature. In these instances his imagination is wonderfully fertile. -The moment he finds his replies afford pleasure, and that there is an -object in view, he will give his questioner as much information of this -kind as he likes. Not only is this the case with the common people, -corresponding to the working or the labouring classes here, but the habit -really pervades the highest ranks of Chinese society. It is mentioned in -Dr. Williams's work, how the Chinese as a people think it no shame in -being detected in a falsehood. It is very hard to understand, especially -for an Englishman, such moral obtuseness. We are so accustomed to consider -truth in the first place, and to look upon perjury and falsehood with -abhorrence, that it may seem almost like romancing to gravely assure you -of these facts. - -If I relate a few short anecdotes which are absolutely true, and in which -I was personally concerned, I may put the matter more clearly before you. -A Chinese merchant, now in Hong Kong, once instructed me to prosecute a -claim against a ship-master for short delivery of cargo, and from the -documents he gave me, and the witnesses he produced, I had no hesitation -in pronouncing his case a good one, although I knew the man was -untruthful. When we came into court, knowing my client's proclivities, my -only fear was that he would not be content with simply telling the truth, -but would so embellish it with falsehood that the judge would not believe -his story. I therefore not only cautioned him myself in "pidgin English," -but instructed my Chinese clerk and interpreter to do so also. My last -words to him on going into court were, "Now mind you talkee true. Suppose -you talkee true you win your case. Suppose you talkee lie you losee." The -man went into the witness-box, and I am bound to say that on that occasion -he did tell the truth, and nothing but the truth, but I could plainly see -by his manner and bearing that the task was a most irksome one. When he -left the box, after cross-examination, I felt greatly relieved. The -defendant, who, I am glad to say, was not an Englishman, although he -commanded a British ship, told falsehood after falsehood. There could be -no doubt about this, and the judge, Mr. Snowden, the present Puisne Judge -of Hong Kong, at last ordered him to leave the box, and gave judgment for -my client. Notwithstanding this satisfactory result, I saw that the -plaintiff was still dissatisfied. I left the court and he followed me -out. He still seemed discontented, and had the air of an injured man. When -we got clear of the court he actually assailed me for having closed his -mouth and deprived him of the luxury of telling untruths. "What for," said -he, "you say my no talkee lie? that man have talkee plenty lie." I -replied, "Oh, that man have losee; you have won." But with anger in his -countenance, he walked sullenly away. - -Now I will tell you another--and a totally different case. The judge on -this occasion was the late Sir John Smale, Chief Justice of Hong Kong. It -was an action brought by a Chinese merchant, carrying on business in -Cochin China, against his agent in Hong Kong, a countryman of his, who had -not accounted for goods consigned to him for sale. The plaintiff put his -case in my hands. When it came into court the defendant was supported by -witnesses who seemed to have no connection whatever with the -subject-matter of the suit. They, however, swore most recklessly. In -cross-examination one of the witnesses completely broke down. The Chief -Justice then stopped the case, and characterized the defendant's conduct -"as the grossest attempt at fraud he had ever met with since he had come -to China," and, under the special powers he possessed, sent the false -witness to gaol for six weeks. The person so punished for perjury proved -to be what we would call a Master of Arts. He was, in fact, an expectant -mandarin, ranking very high in China. I should tell you that in that -country there is no regular hereditary nobility, nor any aristocracy save -the mandarin or official class. The fact is, and in view of Mr. Storrs -Turner's comparison of the Chinese with the savages of Central Africa, I -may here mention it, that in China--where these simple, innocent -"aborigines," as it suits the anti-opium advocates to treat them, -flourish--education is the sole criterion of rank and precedence. They -have a competitive system there, which is undoubtedly the oldest in the -world. This man, as I said, was a Master of Arts, and would, in regular -course, have been appointed to an important official post and taken rank -as a mandarin. He was, I believe, at the time of his sentence, one of the -regular examiners at the competitive examinations of young men seeking for -employment in the Civil Service of the Empire. When the case ended, I -dismissed it from my mind. But, to my great surprise, six or seven of the -leading Chinamen of Hong Kong waited upon me on the following day, and -implored of me to get this man out of gaol. They declared that the whole -Chinese community of Hong Kong felt degraded at having one of their -superior order, a learned Master of Arts, consigned to a foreign prison. -They assured me that this was the greatest indignity that could have been -offered to the Chinese people. I replied that the fact of the prisoner -being a man of education only aggravated his offence, that he had -deliberately perjured himself in order to cheat my client, and that the -foreign community considered his punishment far too lenient, for had he -been a foreigner he would have got a far more severe punishment. But they -could not see the matter in that light, and went away dissatisfied. They -afterwards presented a petition to the Governor, praying for the man's -release, but without success. My object in narrating this to you is to -show the utter contempt which the Chinese, not only of the lower orders, -but of the better class, have for the truth. I could supplement these -cases by many others, all showing that the Chinese do not regard the -difference between truth and falsehood in the sense that we do. - -To illustrate more clearly what I have told you, I will read to you a -short passage from a leading article in the "China Mail," a daily -newspaper published in Hong Kong. The date of the paper is the 3rd of -October 1881. The editor is a gentleman who has been out there for twenty -years; he is a man of considerable ability and knows the Chinese character -perfectly, and I may also mention that he is a near relative of Mr. Storrs -Turner. This is what he says:-- - - The question of the reliability of Chinese witnesses is one which is - continually presenting itself to all who have anything to do with - judicial proceedings in this colony, and as jurors are usually saddled - with the responsibility of deciding how far such evidence is to be - credited in most serious cases, the subject is one which appeals to a - large body of residents. An eminent local authority, some time since, - gave it as his opinion that he did not think a Chinese witness could - give accurate evidence, even if the precise truth would best suit his - purpose. This is doubtless true to some extent, and it bears directly - on one phase of the discussion, viz. that of reliableness, so far as - strict accuracy of detail is concerned. But a witness may be regarded - as the witness of truth although he fails in that extremely precise or - accurate narration of facts and details which goes so far to - strengthen truthful testimony. What is meant here by reliability of - witnesses, however, is their desire to tell what they _believe_ to be - the truth. It has been somewhere said, by one of authority on Chinese - matters, that it is not particularly surprising that the Chinese, as a - people, are so widely known as economisers of the truth, when their - system of government is carefully considered. For a Chinaman, life - assumes so many phases, in which a good round lie becomes a valuable - commodity, that the only surprise remaining is, that he is ever known - to tell the truth. - -That is exactly what I have already said. It would occupy too much time to -read the rest of the article, which is ably written, but the portion I -have quoted tends to show the unreliability of Chinese witnesses, even in -a solemn Court of Justice. - -Now, I think, I have shown you that our Celestial friends present rather -an unpromising raw material from which to extract the truth. Yet these are -the men from whom the missionaries derive their information as to those -wonderful consequences from opium smoking which, the more greedily -swallowed, are the more liberally supplied, thus affording an illustration -of Mr. Storrs Turner's extraordinary theory of supply and demand, of which -I shall have to speak more by and by. Having exhibited to you the well of -truth from which credible evidence is sought to be obtained, I have now to -turn to the other side of the question and describe the character and -competence of those who draw their facts from that source, and from whom -the general public have mainly derived their knowledge of opium and opium -smoking. - -As regards the missionaries, I have stated already that I hold them in the -very highest respect, and they are well deserving of it, and, indeed, of -the consideration of the whole community. Were I to state anything to -their prejudice or disadvantage, further than what I assert as to their -fallacious views and unjustifiable conduct on the opium question, I should -certainly be speaking without warrant; for a more respectable, -hard-working, or conscientious body of gentlemen it would be difficult to -find. Perhaps they are the hardest worked and worst paid class of any -foreigners in China. They have a work to perform, the difficulty of which -is but partially understood in this country; that is, the task of -converting to Christianity these heathen people, who think Confucianism -and the other religions engrafted upon it which they follow, and which -seem to suit their temperament, immeasurably superior to ours; who point -to our prophets and sages as men of yesterday, and look with comparative -contempt upon our literature, laws, and customs. The real difficulty of -the situation lies in these facts; believe me, that it is as absurd as it -is untrue to say that opium has had anything to do with the slow progress -of Christianity in China. Missionary clergymen in China are really not the -best men to get at the facts of the opium question. If a foreigner, here -in England, were to ask me in which quarter he would be likely to obtain -the best information regarding the manners and customs of the English -people, I should certainly advise him to get introductions to some of our -working clergy of all denominations, because they are the people's trusted -friends and advisers, sharing in their joys and sympathizing in their -sorrows, their wants and necessities. They are educated and matter-of-fact -men, just the class of persons to afford sound and accurate information as -to the country and people. This, I believe, will be generally admitted. -The same rule would not apply to our missionary clergymen in China; for -they, unlike our clergy at home, are not the trusted friends and advisers -of the Chinese people, and, knowing really very little of the inner life -of the people, cannot be said to sympathize in their wants and -necessities. No doubt there have been some admirable books written on -China by missionary clergymen, such as the "Middle Kingdom," from which I -have already quoted, and Dr. Doolittle's work; but everyone who has lived -long in China takes all their statements on every point affecting their -missionary labours, and upon many other matters also, _cum grano_. So far -as the manners and customs of the Chinese can be understood from their -outdoor life, literature, and laws, they are competent judges enough; but -as they are not admitted into Chinese society, and do not possess the -confidence of the people, they cannot be accepted as authorities on the -inner social life of the natives, so far as regards opium-smoking. They -have not at all the same status as regards the Chinese that English -clergymen have in respect to their own countrymen here in England; and if -a friend were to put such a question to me respecting China and the -Chinese, the last people I would refer him to for information would be the -missionary clergymen. These missionary gentlemen, if they were at home in -England, would, no doubt, have their livings and vicarages, and would take -their place with the regular clergy of the country. But in China things -are totally different. There the people not only despise them, but laugh -at the creed they are trying to teach. The simplicity of the Gospel is too -cold for them. Teeming with the marvellous as their own religions do, no -other creed seems acceptable to them that does not deal in startling -miracles and offer a continuous supply of supernatural feats. Anyone who -reads Dr. Legge's book, on the religions of China, will see this at once. -The Chinese have an accepted belief three or four thousand years older -than Christianity, and they are well aware of the fact. Despising -Europeans, as they do, and looking upon themselves as a superior race, it -is not likely that the Chinese will take missionary clergymen into their -confidence, or afford them any trustworthy information about private or -personal matters. In short, there is no cordiality between the Chinese and -the missionaries. - -Still our Chinese friends are a very polite people, and no doubt they are -and will continue to be outwardly very civil to missionaries, and, -although they may consider them impudent intruders, will give courteous -answers to their questions; but it does not follow that they will give -_true_ answers. A respectable Chinaman, such as a merchant, a shopkeeper, -or an artizan, would consider himself disgraced among his own community if -it were known that he had embraced Christianity, or even entertained the -thought of doing so. I do not think that, long as I was in China, I had a -single regular Chinese client who was a Christian. All my native -clients--merchants, shopkeepers, clerks, artizans, and coolies, and I have -had professional dealings with thousands of them--were heathens. In very -rare instances Chinese professing Christianity will be found holding -respectable positions; but, I regret to say, I do not believe that any of -such people are sincere. I had myself a clerk in my office for about -twelve years; he was a young man educated at St. Paul's College, in Hong -Kong. The College is now closed, but when in existence the pupils there -got an excellent education, and were also well clothed and fed. They were -not only taught Chinese, as is the case in Chinese schools, but also to -read and speak English well. When he went to the school he was not more -than seven or eight years old, and left it probably when he was fourteen -or fifteen. He was an excellent clerk, a highly intelligent young fellow, -and wrote and spoke English well. Now, if ever there were a case where a -lad might be expected to be a sincere convert this was the one. He had -been strictly brought up as a Christian, went to church, and read the -Bible regularly, and, indeed, was far more kindly treated in the College -than English lads are in many schools in this country. Even that boy was -not a sincere convert. - -When about eighteen years of age he got married, as is the custom with the -youth of China. On informing me of his intention, he asked me to procure -from the Superintendent of Police the privilege of having "fire crackers" -at his wedding, a heathen custom, supposed to drive away evil spirits. I -reminded him that I had always believed him a Christian; when he said, -"Oh! it's a Chinese custom." However, I got him the privilege. But instead -of being solemnized in the church, which he had been in the habit of -attending when a pupil in St. Paul's College, according to the rites of -the Church of England, his marriage ceremony was celebrated in Chinese -fashion, a primitive proceeding, and certainly heathen in its form. He -never went near the church at all. A few days afterwards I remarked to him -that he had not been married in the church. He laughed, and said, "that as -he and his wife were Chinese they could only be married according to -Chinese custom." - -Let me give another story in point. I knew a man in Hong Kong who, owing -to the difficulty of finding suitable natives who understood English, was -for a long time the only Chinese on the jury list. He spoke English fairly -well. He was educated at a school presided over by the late Rev. Dr. -Morrison, the learned sinologue, who had lived in Hong Kong before my -time. His school was an excellent one, and had turned out some very good -scholars. I have seen this man go into the jury-box, and often too, into -the witness-box, and take the Bible in his hand and kiss it -ostentatiously. I used to think he was a sincere Christian, and was glad -to see so respectable a Chinaman (for he held a responsible position in a -bank) acknowledge in public that he was a Christian. But that man, I -afterwards discovered from the best possible authority, was at heart a -heathen; he always had idols, or, as we call them, "Josses," in his house. -He also was a Christian in name, and nothing more. - -There was another man educated in Dr. Morrison's school. Dr. Legge knew -him very well, and was a sort of patron of his. I suppose it is pretty -well known that polygamy is a custom in China, and that it is quite an -exception for a Chinese in any decent position there not to have three, -four, or more wives; the more he has the greater his consequence among his -countrymen. This man, as a matter of fact, had three wives, and when his -so-called first wife died, he was in a great fright lest Dr. Legge should -discover that he had two more wives, for it is customary that the other -wives should attend the funeral of the first as mourners. Now these are -the sort of converts, for the most part, to be met with in China. As a -rule, they are far less honest and more untruthful than their heathen -countrymen, and many Europeans in consequence will not take converts into -their service. In proof of this statement I will here give you an extract -from a very able article which appeared in the "Hong Kong Daily Press," an -old and well conducted newspaper, of the 31st October 1882. This is it:-- - - They [the missionaries] secure some adherence to the Christian - religion, no doubt, but what is the value of the Christianity? It - possesses, so far as we have been able to judge, neither stamina nor - backbone. Foreigners at Hong Kong, and at the Treaty Ports, fight shy - of Christian servants, a very general impression existing that they - are less reliable than their heathen fellows; and with regard to the - Christians in their own villages and towns, there is always a - suspicion of interested motives. - -Are these Chinese converts the class of the Chinese from which truth is to -be gleaned? Is the testimony of such people of the slightest value? Yet -these are the persons from whom the missionaries derive their knowledge of -opium smoking and its alleged baneful effects. I venture to say that among -all the so-called Christian converts in China you will not find five per -cent. who are really sincere--all the rest profess Christianity to obtain -some personal advantage. These so-called converts are generally people -from the humblest classes, because, as I have mentioned, people of the -better class, such as merchants, shopkeepers, and tradesmen, not only -consider their own religion superior to the Christian's creed, but they -would be ashamed to adopt Christianity, as they would thus be disgraced -and make themselves appear ridiculous in the eyes of their neighbours; -and they are a people peculiarly sensitive to ridicule. I will not say -that there are not some true converts to be found among Chinese -congregations; if there are none, the missionary clergymen are certainly -not to blame, for they are indefatigable in their exertions to make -converts, proving also by their blameless lives the sincerity of their -professions. As I have said, the difficulty attending their efforts is -enormous. It must be remembered that in China we are not teaching -Christianity to the poor African, or the semi-civilised native of -Madagascar or the Fiji Islands; but that we are dealing with civilized -men, who consider their own country and literature, customs and religion, -far superior to those of England or of any other country in the world. The -Chinese are so convinced of this, that the very coolies in the streets -consider themselves the superiors of the foreign ladies and gentlemen that -pass, or whom, perhaps, they are carrying in their sedan chairs. - -I hold the missionaries altogether responsible for the hallucination that -has taken possession of the public mind on the opium question. With the -Bible they revere in their hands, they think the Chinese should eagerly -embrace the doctrine it inculcates, and, unable to account for their -failure, they readily accept the subterfuge offered by certain Chinese for -not accepting Christianity or attending to their teaching. They feel that -it is, or may be, expected of them in this country, that they should have -large congregations of native proselytes, such as, I believe, the -missionaries have in Madagascar, and in like places, forgetting that no -parallel can be drawn between such races and the Chinese. The Protestant -missionary clergymen in China are, not unnaturally, anxious to account for -their supposed failure in that large and heathen country. They would not -be human if they were not. The better class of Chinese, as I have said, -will not listen to a missionary, or argue with him. They do not want to -hear lectures on Christianity, and grow impatient at any disparaging -remark about their own religion. They simply say, "We have a religion that -is better than yours, and we mean to stick to it." The missionaries, -however, think they ought to have better success. They are, no doubt, -indefatigable in their labours, and as they do not meet with the results -that ought, they consider, to follow from their labours, and as their -sanguine minds cling to any semblance of excuse for their shortcomings, -they accept the stale and miserable subterfuge, to the use of which their -converts are prompted by the Mandarins, that the Indo-China opium trade is -vicious, and that before Christianity is accepted by the country, the -trade in question must be abolished. This transparent evasion of the -Chinese appears to me to bear too strong a family likeness to the famous -"confidence trick," with which the police reports now and then make us -acquainted, to be entertained for a moment. - -The Chinese, knowing the weakness of the missionaries, play upon it; and -one of the best instances I can give you that they are successful is -this:--They tell them that the Chinese Government objects to the opium -trade upon moral grounds; but it never occurs to the missionaries to -retort and say, "If so, why does your Government not prevent the -cultivation of opium throughout China? In the provinces of Yunnan and -Szechuen, and all over the Empire, indeed, enormous crops of opium are -raised every year; why does not your Government, knowing, as you say, that -the effects of opium are so fatal, put a stop to the growth of the -deleterious drug?" This question would prove rather a difficult one to -answer, though the Mandarins, skilful casuists as they are, would no doubt -invent some specious one which might impose upon their interrogators. The -mental vision of our missionary friends is so limited to one side only of -the question, that even here they might be taken in by the astute natives. -It is only of late that the Chinese Government has taken up the moral -objection, and the reason, I believe, it has done so is because it has -found out the weak side of the missionaries, probably through _The Friend -of China_, published at Shanghai. - -When it is taken into account that of late years the average quantity of -Indian opium imported into China is about one hundred thousand chests, -each of which, for all practical purposes, may be called a hundredweight, -and that the price of each of these chests landed in China is about seven -hundred dollars, and that the whole works up to something like sixteen -millions sterling, the strong objection of the Mandarin classes to allow -such a large amount of specie to leave the country becomes intelligible. -Rapacious plunderers as they are, they see their prey escaping them before -their very eyes, and are powerless to snatch it back. These sixteen -millions, they think, would be all fair game for "squeezing" if we could -only keep them at home. For although China is an immense empire, with -great natural resources, it is still a poor country as regards the -precious metals. No doubt an economist would tell these Mandarins: "It is -true we sell you all this opium, but then we give you back again all the -money you pay for it, with a great deal more besides, for the purchase of -your tea and silk." But a Mandarin would only laugh at such an argument. -"Ah," he would say, "you must have tea and silk in any case; you can't do -without them. We want to get hold of your silver and give you none of ours -in return." That is the true cause, or one of the true causes, of the -objection of the Government of China to the importation into that country -of Indian opium. - -The missionaries, or at all events the greater number of them, have -adopted the view, that if they could only put a stop to the importation of -Indian opium into China the evangelization of the country would be a -question of time only; and in one sense, indeed, this would be true; but -the time would not be near, but very distant. The Chinese have a keen -sense of humour, and if the British would allow themselves to be cajoled -by the specious arguments with which the religious world here is -constantly regaled about the opium question, so far as to put a stop to -the traffic, such a feeling of contempt for English common sense, and in -consequence for the religion of Englishmen, would ensue, that the spread -of the Gospel in China would be greatly retarded indeed. The truth about -opium is so clear to those who trust to the evidence of their senses, and -who look at facts from a plain common sense point of view, that they -cannot for a moment see that there is any connection whatever between -opium and Christianity. It seems to me that those gentlemen who adopt the -anti-opium doctrine, and scatter it abroad, are only comparable to the -monomaniac, who, sane upon every subject but one, is thoroughly daft upon -that. No better example of this can I give you than by referring to a -speech made by a gentleman deservedly respected by the community, whom I -have always considered as one of the hardest-headed men sitting in the -House of Commons, possessing sound common sense upon all subjects save -that of opium. I refer to Sir J. W. Pease, the Member for South Durham. -In the year 1881 the usual anti-opium debate came on in the House of -Commons. Sir J. W. Pease delivered a speech on the occasion denunciatory -of the Indo-China trade, in the course of which he referred to the treaty -recently made between China and America, one of the clauses of which -provides that American ships shall not import opium into China, and that -no Chinaman shall be allowed to import opium into America, where there is -a large Chinese population, especially in San Francisco. The treaty -relates to other matters, and this clause is, so to speak, interpolated -into it, for a purpose I shall now explain. It was intended to appear as a -sort of _quid pro quo_, for whilst America, in fact, gave up nothing, -though she affected to do so, she obtained some commercial advantages by -the treaty. This is the clause:-- - - The Governments of China and of the United States mutually agree and - undertake that Chinese subjects shall not be permitted to import opium - into any of the ports of the United States; and citizens of the United - States shall not be permitted to import opium into any of the open - ports of China. This absolute prohibition, which extends to vessels - owned by the citizens or subjects of either Power, to foreign vessels - employed by them or to vessels owned by the citizens or subjects of - either Power, and employed by other persons for transportation of - opium, shall be enforced by appropriate legislation on the part of - China and the United States, and the benefits of the favoured claims - in existing treaties shall not be claimed by the citizens or subjects - of either Power as against the provisions of this article. - -I happened to be weather-bound in Rome when I first read, in a Hong Kong -paper, that amusing and deceptive treaty, which was made in 1880. Knowing -thoroughly the situation, and all the facts connected with the Indo-China -opium trade, I undertake to assure you that so far, at least, as regards -this opium clause, that treaty was simply a farce. With the single -exception of a line of mail packet steamers between Hong Kong and San -Francisco, America has few or no steamers trading in the China seas. She -has protected her mercantile marine so well that she has now very little -occasion for exercising her protection. She has no vessels trading between -India and China, and never has had any, and, as a matter of fact, no -American ships carry one ounce of opium between India or China, or to the -port of Hong Kong, or have carried it for many years, if, indeed, any -American vessel has ever done so. Nor is there, indeed, at present the -slightest probability that her ships will ever convey opium between India -and China. America, in fact, might, with as much self-denial, have -undertaken not to carry coals to Newcastle as Indian opium to China. There -are regular lines of British steamers plying between the ports of Bombay, -Calcutta, and Hong Kong, by which all Indian opium for the China trade is -carried direct to its destination. - -I declare that anything more absurd, deceptive, and dishonest never formed -the subject of an international treaty. The whole affair was so utterly -false and misleading that the first thing I did after reading the treaty -was to cut it out from the newspaper and forward it, with an explanatory -letter, to the "Times," the usual refuge of the aggrieved Briton. This -deceptive clause was intended simply to mislead the simple, benevolent, -good-natured John Bull, already, as the framers of the treaty no doubt -supposed, half-crazed on the anti-opium movement. A better specimen of -American smartness and Chinese astuteness could hardly be conceived than -this crafty and fallacious clause. America has no opium to sell or import, -and can, therefore, afford to be extremely generous on the point. It is -just possible, however, that at a future day opium may be produced in the -South-Western States, in which case the American Government--I will not -say the American people, for I hold _them_ in great respect--will -endeavour to wriggle out of this precious treaty, just as they are now -trying to do as regards the Panama convention with this country, when the -possibility that gave rise to it is likely to become a reality. The -stipulation that Chinese subjects should not be permitted to import opium -into any of the ports of the United States is of course absolute nonsense. -If the American Government had really intended to prohibit opium from -being imported from China, or elsewhere, into their country they should -not have confined the prohibition to Chinese subjects, but have extended -it to all nationalities; in fact, to have made opium, save for medical -purposes, contraband. To explain this point more clearly, you will -remember what I have mentioned before, that the exclusive right to -manufacture crude opium into the form used for smoking, called in China -"prepared opium," is farmed out. The present farmer pays the Government of -Hong Kong two hundred and five thousand dollars, or forty thousand pounds -a year for the monopoly. The reason why he pays so large a sum for this -privilege is because of the facilities it affords him for exporting it to -other places, and not merely to get the exclusive right of preparing and -selling the drug in Hong Kong, for if that were all the benefit to be -derived from the monopoly he would not give so large a rent for it. The -greater source of profit arises from the circumstance that the Chinese -must have the beloved stimulant wherever they roam. If you go to -Australia, the Philippine Islands, the Straits, Borneo, or the town of -Saigon in French Cochin China, or wherever else dollars are to be made, -you will find Chinese in abundance. Go to the South Seas, go to the -Sandwich or the Fiji Islands, you will discover the Chinese happy and -prosperous, and you will always see in their houses the opium pipe. The -advantage of having the exclusive privilege in Hong Kong of preparing and -selling opium consists in this, that it is the terminus of an American -line of steamers which ply between that port and San Francisco. It is also -the port from which British lines of steamers run to Australia, Tasmania, -and New Zealand. These packets always take with them consignments of -prepared opium ready for smoking, because at these places there are large -and well-to-do Chinese communities who can afford to indulge in the -national luxury of opium smoking. I have already told you that I was for -about ten years solicitor for that opium firm, and I happen to know a -great deal about the prepared opium trade through that medium. The Chinese -in California, where there is an immense number of those people, do not -consume less, I should say, in the course of a year than one hundred -thousand pounds worth of prepared opium. As is the case in Hong Kong, the -Chinese have better means to buy the drug there than they would have at -home. They get high wages, keep shops, are excellent tradesmen, and can -live and make money where a European would starve. They are all, in fact, -well-to-do, and wherever a Chinaman has the money he must have his opium -pipe. Therefore the privilege of supplying the Chinese in California, -Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania, and in the South Sea Islands, where -are large China colonies, is enjoyed by the opium farmer of Hong Kong, -because he has the means of shipping the drug by steamers direct to those -places, thus out-distancing all other competitors. This trade, -notwithstanding that wonderful treaty, is still going on, and not one -ounce of opium less than was shipped before its ratification is now being -carried to San Francisco, and in American bottoms too, for the treaty only -says that no _Chinaman_ shall import opium into America; there is no -prohibition against Americans or Europeans doing so. What the opium farmer -now does, if indeed he has not always done so, is to get an American or -other merchant in Hong Kong to ship the drug for him in his own name, -handing him, the opium farmer, the bill of lading. The opium is -accordingly shipped in the name of Brown, Jones, or Robinson, and on its -arrival at San Francisco the opium farmer's consignee takes possession of -it, and it is distributed by him among his countrymen in that flourishing -city. - -If Sir J. W. Pease were not an enthusiast, ready to swallow without -hesitation everything which seems to tell against the opium traffic, and -to disbelieve everything said or written on the other side of the -question, he would have seen through all this as a matter of course. This -is what he said about the treaty in the speech I have referred to, having -first delivered a philippic on the enormities and terrible wickedness of -the traffic:-- - - Only last year a treaty was entered into between the United States and - China, and one of the articles of that treaty distinctly stated that - the opium trade was forbidden, and that no American ship should become - an opium trader--a fact which showed that the Chinese authorities were - honest in their expressed desire to put an end to the trade. - -Sir J. W. Pease is the most confiding of men; to my mind the treaty should -be construed in a very different sense. Sometimes, when we want to convey -our sentiments to another, we do so indirectly. There is a very well -understood method of attaining that object. Instead of opening your mind -to Mr. Jones, who is the object of your intended edification, you will in -Mr. Jones's presence address your remarks to Mr. Brown; but in reality, -although you are speaking to the latter, you are speaking at the former. -Now the whole object of this precious article of the treaty was to play a -similar piece of finesse. Both nations well understood what they were -about; they were simply trying to hoodwink and make fools of John Bull by -putting into the treaty this false and hypocritical clause, which, as -between themselves, each party well knew meant nothing to the other. Here -is Sir J. W. Pease, a sensible and astute man of business, with his eyes -open, yet, blinded by his good nature and anti-opium prejudice, falling -into the trap set for him, and allowing himself to be deceived by this -transparent piece of humbug, and quoting in the House of Commons this -"bogus" treaty as evidence that the Indo-China opium trade is so infamous -that the American Government intended, so far as they were concerned, to -put a stop to it, and that the Chinese Government wish to abolish it on -moral grounds. I give you this as an example of the lengths to which -otherwise sensible gentlemen will go when smitten with opium-phobia, and -how oblivious they become under such circumstances to actual facts. -Imagine how his Excellency Li Hung Chang, that very able Chinese -statesman, and those smart American diplomatists who have thus posed as -anti-opium philanthropists, must have enjoyed the fun of being able to so -completely bamboozle an English member of Sir J. W. Pease's reputation! - -Now, although I have exposed this Americo-Chinese juggle, I am far from -meaning to cast the slightest imputation upon Sir J. W. Pease, whose -personal character I in common with the whole country hold in the very -highest respect. I am well assured that in bringing forward his motion in -the House of Commons he was actuated by a sense of duty, and the very -purest motives, and that in referring to the treaty in question he fully -believed in its _bona fides_; upon this point I am at one with his warmest -admirers. No one deservedly stands higher as a philanthropist and -Christian gentleman, and, save as regards this opium delusion, no man has -ever made a nobler use of an ample fortune than he. - -I may speak in the same terms of the venerable and universally-respected -nobleman who is the president of the Anti-Opium Society, whose whole life -has been devoted to the welfare of his fellow men, especially those who -stood most in need of his help. I referred in the first edition of this -lecture to a Most Reverend Prelate, honoured and beloved both by his own -countrymen, and, I believe, the whole Christian world, who is also, I -deeply deplore, a believer in the anti-opium delusion, but in doing so -nothing was farther from my intentions than to lay aside for a moment the -respect that was due to him as a man and a high dignitary of the church. I -revere and honour him and admire his great and noble qualities as much as -any man living. Born and brought up as I have been in the Church of -England, and sincerely attached to its doctrine and teaching, having near -and dear relatives, too, ministers of that church, the last thing I would -be capable of doing is to harbour an unkind thought, or utter a -disrespectful word, against any of her clergy, much less one of her most -honoured prelates. These three good and upright men are, I am sorry to -say, but types of a great many other most estimable people, many of them -ornaments to their country, who through the purity and overflowing -goodness of their hearts, have been dragged into the vortex of delusion -set afloat by the Anti-Opium Society--who allow themselves to be cajoled -and victimised--led by the nose, in fact, by anti-opium fanatics, who, -cunning as the madman and perfectly regardless of the means they resort to -in the prosecution of what they consider right, bring to their aid the -zeal of the missionary and the power for mischief which superior education -and mis-directed talents confer. This is what rouses one's indignation and -compels me to pursue the unpleasant task of discrediting and otherwise -painfully referring to men whom, apart from this wretched opium delusion, -I honour and respect. - -Upon this point I cannot refrain from referring to a gentleman of high -standing, who had formerly been in China, and really ought to have known -better. That gentleman went so far as to write a letter to the "Times," in -which he said that out of one hundred missionaries in China there was not -one who would receive a convert into his church until he had made a vow -against opium smoking. Bearing in mind that all these so-called converts -made by these one hundred missionaries belong for the most part to the -very poor, if not to the dregs of the people, I should think no missionary -clergyman would find much difficulty in obtaining such a pledge. He has -only to ask and to have. If a clergyman in a very poor neighbourhood in -the East End of London proposed to his congregation that they should -promise never to drink champagne, he would receive such a pledge without -difficulty from one and all; but if any kind person were afterwards to -give them a banquet of roast beef and plum-pudding, with plenty of -champagne to wash those good things down, I am afraid their vow would be -found to be very elastic. - -So it is with the congregations of these missionary clergymen; there is -not an individual amongst them who would refuse to enjoy the opium pipe if -he got the chance, however much they might declaim against the practice to -please the missionary. Opium, as the missionaries must well know, is a -luxury that can only be indulged in by those who have the means of paying -for it. Now, while twopence or threepence may appear to us a very -insignificant sum, such will not be the opinion of a very poor person. -Threepence will purchase a loaf of bread. So it is with the Chinese, -especially those residing in their own territory. There is only one class -of coin current in China. It is known by Europeans as "cash." Ten should -equal a cent, or a halfpenny, but owing to the inferiority of the metal -they are made of, twelve or thirteen usually go to make one cent of -English money, so that ten cents, or fivepence of our money, would be -about one hundred and thirty cash. A poor Chinaman possessing that sum -would think that he had got hold of quite a pocketful of money, and so it -would prove, so far as regards a little rice or salt fish, which forms -part of most Chinamen's daily food; but were he so foolish as to indulge -in opium, a few whiffs of the pipe would soon swallow up the whole. And -then there arises the difficulty of getting the cash, so that it is really -only people having command of a fair amount of money who can afford to -indulge, habitually at all events, in the luxury of the pipe. - -Now with respect to the alleged evil effects of opium smoking, you will -constantly hear stories from missionary sources of wretched people, the -slaves of the opium pipe, crawling to the medical officers of missionary -hospitals, who are to a certain extent missionaries themselves, and asking -to be cured of the terrible consequences of their indulgence in opium -smoking. The medical officer at each of these missionary institutions, a -victim himself, in most cases, to the delusions set afloat, accepts their -story, pities the men, and takes them into the hospital; and, believing -that if they do not get a moderate indulgence in opium smoking they will -pine away and die, the good, easy man, full of kindness and simplicity, -gives them a liberal allowance, which his patients are delighted to get. -Knowing the bent of mind of the confiding doctor, they fill him with all -kinds of falsehoods as to the evils attendant upon opium smoking in -general, which he swallows without a particle of doubt. The truth, -however, is that those men who go with such tales to the medical -missionary are in most, if not all, cases simply impostors, generally -broken-down thieves, sneaks, and scoundrels--the very scum of the people. -No longer having energy even to steal, they are driven off by their old -associates, to starve or die in a gaol. These men are the craftiest, the -meanest, and the most unscrupulous on the face of the globe. They well -know all that the missionaries think about opium smoking, and, like the -accommodating Mr. Jingle, they have a hundred stories of the same kind -ready to pour into the ears of their kind-hearted benefactors, who become -in turn their victims. Much merriment, I have no doubt, these scamps -indulge in amongst themselves at the good doctor's expense; for the -Chinese are not deficient in humour, and have a keen sense of the -ludicrous. These people crawl to one of the hospitals; the doctor is -delighted with their stories, for they confirm all he has written home or -published, perhaps in _The Friend of China_. He communicates with the -missionary; their stories are sent home, and the patients get for three or -four weeks excellent food and comforts, including plenty of opium, before -they are turned out as cured. The lepers have been cleansed and made -whole, but only to enable them to prey once more upon the industrious -community. I may here observe that there are no missionary hospitals in -Hong Kong, and so we never hear of those wonderful stories happening in -that place, yet, if such stories were true, it is there that the strongest -corroboration of them should be found, for, although there is no -missionary hospital in the colony, there is the large and well-managed -civil hospital, as also the Chinese Tung-Wah Hospital, both of which are -subject to the inspection of Dr. Ayres. - -Such are the tales, and such the authors who have caused much of this -clamour about opium smoking. There is scarcely a particle of truth in any -one of those stories. No man can indulge in opium to such an extent as to -harm himself unless he possesses a fair income, and if such a person -became ill from over-indulgence, he would not go to a foreign hospital, -but would send for a doctor to treat him at his own house. It is only the -broken-down pauper, thief, or beggar, who, in his last extremity, seeks -admission to the hospital. - -Dr. Ayres was the first to expose this imposture. On arriving at Hong Kong -he found it had been the custom there to allow such of the prisoners in -the gaol as were heavy smokers a modicum of prepared opium daily,--it -having been supposed by his predecessors that without it such prisoners -would pine away and die. Dr. Ayres, however, knew better; and he at once -put an end to the custom. He would not allow one grain of opium or other -stimulant to be given to any prisoner, however advanced a smoker he might -be. The result was that the hitherto pampered prisoners moaned and -groaned, pretending, no doubt, to be very ill; but after a little time -they got quite well. The Doctor has published his experiences on this -subject in the _Friend of China_. - -These persons know what pleases the missionaries, and so they detail to -them all kinds of horrible stories respecting opium smoking, which, as I -have before stated, are pure inventions. Trust a Chinaman to invent a -plausible tale when it suits his purpose to do so. The missionaries do not -smoke opium themselves, and have, therefore, no means of refuting the -falsehoods thus related to them, or of testing their accuracy. They simply -believe all these stories, and send them on to head-quarters in London, to -be retailed by eloquent tongues at Exeter Hall and elsewhere. I have no -doubt that every mail brings home numbers of apparently highly -authenticated tales of this kind, every one of which is baseless. Thanks -to the modern excursion agents, and to the present facilities for -travelling, gentlemen can easily take a trip to China, and if any of them -happen to have opium on the brain, they will take letters of introduction -to missionary clergymen. On their arrival at Hong Kong they will perhaps -be shown over the Tung-Wah hospital, where they see a number of wretched -objects labouring under all kinds of diseases; they will go away fully -impressed with the belief that all the patients shown to them are victims -of opium smoking. They are then taken to an opium shop, or as the -missionaries like to call it, an "opium den"--though why an opium-smoking -shop should be so termed, and a dram shop in London called a "gin palace," -I cannot understand--and are there shown half a dozen dirty-looking men, -mostly thieves and blackguards, all smoking opium, and as they are quiet -and motionless, they come to the conclusion that they are all in a dying -state, having but a few days more to live. If they knew the facts, they -would find perhaps that the very men they were commiserating were just -then quietly planning a burglary or some piratical expedition for that -very night. These kind of travellers go out to China with preconceived -notions, and are quite prepared to believe anything and everything, -however absurd or monstrous, about opium smoking. They will spend two days -at Hong Kong, three at Canton, two or three at Shanghai. They will take -copious notes at these places, omitting nothing, however incredible or -absurd, that is told them, and return home with a full conviction that -they have "done China," when in reality they have only done themselves, -and that, too, most completely. If they have the _cacoethes scribendi_ -strong upon them, they will probably write a book upon the subject; and so -the miserable delusion is kept up. - - 'Tis pleasant, sure, to see one's name in print; - A book's a book, although there's nothing in't. - -Mr. Turner, in his volume, gives what he calls "a little apologue," with -the object of showing how the Indian Government injures China by supplying -it with opium. If you will allow me, I will give you a short one, too. Let -us suppose a young gentleman, well brought up, and a member of that -excellent institution, the "Young Men's Christian Association," where he -has heard the most eloquent speeches on the wickedness of this country in -permitting the Indo-Chinese opium trade, and thus encouraging opium -smoking--for your anti-opium agitator thinks it the height of virtue and -propriety to drag his country through the mire on every occasion that -presents itself. Let us call him Mr. Howard; it is a good name, and was -once owned by a most benevolent man. He makes up his mind to go out to -China and to see for himself the whole iniquity; for, despite his strong -faith in his clerical mentors at Exeter Hall, he can hardly believe that -his own countrymen could really be the perpetrators of such dreadful -wickedness as he has been told. He takes a letter of introduction to a -missionary gentleman at Hong Kong, and another to a mercantile firm there. -He expects, on his arrival, to see the streets crowded with the -wretched-looking victims of the opium-pipe, crawling onwards towards their -graves, whilst the merchant who is making his princely fortune by this -terrible opium trade drives by in his curricle, looking complacently at -his victims, just as a slave-owner of old might be expected to have gazed -at his gangs of serfs wending their way to their scene of toil. Not seeing -any but active, healthy-looking people, he concludes that the miserable -creatures he is looking out for are in hospital, or lying up in their own -houses. He calls upon Messrs. Thompson and Co., the mercantile firm to -which he is accredited, and is well received by one of the partners, who -invites him to stop at his house during his stay in Hong Kong--for our -fellow-countrymen in China are the most hospitable people in the world. -Mr. Howard declines, as he intends putting up at Mr. Jenkins's, his -missionary friend. The great subject on his mind is opium, so he comes to -the point at once, and asks, "Is there much opium smoked in the colony?" -"Oh, plenty," answers Mr. Thompson; "two or three thousand chests arrive -here every week." "Do you sell much?" Mr. Howard asks. "No; we haven't -done anything in it these many years," is the response. "Do many people -smoke?" continues Howard, following up his subject. "Oh, yes: every -Chinaman smokes." "But where are all the people who are suffering from -opium smoking?" again asks the inquirer, determined to get at the facts. -"Ha, ha, ha!" laughs Mr. Thompson, but that gentleman is writing letters -for the mail, and has not much time at his disposal. "Here, Compradore," -he says, addressing a Chinese who has been settling an account with one of -the assistants, "this gentleman wants to know all about opium smoking." -The Compradore is the agent who conducts mercantile transactions between -the foreign firms and the Chinese; he resides on his master's premises, -and is usually an intelligent and keen man of business, and, I may also -add, an inveterate opium smoker. The two try to make themselves -understood. Mr. Howard repeats the same questions to the Compradore that -he had just put to Mr. Thompson, and receives similar replies. -Disappointed and surprised, Howard calls with his letter of introduction -upon the missionary, to whom he tells what he has heard from Messrs. -Thompson & Co. "Ah," says the missionary, "they wouldn't give you any -information there; they are in the opium trade themselves." But Mr. Howard -tells him that Thompson had assured him that they had not been in the -trade for years. "Ah," returns the missionary, "you must not believe what -_he_ says. His firm is making a princely fortune by opium." "But where are -the smokers?" asks Howard. "Oh, I will show them to you." He then calls -Achun his "boy." "This gentleman," he says to the latter, "wants to know -about opium smoking. Take him to the Tung-Wah and to an opium shop, you -savee?" "Yes, my savee" (meaning "I understand"), returns Achun, who is, -of course, a devout convert, but who, notwithstanding, often in private -indulges in the iniquity of the pipe. On they go to the Tung-Wah, which is -the Chinese hospital before referred to, where he is shown some -ghastly-looking men, all either smoking the "vile drug" or having opium -pipes beside them. Two or three are shivering with ague; another is in the -last stage of dropsy; another is in consumption, and so on. They are all -pitiable-looking objects, wasted, dirty, and ragged. Poor Mr. Howard -shrinks away in horror. "Are all these men dying from opium smoking?" he -asks of his guide. "Yes, ebely one; two, tlee more day dey all die. Oh! -velly bad! olla men dat smokee dat ting die," says the person questioned, -well knowing that what he has said is false, and that the poor creatures -before him are only honest, decent coolies in the last stages of disease, -who until they entered the hospital may never have had an opium pipe in -their mouths. "Their poverty and not their will consented." They had been -admitted but a few days before to the Tung-Wah, where the Chinese doctor -in charge had prescribed for them opium smoking as a remedy for their -sickness and a relief for their pains. Poor Mr. Howard leaves the hospital -bitterly reflecting upon the wickedness of the world and of his own -countrymen in particular. As for Mr. Thompson, he is set down for a false -deceitful man, a disgrace to his country, who should be made an example -of. He and his guide then proceed to the opium shop. I shall, however, -proceed there before them, and describe the place and its occupants. -Opposite to the entrance door are two well-dressed men, their clothes -quite new, their heads well shaven, and having attached to them long and -splendid queues. These men are lying on their sides, vis-a-vis, with their -heads slightly raised, smoking away. If it were not for their villainous -countenances they might pass for respectable shopkeepers. They are two -thieves, who have just committed a burglary in a European house, from -which they carried off three or four hundred pounds' worth of jewellery, -and they are now indulging in their favourite luxury on the proceeds. They -have also exchanged their rags for new clothes, got shaved and trimmed, as -Mr. Howard sees them. Now, wherever an extreme opium smoker is met, he -will in general be found to be one of the criminal classes. In this shop -there are three other men smoking. They are stalwart fellows, but -dirty-looking, as they have just finished coaling a steamer, and are -begrimed with coal dust. As the daily expenses of a steamer are -considerable, it is a great object with sea captains to get their vessels -coaled as quickly as possible, so that they may not be delayed in port. -The men employed upon this work are usually paid by the job, and probably -each will receive half-a-dollar for his share. They work with -extraordinary vigour, and by the time they have finished they are often -much distressed, and are inclined to lie down; their hearts, perhaps, are -beating irregularly, and their whole frame unhinged. Being flush of money, -for half-a-dollar, or two shillings, is quite a round sum for them, they -have decided to go to the opium shop, and, by having a quiet whiff or two, -bring the action of their hearts into rhythm, and restore themselves to -their ordinary state. These poor coolies are honest fellows enough. They -work hard, and are peaceful, unoffending creatures. Hundreds of them are -to be seen hard at work every day in Hong Kong. - -The interior of the opium shop is as described when Mr. Howard enters with -the missionary's servant. The moment the two well-dressed thieves see -them, their guilty consciences make them conclude that the one is a -European, and the other a Chinese detective in search of them. They close -their eyes and pretend to be in profound slumber. They are really in -deadly fear of apprehension, for escape seems impossible. Mr. Howard asks -his guide who they are. "Oh, dese plaupa good men numba one; dey come dis -side to smokee. To-day dey smokee one pipe; to-mollow dey come and smokee -two, tlee pipe; next dey five, six; den dey get sik and die. Oh, opium -pipe veely bad; dat pipe kill plenty men." "You say they are good, -respectable men?" says Mr. Howard. "Yes, good plaupa men; numba one Chinee -genlman." "Oh, is not this a terrible thing?" says Mr. Howard, compressing -his lips, breathing heavily, and vowing to bear witness, on his return to -London, to all the villainy he fancies he has seen. The three men begrimed -with coal-dust, although they appear only to be semi-conscious, are in -reality taking the measure of Mr. Howard, and enjoying a quiet laugh at -his expense. One exclaims, referring to his chimney-pot hat, "Ah ya! what -a funny thing that Fan-Qui has got on his head!" The other replies, "It's -to keep the sun away." "How funny!" retorts the first speaker, "we wear -hats to keep our heads warm; they wear hats to keep their heads cool." -"Oh," returns the other speaker, "the Fan-Qui have such soft heads that if -they did not keep the sun off the little brains they have would melt away; -and they would die, or become idiots."[5] Mr. Howard, seeing them in their -dirty condition, concludes that they are some of the wretched victims of -opium smoking, in the last stage of disease, and leaves with his -conductor, pitying them from the depths of his heart; his pity, however, -is as nothing compared to the contempt with which these supposed victims -to the opium pipe regard him and his chimney-pot hat. As he leaves he asks -his guide, "Does the keeper of the opium shop expect a gratuity?" "Oh," -returns the other, "supposee you pay him one dolla, he say, tankee you." -Mr. Howard accordingly gives a dollar to the man, who looks more surprised -than grateful, and he leaves the shop, satisfied that he has at last seen -the true effects of opium smoking in China. He returns to the missionary, -to whom he relates the horrors he has seen, makes copious notes of them, -and vows to enlighten his countrymen at home upon the subject. As for his -guide Achun, this person loses no time in returning to the opium shop, -where he compels the keeper of it to share with him the dollar he has just -received, and, having so easily earned two shillings, he quietly reclines -on one of the couches and takes a whiff or two of the pipe, the more -enjoyable because it is forbidden fruit. Thus the benevolent British -public is befooled by these ridiculous stories about opium. - -Now as Achun is a representative character, many like him being in the -service of missionaries and other foreigners throughout China, I will give -you a further specimen of the way such persons cheat and delude their -masters. Achun, in whom Mr. Jenkins, the missionary, places implicit -confidence, has of late been much exercised as to his "vails," for Chinese -servants are quite as much alive to the perquisites of their office as -Jeames, John Thomas, or any others of our domestics here in England. -Indeed, I may safely lay it down as a rule that, like cabmen, domestic -servants will be found the same all over the world, "one touch of nature -makes the whole world kin," and no sooner have you engaged your Chinese -"boy" than his mind is at once set working as to the amount of drawbacks, -clippings, and parings over and above his wages he may safely count upon -in his new place. Achun is dissatisfied with the commission or drawback -allowed him by Chook Aloong, the shopkeeper or compradore, who supplies -Mr. Jenkins's family with provisions and other household necessaries; he -is allowed only ten per cent. of the monthly bill, and he considers that -in all fairness he should get double that amount. Thus impressed, he makes -energetic remonstrances on the subject to Chook Aloong, who is firm and -will give no more than ten per cent. Achun is equal to the occasion. Now -Mr. Jenkins and his family are simple and frugal in their dietary, but -there are some articles of food they insist upon having of the best kind, -in consequence of which their compradore sends them those articles and, -indeed, all others of unobjectionable quality. Eggs which are not -absolutely fresh, and meat, though it be game, if in the slightest degree -"up," they will have none of. Achun well knows all this, and he has -determined to have Chook Aloong displaced. Having himself a partiality for -eggs, he begins operations by daily appropriating to his own use some of -those fresh eggs and substituting stale ones in their stead. In the like -manner, instead of letting the family have the beef, mutton, and fowls -nice and fresh as they are delivered, he holds them over until the bloom -of freshness has departed. This state of affairs occasions some commotion -in the family circle. The boy is sent for and shown that the eggs are bad -and the meat "high"; he expresses great concern, and declares that he will -forthwith call upon the compradore and compel him to make good the damage -already done, and supply proper provisions in future. Mr. Jenkins, though -angry, is not implacable, and is willing to believe that some mishap has -occurred; for how could his old and trusted compradore treat him so badly? -His hopes are, however, disappointed, for again and yet again the meat is -bad, and, worse still, the eggs are--well, not fresh. The climax is -reached one morning when poor Mr. Jenkins, in breaking his egg, finds, not -the usual bright yellow yolk and spotless albumen within, but a young -chick almost fledged. Horror and disgust seize him, the old Adam -over-masters him for a moment, and, full of wrath, he roars for the boy. -Achun appears the very picture of innocence, when Mr. Jenkins, ashamed of -his outburst of wrath and now quite calm explains the _contretemps_. He -has even in the reaction regained some of his good humour. "Look here, -Achun," he says, showing the chick, "this is too bad, you know. Supposee I -wanchee egg,--can catchee him; supposee I wanchee chicken--can catchee -chicken. No wanchee egg and chicken alla same together." Achun perceives -the joke, and knowing his master's weakness, says, "Oh, ho, massa, velly -good, dat belong numba one. 'No wanchee egg and chicken alla same -togedda,'" continues the cunning rascal, repeating his master's words, "Oh -velly funny, velly good, massa, ho! ho! ho!" Mr. Jenkins is pleased at the -mild flattery of his boy, who has now advanced a step or two in his -estimation. "Oh, massa, dat man, Chook Aloong, velly bad man," continues -Achun when his merriment had subsided. "Him smokee too much opium pipe; he -no mind his pidgin plaupa, he smokee alla day." "Oh! ho! is that the way?" -asks the missionary, a new light dawning for the first time upon him. "And -so Chook Aloong is an opium smoker?" "Ye-s," replies Achun, prolonging the -word. "Too much opium, plenty opium. More betta you get anoda compado -sah--some good plaupa man dat no smokee." "Very well, Achun," says Mr. -Jenkins with a sigh. "It is plain I must get somebody else. Find me out -some other man, and, mind, he must not smoke opium." "Hab got, massa," -returns the boy delighted with his success. "Hab got velly good man, him -numba one good compado"; and in walks the person indicated, who has been -listening outside all the time. "This belong Sam Afoong, him do all ting -plaupa," the fact being that this very Sam Afoong is the greatest cheat in -the whole market. "Oh, you're the man," says Mr. Jenkins. "I hope you -don't use opium." "Oh no, sah," returns the other, who is in fact an -inveterate smoker, "my neba smokee; dat opium pipe velly bad. It hab kill -my fadda, my six bludda, my----." But here he is stopped by a signal from -Achun, who saw that his friend, in familiar parlance, was "laying it on -too thickly." Sam Afoong vows to supply the best of good things, and does -so, and the Jenkins family are no longer troubled with bad provisions; but -had the lady of the establishment gone through the formality of weighing -every joint of meat that her new compradore supplied, she would have found -that every pound was short of two or three ounces, for thus Sam Afoong -recouped himself for the large per-centage bestowed on Achun. - -To prove that the missionaries are deceived in the way I have described I -will refer you to a passage in Mr. Storrs Turner's own book, where even he -admits that one of his own converts, who had assured him that he never -smoked, and no doubt had pledged himself never to do so, was found -regaling himself with the iniquity. At p. 32 Mr. Turner says, "I have -caught a man smoking who had only half an hour before denied to me that he -was a smoker, and condemned the habit." Yet such are the men from whom the -missionaries derive their information about opium smoking. For further -proof of this I will quote again from Dr. Ayres' article, in _The Friend -of China_. This is what he says:-- - - At the Tung Wah Hospital the stranger may at any time see the most - dreadful and ghastly-looking objects in the last stages of scrofula - and phthisis smoking opium, who had never previously in all their - lives been able to afford the expense of a pipe a day, yet the - European visitor leaves the establishment attributing to the abuse of - opium effects which further inquiry would have satisfied him were due - to the diseases for which the patients were in hospital. From what I - have seen there, there is no doubt that the advanced consumptive - patient does experience considerable temporary relief to his difficult - breathing by smoking a pipe of opium, though it is a very poor quality - of drug that is given to patients at the Tung Wah Hospital. - -Thus, as I have shown, it has come to pass that whilst the missionary -clergymen, owing to their sacred calling and their unquestionably high -character, are accepted in England as the most reliable witnesses and -entitled to the greatest credit, they are really the men who are the very -worst informed upon the opium question which they profess to understand so -thoroughly. They are, in fact, the victims of their own delusions. But -saddest fact of all, these missionary gentlemen, with the best intentions -and in the devout belief that by carrying on this anti-opium agitation -they are helping to remove an obstacle to the dissemination of the Gospel -in China, are of necessity by so doing obliged to neglect more or less the -very Gospel work they are really so desirous to spread, leaving the -missionary field open to their Roman Catholic rivals. - -The information placed before the public here in England upon the opium -question, tainted as it is at the very fountain head, is sent forward from -hand to hand, meeting in its filtrations from China to this country with -impurity after impurity, until it reaches the form of the miserable trash -retailed at Exeter Hall, or by the agents of the Anti-Opium Society. It is -an accepted adage that "a story loses nothing by the carriage." The maxim -becomes, more strongly pointed when it is remembered that the opium tales -partake so much of the marvellous, and that the various transmitters of -those accounts are, in almost every instance, fanatical believers in the -supposed wickedness of the Indo-Chinese opium trade. I am quite sure that -out of every thousand people who believe in the anti-opium delusion, you -will not find two who have ever set their foot in China, or know anything -with respect to the alleged evils they denounce, except from the -unreliable sources I have mentioned. Such people, as a rule, are by far -the most violent and uncompromising opponents of the Indo-Chinese opium -trade. The people I describe generally speak with such an air of authority -on the question, that an ordinary person would suppose they had personally -witnessed all the evils they describe. If you ask one of them in what part -of China he has lived, or when and where he has seen the horrors he speaks -of, he will jauntily tell you, "Oh, I have heard Mr. A. or the Rev. Mr. B. -explain the whole villainy at Exeter Hall." Another will say he has read -Mr. Storrs Turner's great work upon opium smoking, with which I have -already made you somewhat acquainted. When General Choke rebuked Martin -Chuzzlewit for denying that the Queen lived in the Tower of London when -she was at the Court of St. James, Martin inquired if the speaker had ever -lived in England. "In writing I have, not otherwise," responded the -General, adding, "We air a reading people here, Sir; you will meet with -much information among us that will surprise you Sir." Just so. These -anti-opium enthusiasts have been in China in writing, and understand the -opium question upon paper only--a few months in Hong Kong or Canton, freed -from missionary influence, would soon disillusionize them. I remember -hearing a story once of a most estimable gentleman who had the misfortune -to be the defendant in an action for breach of promise. The plaintiff's -counsel, who had a fluent tongue and a fertile imagination, painted him in -such dreadful colours, and so belaboured him for his alleged heartless -conduct towards the lady that the gentleman so denounced, persuaded for -the moment that he was really guilty, rushed out of court, exclaiming, "I -never thought I was so terrible a villain before." That is just the kind -of feeling that first comes over one upon hearing of those opium-smoking -horrors; for it must not be forgotten that the indictment of the -Anti-Opium Society, and of its secretary Mr. Storrs Turner in particular, -not only includes the Imperial Government, and the Government of India, -during the past forty years, but all the British merchants connected with -the Chinese trade, and, indeed, the entire British nation. - -Before proceeding to deal with the fallacies I have enumerated, it is -necessary that I should again address a few words to you on the subject of -evidence, so as to enable you to discriminate between the value of the -various witnesses who have attempted to enlighten public opinion on the -subject before us. I dislike very much to trouble the reader with dry -professional matters, but, under the circumstances, I cannot avoid doing -so. It is a rule of law which will, I think, commend itself to the common -sense of everybody, that the evidence to be adduced on a trial should be -the best that the nature of the case is susceptible of, rather than -evidence of a subsidiary or secondary nature, unless, indeed, no better be -forthcoming. In determining matters of fact, the best witnesses would be -held to be those who have become acquainted with those facts in the course -of their ordinary employment, or in the performance of their professional -duties, rather than mere amateurs or volunteers, whose knowledge is -derived from accident or casual observation only. For illustration, let us -suppose the case of a collision at sea between two steamers, A and -B,--that previous to and at the time of the collision, besides the usual -officers and seamen in charge of A, there were on deck the steward of the -vessel and a passenger. Now, the best witnesses on board of A as to the -catastrophe would not be the two latter, although they saw the whole -occurrence, but the men who were in actual charge of the navigation of the -ship, viz. the look-out man in the bows--whose duty it would be to watch -for rocks or shoals, or any ship or vessel ahead, and to give immediate -notice to the officer of the watch and the man at the wheel of the -presence of such object;--the officer of the watch, usually stationed on -the bridge;--and the man at the wheel. Why? Because, it being the peculiar -duty of the first two men to look out for and avoid striking on rocks or -shoals, or coming into collision with any other vessel, and the duty of -the third man not only to keep a look out but to steer as directed by the -officer on the bridge, they necessarily paid more attention to, and had -their intellects better sharpened in respect to such matters than the -others, who had no such duty cast upon them. The next best witnesses would -be the other seamen during whose watch the accident occurred, their duty -being generally to attend to the management of the ship, her sails and -cordage, and obey the orders of the officer of the watch, but who, not -having immediate connection with the steering and course of the vessel, -would not be expected to have the same accurate knowledge of the -circumstances that led to and occurred up to the time of the collision as -the first three. The least valuable witnesses would be the steward and the -passenger, for the reasons already mentioned. Applying these rules to the -question now before us, it follows that the testimony of such a man as Dr. -Ayres--some of which I have given you already--and of others which I shall -lay before you, should have far greater weight and be more reliable than -that of ordinary persons having no special knowledge or experience of -opium or its effects, nor any opportunity of obtaining such knowledge, -much less any duty cast upon them to acquire it, _e.g._ missionaries and -other persons unconnected with native and foreign merchants, and having no -duties to perform which would bring them into constant intercourse with -the Chinese community. - -The first of these fallacies which have so much tended to warp the -understanding of these Anti-Opium people is this: "That the poppy is not -indigenous to China, but has been recently introduced there, presumably by -British agency." With this let us take the second fallacy, viz.: "That -opium smoking in China is now and has always been confined to a small -per-centage of the population, but which, owing to the introduction of -Indian opium, is constantly increasing." Here I would first inquire--what -is the poppy? To this question one person would say, It is the plant that -produces that deadly drug, morphia. Another would answer, It is the herb -from which laudanum is made; and a third would say, It is the plant which -supplies opium, smoked so much in China and eaten so largely in India. -These answers would all be correct enough, so far as they go; but they -would not be complete, for there are many other uses to which the poppy is -applied besides all these. That valuable plant produces not only opium, -but an oil used for lighting and for edible purposes, the Chinese using -the oil to mollify their daily rice and other food, mixing it also very -commonly with another and richer quality of oil. The seeds, when the oil -is expressed, are given to cattle, or allowed to rot and form manure. If -the oil is not expressed, the seeds can be worked up into cakes. From the -capsules medicine is made, and lastly, the stalks and leaves when burnt -produce potash. Mr. William Donald Spence, one of Her Majesty's Consuls in -China, to whose valuable "Report on the Trade of the Port of Ichang, and -the Opium-culture in the Provinces of Szechuan and Yunnan," I shall -presently introduce you, knows all this as matter of fact, and, indeed, I -am mainly indebted to him for the information I now give you. It is -admitted by Mr. Storrs Turner that the poppy is indigenous to China, and -when it is remembered that the people of that country are and have been -for thousands of years the most civilized in Asia,--that agriculture is -considered the most honourable industry in the country, as evidenced by -the annual practice of the Emperor to turn over the earth with the plough -at the beginning of Spring,--that the Chinese are skilled husbandmen, and -of most frugal and thrifty habits, it becomes a matter of irresistible -inference that those people must have known that most useful plant, the -poppy, and must have cultivated it for economic purposes long before opium -was known in Europe. Sir Robert Hart, in his Yellow Book, says "that -native opium was known, produced, and used _long before_ any Europeans -began the sale of the foreign drug along the coast." Compare that with the -misleading passage at page 2 of Mr. Storrs Turner's book, where he says -"that the poppy had long been cultivated in Egypt, Turkey, Persia, India, -and _recently_ in China and Manchuria," and ask yourselves what credit you -can give to that gentleman as a trustworthy guide on the subject of opium. -Here is Sir Robert Hart, a great Chinese authority, practically admitting -that three or four hundred years ago at the least native opium was grown -and produced in China, and Mr. Storrs Turner, in this fallacious statement -of his, trying to induce his readers to infer that the drug was only -recently produced in that Empire! The reader can choose between these -authorities for himself. Now the fact is, that in very ancient Chinese -works mention is made of the poppy. In the "History of the Later Han -Dynasty" (A.D. 25-220), the brilliant colour of the poppy blossom, of the -charms of the juice, and the strengthening qualities of the seeds of the -plant, formed the themes of Chinese poets as far back as a thousand years, -and probably much farther. The poet Yung T'aou, of the T'ang dynasty (A.D. -618-907), celebrates the beauty of the flower. The poet Soo Cheh (A.D. -1039-1112), dwells, in an ode, on the curative and invigorating effects of -the poppy seeds and juice, and another poet, Soo Sung, of the same period, -praises the beauty of the plant, which he speaks of as being grown -everywhere in China. I am not a Chinese scholar, but I have high authority -for these statements. You will thus clearly perceive that opium is a -native plant, that its various uses have for many centuries been known to -the Chinese, and that the British are in no way responsible for the -introduction of opium into China, much less for the practice of smoking -the drug. - -I have mentioned Mr. W. Donald Spence as one of Her Majesty's Consuls in -China. Now, every foreign resident in that country knows who and what -those consular gentlemen are; but I do not think the public here in -England are equally well informed upon the subject, because it is only -natural that they should confound them with the ordinary British Consuls -at the European and American ports; but that would be a very great -mistake, for the two sets of Consuls form quite distinct and separate -bodies. The Consuls at the latter ports are no doubt highly respectable -gentlemen, often indeed, men who have distinguished themselves in science -and literature, or in the army or navy, but still they are simply -commercial agents of the British Government, and no more, having little or -no diplomatic or other duties to discharge. The Consular Service of China -stands upon a totally different footing. In this country Her Majesty's -Consuls are not only commercial agents, but are trained diplomatists, -entering the service in the first instance as cadets, after passing most -difficult competitive examinations. They are always Chinese scholars, many -of them holding high rank as such. The Consuls have very important -diplomatic duties to discharge, and have also magisterial duties to -perform towards their countrymen in China, all of which demand qualities -of a high order, and which only superior education and careful training -enable them to discharge. England has acquired by treaty ex-territorial -rights, as regards her own subjects, in the ports of China thrown open to -her commerce, known as "Treaty ports," the most important of which are the -exclusive right to hear and determine all civil and criminal cases against -British subjects. These onerous and important duties are performed by Her -Majesty's Consuls at those ports. These gentlemen, indeed, have more power -in many respects than is possessed by the Queen's Ambassadors and -Ministers Plenipotentiary at the various Courts in Europe. They have, in -fact, all the powers now vested in the Judges of Her Majesty's High Court -of Judicature here in England, as well as the powers possessed by the -Judges of the Admiralty, Probate, and Bankruptcy Courts. Further, and in -addition to all these multifarious duties, they are Her Majesty's special -commercial agents at these treaty ports, with the usual jurisdiction over -British ships, their officers, and crew. It is, therefore, a matter of the -first necessity that the persons in whom such tremendous powers are placed -should not only be gentlemen of the very highest characters and assured -abilities, but men of superior education specially trained to fill these -important positions and discharge the varied and onerous duties -appertaining to them. Such are the present British Consuls in China, and -such they have been in the past. There is not, I believe, in this or any -other country, a more highly-educated, intelligent, and efficient body of -men to be found. If any proof of these high qualities is required, it will -be furnished in the fact that notwithstanding the difficult, delicate, and -onerous duties cast upon them, no instance of their abuse of these powers -has ever occurred. I certainly know of none. I am only here stating, I -assure you, what is actually true. It has, indeed, always been to me a -marvel that no complaints--no political entanglements, no troubles--have -arisen from the abnormal state of things arising out of our commercial and -political relations with China, and the extraordinary and exceptional -powers necessarily entrusted to our Consular Agents in that Empire in -consequence. We can now look back, after a quarter of a century of -experience, and congratulate ourselves that all our complicated machinery -has worked so well, that no clouds obscure the vista, and that our present -position in China is one of serenity and sunshine; that we stand upon the -very best terms with the Chinese Government from the central authority at -Peking to all its ramifications throughout the vast empire. Nothing, in -fact, blurs the landscape, save the miserable opium phantom created by our -own countrymen, the missionaries, and magnified to a monster of large -dimensions by the "Chinese jugglers," who here in England keep the -machinery of the Anti-Opium Society in motion. These happy results are due -to Her Majesty's Diplomatic and Consular Service in China, controlled by -Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in England. -And here I cannot but remind you of that distinguished veteran statesman -Sir Rutherford Alcock, formerly Her Majesty's Minister to the Court of -Peking, to whose wise and far-seeing policy much of the present happy -relations with China is due. There is not an English resident in China -who cannot bear testimony to the splendid talents and genuine patriotism -which has marked his career in that vast and interesting country. There is -no greater authority living upon Anglo-Chinese affairs than he, especially -as regards the period of the famous treaty of Tientsin, some of whose -testimony on these points I will lay before you. After a long and -honourable career he is now in England enjoying his well-earned repose, -and is, happily, a powerful living witness to the fallacies I am now -trying to efface. - -Now, one of the ablest and most accomplished men at present in the -Diplomatic and Consular Service of China is Mr. W. Donald Spence, Her -Majesty's Consul at Ichang, a port on the Yangtze, to whom I have before -shortly referred. This gentleman, in the year 1881, paid a visit to -Chungking, the commercial capital of Szechuan in Western China. Whilst -there he availed himself of the opportunity to make inquiries and -investigations into the commercial products of that immense province, and -especially into the cultivation of native opium, the extent and condition -of opium culture in Western China, and the attitude respecting it of the -Chinese Government, and on the effect of opium smoking on the people of -those provinces where it appears that habit is all but universal. It was -his especial duty to make these investigations. No better proof could be -produced as to the abilities of this gentleman than this valuable document -on the subject presented by him to Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of -State for Foreign Affairs which Mr. Spence, in his covering letter to Lord -Granville modestly styles "his Report on the Trade of the Port of Ichang -for the Year 1881." If anyone will read the whole of this Report--and it -will well repay careful perusal--he will pronounce it, I think, one of the -ablest and most admirable State papers that have ever been penned. In -giving you some extracts from it I will, therefore, ask you to treat the -author of it, not as a mere hireling, having an interest in certain -matters which it is desirable to place in a particular light, as the -agents of the Anti-Opium Society would, no doubt, have you believe, but as -the honest statement of an upright, high-minded, honourable English -gentleman, of superior talents and a cultivated mind, who values truth -above everything, who can have no other object in the matter but to do -what is honest, just, and right, and who on this question of opium smoking -tells the truth and nothing but the truth to Her Majesty's Minister. This -is what he says as to the cultivation of the poppy in Szechuan:-- - - Of all the products of Szechuan, the most important nowadays is native - opium. In September last year it was my fortune to be sent on the - public service to the commercial metropolis of Szechuan, Chungking. I - was four months in the province. In the course of that time I visited - parts of the great opium country, questioned many people regarding - opium culture, consumption, and export, and carefully noted the - observations and conclusions on these subjects come to by Mr. Colborne - Baber and Mr. E. H. Parker during their official residence there, with - a view to giving, as far as possible, exact information in my Trade - Report on a matter of great commercial, and no little political, - interest at the present moment. The cultivation of the poppy is - carried on in every district of Szechuan except those on the west - frontier, but most of all in the Prefectures of Chungking Fu and - Kweichow Fu. In all the districts of Chungking Fu, south of the - Yang-tsze, and in some of the districts of Kweichow Fu, north of that - river, it is the principal crop, and, in parts, the only winter crop - for scores upon scores of square miles. The headquarters of the trade - are at the city of Fuchow, in the first of these prefectures, and, in - a considerably less degree, at Fengtu, a district city in Kweichow Fu. - Baron Richthofen, writing in 1872, says that the poppy then was - cultivated only on hill slopes of an inferior soil, but one sees it - now on land of all kinds, both hill and valley. Baron Richthofen - himself anticipates this change when he says:--"The Government may at - some time or other reduce the very heavy restrictions, and if Szechuan - opium then should be able to command its present price at Hankow, the - consequence would be an immediate increase in the area planted with - the poppy." Since he wrote, the area given to the poppy has much - increased, though not from the cause alleged. Being a winter crop, it - does not interfere with rice, the food staple of the people, - displacing only subsidiary crops, such as wheat, beans, and the like. - When it is planted in paddy and bottom lands, which nowadays is often - the case, it is gathered in time to allow rice or some other crop to - follow. It can hardly be said of Szechuan that the cultivation of - opium seriously interferes with food supplies. The supply of rice - remains the same, and the opium produced, less the value of the crops - it replaces, is so much additional wealth to the province. - - I shall presently show that opium is a more remunerative crop than its - only possible substitutes, beans or wheat, and no per-centage of the - opium crop being due to the landlord, its cultivation has been greatly - stimulated in consequence. Of late years, however, in the districts I - have named as being in winter one vast poppy-field, owners of land - have become alive to the value to occupiers of the opium crop, and - have stipulated for a share of it in addition to their share of the - summer crop. Rents, in fact, where opium is in universal cultivation, - have practically doubled. Before leaving the subject of tenure, I may - add that, in the event of non-payment of rent from causes other than - deficient harvests, the landlord helps himself to the deposit in his - hands. In bad years remissions are willingly made by the Government to - owners of the land-tax, and by owners to occupiers of the - rent-produce. - -Now you will remember that this very province of Szechuan, where such -extensive cultivation of the poppy is carried on, is the largest and most -distant of all the provinces of China; it is one of the westernmost of the -eighteen provinces of the empire, being bordered on the west by Thibet. -Until quite recently Szechuan was about as accessible to Englishmen as -Moscow was fifty years ago, a _terra incognita_, in fact, to Europeans, so -that it cannot be pretended for one moment that the introduction into -China of Indian opium has had anything to do with the cultivation of the -drug there. Indian opium could hardly ever have found its way into the -province, which is not less than one thousand two hundred miles from the -sea. It is only since the opening of the port of Ichang in the adjoining -province of Hupeh, which took place in April 1877, that the district has -become at all accessible. But let us return to Mr. W. Donald Spence. This -is another extract from his report:-- - - The poppy is now grown on all kinds of land, hill slopes, terraced - fields, paddy and bottom lands in the valleys. Since 1872, when Baron - Richthofen visited the province, a great change has taken place in - this respect, for it appears to have been cultivated then on hill - lands only. All the country people whom I asked were agreed that opium - is most profitably grown on good land with liberal manuring. In India - it is best grown on rich soil near villages where manure can be easily - obtained, and the Szechuan cultivator has found this out for himself. - Poppy cultivation, as practised in Szechuan, is very simple. As soon - as the summer crop is reaped the land is ploughed and cleaned, roots - and weeds are heaped and burnt, and the ashes scattered over the - ground; dressings of night soil are liberally given. The seeds are - sown in December, in drills a foot and a half apart. In January, when - the plants are a few inches high, the rows are thinned and earthed up - so as to leave a free passage between each: the plants are then left - to take care of themselves, the earth round them being occasionally - stirred up and kept clear of weeds. In March and April, according to - situation, the poppy blooms. In the low grounds the white poppy is by - far the most common, but red and purple are also grown. As the - capsules form and fill, dressings of liquid manure are given. In April - and May the capsules are slit and the juice extracted. The raw juice - evaporates into the crude opium of commerce increasing in value as it - decreases in weight. - -Mr. Spence then goes on to compare the value of the wheat with the opium -crop, showing that the cultivation of the latter is just twice as -profitable as the former. Space will not allow me to give you full -extracts on this subject, but, as some portion of it is germane to this -part of my lecture, I give a short extract on the point:-- - - It must be remembered, too, that every single part of the poppy plant - has a market value. The capsules, after the juice has been extracted, - are sold to druggists, and made into medicine; oil is expressed from - the seeds, and largely used for lighting and adulterating edible oils; - the oil-cake left in the oil-press is good manure, as are also the - leaves; and the stalks are burnt for potash. Against these advantages - opium is subject to a rent, and requires, for profitable cultivation, - plenty of manure; whereas wheat, when followed by a summer crop, pays - little or no rent, and gets, in general, no manure. Into the relative - profits of opium and wheat both Mr. Baber and Mr. Parker have gone - very carefully, and their results correspond, in the main, with my own - observations. - -I will now give you a short account of opium-culture in the province of -Yunnan, a more inaccessible part of China still perhaps than Szechuan. Mr. -E. Colborne Baber, like Mr. Spence, belongs to the diplomatic service, and -is now the secretary of the British Legation at Peking. All that I have -stated as to Mr. Spence applies alike to him. He is a gentleman in whom -the most implicit confidence should be placed. In 1877 he travelled -through Western Szechuan, having, in his own words, on the morning of the -8th July in that year, passed the western gate of Ch'ung-Ch'ung "full of -the pleasurable anticipations which precede a plunge into the unknown." -Having finished his journey through Szechuan, he struck into Yunnan, -following the route of Mr. Grosvenor's mission. He has recounted his -adventures in a most valuable and interesting book, written in such a -pleasing and graphic style, that the reader, when looking at it for -reference only, is irresistibly compelled to read further. His book has -been published by the Royal Geographical Society, and is well worthy of -general perusal. It is one of the few readable books of travel to be met -with nowadays. There is very little respecting opium culture in the -volume, but what there is upon the subject is very much to the point. This -is what he says:-- - - Of the sole agricultural export, opium, we can speak with some - certainty. We were astounded at the extent of the poppy cultivation - both in Szechuan and Yunnan. We first heard of it on the boundary line - between Hupah and Szechuan, in a cottage which appears in an - illustration given in the work of Captain Blakiston, the highest - cottage on the right of the sketch. A few miles south of this spot - the most valuable variety of native opium is produced. - - In ascending the river, wherever cultivation existed we found numerous - fields of poppy. Even the sandy banks were often planted with it down - to the water's edge: but it was not until we began our land journey in - Yunnan that we fairly realised the enormous extent of its production. - With some fear of being discredited, but at the same time with a - consciousness that I am under-estimating-the production, I estimate - that the poppy-fields constitute a third of the whole cultivation of - Yunnan. - - We saw the gradual process of its growth, from the appearance of the - young spikelets above ground in January, or earlier, to the full - luxuriance of the red, white, and purple flowers, which were already - falling in May. In that month the farmers were trying the juice, but - we did not see the harvest gathered. We walked some hundreds of miles - through poppies; we breakfasted among poppies; we shot wild ducks in - the poppies. Even wretched little hovels in the mountains were - generally attended by a poppy patch. - - The ducks, called locally "opium ducks," which frequently supplied us - with a meal, do really appear, as affirmed by the natives, to stupefy - themselves by feeding on the narcotic vegetable. We could walk openly - up to within twenty yards of them, and even then they rose very - languidly. We are not, however, compelled to believe, with the - natives, that the flesh of these birds is so impregnated with laudanum - as to exercise a soporific influence on the consumer. They are found - in great numbers in the plain of Tung-ch'uan, in Northern Yunnan, and - turn out to be the _Tadorna vulpanser_. - - In the same district, and in no other, we met with the _Grus cinerea_, - an imposing bird, which is also a frequenter of opium-fields. - - The poppy appeared to us to thrive in every kind of soil, from the low - sandy borders of the Yang-tyu to the rocky heights of Western Yunnan; - but it seemed more at home, or at any rate was more abundant, in the - marshy valleys near Yung-ch'uan, at an elevation of seven thousand and - sixty feet (seven thousand one hundred and fifty feet according to - Garnier). - - I am not concerned here with the projects or prospects of the Society - for the Abolition of Opium: _if, however, they desire to give the - strongest impetus to its growth in Yunnan, let them by all means - discourage its production in India_. - -Now I have given you some very important evidence upon the two fallacies -before us; but perhaps, after all, the best testimony upon the subject is -that of Mr. Turner himself. He says, at page 13 of his book:-- - - "Everywhere, in all climates, on every soil, in every variety and - condition of circumstances throughout that vast empire, the Chinese - smoke opium, but nowhere do they all smoke. The smokers are but a - per-centage, greater or smaller in different places." - -I quite agree with him on this point. But here the question arises, where -is the drug procured which is smoked in every part of the eighteen -provinces of this vast Empire, equal in extent to Europe? Surely not from -abroad, because that great China authority, Sir Robert Hart, tells us in -his Yellow Book that all the Indian and Persian opium imported into China -is sufficient only to supply one third of one per cent. of the population -with a small portion annually of the drug. Not from India, because there -are many provinces in China--and a province there means a territory as -large as Great Britain--into which a particle of the Indian drug has -seldom or never been introduced. Whence, then, comes the great bulk of the -drug to satisfy all these smokers? Surely it must be from Chinese soil, -from the opium fields surrounding their own homes, which are to be seen in -every province of the Empire. - -Let us now return to the Yellow-book of Sir Robert Hart, to which I have -referred in the former lecture, and which seems to me to afford all the -evidence on this subject that is really wanted. It is admitted on both -sides that opium smoking is more or less prevalent throughout every -province of China, on every soil, whether in the valleys or on the hills -and mountains. Sir Robert Hart sent out a circular to the foreign -Commissioners of Customs at all the Treaty Ports in China, Hainan, and -Formosa,--two large islands lying respectively off the south and -south-east coast of China,--and the returns show that there are many -opium-smoking shops in each of these Treaty Ports, and that the gross -quantity of Indian and other foreign opium imported into China is about -one hundred thousand chests. Those returns also reveal the fact that in -almost every case foreign opium is used for mixing with the native drug, -which is of inferior quality and, there can be no doubt, invariably -adulterated; that a large amount of native opium is grown and sold; and -that the custom of opium smoking is more or less universal. Suppose we -take the case of Canton, as being a very large city. We may find, perhaps, -two or three hundred opium shops there, but the people who attend them are -not the better class of Chinese. They are exactly the same class of people -who frequent the drinking shops of London and other large cities in -England. The respectable, well-to-do people in Canton, who can afford to -keep the drug in their own houses, would not enter an opium shop any more -than a respectable person here would frequent a public-house. If a -stranger in London looked into the public-houses and saw men and women -drinking there, he would come to a false conclusion if he thought that -none but such people drank beer, spirits, or wine. We know that in almost -every private house here there is more or less liquor of all kinds kept -and consumed. The drinking shops furnish a mere indication of the amount -of alcoholic liquors drunk in a town. It is exactly the same with the -opium shops. They show the prevalence of the custom throughout the -country. If you find two hundred opium shops in Canton, and I am sure -there are not fewer there, you may be not less certain that opium is -smoked in the great majority of private and business houses in Canton. It -is the same in all the Treaty Ports. The opium-smoking shops in China may -be counted by hundreds and thousands, because China is as large as Europe, -and more populous. - -Sir Robert Hart's Report, although to a certain extent an anti-opium one, -is in this and other respects very valuable, and forms in itself a -complete answer to the false and unfounded allegations of the Anti-Opium -Society. It is not likely that he would exaggerate the amount of opium -grown or smoked in China; the inference, indeed, would be that he, as an -official of the Chinese Government, would do just the contrary. There are -a great many other important ports in China besides the twenty ports with -which foreigners are not allowed to trade, and from which, indeed, they -are rigidly excluded; and in the interior of the country there are immense -and numerous cities and towns, large, thriving and densely populated, -where the opium pipe is used as freely as the tobacco pipe is with us. The -provinces in which opium is most grown are Szechuan and Yun-Nan, two of -the largest of the eighteen provinces constituting China proper. They are -the two great western provinces; but it is also grown in the eastern and -central provinces, in fact, more or less, all over the country. Though -there are no certain statistics, there cannot be a doubt that opium -smoking is more prevalent in the interior provinces than on the coast, -because it is there that the most opium is grown, and it is but reasonable -to infer that where opium is largely cultivated, especially in a country -like China, having no railroads, and few ordinary roads, there you will -find it to be most cheap and abundant, and therefore most consumed. Upon -this point I would refer to a most authoritative work by the late lamented -Captain Gill, R.E.,[6] whose barbarous murder the whole country deplored. -At page 235 of vol. ii. Captain Gill says:-- - - As we had such vague ideas of the distance before us we were anxious - to make an early start, but we were now in Yunnan, the province of - China in which there is more opium smoked than in any other, and in - which it is proportionately difficult to move the people in the - morning. There is a Chinese proverb to the effect that there is an - opium pipe in every house in the province of Kweichow, but one in - every room in Yunnan, which means that men and women smoke opium - universally. - -That is the report of a man who was not only a sagacious and close -observer of all that he saw in his interesting journey, but who was wholly -impartial and disinterested on the subject of opium smoking. Sir Robert -Hart does not purport to give in this book correct returns of the quantity -of opium smoked or imported, much less of the quantity grown in China. The -replies of his subordinates at the different ports, many of them seven -hundred or a thousand miles apart, all concur in speaking of the great -difficulties they had in getting any figures at all. They are, therefore, -not to be taken as absolutely trustworthy, and Sir Robert candidly admits -that they are mere approximations. Before I had seen his book I had made a -calculation of the probable number of opium smokers in China, on the -assumption that the population of China proper was three hundred and sixty -millions, and that the custom was universal, limited only by the means of -procuring the drug; and I arrived at the conclusion that there were in -China three millions of habitual smokers, and about the same number of -occasional smokers. Mr. Lennox Simpson, Commissioner at Chefoo, in reply -to Sir Robert Hart's circular, says, at page 13 of the Yellow Book: - - Much difficulty has been experienced in eliciting answers to the - various questions put to the native opium shops and others, all - viewing with suspicion any inquiries made, evidently fearing that some - prohibition is about to be put on the trade, or that their interests - are in some way to suffer. _Hence some of the figures given in the - return can scarcely be considered reliable, although every pains has - been taken to collect information._ - -These commissioners are all gentlemen of good standing and education, and -they have a great many subordinates under them, so that they possess means -of collecting information such as no foreigner, not engaged in the public -service of China, could possibly command. Mr. Francis W. White, the -Commissioner at Hankow, replied: - - Owing to the entire absence of all reliable figures, the amount of - opium put down as produced within the province and within the empire - yearly, must be taken as approximate only. I have been careful to - collect information from various sources, and this has been as - carefully compared and verified as means will allow. - -Mr. Holwell, the Commissioner at Kiukiang, wrote: - - The total quantity of unprepared native opium, said to be produced - yearly in the province of Kiangsi, I find it next to impossible to - ascertain with any degree of certainty. Native testimony differs. - -I will point out by-and-by the reason why these returns are so unreliable. -The most extraordinary of them all are the returns of Mr. E. B. Drew, the -Commissioner at Ningpo, and Mr. H. Edgar, the Commissioner at Ichang. The -former estimates the entire quantity of native opium grown and consumed in -China at two hundred and sixty-five thousand chests, the latter at only -twenty-five thousand--less than a tenth of Mr. Drew's estimate. In the -face of all these discrepancies, Sir Robert Hart takes an arbitrary -figure, and says, in effect, there is at least as much opium produced in -China itself as is imported into China. With the knowledge I have of the -Chinese and the opium trade generally, from the calculations I have made, -and by the light thrown upon the question by Sir Robert Hart's Yellow -Book, and the Reports of Messrs. Spence and Baber and others, I am induced -to come to the conclusion that two hundred and sixty-five thousand chests -is much nearer the mark than a hundred thousand chests. - -The reason the Chinese opium dealers have been so reticent in affording -information to the Commissioners of Customs at these Treaty Ports is, that -they are afraid to do so, fearing if they gave correct information, they -might in so doing furnish to the Mandarins reasons for "squeezing" them, -or for placing taxes and other restrictions on their trade; for the -Government officials in China, from the highest to the lowest, are, as I -have before said, the most corrupt, cruel, and unscrupulous body of men -in the whole world. Mr. Storrs Turner has told us that the Chinese -Government is a paternal one, exercising a fatherly care of its people, -and always exhorting them to virtue. Nothing can be more fallacious than -this. Theoretically, there is much that is good in the system of -government in China, but practically it is quite the reverse. There is -little sympathy between the supreme Government and the great body of the -people. The Emperor, his family, and immediate suite, are all Tartars, -quite another race from the Chinese, differing totally in customs, -manners, dress, and social habits. The Governors or Viceroys are pretty -much absolute sovereigns within their own provinces. Each has under him a -host of officials, commonly known as Mandarins, who are generally the most -rapacious and corrupt of men; their salaries, in most cases, are purely -nominal, for they are expected to pay themselves, which they well -understand how to do. Their system of taxation is irregular and -incomplete, and the process of squeezing is openly followed all over the -country. There is nothing a Chinese dreads so much as disclosing his -pecuniary means, or, indeed, any information that might furnish a clue to -them. If he admitted that he cultivated fifty acres of opium, or bought a -hundred pikuls of opium in a year, his means and his profits could be -arrived at by a simple process of arithmetic, and although he might feel -sure that, so far as Sir Robert Hart and the foreign Commissioners under -him were concerned, no wrong need be apprehended, yet he is so distrustful -and suspicious, that he would fear lest the facts should reach the ears of -the higher Chinese officials through the native subordinates in the -Commissioners' Offices. - -A Chinaman, therefore, will never tell the amount or value of his -property, or the profits he is making by his business. He fears being -plundered; that is the simple fact. I know a respectable man in Hong Kong, -the possessor of considerable house property there, a man who would be -called wealthy even in England. Some years ago, when at Canton, where he -had a house, a Mandarin suddenly arrested and put him into prison. What a -Chinese prison is you will find in Dr. Gray's book. It is not the place -where a paternal Government ought to house the worst of criminals, or even -a wild beast. The man had committed no crime, and had done nothing -whatever to warrant this treatment; in vain he asked what he had been -imprisoned for, and demanded to be confronted with his accusers, if there -were any. His gaolers shrugged their shoulders and gave him no answer. He -was kept there for two or three months. Ultimately he received a hint, -which he recognized as an official intimation, that unless he came down -handsomely, as the phrase is, and that speedily, he would lose his head. -He took the hint, made the best bargain he could, and ultimately had to -pay seventy thousand dollars, or about fourteen thousand pounds, for his -release. There never was any accusation brought against him. - -I knew another man, living at Swatow, who had made a great deal of money -in trade. He bought a large piece of foreshore at that place, which he -reclaimed and turned into profitable land. A military Mandarin living -there thought him a fair object for a squeeze; the same process was gone -through as in the case I have before mentioned; but this man, not having -the same wisdom as the other, held fast to his dollars. The result was -that a false charge of kidnapping, alleged to have been committed twenty -years before, was brought against him, and he was taken out and beheaded. -That is the way money is raised by the governors and their subordinates in -China. So much for Mr. Turner's benign and paternal Government. There is -no regular Income Tax in China, but there is a Property Tax levied in the -way I have mentioned. The Chinese authorities will let a man go on making -money for many years, and when they think he has accumulated sufficient -wealth for their purpose, they pounce down upon him and demand as much as -they think they can extort. That is the reason the Chinese opium dealers -are so reticent when inquiries are made concerning opium. If the -Commissioners at the Treaty Ports had got fair returns, I have no doubt -that it is not a hundred thousand pikuls of native opium that Sir Robert -Hart would have estimated as the quantity of opium grown in China, but -probably four or five times that amount. - -Here, again, I must quote from Mr. Spence's report. Nothing can possibly -show better the prevalence of opium smoking in the provinces of Szechuan -and Yunnan and Hupah, they being about equal in extent to France, Spain, -and Portugal. This is what he says on the prevalence of opium smoking in -those provinces:-- - - Before giving an estimate of the amount of opium produced in Szechuan, - I must refer, in explanation of the large figures I shall be obliged - to use, to the extraordinary prevalence of the habit of opium smoking - in Western Hupei, in Szechuan, and in Yunnan. It prevails to an extent - undreamt of in other parts of China. The Roman Catholic missionaries, - who are stationed all over Szechuan to the number of nearly one - hundred, and who, living amongst the people, have opportunities of - observation denied to travellers, estimate that one-tenth of the whole - male adult population of the province smoke opium. Mr. Parker, after - travelling all over the thickly-settled parts of the province, - estimates the proportion of smokers thus:-- - - Per cent. - Labourers and small farmers 10 - Small shopkeepers 20 - Hawkers, soldiers 30 - Merchants, gentry 80 - Officials and their staffs 90 - Actors, prostitutes, thieves, vagabonds 95 - - I agree with Mr. Parker that the proportion of smokers varies in - different classes according to their means and leisure, but I feel - sure his estimate of the per-centage amongst the labouring classes is - much too low. One of the most numerous class of labourers in China is - the coolie class, day labourers who live by picking up odd jobs, - turning their hands to any kind of unskilled work that may be offered. - Certainly more than half of them smoke. Of the labouring classes who - are not "coolies," as a whole this much may be said--they only have - money at stated intervals; and when out of a gang of forty or fifty - workmen or sailors only four or five smoke opium, it does not mean - that only ten per cent. are smokers. In all probability half of the - whole gang squandered their wages the day they got the money, and have - nothing left to buy opium or anything else until the job or voyage for - which they have been engaged is finished. - - For example, of my junk crew on my voyage to Chungking, only four - smoked opium regularly, but seven others who had spent all their wages - before we started smoked whenever I gave them a few cash. The total - abstinence of a British sailor at sea for months on end proves - nothing; it is what he will do when he has ten pounds in his pocket, - and is in a street with fifteen public-houses, that decides his - sobriety. So of workmen in the west of China, a large number smoke - opium when they have money, and do the best they can when they have - none. Whatever be the exact per-centage of the opium smokers in - Szechuan in the whole population, it is many times larger than in the - east. - -Now, after all this absolutely irrefutable testimony, many might think it -unnecessary to go further. They little know, however, how strong a hold -fanaticism takes of the human mind; they little think how difficult it is -to eradicate a fascinating LIE from the mind, once its glittering -meretricious form has got hold of it and supplanted wholesome truth. I -have, therefore, to deal not only with those whose minds are as a sheet of -white paper, but with those in whom the fallacious seeds that beget error -and fanaticism have been sown and taken firm root. I will now give you an -extract from Sir Rutherford Alcock's paper, which is deserving of careful -study:-- - - I may say here, that although most of the staple arguments and - misleading opinions on opium and its disastrous effects come from the - missionaries in China, whose good faith I do not question, there is no - stronger protest against exaggerated and sensational statements on - record than has been supplied by one of their number, the late Dr. - Medhurst, of whom it has been truly said, he was "one of the most - able, experienced, zealous missionaries in China." Opposed in - principle to the opium trade in all its aspects, his statements will - be readily accepted as unimpeachable evidence. The following remark - appears in an official paper, forwarded to the Chief Superintendent of - Trade of Hong Kong in 1855. Alluding to a speech of an American - missionary who had visited England, and was reported to have told the - British public "that the smokers of the contraband article have - increased from eight to fifteen millions, yielding an annual death - harvest of more than a million," and further characterizing the - traffic as "staining the British name in China with the deepest - disgrace," Dr. Medhurst observes, "_such statements do great harm; - they produce a fictitious and groundless excitement in the minds of - the religious and philanthropic public at home, while they steel - against all reasonable and moderate representations the minds of the - political and mercantile body abroad. The estimate given has not even - the semblance of truth; it is an outrageous exaggeration._" And yet in - a memorial presented to Lord Clarendon by two distinguished and justly - respected noblemen, the Earls of Shaftesbury and Chichester, on the - extent of the opium trade in 1855, these, and still more "outrageous - exaggerations" appear with the authority of their names. Lord - Shaftesbury officializes the estimate that twenty millions of Chinese - are opium smokers, and assumes that of this number one-tenth, that is, - two millions, die yearly, and states it as "an appalling fact." - Appalling, indeed! But what if it be a mere figment of the - imagination, and absolutely devoid, as Dr. Medhurst says, of a - semblance of truth? - -This is the way the benevolent British public have been cajoled and misled -for the last twenty years, or more, by opium-phobists. No wonder that the -Anti-Opium Society can raise fifty thousand pounds so easily, for the -British public is a benevolent one, and will subscribe its gold readily -where what they believe a proper object presents itself. Sad, indeed it -is, that in the present case its munificence represents, not merely so -much money lost, but vast sums recklessly squandered in a mischievous -agitation, that whilst it tends to sap and ruin one of the loveliest of -all virtues--that charity that endureth long and is kind--paralyses -missionary labour, prejudices the trade and revenue of our great Indian -Empire, and defames our country in the eyes of the whole world. Sad, sad -also to see that venerated nobleman, Lord Shaftesbury, after his long and -honourable career, and so many other good and eminent men, made the -victims of such miserable delusions. - -I think it is now clear, both from the testimony I have adduced, and from -Mr. Turner's own admission, that the poppy is not only indigenous to -China, but that it has been cultivated there from time immemorial, and -that opium is smoked generally throughout China, the only limit to its use -being the means of procuring the drug. - - - - -LECTURE III. - - -In my last lecture I dealt with the fallacy that the poppy is not -indigenous to China, but has recently been introduced there presumably by -British agency, and that opium smoking in China was confined to a small -percentage of the people, which had been steadily increasing since the -introduction into China of Indian opium. - -I now proceed to discuss fallacy number 3, which is, that "_opium smoking -is injurious to the system, more so than spirit drinking_." I think I -shall be able to show most clearly that exactly the reverse is the case. -With this it will be convenient to take fallacy number 5, which is a -kindred one, namely, that "_opium smoking and opium eating are equally -hurtful_." This fallacy lies at the root of the opium controversy, for it -alone has enabled the Anti-Opium agitators to give plausibility to their -teaching and to obtain some hold, as they lately had, upon the public -mind. There is, in truth, about as much difference in the two practices as -there is between drinking, say, a pint of ardent spirits and bathing the -surface of one's body with the same stimulant. Before proceeding further, -it may be stated that opium is admitted by physicians in all countries to -be an invaluable medicine, for which there is no known substitute. Mr. -Storrs Turner says that from the time of Hippocrates to the present day it -has been the physician's invaluable ally in his struggles against disease -and death. - -Pereira thus describes the drug:-- - - Opium is undoubtedly the most important and valuable remedy of the - whole Materia Medica. For other medicines we have one or more - substitutes, but for opium none,--at least in the large majority of - cases in which its peculiar and beneficial influence is required. Its - good effects are not, as is the case with some valuable medicines, - remote and contingent, but they are immediate, direct, and obvious, - and its operation is not attended with pain or discomfort. Furthermore - it is applied, and with the greatest success, to the relief of - maladies of everyday occurrence, some of which are attended with acute - human suffering. - -This is the description given of opium in Dr. Quain's _Dictionary of -Medicine_ recently published:-- - - Opium and morphia naturally stand first and still hold their place as - our most potent and reliable narcotics, all the more valuable because - almost alone in their class they are also endowed with powerful - anodyne action, in virtue of which they may relieve pain without - causing sleep. Valuable as it is in all forms of insomnia, opium is - especially indicated in typhus fever and other acute disorders, when - delirium and prolonged wakefulness seem to endanger life. The - principal drawback to opium is the digestive disturbance following its - use, and the fact that, as toleration is very rapidly established, - gradually increasing doses are needed to check the counteracting - influence of habit. - -The Anti-Opium Society and their followers allege that dram-drinking is -not only less baneful than opium-smoking, but they say that the latter -practice so injures the constitution, and has such extraordinary -attractions for those who indulge in it, that it is impossible to get rid -of the habit, and that, in effect, whilst drunkards can be reformed, opium -smokers cannot. This is absolutely untrue. The reverse is much nearer the -mark. The effect upon the system of constant spirit drinking, leaving -actual drunkenness and its consequences aside, is that it produces organic -changes in the system, by acting upon what medical men call the -"microscopic tissues," of which the whole human frame is made up; also -poisoning the blood, which then, instead of being a healthy fluid coursing -freely through the frame and invigorating the entire system, flows -sluggishly, producing organic changes in the blood vessels, inducing -various diseases according to the constitution and tendencies of the -individual. Three of the most usual diseases to which the habitual dram -drinker is subject are liver disease, fatty degeneration of the heart, and -paralysis. There is not a medical student of three months' experience who -could not, if you entered a dissecting-room, point you out a "drunkard's -liver." The moment he sees that object he knows at once that the wretched -being to whom it belonged had, by continued indulgence in alcohol, ruined -his constitution and health, and brought himself to an untimely end. There -is another serious consequence arising from habitual drinking. Not only -does the habit irreparably ruin the general health so that cure is -impossible, but it induces insanity, and I believe I am not beyond the -mark in stating that fifty per cent. at the least of the lunatics in our -various asylums throughout the country have become insane from -over-indulgence in alcohol. Dr. Pereira, in his celebrated _Materia -Medica_, states that out of one hundred and ten cases occurring in male -patients admitted into the Hanwell Lunatic Asylum in 1840, no fewer than -thirty-one were ascribed to intemperance, while thirty-four were referred -to combined causes of which intemperance was stated to be one; and yet Mr. -Turner and his disciples say that spirit drinking is a lesser vice than -opium smoking! - -I need not remind you of the consequences to others besides the actual -victims to spirit drinking, for that is unfortunately told too eloquently -and but too vividly brought before us every day in the public newspapers. -You will find that those acts of violence, those unfortunate cases that -make one shudder to read, happening daily in this country--kicking wives, -sometimes to death, beating and otherwise ill-using helpless children, -violently attacking unoffending people in the streets--all are the -results, more or less, of spirit drinking. Even the missionaries admit -that opium smoking does not produce any of these evils. As I have said -before, truth is natural to the human mind, and will reveal itself, even -where it is not directly relevant to the purpose. Mr. Turner does not -venture to dispute this in his book, and I would call your attention to -the passage. He says on page 33:-- - - Even between drunkenness and opium smoking there are perceptible - distinctions. We must allow that opium smoking is a much more pacific - and polite vice. The opium sot does not quarrel with his mate nor kick - his wife to death; he is quiet and harmless enough while the spirit of - the drug possesses him. - -That is all true so far as the fact goes, but if an insinuation is -intended that the Chinaman gets violent after the effect of the drug has -passed away, there is no foundation for it in fact. The Chinaman takes -opium just because he likes it, and knowing it will act at once as a -pleasing sedative and a harmless stimulant. A man who is working hard all -day in a tropical climate, whether at bodily or mental work, finds, -towards the close of the day, his nervous system in an unsettled state, -and looks for a stimulant, and the most harmless and most effectual one he -can find is the opium pipe. When opium and opium smoking are better -understood--and I believe the subject is now but imperfectly known by most -medical men in this country--I feel convinced that the faculty will -largely prescribe opium smoking, not merely as a substitute for dram -drinking, but as a curative agency, that in many cases will be found -invaluable. In this I am borne out by an eminent medical authority, to -whom I shall refer by-and-by. The regular and habitual opium smoker is -seldom or never found to indulge in spirits at all. Stimulants of all -kinds are so freely taken here that people never look upon them as a -poison; but in point of fact they are a terrible poison, and a very active -one, too. Another medical work of very great authority is that by Dr. -Taylor.[7] It has always received the greatest attention in courts of law; -and it is also held in the highest estimation by the medical profession. -At page 315, under the head of "Poisoning by Alcohol," he says:-- - - The stomach has been found intensely congested or inflamed, the mucous - membrane presenting in one case a bright red, and in another a dark - red-brown colour. When death has taken place rapidly, there may be a - peculiar odour of spirits in the contents; but this will not be - perceived if the quantity taken was small, or many hours have elapsed - before the inspection is made. The brain and its membranes are found - congested, and in some instances there is effusion of blood or serum - beneath the inner membrane. In a case observed by Dr. Geoghegan, in - which a pint of spirits had been taken and proved fatal in eight - hours, black extravasation was found on the mucous membrane of the - stomach; but no trace of alcohol could be detected in the contents. - The action of a strong alcoholic liquid on the mucous membrane of the - stomach so closely resembles the effect produced by arsenic and other - irritants, as easily to give rise to the suspicion of mineral irritant - poisoning. A drawing in the museum collection of Guy's Hospital - furnishes a good illustration of the local action of alcohol. The - whole of the mucous membrane of the stomach is highly corrugated and - is of a deep brownish-red colour. _Of all the liquids affecting the - brain this has the most powerful action on the stomach._ A case of - alcoholic poisoning of a child, aet. seven, referred to me by Mr. - Jackaman, coroner for Ipswich, in July 1863, will serve to show the - correctness of this remark. A girl was found at four o'clock in the - morning lying perfectly insensible on the floor. She had had access to - some brandy, which she had swallowed from a quartern measure, found - near her empty. She had spoken to her mother only ten minutes before, - so that the symptoms must have come on very rapidly. She was seen by - Mr. Adams four hours afterwards. She was then quite insensible, in a - state of profound coma, the skin cold, and covered with a clammy - perspiration. There had been slight vomiting. The child died in twelve - hours, without recovering consciousness, from the time at which she - was first found. - -So far Dr. Taylor, a most competent authority on the subject, as showing -what a poison alcohol is. Now alcohol, as I have before mentioned, effects -an organic change in the system, which opium, if smoked, or even if eaten -does not; and when spirits are indulged in to a very considerable extent, -the disease produced is absolutely incurable, because it is impossible for -any medical skill to give a man new tissues, new blood, a new stomach, or -a new liver, where the whole substance and material of all has undergone a -complete and ruinous change. Now, the case as regards opium is totally -different, because, no matter how much one may indulge in opium, whether -in eating or smoking, the effects produced are always curable. This is so -as regards opium eating; in respect to the infinitely less exciting -practice of opium _smoking_, the rule applies with very much greater -force. A man may smoke opium inordinately until, from want of appetite and -impaired digestion, he seems sinking into the grave; he is, however, only -labouring under functional derangement, which is always curable. The use -of opium in any form produces no organic change in the system whatever. -Excessive eating or smoking opium may impair the appetite and digestion, -but that will be all. I have very competent medical authority for saying -this. This fact places opium and alcohol in two entirely different -categories. The one, if eaten in moderation, is, I believe, harmless, if -not beneficial; while, as to the smoking of the drug, it is absolutely -innocuous;--but if alcohol be freely though not inordinately used, it will -prove, sooner or later, destructive to the system, acting upon the frame -as a slow poison, which must eventually end, as experience shows, in ruin -and death. De Quincey tells us in his _Confessions_ that he ate opium with -impunity for eighteen years, and that it was only after eight years -_abuse_ of opium eating that he suffered in any way from the practice. - -I will now give you another extract from Dr. Pereira's book. At page 446, -under the heading "Consequences of Habitual Drunkenness," he says:-- - - The continued use of spirituous liquors gives rise to various morbid - conditions of system, a few only of the most remarkable of which can - be here referred to. One of these is the disease known by the various - names of _delirium tremens_, _d. potatorum_, _oinomapria_, &c., and - which is characterized by delirium, tremor of the extremities, - wakefulness, and great frequency of pulse. The delirium is of a - peculiar kind. It usually consists in the imagined presence of objects - which the patient is anxious to seize or avoid. Its pathology is not - understood. It is sometimes, but not constantly, connected with or - dependent on an inflammatory condition of the brain, or its membranes. - Sometimes it is more allied to nervous fever. Opium has been found an - important agent in relieving it. Insanity is another disease produced - by the immoderate and habitual use of spirituous liquors. - -Now I do not think that, much as they have abused opium smoking, any of -the Anti-Opium writers have ever alleged insanity to be an effect or -concomitant of opium smoking. It must therefore be taken as generally -admitted that opium smoking, or even opium eating, does not produce -insanity. We have, then, this undisputed fact, viz. _that insanity and -acts of violence do not result from opium smoking, whilst they are -unquestionably produced by spirit drinking_. - -I had recently some conversation on the subject of opium with a medical -friend who has been in large practice in London, for twenty years. I had -previously spoken to him frequently on the same subject, and he has been -kind enough to give me his views in a very interesting and concise manner. -This opinion, I may tell you, is not paid for, or prepared merely to -support a particular purpose, as in the case of trials in the law courts. -It is purely spontaneous. We all know that professional men, whether -doctors, lawyers, surveyors, and others, are all more or less prone to -take the views of the party requiring their services, and they, -accordingly, will give opinions more or less coinciding with those views. -It does not, however, follow that the persons doing so are guilty of any -moral wrong, or that they write or state what they do not believe to be -true; on the contrary, they have a complete faith in the statements they -make. The natural bent of the mind is to lean towards the views urged by -one's patient or client; and thus two physicians or lawyers of the highest -standing and character will be found to hold different opinions. But this -statement with which I have been furnished stands on an entirely different -footing. There can have been no bias in the mind of the writer; it is -simply the result of study and experience. I have the most perfect -confidence in this gentleman's opinions. He is Mr. William Brend, M.R.C.S. -He says:-- - - There is no organic disease traceable to the use of opium, either - directly or indirectly, and whether used in moderate quantities or - even in great excess. In other words, _there is no special disease - associated with opium_. Functional disorder, more or less, may be, and - no doubt is, induced by the improper or unnecessary use of opium; but - this is only what may be said of any other cause of deranged health, - such as gluttony, bad air, mental anxiety.... - - However great the functional disorder produced by opium, even when - carried to great excess, may be, the whole effect passes off, and the - bodily system is restored in a little while to a state of complete - health, if the habit be discontinued. Alcohol, when taken in - moderation, unquestionably benefits a certain number of individuals, - but there are others whose systems will not tolerate the smallest - quantities; it acts upon them like a poison. But in the case of all - persons when alcohol is taken in excess disease is sooner or later - produced; that disease consists of organic changes induced in the - blood-vessels of the entire system, more especially the minute - blood-vessels called the capillaries; these become dilated, and - consequently weakened in their coats, and eventually paralyzed, so - that they cannot contract upon the blood. The result of this is - stagnation, leading to further changes still, such as fatty - degeneration of all the organs; for it must be remembered that alcohol - circulates with the blood, and thus finds its way into the remotest - tissues. The special diseases referrable to alcohol, besides this - general fatty degeneration, are the disease of the liver called - "cirrhosis," and very frequently "Bright's disease of the kidneys." - Here, then, we have a great and important difference between opium and - alcohol. The second great difference grows out of the first. It is - this:--I have said that if alcohol be taken in excess for a certain - length of time, depending to some extent upon the susceptibility of - the individual, organic change, that is disease, is inevitable; but - the saddest part of it is that it is real disease, not merely - functional disorder; so that if those who have yielded to that excess - can be persuaded to abandon alcohol entirely the mischief induced must - remain. The progress of further evil may be staved off, but the system - can never again be restored to perfect health. _The demon_ has taken a - grip which can never be entirely unloosed. Herein there is the second - great difference between the use of opium and of alcohol in excess. - - If what I have said of opium eating be true, common sense will draw - the inference that opium smoking must be comparatively innocuous, for - used in this way, a very small quantity indeed of the active - constituents find their entrance into the system. Its influence, like - tobacco, is exerted entirely upon the nervous system, and when that - influence has passed off it leaves (as also in the case of tobacco) a - greater or less craving for its repetition; but as organic disease is - not the result, I see no reason why opium smoking in moderation - necessarily degrades the individual more than does the smoking of - tobacco. - -Here I will give you another extract from Mr. Storrs Turner's book, which -tells against his case very strongly indeed. How he came to insert it I -can only understand on the principle I have already mentioned, that truth -is inherent to the human mind and will reveal itself occasionally even -though it has to struggle through a mountain of prejudice and of warped -understanding. This is it, from the evidence of Dr. Eatwell, First -Assistant Opium Examiner in the Bengal service; it will be found on page -233:-- - - Having passed three years in China, I may be allowed to state the - results of my observation, and I can affirm thus far, that the effects - of the abuse of the drug do not come very frequently under - observation, and that when cases do occur, the habit is frequently - found to have been induced by the presence of some painful chronic - disease, to escape from the sufferings of which the patient has fled - to this resource. That this is not always the case, however, I am - perfectly ready to admit, and there are doubtless many who indulge in - the habit to a pernicious extent, led by the same morbid impulses - which induce men to become drunkards in even the most civilised - countries; but these cases do not, at all events, come before the - public eye. It requires no laborious search in civilized England to - discover evidences of the pernicious effects of the abuse of alcoholic - liquors; our open and thronged gin-palaces, and our streets afford - abundant testimony on the subject; but in China this open evidence of - the evil effects of opium is at least wanting. As regards the effects - of the habitual use of the drug on the mass of the people, I must - affirm that no injurious results are visible. The people generally are - a muscular and well-formed race, the labouring portion being capable - of great and prolonged exertion under a fierce sun, in an unhealthy - climate. Their disposition is cheerful and peaceable, and quarrels and - brawls are rarely heard amongst even the lower orders; whilst in - general intelligence they rank deservedly high amongst Orientals. I - will, therefore, conclude with observing, that the proofs are still - wanting to show that the moderate use of opium produces more - pernicious effects upon the constitution than does the moderate use of - spirituous liquors; whilst, at the same time, it is certain that the - consequences of the abuse of the former are less appalling in their - effect upon the victim, and less disastrous to society at large, than - are consequences of the abuse of the latter. - -Could any evidence against the allegations of the Anti-Opium Society be -stronger than this? Have I not now a right to say, "Out of the mouth of -thine own witness I convict thee!" - -My own observation goes to show that opium smoking is far more fascinating -than opium eating, and that the opium smoker never relapses into the opium -eater. Opium eating, as I think I have already stated, is unknown in -China. I think these statements put the question as regards opium smoking, -opium eating, and spirit drinking in a very different light to what the -advocates of the Anti-Opium Society throw upon the subject. The latter -talk of the importation of Indian opium into China as the origin of the -custom of smoking the drug, or, at the least, that it has made the natives -smoke more than they otherwise would have done. There is no truth in such -representations. Let us take the year 1880, for instance, and adopting the -figures given by Sir Robert Hart, and concurred in by the British -merchants, which I take to be quite correct, that the amount of opium -imported into China from India was in that year one hundred thousand -chests, each chest weighing a pikul, which would amount to about six -thousand tons. Distribute those six thousand tons over the whole of China, -which, as I have before so often said, is as large as Europe, and with a -population amounting to three hundred and sixty millions, and you will -find it gives such a trifling annual amount to each person, that Sir -Robert Hart cannot mark from its use any damage to the finances of the -State, the wealth of its people, or the growth of its population. In the -United Kingdom, where we have less than a tenth of the population of -China, there were two hundred thousand tons of alcohol--whisky, gin, -brandy--and one thousand and ninety millions four hundred and forty-four -thousand seven hundred and sixteen gallons of wine and beer consumed in -that year. If all these spirits, wine, and beer were mixed up so as to -form one vast lake--one huge "devil's punch-bowl"--there would be -sufficient liquor for the whole population of the United Kingdom to swim -in at one time. But if the tears of all the broken-hearted wives, widows, -and orphans that flowed from the use of the accursed mixture were -collected, they would produce such a sea of sorrow, such an ocean of -misery as never before was presented to the world. Yet philanthropists and -Christian people in this country give all their time, energies, and a -great deal of their money to put down this purely sentimental grievance in -China, and shut their eyes to the terrible evils thundering at their own -doors! - -The whole purpose of Mr. Storrs Turner's book, and of the Anti-Opium -Society, is to write down opium smoking in China, with the ultimate view -of suppressing the Indo-China opium trade; and no man living is better -aware than Mr. Turner that opium eating is not a practice with the -Chinese; indeed, I doubt if it is known in China at all. Yet, knowing all -this, he puts forward the outrageous theory that opium smoking and opium -eating are equally injurious; it therefore becomes a matter of the first -importance that the great difference between these two practices should be -clearly shown. In the appendix to Mr. Turner's book there is a mass of -evidence, of which a large portion is quite beside the question, for it -applies exclusively to opium eating--a practice, I assert and will clearly -show, is totally different from, and a thousand times more trying to the -constitution than opium smoking. Dr. Ayres says that opium smokers can -smoke in one day as much opium as would, if eaten, poison one hundred men, -and Dr. Ayres is a very great authority on the subject; for not only has -he a large practice among the better classes of Chinese, all of whom are, -more or less, opium smokers, but his daily duties bring him into contact -with the criminal classes, who are most prone to excessive sensual -indulgence of this kind. - -This is what Dr. Ayres says upon the subject in his article in the _Friend -of China_:-- - - As regards opium smoking, no prisoner who confessed to be an opium - smoker has been allowed a single grain in the gaol. Neither has he had - any stimulant as a substitute, and I do not find there has been any - evil consequence in breaking off this habit at once, nor that any - precaution has been necessary, further than a closer attention to the - general health. Several very good specimens of opium smokers have come - under observation; one was the case of a man whose daily consumption - had been two ounces a day for nineteen years, and who was allowed - neither opium nor gin, nor was he given any narcotic or stimulant. For - the first few days he suffered from want of sleep, but soon was in - fair health, and expressed himself much pleased at having got rid of - the habit.... In my experience, the habit does no physical harm in - moderation. In the greatest case of excess just mentioned at the gaol, - a better-nourished or developed man for his size it would be difficult - to see. - -So far as regards opium _eating_, the best medical authorities are divided -as to whether opium eating or drinking in moderation is injurious to the -system at all. In any case, opium eating is not the question before us, -nor the subject of these lectures, which is opium smoking in China. Mr. -Storrs Turner gives, in his appendix, at page 240, extracts from some -statements of Lieut.-Col. James Todd, who says:-- - - This pernicious plant (the poppy) has robbed the Rajpoot of half his - virtues, and while it obscures these it heightens his vices, giving to - his natural bravery a character of insane ferocity, and to the - countenance which would otherwise beam with intelligence an air of - imbecility. - -That entirely relates to the _eating_ of the drug by the Rajpoots of -India, and has no connection or analogy to opium smoking by the Chinese. -There is another quotation on the same page from Dr. Oppenheim, given in -Pereira's _Materia Medica_ as follows:-- - - The habitual _opium eater_ is instantly recognised by his appearance: - a total attenuation of body, a withered, yellow countenance, a lame - gait, &c. - -And so on. This, as you see, applies to opium eating only. There are many -other instances of the effects of such use of opium given in the appendix, -which, after these two quotations, it is useless to further repeat. -Indeed, so far as relevancy to his subject goes, Mr. Storrs Turner might -just as well have introduced into his book medical or other testimony as -to the effects of gluttony or spirit drinking. It suits his purpose, -however, to mix up the two practices, so as to confuse and mislead his -readers. Dr. Oppenheim's statement, by the way, is completely refuted by -Dr. Sir George Birdwood, a distinguished physician, whose long residence -in Bombay,--where there is a Chinese colony, most, if not all, of whom are -habitual smokers of the drug,--and whose thorough acquaintance with the -effects of opium eating and opium smoking, entitle his testimony to the -very highest consideration. Again, at p. 8 of Mr. Turner's volume, -reference is made to De Quincey's book on opium eating, intituled, "The -Confessions of an English Opium Eater." Could anything be more -disingenuous than this? De Quincey was an opium eater, not an opium -smoker. Here is the passage from Mr. Turner's book to which I have -referred:-- - - Those "Confessions," which are not confessions, but an _apologia pro - vita sua_, an elaborate essay to whitewash his reputation and varnish - over the smirching blot of a self-indulgent habit by a glitter of a - fascinating literary style. - -Now did anyone ever hear of such an extraordinary explanation of De -Quincey's motives in publishing that volume? De Quincey, he says, in -effect, was ashamed of the practice of opium eating, and wrote the book as -an excuse for his conduct, so horrible, disgraceful, and debasing, -according to Mr. Storrs Turner, is--not opium eating, observe you, -but--opium smoking. How fallacious are such arguments I think I shall make -apparent to the most simple mind. If a man has the misfortune to have -contracted a disgraceful habit, such, for instance, as over-indulgence in -spirit drinking, the very last thing he would think of doing is to publish -a book upon the subject, and thus acquaint the whole world with his -infirmity. Yet this is what Mr. Turner alleges against De Quincey. But, in -point of fact, he is altogether wrong in supposing that De Quincey was -ashamed of opium eating; if he had been, he unquestionably would not have -written his book, which, by the way, is one of the most fascinating -volumes in our literature. Previous to the publication of it, probably -there were not half a dozen people who knew that he, De Quincey, was an -opium eater, and in the preface to the work, he says, "that his -self-accusation does not amount to a confession of guilt." I know Mr. -Turner to be a gentleman utterly incapable of wilfully acting -disingenuously, much less of stating intentionally what he knew to be -untrue; but he is so blinded by prejudice, his naturally clear intellect -is so warped and distorted, and his faculties and reasoning powers are so -perverted, by this opium question, and his duties towards the Anti-Opium -Society, that he either does not see the difference between the two -things,--opium smoking and opium eating,--or, aware of that difference, -thinks himself justified in classing them together, as they both proceed -from opium, and thus he would persuade himself and his readers that they -are equally baneful. But in this book of his he takes De Quincey, the -opium eater, who confesses to having eaten three hundred and twenty grains -a day, and compares him with an opium-smoking Chinaman who smoked one -hundred and eighty grains a day; the difference between eating three -hundred and twenty grains and smoking one hundred and eighty grains a day -being about as a thousand is to one, in fact, in such case it would be -simply the difference between life and death; and yet Mr. Storrs Turner -would strive to mix up the two practices, so that the incautious reader -might infer that the effects of the one were as injurious as those of the -other. Such is the class of arguments with which the Anti-Opium Society -and its credulous supporters have been satisfied, and upon which the whole -religious world, the country, and the legislature are called upon to come -to the rescue of injured humanity, and abolish this Indo-China opium -trade. - -Now, as De Quincey is on the _tapis_, I cannot refrain from exposing a -very disgraceful piece of deception which has been practised upon the -public by some of the agents or supporters of the Anti-Opium Society since -the first edition of my Lectures appeared. This work of De Quincey, as I -have intimated, is a very entertaining book; it is the first of a series -of fourteen volumes by the same author, published in 1880 by the eminent -firm of Adam and Charles Black, of Edinburgh; the price of each volume is -two shillings, which is very moderate indeed, taking the character and -quality of the letterpress, the paper, and general "get up" into account, -for, as for the copyright, it has expired. Although Mr. Storrs Turner has -mis-described the book as a penitential effort on the part of De Quincey, -I am afraid that the effect of its perusal on most readers would be to -induce them rather to become opium eaters than repel them from the -practice, as will be manifest from an extract which I shall shortly give -the reader. The truth is, De Quincey, who knew human nature very well, -lived by his pen, and was actuated more by the desire to amuse than reform -his readers--for, say as you will, a well presented comedy will be always -more popular with the multitude than a tragedy, however skilfully -performed. Now, I am far from impugning the main features of our author's -"confessions," but in saying that in writing this very fascinating and -original book he went extensively into the picturesque, and drew largely -on his imagination, no person who will afford himself the pleasure of -reading the book can, I think, deny. Now, some very zealous agent or -advocate of the Anti-Opium Society, fearing that the effect of this work -of De Quincey's--brought as it has been into notice in connection with -this controversy by Mr. Turner's and my own book--might be to induce the -reading public to think that opium, after all, was not so terrible a drug -as the Anti-Opium agitators represent, has set himself to the ignoble task -of so garbling the work, and importing into it other matter of his own, as -to represent opium eating as the most terrible, fearful, and demoralizing -practice in the world, and then printing the concoction and flooding the -country with the impudent travesty at the very moderate charge of one -penny. All the entertaining and diverting passages have been suppressed, -and some wretched stuff inserted. It is called on the title page "The -Confessions of an Opium Eater; the famous work by Thomas De Quincey. -Copyright edition." The whole is nothing more than a burlesque--and a very -bad one indeed--of the real volume. In the first place, there is a lie -upon the face of it, as the copyright has expired, and it is not in any -respect a copy of the original; and secondly, it barely contains one-sixth -of the matter of the actual volume, and has "counterfeit" stamped upon -every page. It was exposed at the various book-stalls of Messrs. W. H. -Smith and Son, in London, and, I believe, also throughout the country. I -myself bought two copies at the Charing Cross station a few months ago, -but I believe the delectable piece of literary forgery has since been -withdrawn. I daresay, however, it has, to a great extent, answered its -purpose, _i.e._ to poison the minds of its readers on the Opium question, -by making it appear that opium is a terrible poison, and that the smoking -of it is more injurious than the excessive indulgence in alcohol. This -"pious fraud" has done a grievous wrong to the memory of a great English -author, Thomas De Quincey--whose pure and classic English adorns our -language--and also an injury to the general public who have advanced their -money for the penny lie upon false pretences. The whole affair is just as -defensible a proceeding as that of some tenth-rate dauber who, having -copied (?) a masterpiece of Sir Joshua Reynolds, or some other great -master of the English school, had the miserable caricature oleographed, -and flooded the country with the imposture, in the hope of inducing the -public to believe that true copies of the originals were offered to them. -But these Anti-Opium fanatics do not stick at trifles, and, in their -insane desire to make right appear wrong, do not hesitate to defame the -dead and vilify the living. I have mentioned this incident to show my -readers the unscrupulous efforts these people will resort to in order to -impose their fictions upon the public. - -Now, leaving De Quincey and his book for the present, let us see what Dr. -Ayres says upon the difference between opium eating and opium smoking. In -his article in _The Friend of China_, from which I have already quoted, he -says:-- - - I have conducted my observations with much interest, as the effects of - opium eating are well known to me by many years' experience in India, - and I have been surprised to find the opium smoker differs so much - from the opium eater. _I am inclined to the belief that in the popular - mind the two have got confused together. Opium smoking bears no - comparison with opium eating._ The latter is a terrible vice, most - difficult to cure, and showing rapidly very marked constitutional - effects in the consumer. - -Dr. Ayres was quite right, the two have got mixed up together, thanks to -Mr. Storrs Turner and his confreres. To further explain the difference -between opium eating and opium smoking, let us take the familiar instance -of tobacco smoking. It is not, I think, generally known that tobacco, -taken internally, is a violent and almost instantaneous poison. A very -small quantity of it admitted into the stomach produces speedy death, and -it is a wonder to some medical men that its use has not been made -available by assassins for their foul and deadly purposes. Tobacco has no -medicinal properties; it is simply known to chemists and physicians as a -poison. Its alkaloid, or active principle, is nicotine, a poison of so -deadly and instantaneous a nature as to rank with aconite, strychnine, and -prussic acid. Of the four, indeed, it takes the lead. In Taylor's "Medical -Jurisprudence," to which I have already referred, it is laid down at page -321, under the head of "Poisoning by Tobacco":-- - - The effects which this substance produces when taken in a large dose, - either in the form of powder or infusion, are well marked. The - symptoms are faintness, nausea, vomiting, giddiness, delirium, loss of - power in the limbs, general relaxation of the muscular system, - trembling, complete prostration of strength, coldness of the surface - with cold clammy perspiration, convulsive movements, paralysis and - death. In some cases there is purging, with violent pain in the - abdomen; in others there is rather a sense of sinking or depression in - the region of the heart, passing into syncope, or creating a sense of - impending dissolution. With the above-mentioned symptoms there is - dilatation of the pupils, dimness of sight with confusion of ideas, a - small, weak, and scarcely-perceptible pulse, and difficulty of - breathing. Poisoning by tobacco has not often risen to medico-legal - discussion. This is the more remarkable as it is an easily accessible - substance, and the possession of it would not, as in the case of other - poisons, excite surprise or suspicion. In June, 1854, a man was - charged with the death of an infant, of ten weeks, by poisoning it - with tobacco. He placed a quantity of tobacco in the mouth of the - infant, with the view, as he stated, of making it sleep. The infant - was completely narcotized, and died on the second day.... Tobacco owes - its poisonous properties to the presence of a liquid volatile - alkaloid, _nicotina_. - -Whilst under the head "Nicotine," on the same page, he says:-- - - This is a deadly poison, and, like prussic acid, it destroys life in - small doses with great rapidity. I found that a rabbit was killed by a - single drop in three minutes and a half. In fifteen seconds the animal - lost all power of standing, was violently convulsed in its fore and - hind legs, and its back was arched convulsively. - -In Dr. Ure's "Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures, and Mines," it is laid -down, at page 250, under the head of "Nicotine":-- - - This alkaloid is the active principle of the tobacco plant.... - Nicotine is a most powerful poison, one drop put on the tongue of a - large dog being sufficient to kill it in two or three minutes. - -So much for tobacco and its alkaloid as deadly poisons; yet we all know -that, unless indulged in to an inordinate extent, tobacco smoking is a -perfectly harmless practice, almost universally indulged in; the exception -now being to find a man, young or old, gentle or simple, who is not a -tobacco smoker. Most of our greatest thinkers, philosophers, poets, -statesmen, and mathematicians smoke it, and in most cases, I believe, with -advantage. Indulged in moderately, it does no injury to the constitution, -but I should rather say its effects are curative and beneficial; you will -rarely find a heavy tobacco smoker a drunkard or even a spirit drinker. -Yet this plant, which gives comfort and delight to millions of people, is -a deadly poison if taken internally in even a minute quantity in its -natural or manufactured state. So it is with opium; the habitual eating of -it may be injurious, but the smoking is not only innocuous, but positively -beneficial to the system. It is a complete preservative against dram -drinking and drunkenness, for whilst it produces similar but far more -agreeable effects on the nervous system than wine, it does not, like -alcohol, poison the blood, destroy the health, and lead to ruin, disgrace, -and death. Of course, opium-smoking, like every other luxury--tea, wine, -spirits, beer, tobacco--may be abused, but the few who indulge excessively -are infinitesimally small as compared with the many who abuse the use of -alcoholic liquors. As to opium eating, an overdose produces death, but the -opium smoker can indulge in his luxury from, morning till night without -any apparent injury. It is plain, therefore, that opium smoking and opium -eating cannot be classed in the same category at all, but stand apart -quite separately and distinctly. - -I may here again appropriately refer to Sir Wilfrid Lawson's speech at the -Anti-Opium meeting at Newcastle. In the course of his remarks, the speaker -referred with some humour to an Anti-Tobacco-smoking Society, a once -active organization. At a meeting of this body held at Carlisle, it -appears that the chief orator,--an energetic person, with wonderful powers -of imagination and a fluent tongue, quite another Mr. Storrs -Turner--having exhausted his power of vituperation in denouncing the -Virginian weed and its terrible effects upon its votaries, alleged in -particular that tobacco smoking tended to shorten human life, but here he -was interrupted by one of the audience, a jovial middle-aged north -countryman, who said, "I don't know that Mr. Lecturer, for my father -smoked till he was eighty!" "Ah!" exclaimed the other, quite equal, as he -thought, to the occasion, "your father's case was an exceptional one; he -was an unusually strong, healthy man. Anyone who sees you, his hale, -hearty son, must know that. Had he not been a tobacco smoker he would have -lived much longer." "I don't know that either," returned the countryman, -"for he is alive and well and still smokes tobacco." Now had Sir Wilfrid -delivered that speech at a meeting formed to protest against the theories -of the Anti-Tobacco Society, he would assuredly have scored; but, as -matters stood, I must claim his speech as one made in favour of my views -upon the opium question; for, to use a famous formula, I would say to the -honourable baronet, "Would you be surprised to hear that I can produce to -you, not only an aged father and son who are opium smokers, but a father, -son, and grandson all living who follow that practice, and have done so -all their lives without injury to health?" - -But enjoyable as tobacco smoking may be, I contend that, to the Asiatic at -least, opium smoking is not only a more agreeable but also a far more -beneficial practice. Tobacco has no curative properties, but is simply a -poison; opium is the most valuable medicine known; where all other -sedatives fail its powers are prominent. As an anodyne no other medicine -can equal it. There is one property peculiar to opium, that is that it is -non-volatilizable, or nearly so. If a piece of opium is put on a red-hot -plate, it will not volatilize; that is, it will not disappear in the form -of vapour, which by chemical means can be preserved in order to resume or -retain its original character. But it will be destroyed by combustion; the -heat will consume it in the same manner as it would destroy a piece of -sugar or any other non-volatilizable body; whereas a substance that is -volatilizable, like sulphur, on being subjected to the same process, -instead of being destroyed, is simply given out in vapour, and by proper -means may be caught again and reformed in the shape of sulphur. So when -you place opium into a pipe and put the pellet to the lamp, the effect of -the combustion is to destroy the active property of the opium; the smoker -takes the smoke thrown off into his mouth, which he expels either through -the mouth or nostrils. The only way, therefore, he can get any of the -active property of the opium into his system is by smoking it like -tobacco. Now tobacco, on the contrary, is volatilizable, but the poison is -so volatile, and escapes so freely through the bowl of the pipe in the -shape of vapour, and is so rapidly expelled from the mouth, that no harm -is produced by the process of smoking the deadly poison, the natural -recuperative power of the frame neutralizing the effects of the noisome -vapour. The difference between opium and tobacco smoking appears to be -this:--In the one case you take into your mouth the mere smoke of a -valuable aromatic drug, which, when passed into the stomach in proper -quantities as a medicine, has powerful curative properties, the smoke when -expelled leaving no substance behind it, but in its passage exerting a -pleasant and perfectly harmless stimulating effect upon the nerves. - -In the case of tobacco, the fumes with the volatilized substance of a foul -and poisonous weed having no curative properties whatever, and having the -most loathsome and offensive smell to those who have not gone through the -pain and misery necessary to accustom themselves to them, is taken into -the mouth. Nicotine, the alkaloid of tobacco, is simply a deadly and rapid -poison, useful only to the assassin. Morphia, the alkaloid of opium, is -only poisonous when taken in an excessive quantity; whether used -internally or injected under the skin, it is the most wonderful anodyne -and sedative known. I fully believe that, when medical men come to study -opium and opium smoking more fully, it will become the established opinion -of the faculty that opium smoking is not only perfectly harmless, but that -it is most beneficial, so that it may ultimately not only put down spirit -drinking, but perhaps supersede, to a great extent, tobacco. But few -medical men in this country have as yet made opium a special study. They -only know its use and properties as described in the British Pharmacopeia; -many even of those who have practised in the parts of India where the drug -is eaten do not, it seems, as yet fully understand all its properties. Dr. -Ayres himself admits that he was astonished after his arrival in Hong Kong -to find the great difference between the effects of smoking and eating the -drug. I may here remind my readers that we have, or had once, an -Anti-Tobacco-smoking Society, just as there is now an Anti-Opium-smoking -Society. The former had so many living evidences of the absurdities -alleged by its supporters against the use of tobacco, that the agitation -was laughed down and has either died a natural death or has only a -moribund and spasmodic existence; but had the place where the alleged -enormity of tobacco smoking was practised been Africa, I think the Society -would have died a much harder death, or at all events shown more vitality. -The Anti-Opium Society would have shared the same fate long ago were it -not that the scene of all the alleged evils is China, ten thousand miles -away, and the witnesses against their absurd allegations live the same -distance from us. But still, believe me, the Anti-Opium Society's days are -numbered: it is doomed, and, like the Anti-Tobacco craze, will be numbered -soon amongst the things that were. I flatter myself that in the delivery -and publication of these lectures I have given the agitation a heavy blow -and great discouragement. - -I had some time ago the advantage of reading a very interesting and -remarkable letter in the "Times" by Sir George Birdwood, to whom I have -already referred; he has had more than fourteen years' experience in India -as a medical man, and has made the opium question a special study. I think -his testimony is worth a great deal more than that of any layman, however -learned or talented; the one has both theoretical and practical knowledge -of his subject, the other at best is only a theorist. Believe me, the -Roman poet knew human nature well when he said, "Trust the man who has -experience of facts." The paper, which is a learned and interesting one, -is too long to read, but here is an extract from it:-- - - My readers can judge for themselves from the authorities I have - indicated; but the opinion I have come to from them and my own - experience is, that opium is used in Asia in a similar way to alcohol - in Europe, and that, considering the natural craving and popular - inclination for, and the ecclesiastical toleration of it and its - general beneficial effects, and the absence of any resulting evil, - there is just as much justification for the habitual use of opium in - moderation as for the moderate use of alcohol, and indeed far more. - - Sir Benjamin Brodie is always quoted as the most distinguished - professional opponent of the dietetical use of opium; but what are his - words (_Psychological Enquiries_, p. 248):--"The effect of opium when - taken into the stomach is not to stimulate, but to soothe the nervous - system. It may be otherwise in some instances, but these are rare - exceptions to the general rule. The opium eater is in a passive state, - satisfied with his own dreamy condition while under the influence of - the drug. He is useless but not mischievous. It is quite otherwise - with alcoholic liquors." Opium smoking, which is the Chinese form of - using the drug--for which the Indian Government is specially held - responsible--is, to say the least in its favour, an infinitely milder - indulgence. As already mentioned, I hold it to be absolutely harmless. - I do not place it simply in the same category with even tobacco - smoking, for tobacco smoking may, in itself, if carried into excess, - be injurious, particularly to young people under twenty-five; but I - mean that opium smoking in itself is as harmless as smoking - willow-bark or inhaling the smoke of a peat-fire or vapour of boiling - water.... I have not seen Surgeon-General Moore's recent paper on - opium in the _Indian Medical Gazette_, but I gather from a notice of - it quoted from the _Calcutta Englishman_, in the _Homeward Mail_ of - the 14th of November last, that it supplies a most exhaustive and able - vindication of the perfect morality of the revenue derived by the - Indian Government from the manufacture and sale of opium to the - Chinese. He quotes from Dr. Ayres, of Hong Kong: "No China resident - believes in the terrible frequency of the dull, sodden-witted, - debilitated opium smoker met with in print;" and from Consul Lay:--"In - China the spendthrift, the man of lewd habits, the drunkard, and a - large assortment of bad characters, slide into the opium smoker; hence - the drug seems chargeable with all the vices of the country." Mr. - Gregory, Her Majesty's Consul at Swatow, says Dr. Moore never saw a - single case of opium intoxication, though living for months and - travelling for hundreds of miles among opium smokers. Dr. Moore - directly confirms my own statement of the Chinese having been great - drunkards of alcohol before they took to smoking opium. I find also a - remarkable collection of folk-lore (_Strange Stories from a Chinese - Studio_, by Herbert A. Giles), evidence in almost every chapter of the - universal drinking habits of the Chinese before the introduction of - opium among them, notwithstanding that the use of alcohol is opposed - to the cardinal precepts of Buddhism. What Dr. Moore says of the - freedom of opium smokers from bronchial thoracic diseases is deserving - of the deepest consideration. I find that, on the other hand, the - Chinese converts to Christianity suffer greatly from consumption. The - missionaries will not allow them to smoke, and, as they also forbid - their marrying while young, after the wise custom, founded on an - experience of thousands of years of their country, they fall into - those depraved, filthy habits, of which consumption is everywhere the - inexorable witness and scourge. When spitting of blood comes on, the - opium pipe is its sole alleviation. - -Now Dr. Birdwood is not only well informed upon the opium question, but is -certainly one of the ablest opponents of the Anti-Opium agitation who has -yet appeared. His letters in the "Times" created quite a sensation, and so -alarmed Mr. Storrs Turner that he left no means untried to neutralize -their effects. At this point a bright idea occurred to him. Finding that -there was a general consensus of opinion against him amongst English -medical men and other competent authorities that the outcry against opium -was groundless, he hit upon the brilliant expedient of discrediting them -all, by the assertion that Englishmen are so prejudiced that they are not -to be believed. This is what he says on the subject in his famous article -in the _Nineteenth Century_ having in a previous passage imagined a case -in which China was the plaintiff and Great Britain the defendant:-- - - The baneful effects of the opium vice are established by universal - experience. One may apply to it the theological maxim _Quod semper - quod ubique, quod ab omnibus_. Two considerations will show that the - opposition of a few dissentient voices does not detract from the - general conclusion. Most of these are quite clear on the point that - opium is bad for everybody but Chinese. They would be horrified at the - suggestion that opium should be freely used in England and approve the - efforts or supposed efforts of the Indian Government to keep it out of - the way of the natives of India. On another point these dissentients - are all alike; _every one of them is prejudiced in favour of the - defendant in the case before us. They are all Englishmen._ No French - or German medical man, no single Chinese authority has been quoted to - testify to the innocence of opium. Some of these apologists are opium - merchants, who aver that the drug by which they make their wealth is a - boon and a blessing to China; or it is a gentleman employed in the - India Office who considers opium smoking as safe as "twiddling one's - thumbs." - -Could the force of folly or fanaticism go further than that? All -Englishmen are prejudiced. I wonder, did it ever occur to Mr. Storrs -Turner that _he_, being an Englishman, might be a little prejudiced -also--on the other side of the question. Yes; Dr. Ayres, Dr. Eatwell, -Surgeon-General Moore, Dr. Birdwood, and a host of other eminent medical -men standing in the front rank of their profession, Sir Rutherford -Alcock, Mr. Colborne Baber, Mr. W. Donald Spence, and others are not to be -believed--because they are Englishmen! Were they Germans or Frenchmen, -they would, of course, be entitled to the fullest credence. Like the -priest and prophet of Crete, Mr. Storrs Turner holds that all his -countrymen are liars.[8] But, stay, do I not remember that gentleman's -holding a select conference of English medical men, about October 1882, -when certain resolutions were drawn up condemnatory of opium? Surely, yes. -The invitations were issued by the Earl of Shaftesbury. I should like to -ask Mr. Storrs Turner were the medical and other gentlemen then present -Englishmen or foreigners? If I do not greatly err they were _all_ -Englishmen. Does Mr. Storrs Turner consider those gentlemen worthy of -credit? I rather think he does: so that Mr. Turner's creed runs thus: -"Englishmen are to be believed so long as they agree with me on the opium -question. When they differ from me on that subject they are not to be -believed at all." Mr. Turner is fond of treating his readers to -theological maxims. I will now give him a legal one which, I think, is -applicable to his case. It runs thus, translated into plain English: "_He -is not to be heard who alleges things contrary to each other_." Of course, -the reader has seen that Mr. Turner's sneer at "the gentleman employed in -the India Office," is at Sir George Birdwood, whose pungent articles in -the _Times_ have inflicted such damage on his cause, and whose efforts in -the interests of common sense and truth he would wish to suppress. - -As Mr. Turner's tastes are exotic, I will furnish him now with some -_foreign_ testimony that may perhaps astonish him. For many years previous -to 1858, Don Sinibaldo de Mas had been the Envoy-Extraordinary and -Minister Plenipotentiary of the Court of Spain at Pekin. That nobleman had -travelled much in China, India, Java, Borneo, and Malacca, having learned -the Chinese language the better to enable him to utilize his travels in -those places. In 1858 he published a book[9] in the French language on -China and the Chinese, making special reference to the opium question, to -which he has devoted one very interesting chapter exclusively. The book -was brought out in Paris, and has never, that I am aware of, been -translated into English. Now about the last person from whom one would -expect to obtain testimony of the kind is a Spaniard. Yet so it is. This -book of Don Sinibaldo de Mas is, indeed, one of the most powerful -vindications of British policy in India and China that has yet been -written. I hardly think even Mr. Storrs Turner can accuse this gentleman -of partiality, or object to his testimony as being influenced by personal -motives. This is part of what he says on the subject:-- - - I may say, in the first instance, that personally neither as a private - individual nor as a public functionary have I ever been in the - slightest degree interested in this (opium) trade, for be it noted - that Spanish vessels have never imported into China a single chest of - opium. I consequently approach this subject with complete - impartiality. I have known the Chinese at Calcutta, Singapore, Penang, - Malacca, Manila, and in many parts of their own country, where I - acquired a sufficient knowlege of the Chinese language to enable me to - converse with the natives and make myself fully acquainted with the - opium question, which I believe I understand, and may be considered - thoroughly unbiassed in my opinions. - - Opium has been preached against and denounced as a veritable poison, - and it has been looked upon as a crime in those who have made the drug - an object of commerce or gain. A memorial embodying those views, - signed by many missionaries and supported by the Earl of Chichester, - was presented to Queen Victoria. A meeting was also held in London, - composed of philanthropic gentlemen, presided over by the Earl of - Shaftesbury, when a petition to the Queen embodying the same object - was drawn up; this document I shall refer to more particularly later - on. Lastly, some members of the House of Lords and Commons spoke - against the sale of opium. On the other hand, Christian merchants - established in China, many men of eminence, such as Sir J. F. Davis - and others of the highest respectability, have maintained that the - smoking of this drug has less deletorious effects than the use of - fermented liquors. I will endeavour to explain this question in all - good faith and impartiality. In the maritime towns of India, Malacca, - Java, the Philippines, Borneo, and Sooloo the Chinese are at liberty - to smoke opium where and when they please, and can buy it cheaper than - they can in Canton or Shanghai, not to mention the inland towns: yet - it is a well-known fact that in all these countries, notwithstanding - their unwholesome climates, the opium-smoking Chinese are remarkably - healthy and strong. These very opium smokers are employed as farm - labourers, masons, and porters, enduring great fatigue and performing - the most arduous labours; they have acquired such an excellent - reputation as colonists that efforts have been made during the last - few years to induce them to settle in Lima and Cuba. The percentage of - deaths amongst these people does not exceed the usual rate, and I must - confess that having known numbers of Chinese emigrants in the various - countries I have mentioned, I have never heard of a single death or of - any serious illness having been caused by opium smoking. - - It was only on my first arrival in China that I was made aware of the - dire effects this narcotic is said to produce, and that the vapour - inhaled by opium smokers was designated a poison; _I must add that in - none of the different parts of China which I have visited has it come - to my knowledge that death has resulted from opium smoking_. Having - asked several natives whom I thought worthy of credence whether they - had ever heard of a death having occurred from the habit, they - answered me that it might have happened to a very inordinate smoker, - but only in the event of his being suddenly deprived of the - indulgence. One Chinaman related how he had witnessed such a case. He - had known an inveterate opium smoker who had become extremely poor, - and was found insensible and almost lifeless; some good-natured person - passing by puffed some fumes of opium into his mouth, which - immediately seemed to revive him, and enabled him shortly to smoke a - pipe himself, which most effectually recalled him to life. I admit - that opium is in itself a poison, but let me ask what changes does not - fire produce in the various substances which it consumes? - -I should like to know what does Mr. Storrs Turner think of that. Here is a -highly-educated Spanish gentleman, speaking Chinese well, living amongst -the natives, studying their habits, especially as regards their use of the -opium pipe, declaring that the practice is innocuous. Now, supposing that -instead of smoking opium these Chinese in Malacca, Java, Borneo, and the -Philippines were addicted to the habitual use of spirits, wine, or even -beer, instead of opium, can any intelligent being suppose for a moment -that they would be the patient, strong, healthy, hard-working people that -Don Sinibaldo De Mas found them, and which they still are? - -Let us refer to Mr. W. Donald Spence's testimony as to the _effects_ of -opium. I quote again from his Report of the trade of Ichang for 1881:-- - - As to the effect of this habit on the people, amongst whom it is so - widespread, there is but one opinion. Baron Richthofen, the most - experienced traveller who ever visited Szechuan, after noticing the - extraordinary prevalence of the habit, says:--"In no other province - except Hunan did I find the effects of the use of opium so little - perceptible as in Szechuan." Mr. Colborne Baber, who knows more of the - province and its people than any living Englishman, says: _Nowhere in - China are the people so well off, or so hardy, and nowhere do they - smoke so much opium_. To these names of weight I add my own short - experience. I found the people of Szechuan stout, able-bodied men, - better housed, clad, and fed, and healthier looking than the Chinese - of the Lower Yang-tsze. I did not see amongst them more emaciated - faces and wasted forms than disease causes in all lands. People with - slow wasting diseases such as consumption are, if they smoke opium, - apt to be classed amongst the "ruined victims" of hasty observers, and - amongst the cases of combined debility and opium smoking I saw, some - were, by their own account, _pseudo_-victims of this type. There were - some, too, whose health was completely sapped by smoking combined with - other forms of sensual excess. And no doubt there were others weakened - by excessive smoking simply, for excess in all things has its penalty. - But the general health and well-being of the Szechuan community is - remarkable; to their capacity for work and endurance of hardship, as - well as to the material comforts of life they surround themselves - with, all travellers bear enthusiastic testimony. - -Now, allow me to ask the reader, can he suppose for a moment that if the -people of Szechuan were prone to spirits, or even to beer drinking, in the -same way as they are given to opium smoking, should we have the same -results? Would those people be "so well off and so hardy," so stout, -able-bodied, and so much "better housed, clad, and fed, and healthier -looking than the Chinese of the Lower Yang-tsze?" I think not. What, then, -is the fair conclusion to draw from such a state of things? Why, only that -opium smoking is a harmless if not a beneficial practice, unless when -indulged in to an inordinate extent, which, it is now plain, is entirely -exceptional. I think I am not far from the truth in saying that for one -excessive opium smoker to be met with in China you will find in this -country a hundred cases, at the least, of excessive indulgence in -alcohol--the effects of this being incurable, whilst it is quite otherwise -as regards excessive indulgence in opium. The inference, then, I think, is -that so far as regards any evil effects from opium smoking, they are out -of the range of practical politics and should be relegated to the region -of sentiment alone. - -I will now give you a passage from a valuable work by the learned Dr. J. -L. W. Thudichum, Lecturer to St. George's Hospital,[10] which will throw -a good deal of light upon this part of my subject. At pp. 88 and 89 of the -second volume he says:-- - - The medical uses of opium have been so well known through all - historical times that it is a matter for surprise to find that they - are not better appreciated in the present day. In this, as in many - other matters, we are in fact only gradually emerging from the - condition of those dark times during which, amongst many good things, - the knowledge of opium, for example, was lost.... These and other - considerations led me to look about for a more convenient mode of - producing the effects of morphia without its inconveniences or even - dangers. I know from the experiments of Descharmes and Benard (_Compt. - Rend._, 40, 34) that in opium-smoking a portion of the morphia is - volatilized and undecomposed, and I therefore experimentalized with - the pyrolytic vapours of opium, first upon myself, then upon others; - and when I had made myself fully acquainted with the Chinese method of - using the drug, I came to the conviction that here one of the most - interesting therapeutical problems had been solved in the most - ingenious and at the same time in the most safe manner. I held in my - hand a power well-known and used largely by Eastern races, yet its use - neglected, ignored, denounced, and despised by the entire Western - world. - -In other and non-professional words, Dr. Thudichum has found opium smoking -not only harmless but a valuable curative practice. - -As to Chinese evidence on this question I could, had I thought proper, -have adduced the testimony of some really trustworthy Chinese merchants -and traders, which would have fully borne out all that I have stated as to -the innocuous effects of opium smoking. I have refrained from doing so, -because such evidence, however strong and reliable, would, I feel assured, -be impugned as untrustworthy by the agents of the Anti-Opium Society and -missionaries, who on their part would, no doubt, in the best faith and -with good intentions, I admit, bring out counter testimony of so-called -Christian converts and other natives of a wholly unreliable character. One -of these persons, called Kwong Ki Chiu, styling himself "late a member of -the Chinese Educational Commission in the United States," has written, or -purported to have written, from Hartford, in Connecticut, a letter on this -question to the _London and China Telegraph_. The statements in this -document are exaggerated, misleading, and, in many respects, actually -untrue. I doubt very much if the letter was ever, in fact, written by a -Chinaman at all, and suspect it was produced either here in London by some -agent or advocate of the Anti-Opium Society and forwarded to Mr. Kwong Ki -Chiu for signature, or that it was written by some American missionary. At -any rate, it is plain that the writer has no real knowledge of the subject -of his letter. To prove this is so it is only necessary to refer to one -passage, in which the writer proceeds to show that opium is to a beginner -more alluring than tobacco or spirits. He says:-- - - There is this also to be said as to the difference between the two - stimulants: opium is much the more stimulating, and therefore more - dangerous. It is also much more agreeable and fascinating. Not every - person likes the taste of liquor; the flavour of tobacco is agreeable - to very few persons at first: _but everyone, of whatever nationality, - finds the fragrance of the smoking opium agreeable and tempting, so - that I have no doubt that if opium shops were opened in London as in - China, the habit would soon become prevalent even among Englishmen_. - -Now this is not true. Every foreigner who has lived in China knows it to -be quite the opposite. During my long residence in Hong Kong I have never -known a single instance of an Englishman, or any other foreigner, being an -opium smoker, although I have met with many who had smoked a few pipes by -way of experiment. All have assured me that the vapour was nauseous, and -produced no pleasurable sensations whatever. The fact that Europeans -dislike the fumes of opium, and never indulge in the opium pipe, shows -that Mr. Kwong Ki Chiu, who has doubtless been since his childhood under -missionary tutelage, and therefore interdicted from the use of the drug, -knows nothing reliable upon the subject he writes about so glibly. At a -proper time and place, I should be prepared to treat Mr. Storrs Turner to -such native testimony upon this subject as would make him open his eyes -very wide and put him and his disciples to confusion and flight. - -Let me now give you an extract from a despatch of Sir Henry Pottinger, -formerly Her Majesty's Governor-General and Minister Plenipotentiary in -China, written by him some fifty years ago to the Principal Secretary of -State for Foreign Affairs. It is very important, showing, as it does, the -pains that have been taken by Her Majesty's Government at home and her -representatives in China so long ago to ascertain if there were any truth -in the theory that opium smoking was injurious to the health and morals of -the Chinese:-- - - I cannot admit in any manner the idea adopted by many persons that the - introduction of opium into China is a source of unmitigated evil of - every kind and a cause of misery. Personally, I have been unable to - discover a single case of this kind, although, I admit that, when - abused opium may become most hurtful. Besides, the same remark applies - to every kind of enjoyment when carried to excess; but from personal - observations, since my arrival in China, from information taken upon - all points, and lastly, from what the Mandarins themselves say, I am - convinced that the demoralization and ruin which some persons - attribute to the use of opium, arise more likely from imperfect - knowledge of the subject and exaggeration, and that not one-hundredth - part of the evil arises in China from opium smoking, which one sees - daily arising in England as well as in India from the use of ardent - spirits so largely taken in excess in those countries. - -I may now appropriately give you the promised extract from De Quincey's -_Confessions_. I recommend it to the notice of Sir Wilfrid Lawson. The -distinction which he draws between alcoholic intoxication and the -excitement produced by opium eating is instructive and entertaining. He -says:-- - - Two of these tendencies I will mention as diagnostic, or - characteristic and inseparable marks of ordinary alcoholic - intoxication, but which no excess in the use of opium ever develops. - One is the loss of self-command, in relation to all one's acts and - purposes, which steals gradually (though with varying degrees of - speed) over _all_ persons indiscriminately when indulging in wine or - distilled liquors beyond a certain limit. The tongue and other organs - become unmanageable: the intoxicated man speaks inarticulately; and, - with regard to certain words, makes efforts ludicrously earnest yet - oftentimes unavailing, to utter them. The eyes are bewildered, and see - double; grasping too little, and too much. The hand aims awry. The - legs stumble and lose their power of _concurrent_ action. To this - result _all_ people tend, though by varying rates of acceleration. - Secondly, as another characteristic, it may be noticed that, in - alcoholic intoxication, the movement is always along a kind of arch; - the drinker rises through continual ascents to a summit or _apex_, - from which he descends through corresponding steps of declension. - There is a crowning point in the movement upwards, which once attained - cannot be renewed; and it is the blind, unconscious, but always - unsuccessful effort of the obstinate drinker to restore this supreme - altitude of enjoyment which tempts him into excesses that become - dangerous. After reaching this _acme_ of genial pleasure, it is a mere - necessity of the case to sink through corresponding stages of - collapse. Some people have maintained, in my hearing, that they had - been drunk upon green tea; and a medical student in London, for whose - knowledge in his profession I have reason to feel great respect, - assured me, the other day, that a patient, in recovering from an - illness, had got drunk on a beef-steak. All turns, in fact, upon a - rigorous definition of intoxication. - - Having dwelt so much on this first and leading error in respect to - opium, I shall notice briefly a second and a third; which are, that - the elevation of spirits produced by opium is necessarily followed by - a proportionate depression, and that the natural and even immediate - consequence of opium is torpor and stagnation, animal as well as - mental. The first of these errors I shall content myself with simply - denying; assuring my reader, that for ten years, during which I took - opium, not regularly, but intermittingly, the day succeeding to that - on which I allowed myself this luxury was always a day of unusually - good spirits. - - With respect to the torpor supposed to follow, or rather (if we were - to credit the numerous pictures of Turkish opium-eaters) to accompany, - the practice of opium-eating, I deny that also. Certainly, opium is - classed under the head of narcotics, and some such effect it may - produce in the end; but the primary effects of opium are always, and - in the highest degree, to excite and stimulate the system. This first - stage of its action always lasted with me, during my novitiate, for - upwards of eight hours; so that it must be the fault of the - opium-eater himself, if he does not so time his exhibition of the - dose, as that the whole weight of its narcotic influence may descend - upon his sleep. - - First, then, it is not so much affirmed, as taken for granted, by all - who ever mention opium, formally or incidentally, that it does or can - produce intoxication. Now, reader, assure yourself, _meo periculo_, - that no quantity of opium ever did, or could, intoxicate. As to the - tincture of opium (commonly called laudanum), _that_ might certainly - intoxicate, if a man could bear to take enough of it; but why? Because - it contains so much proof spirits of wine, and not because it contains - so much opium. But crude opium, I affirm peremptorily, is incapable of - producing any state of body at all resembling that which is produced - by alcohol; and not in _degree_ only incapable, but even in _kind_; it - is not in the quantity of its effects merely, but in the quality, that - it differs altogether. The pleasure given by wine is always rapidly - mounting, and tending to a crisis, after which as rapidly it declines; - that from opium, when once generated, is stationary for eight or ten - hours: the first, to borrow a technical distinction from medicine, is - a case of acute, the second of chronic, pleasure; the one is a - flickering flame, the other a steady and equable glow. But the main - distinction lies in this--that, whereas wine disorders the mental - faculties, opium, on the contrary (if taken in a proper manner), - introduces amongst them the most exquisite order, legislation, and - harmony. Wine robs a man of his self-possession; opium sustains and - reinforces it. Wine unsettles the judgment, and gives a preternatural - brightness and a vivid exaltation to the contempts and the - admirations, to the loves and the hatreds, of the drinker; opium, on - the contrary, communicates serenity and equipoise to all the - faculties, active or passive; and, with respect to the temper and - moral feelings in general, it gives simply that sort of vital warmth - which is approved by the judgment, and which would probably always - accompany a bodily constitution of primeval or antediluvian health. - Thus, for instance, opium, like wine, gives an expansion to the heart - and the benevolent affections; but, then, with this remarkable - difference, that in the sudden development of kind-heartedness which - accompanies inebriation, there is always more or less of a maudlin and - a transitory character, which exposes it to the contempt of the - bystander. Men shake hands, swear eternal friendship, and shed - tears--no mortal knows why; and the animal nature is clearly - uppermost. But the expansion of the benigner feelings incident to - opium is no febrile access, no fugitive paroxysm; it is a healthy - restoration to that state which the mind would naturally recover upon - the removal of any deep-seated irritation from pain that had disturbed - and quarrelled with the impulses of a heart originally just and good. - True it is, that even wine, up to a certain point, and with certain - men, rather tends to exalt and to steady the intellect; I myself, who - have never been a great wine-drinker, used to find that half-a-dozen - glasses of wine advantageously affected the faculties, brightened and - intensified the consciousness, and gave to the mind a feeling of being - "ponderibus librata suis," and certainly it is most absurdly said, in - popular language, of any man, that he is _disguised_ in liquor; for, - on the contrary, most men are disguised by sobriety, and exceedingly - disguised; and it is when they are drinking that men display - themselves in their true complexion of character; which surely is not - disguising themselves. But still, wine constantly leads a man to the - brink of absurdity and extravagance; and, beyond a certain point, it - is sure to volatilise and to disperse the intellectual energies; - whereas opium always seems to compose what had been agitated and to - concentrate what had been distracted. In short, to sum up all in one - word, a man who is inebriated, or tending to inebriation, is, and - feels that he is, in a condition which calls up into supremacy the - merely human, too often the brutal, part of his nature; but the - opium-eater (I speak of him simply _as_ such, and assume that he is in - a normal state of health) feels that the diviner part of his nature is - paramount--that is, the moral affections are in a state of cloudless - serenity; and high over all the great light of the majestic intellect. - - This is the doctrine of the true church on the subject of opium, of - which church I acknowledge myself to be the Pope (consequently - infallible), and self-appointed _legate a latere_ to all degrees of - latitude and longitude. But then it is to be recollected that I speak - from the ground of a large and profound personal experience, whereas - most of the unscientific authors who have at all treated of opium, and - even of those who have written professionally on the _materia medica_, - make it evident, by the horror they express of it, that their - experimental knowledge of its action is none at all. - -I have now dealt with fallacies 1, 2, 3, and 5. The fourth Mr. Turner -gravely states in his book--and I am perfectly sure it is accepted as -seriously by his fellowers, _that the supply of opium regulates the -demand, and not the demand the supply_. He says at pp. 152, 153:-- - - Defenders of the [opium] policy vainly strive to shelter it behind the - ordinary operation of the trade laws of demand and supply. The - operation of these economic laws does not divest of responsibility - those who set them in motion at either end; for though it would be - absurd to speak of supply as alone creative of demand, _there is no - question but that an abundant and constantly sustained supply - increases demand whenever the article is not one of absolute - necessity_. When silk came by caravans across Central Asia, and a - single robe was worth its weight in gold in Europe, the shining fabric - was reserved for emperors and nobles, and no demand could be said to - exist for it among common people, whereas now the abundant supply - creates a demand among all classes but the very poorest. The - maid-servant who covets a silk dress may be literally said to have had - the demand _created_ in her case, by the ample supply of the material - which places it constantly before her eyes and renders it impossible - for her to obtain it. Only a few years ago there was no demand for - newspapers amongst multitudes who are now daily or weekly purchasers - of them. In this case the supply of penny and halfpenny journals may - be fairly said to have almost alone created the demand. Such - illustrations might be indefinitely multiplied. - -After that it may be said that the Birmingham jewellers and Manchester -merchants have only to send out to China any amount they please of their -wares, and they will find a ready market, the more the merrier. All their -goods will be taken off their hands; they will only have to take care that -the prices shall not be too exorbitant, for otherwise, as in the case of -the maid-servant, though the Chinese working classes may have helped to -_create_ the demand, they would be unable to avail themselves of the -supply. If that doctrine were sound, a mercantile firm could create as -extensive a trade as it desired, and that, too, in any part of the world. -Instead of sending out fifty thousand pounds worth this year, as it did -last, it would have only to export ten times the amount, and still the -demand would continue. The fact is, as every man well knows who is not -blinded by enthusiasm and looks at the subject by the light of cool reason -and common sense, that the effect of sending to China or elsewhere an -excessive quantity of merchandise, even though such merchandise were in -request there, would have the effect of glutting the market. It is only -where the demand exists, and the desire to possess the article, or where -the people want a particular class of thing, that the goods can be readily -and profitably disposed of. I am sure that if we sent double the quantity -of opium that we do to China, or, indeed, three times the amount, it would -be readily bought up by the natives, because there is a great demand there -for Indian opium, owing to its superior strength and better flavour. And -it must be remembered that China is a vast empire, and that the natives -cannot get as much of the Indian drug as they want. I had an opportunity -recently of speaking to a German gentleman established here in London, who -has been many years in the opium trade generally, who has made opium quite -a study, tasting and smelling it, as wine merchants do their wine, and he -declares that Indian opium has a perfume and aroma that is not found in -the Chinese or Persian drug, and that, in fact, the smell of the one is -comparatively agreeable, while that of the others is offensive. This, I -believe, is one of the reasons for the Chinese liking Indian opium. For my -own part I must say, that much as I dislike the odour of tobacco, I have a -greater aversion still to the effluvium of opium in any form or shape, and -I think this is also the case with all Europeans. In fact, opium smoking -is a practice peculiar to China. - -Nothing proves this so completely as the correspondence between Sir Robert -Hart and his various Sub-Commissioners of Customs, as set out in the -Yellow-Book to which I have so often referred. These Commissioners say -that the Indian drug is almost invariably used to mix with the Chinese -article to flavour and make it, so to speak, the more palatable. The -proposition which Mr. Storrs Turner lays down is simply preposterous, and -cannot for a moment be sustained. I do not wish to utter an offensive word -towards that gentleman personally, whose talents and energy are -unquestionable, and whom I hold in great esteem. Upon any subject but -opium he would be incapable of writing anything but sound sense, but -having opium on the brain, he starts theories that are wholly -unsustainable, which, I am sorry to say, his devoted followers accept as -gospel. But to return to the theory that supply creates the demand. By way -of illustration, Mr. Turner goes on to show that, previous to the removal -of the duty on newspapers, there were very few in the country, but that -the moment the duty was taken off, they multiplied, which he considers -proof that in this case the supply created the demand. That is most -fallacious. The demand for newspapers always existed, but, unfortunately, -owing to the oppressive taxes upon knowledge to which the press in former -times was subjected, the supply was limited. In those days even a weekly -newspaper was a great undertaking. An enterprising man in a country town -might start such a paper, but after a lingering existence it was almost -sure to die, not for want of readers, but because it was so heavily taxed -that readers could not afford to buy it, the price then being necessarily -high. First there was a penny duty on each copy of the newspaper. Next -there was a duty of so much the pound upon the raw material, which had to -be paid before it left the mill; and then there was a further duty upon -every advertisement; so that the unfortunate newspaper proprietor was met -with exactions on every side. A copy, even though an old one, of the -_Times_, or of any of the London morning papers, was in former days -eagerly sought for. In his "Deserted Village," Goldsmith, describing the -village ale-house, says:-- - - Where village statesmen talked with wit profound, - And news much older than their ale went round. - -And one can imagine an eager group in that ale-house trying to get a -glimpse of a London newspaper over the shoulders of the privileged holder. -But when these oppressive duties were removed, a different state of things -prevailed. The cost of starting and manufacturing a newspaper was reduced -to about one-fifth of what it was formerly. Every considerable town had -its daily and its weekly newspaper, because the demand had always existed, -whilst, owing to these prohibitive taxes, there was no supply. The craving -for news had always been present, and the moment these prohibitive duties -were struck off, the ambitious editor, or proprietor, saw his opportunity -and started a paper, not because the supply would create a demand, but -because he knew the demand already existed, and he printed just as many as -he thought he would find readers for, and no more. Had he printed more -than was required the excess would have lain on his hands as so much waste -paper. But according to Mr. Turner's theory, the more newspapers he -printed the more he would have sold! It will at once be recognised that -this theory of supply and demand is simply absurd. If it could be shown to -hold water for a moment, China, and other countries also, would be -inundated with articles that never were seen there before. There would be -no reason why China should not be largely supplied with ladies' bonnets -and satin shoes, which, we know, might lie there for a thousand years and -never be used. I have brought before you this notable theory of Mr. Storrs -Turner's, to show you the utterly worthless kind of arguments with which -the British public have been supplied, in order to support the silly, -unfounded, and most mischievous agitation against the Indo-China opium -trade. - -The next fallacy is number six, namely: _that all, or nearly all, who -smoke opium are either inordinate smokers or necessarily in the way of -becoming so; and that once the custom has been commenced it cannot be -dropped, and that the consumption daily increases_. That is not so at all. -It is altogether exceptional to find an inordinate opium smoker; my -reasons for saying so I have already given. I am supported in those views -by every English resident in China, amongst them by Dr. Ayres, whose -authority is simply unquestionable, and whose opinion on the point I have -set out at page 7. I have known hundreds of men who were in the daily -habit of smoking opium after business hours, and they never showed any -decadence whatever. Opium smoking is never practised during business -hours, except by very aged people or the criminal classes. This is an -absolute fact. The Chinese are too wise and thrifty to while away their -time in such luxurious practices during working hours. The opium pipe, as -a rule, is indulged in more moderately than wine or cigars are with us, -the Chinese being so extremely abstemious in their habits. I never saw any -such instances of over-indulgence as Mr. Turner alleges, and I could get -hundreds of European witnesses out in China and here in London who would -depose to the same fact. Frequently have I compared the small shop-keeping -and working people of China with the same classes here at home as regards -sobriety, industry, and frugality, and always, I regret to say, in favour -of the Chinese. - -It is absolutely untrue, as put forward by the Anti-Opium Society and -their secretary, Mr. Turner, that opium is so fascinating that, once a man -begins to use it, he cannot leave it off; natives will smoke it, on and -off, for two or three days, and not smoke it again for a week or more; but -the truth is, the habit is a pleasant and beneficial one, and few who can -afford it desire to discontinue smoking. The fact undoubtedly is, that if -opium smoking were productive of the terrible results that the -missionaries and the Anti-Opium Society allege, China would not be the -densely-populated country that it now actually is. China could not have -held its own as it has done so long and so successfully had all the people -been addicted to such a vice as dram drinking. The true way to look at -this aspect of the case is to suppose for a moment that, instead of being -"opium sots," as Mr. Storrs Turner puts it, the Chinese, "everywhere in -China, in all climates and all soils, in every variety of condition and -circumstance throughout the vast Empire," to adopt that gentleman's own -language, drank spirits freely. Should we then have the Chinese the -hard-working, industrious, thrifty, frugal people that we find them? I -trow not. Intemperance carries with it the destruction of its votaries, -but no baneful consequences attend opium smoking. Some thirty years ago, -as Sir Rutherford Alcock tells us, an American missionary declared that -there were twenty millions of opium smokers in China--all, no doubt, -induced to that immorality by the British Government and people--and that -two millions were dying annually from the effects of the vice! This -monstrous tale was implicitly believed in by Lords Shaftesbury and -Chichester. Yet we now have a Chinese official, Sir Robert Hart, -deliberately telling the Government of China, in his official Yellow Book, -that there are but two millions of smokers in the whole Empire; that -Indian opium supplies but a moderate quantity of the drug to but half of -that number; and that neither the health, wealth, nor prosperity of the -people suffers in consequence. - -This is what Don Sinibaldo de Mas says upon the subject:-- - - The most extraordinary of the advocates of the opium trade is the Earl - of Shaftesbury, President of the Committee organized in London for the - suppression of the traffic. I have not the slightest doubt as to the - _bona fides_ and excellent heart of the noble lord. There is something - grand and generous in entering the lists for the welfare and - protection of a distant and foreign nation, and manfully fighting for - it against the interests of one's own country and one's native land. I - sincerely admire men of such mettle and the country which can produce - them, but I regret that Lord Shaftesbury did not act with greater - caution, and that before entering upon this question he had not - studied it more carefully; especially do I regret that he did not - adopt a more moderate and dignified tone in the expression of his - opinions. Had he done so, he would have saved himself from the - reproach of having lent his name and sanction to a document disfigured - by statistical errors, some of which are opposed to common sense, and - also of having given gratuitous and undeserved insults to others who - differed from his opinions. - - He argues in his statement to the Queen's Government that opium - smoking annually kills two millions of people in China. How is it - possible that the noble Earl could for a moment imagine that every - year so many human beings voluntarily commit suicide! Two millions of - adults who destroy themselves to enjoy a pleasure! Does it not strike - His Lordship how absurd is such an antithesis as pleasure and death? - Can he believe that human nature in China is different to what it is - in Europe? Is it logical to give publicity to such strange assertions - without adducing the slightest proofs. If we inquire into the - accusations brought forward against the merchants and growers of - opium, we find the same discrepancy and the same injustice. It is a - mistake to imagine that the English alone trade in opium, for all - foreigners alike, especially the Americans, introduce and sell it. - - Lord Shaftesbury, in speaking of the value of the opium imported into - China, says that the merchants "rob" the Chinese. I scarcely know - which is the funnier, the idea expressed by the noble Earl, or the way - in which he expresses it. I can assure His Lordship that amongst the - merchants who make opium their business there are men of the highest - integrity, perfect and most accomplished gentlemen, who not only are - incapable of "stealing" anything, but who are equal to any living men - in noble sentiments, justice, and practical benevolence; I need only - mention one man, and do so because he is not now living. I refer to - the late Mr. Launcelot Dent, who, during a most trying and critical - time when this question first arose, was considered one of the most - interested men in the opium trade.... Everyone who has been in China - knows the generosity and the charity for which Mr. Launcelot Dent was - renowned. Having on one occasion travelled from India to Europe with - him, I saw many of his good deeds, but will only mention one, so as - not to wander too far from my subject. A Catholic missionary was - amongst the steerage passengers; Mr. Dent having seen this, without - saying a word to any person on the subject, took a berth for him in - the first cabin and paid the difference, begging me to ask him to take - possession. The missionary expressed much gratitude, but said that as - he had not a sufficient change of linen he would not feel at home in - the state room, especially as there were lady passengers. Mr. Dent - understood the difficulty, and having casually heard that the - clergymen intended to proceed to Jerusalem, begged of him to accept - the sum which the saloon cabin would have cost,[11] which the poor - missionary accepted with heartfelt thanks. - -I should like to know what Mr. Storrs Turner thinks of that. He objects to -British testimony, except when it coincides with his own views. There is -the evidence of a Spanish nobleman, a scholar, a traveller, and an -accomplished diplomatist, for him! I am afraid he will find the foreign -testimony quite as unpalatable as the home article. This Mr. Launcelot -Dent, by the way, was a member of the eminent firm of Dent and Co.--since -dissolved--which, Mr. Turner says, in his article in the _Nineteenth -Century_, were "legally smugglers." - -The next fallacy, number seven, is _that the Chinese Government is, or -ever was, anxious to put a stop to or check the use of opium amongst the -people of China_. That is one of the accepted propositions or dogmas of -the Anti-Opium people. There is another fallacy, number ten, which I will -dispose of at the same time. It is _that the opposition of the Chinese -officials to the introduction of opium into China arose from moral -causes_. There never was anything more fallacious or more distinctly -untrue than that the Chinese Government is, or ever was, anxious to put a -stop to the trade upon moral grounds. The sole object of the Government of -China in objecting to the importation of Indian opium into the country, as -I have stated already, and as everybody except the infatuated votaries of -the Anti-Opium Society believes, was to protect the native drug, to -prevent bullion from leaving the country, and generally to exclude foreign -goods. This Don Sinibaldo de Mas points out in his book written some five -and twenty years ago. - -If the Chinese Government really wanted to put a stop to or check the use -of opium, they would begin by doing so themselves. They would first stop -the cultivation of the poppy in their own country. We have it on the high -authority of Sir Robert Hart, that the drug was grown and used in China -long before foreigners introduced any there. The Chinese are emphatically -a law-abiding people, and if the Chinese Government really wished to put a -stop to the opium culture, they could do so without any difficulty, just -as our Government has put down tobacco culture in the United Kingdom. I -suppose that in Cornwall and Devon, and in some parts of Ireland--the -golden vein, for instance--tobacco could be grown most profitably. It -could be cultivated also in the Isle of Wight, and in many other parts of -the country. Why, then, is it not grown here? Simply because it is illegal -to do so, and the Government is strong enough to enforce the law. If a -farmer in Ireland or in England were to sow tobacco, the fact would be -soon discovered, and it would be summarily stopped. The same thing could -be done with even greater facility in China. Why, then, does not the -Government of China suppress the cultivation of the poppy there? Simply -because it does not desire to do so, because it derives a large revenue -from opium, both native and foreign, and because the smoking of the drug -is an ancient custom amongst the people, known by long experience to be -harmless, if not beneficial. If it were possible to put down opium smoking -in China, the people would assuredly resort to sam-shu, already so -abundant and cheap, and that would indeed cause China's decadence: for -then we should have the working classes there indulging in spirits, when -the quarrellings, outrages, and kicking of wives to death--which Mr. -Turner admits are never the result of opium smoking--would ensue. I only -wish we could turn our drunkards into opium smokers. If the change would -only save those wretched wives and their helpless children from -ill-treatment by their husbands and fathers, we should have secured one -valuable end. No Government will attempt to interfere with the fixed -habits of the people, especially where those habits have existed many -centuries, if not thousands of years, and where they are known to be not -injurious to themselves or the safety and stability of the State, and to -be, in fact, harmless. We have it from Sir Robert Hart's book, that as far -as can be ascertained, the probability is that there is about the same -quantity of the drug grown in China as is imported into it. That is -admittedly a mere approximation, and Sir Robert Hart gives no data for it, -save the returns of his Sub-Commissioners, each of which differs from the -other, and which he admits are not reliable. The information upon which -these Commissioners made up their returns is simply the gossip collected -by them at the Treaty Ports of China: no doubt the best, and, indeed, the -only, information which they could procure. But with the light thrown upon -the subject by Messrs. Baber and Spence, and numerous other independent -authorities, no one can doubt that there is at least three times the -quantity produced in China that is imported from abroad. - -Both the Customs and Consular reports on trade in China for the year 1880 -as well as 1881 bear testimony to the ever-increasing production of opium -in the northern and western provinces of China, and missionaries and -others who have recently made journeys in the interior report the poppy -crops to be much larger than before the Imperial decree purporting to -prohibit its cultivation. The report of the Customs' Assistant-in-charge -at Ichang for 1880 shows that the average annual import of the Indian drug -at that port does not exceed ten pikuls, while the native production in -the Ichang Prefecture is estimated to be over one thousand pikuls per -annum. Mr. W. Donald Spence, in his report on trade for 1880, gives an -estimate of the total crop of opium raised in Western China in 1880, which -is as follows:--Western Hupeh, two thousand pikuls; Eastern Szechuan, -forty-five thousand pikuls; Yunnan, forty-thousand pikuls; and Kweichow, -ten thousand pikuls; giving a total of ninety-seven thousand pikuls--as -much, in fact, for these districts as the whole amount of Indian opium -imported into China for that year. What his report for 1881 is I have -already shown you. This, it must be borne in mind, is the production of -Western China only. In Shantung, Chihli, the inland provinces, and -Manchuria it is extensively grown, and in all the other provinces smaller -quantities of the drug are produced. That nothing is being done to check -this widespread cultivation of the poppy is notorious. Messrs. Soltan and -Stevenson, who passed through Yunnan last year on their way from Bhamo to -Chingkiang, described the country as resembling "a sea of poppy"; and Mr. -Spence tells us that in 1880 and 1881 a greater breadth of land was sown -with poppies in Western Hupeh than in the previous years. In Manchuria, -which is a large territory forming part of the empire to the north-east of -China, and in the northern provinces of China proper, there was also a -general increase in the area under poppy cultivation. No efforts, in fact, -are being made to stop it. On this subject Mr. Spence, in his report for -1880, remarks:-- - - In Western Hupeh there has been no interference with opium farmers or - opium cultivation by the officials, nor, as far as I have been able to - ascertain, by any of the authorities of the provinces named in this - report. In Yunnan it receives direct official encouragement, and in - all the cultivation is free. Its production is regarded as a fertile - source of revenue to the exchequer, of pelf to officials and - smugglers, of profit to farmers and merchants, and of pleasure to all. - Nearly everybody smokes, and nearly everybody smuggles it about the - country when he can; and in this matter there is no difference between - rich and poor, lettered and unlettered, governing and governed. - -After this testimony, which is corroborated in the strongest manner by -many other and equally disinterested persons, who can pretend to say that -the Chinese Government has any real desire to put down the poppy -cultivation? - -Let us now see what Don Sinibaldo de Mas has to say upon this point. -Having gone into the history of the Indo-Chinese opium trade, and shown -that the sole object of the Chinese Government in objecting to that trade -was to prevent bullion from leaving the country, he says:-- - - It is totally wrong to suppose that the Mandarins are anxious to - prevent the introduction of opium into the country. Many of these - Mandarins smoke it; most of them, if not all, accept presents and - close their eyes at opium smuggling. With the exception of the famous - Lin-tsi-su and a few others who reside at Court, all the others, and I - think even Ki-Ying himself, have profited by this illegal traffic. Sir - I. F. Davis when in China as Minister Plenipotentiary frequently - called Ki-Ying's attention to the smuggling that was being carried on - under the connivance and encouragement of rural officials. - -I referred in my last lecture to a valuable paper read by Sir Rutherford -Alcock at a recent meeting of the Society of Arts. Everybody knows this -gentleman's abilities and his high character, which afford the most -perfect assurance that he would be incapable of asserting anything that he -did not know from his own experience, or from unquestionable sources, to -be true. He speaks also with authority. He may be taken to be, therefore, -a perfectly unbiassed witness. He has no personal interest in the -question, and there is no reason why he should state anything but what is -perfectly accurate. He says, in the paper I have mentioned:-- - - Whatever may have been the motive or true cause, about which there - hangs considerable doubt, it is certain that neither in the first - edicts of 1793-6, nor as late as 1832-4, when several Imperial edicts - were issued against the introduction of opium from abroad, no - reference whatever is made to the _moral ground_ of prohibition, so - ostentatiously paraded in later issues, and notably in Li Hung Chang's - letter to the Anglo-Opium Society last July. The reasons exclusively - put forward in the first of these edicts (in 1793) were that "It - wasted the time and property of the people of the Inner Land, leading - them to exchange their silver and commodities for the vile dirt of the - foreigner." And as late as 1836, when memorials were presented to the - Emperor, showing the connection of the opium trade with the - exportation of sycee, they generally regarded the question in a - political and financial character, rather than a moral light; and - certainly, in several edicts issued between 1836 and 1839, when Lin - made his grand _coup_, there is little, if any, reference to the evils - of opium smoking, but very clear language as to the exportation of - bullion. When we reflect that this "vile dirt," as I will presently - show, was being extensively cultivated in the provinces of China, and - largely consumed by his own subjects, we may be permitted to question - whether the balance of trade turned by the large importation of opium, - and the leakage of the sycee silver, so emphatically and angrily - pointed to in after years, was not the leading motive for the - prohibition of the foreign drug. We have it on authority, that "From - the commencement of the commercial intercourse down to 1828-29 the - balance of trade had always been in favour of the Chinese, and great - quantities of bullion accumulated in China. Since that date the - balance of trade had been in the opposite direction, and bullion began - to flow out of China. As silver became more scarce, it naturally rose - in value, and the copper currency of the realm (and the only one), - already depreciated by means of over-issues and mixture of foreign - coin of an inferior standard, appeared to suffer depreciation when - compared with its nominal equivalent in sycee; and the effects of this - change fell heavily upon a large and important class of Government - officers, and ultimately upon the revenue itself. Memorials were - presented to the Emperor on the subject, and the export of sycee was - prohibited." - -How, after that, it can be said for a moment that the Chinese Government -was actuated by moral considerations, or was really anxious to put down -opium smoking or opium culture, I cannot conceive. The truth is, and it is -so palpable that it really seems to me to require no advocacy whatever, -that the Government, as Sir Rutherford Alcock and Don Sinibaldo so -strongly put it, does not like to see so much bullion leaving the country. - -Now, Sir Rutherford Alcock, unlike the missionaries and the agents of the -Anti-Opium Society, has acquired his knowledge of opium and the opium -trade in the regular course of his ordinary duties, and has necessarily, -therefore, acquired an authentic knowledge of the subject. His testimony, -like that of Messrs. Spence, Baber, and a host of other unimpeachable -witnesses, comes under the head of the "best evidence." But it is said of -Sir Rutherford by the agents of the Anti-Opium Society, with the view of -discrediting his testimony, that he has changed his opinions; that -formerly he was opposed to the trade which he now defends. I do not -believe there is any solid truth in this assertion; but if there is, what -does the fact prove? Why, simply nothing at all. Show me the public man -who during the past forty or fifty years has not altered or modified his -opinions more or less. Sir Robert Peel, one of the greatest of modern -statesmen, when he was past sixty years of age, changed the opinions he -had held all his life upon free trade. Was he right or wrong in doing so? -If Sir Rutherford Alcock had at an earlier period of his life held -different opinions to those he now holds on the Indo-Chinese opium trade, -it is not unreasonable that on a closer study of the subject, and by the -strong light that has been thrown upon it within the past ten or fifteen -years, he should have modified or even altogether changed his opinions. -This is, again, another instance of the desperate efforts of the -Anti-Opium advocates to hold their ground and maintain their unfounded and -untenable theories. - -The Government of China have always been protectionists in the strictest -sense of the term. Their idea has been that China can support itself; that -the people can provide themselves with everything they want, and need -nothing from abroad. They will sell the foreigner as much of their produce -as he wishes to buy, and cheerfully take his gold in exchange, but they -will not buy from him if they can help doing so. This is the real end they -are aiming at; but they would not be at all so persistent, or put their -case so much forward as they do, were it not for the attitude taken up by -the missionaries and that most mischievous, intermeddling, un-English -confederacy the Anti-Opium Society, as revealed to them by _The Friend of -China_. The Government of China have in their employment Chinese clerks -and interpreters who are excellent English scholars. These men explain -everything about the objects of the Anti-Opium Society, and, whilst the -Mandarins laugh at the absurdities put forward by that association, they -are still quite ready to accept the Society as their ally. Hence Li Hung -Chang's letter to Mr. Storrs Turner, mentioned in Sir Rutherford Alcock's -paper; one would almost fancy that this letter had been written for Li by -Mr. Storrs Turner himself. No one knew better than Li Hung Chang that this -letter was one tissue of hypocrisy and mendacity. But, stay, there is one -part of it that is certainly true. Li says to Mr. Turner: "_Your Society -has long been known to me and many of my countrymen_." There can be no -doubt of the fact. Whilst despising Mr. Storrs Turner and his Society, and -cordially hating him and his fellow missionaries, Li Hung Chang and his -friends play into their hands and humour them in this matter to the top of -their bent. Their real object is to get rid of the Indian opium if they -can; or, if they cannot, to have a higher duty fixed upon it, so as to -reduce its supply; or, at all events, to augment their own revenues by the -higher duty. As matters stand at present, the Chinese Government obtains a -net revenue of over two million pounds sterling from the Indian drug, and -they derive, perhaps, half that amount from the duty on the home-grown -article. They have revenue cruisers constantly watching to put down opium -smuggling, and they adopt other rigid steps to prevent the practice; but -it is still carried on to a considerable extent, not by Englishmen or -other foreigners, mark you, but by their own countrymen. Very great -misconception, I may here say, prevails upon this point artfully spread -abroad by agents here of the Anti-Opium Society, but I shall sweep this -away before I close. The Chinese Government is quite willing to perpetuate -the Indo-China opium trade if it can only get the duty raised to suit its -purpose. Therein lies their whole object. Mr. Turner speaks about the -paternal character of the Chinese Government. In the _Peking -Gazette_--which is in some respects analogous to the _London -Gazette_--Imperial decrees are from time to time published. Amongst -others, there will appear proclamations addressed to the people, warning -them to abstain from this and that evil practice. But they have not the -least effect, nor is it expected that they will have effect. They are mere -shams, and are not heeded; yet they please the people. These proclamations -or injunctions are never seriously intended, and Mr. Turner knows this -perfectly well. Dr. Wells Williams mentions in his book that two thousand -years before Christ the manufacture of spirits was forbidden in China; yet -the trade still flourishes there. Spirits are still drunk in moderation -throughout China, just as opium is smoked. - -Sir R. Hart says that "Native opium was known, produced, and used long -before any Europeans began the sale of the foreign drug along the coast." -Mr. Watters, one of Her Majesty's Consuls in China, states that the poppy -is largely cultivated throughout Western China; Mr. Colborne Baber, who -has travelled through nearly the whole of China, not only confirms Mr. -Watters' statement, but says that from his own experience one-third of the -province of Yunnan is under opium culture. Mr. W. Donald Spence and a host -of others thoroughly well informed upon the question also give the -strongest corroborative testimony. Now, in the face of the statements of -such witnesses as these, can you credit for a moment Mr. Storrs Turner -when he says--believing only what he wishes to be true, but having no data -whatever for his statements--that it is only recently that opium has been -cultivated in China? Of all the existing nations of Asia, the only one -that can now be described as civilized is China; and this is the country -where Mr. Turner, because it suits his purpose, tells us that this -invaluable drug has been only _recently_ known. - -China may be said to be the garden of Asia. Opium has been grown -throughout the fertile plains of that immense continent for thousands of -years, and is it likely that the oldest and most civilized of all Asiatic -nations would be the last to introduce into their country the culture of -that drug to whose curative properties Mr. Storrs Turner bears such strong -testimony in the opening chapter of his book? The only reason that -gentleman could have had for making such a statement is simply, as I have -already intimated, to induce his readers to believe that the Chinese would -not have cultivated the drug, nor have used it for smoking, were it not -for the importation of Indian opium into China. Upon this part of my -subject, I may mention that a book has been written by a very learned man, -Dr. W. A. P. Martin, President of the Tungwen College at Peking, who shows -that China was the cradle of Alchemy, which was known there five hundred -years before it was ever heard of in Europe. Are these a people likely to -be ignorant of this indispensable medicine, as Mr. Turner characterizes -it, or to neglect its cultivation throughout their fertile country? I may -add that all, or nearly all, the medicines of the British Pharmacopoeia, -and a great many more also, have been known to the Chinese for hundreds, -if not thousands, of years. - -The eighth fallacy is, _that the British merchants in China are making -large fortunes by opium_. I have already, I think, pretty well disposed of -this, and I need not say much more upon the subject now. One of the great -points of the Anti-Opium Society and its supporters seems to be that the -British merchants are birds of prey, a set of rapacious and ravenous -creatures, without the feelings of humanity in their breasts, who have -gone out to China to make princely fortunes, after the manner of that -apochryphal youth who, on his departure from the paternal roof, is said to -have received this admonition from his canny sire, "Mak money, ma -boy--honestly if you can--but mak money"; that thus animated the British -merchant arrives in China like a hawk amid a flock of pigeons, and helps -himself to one of those princely acquisitions, which, to Mr. Storrs -Turner, seem to be as plentiful as blackberries in the flowery land, and -who, after having helped to demoralise and ruin the nation, gracefully -returns home to enjoy his ill-gotten gains. The best answer to this is the -amicable relations that now exist and have always existed between the -natives and these merchants. The British merchants, as a body, have no -interest in the opium trade; nor are any of them engaged in smuggling or -in any practices detrimental to the natives of China. In point of -education, thorough mercantile knowledge, strict integrity, and sound -practical Christianity, these gentlemen are second to no other body of men -in the British Empire. - -Another fallacy, or false assumption, number nine, which the advocates of -the Anti-Opium Society are fond of propagating, and which is as fully -believed in by themselves as by their deluded followers, is--_that the -discontinuance of the supply of opium from India would stop or check the -practice of opium smoking_. They fully believe that if they could only -succeed in suppressing the Indo-China opium trade they would deal such a -death-blow to this ancient custom, which prevails more or less over the -eighteen provinces of the Chinese empire, that we should in a very short -time hear of there being no opium smoking at all in China! That is as -great a delusion as was ever indulged in. Imagine a person saying that if -we ceased to ship beer, stout, and whiskey to Denmark, France, or Italy, -we should check the consumption of brandy or other alcoholic liquors -throughout Europe, and you have a pretty fair parallel to this assumption. - -Suppose it were possible to stop the supply of opium from British India, -and that such stoppage had in fact taken place, the result would be that -the Chinese would increase the cultivation of the poppy in their own -country still more than they have already done, and the Indian drug known -as "Malwa opium" would still continue to be imported into China, for the -British Government, even if desirous to do so, could not prohibit its -manufacture and exportation. The Portuguese, who were the first to import -Indian opium into China, would cultivate the drug, not only in their -Indian possession of Goa, but in Africa, where they have colonies. -Further, they would encourage its increased cultivation in the native -states of India, which produce the Malwa opium, and which, as I have just -said, we could not prevent. A great stimulus would also be given to the -cultivation of Persian opium. Hear, how I am borne out by Don Sinibaldo de -Mas, an authentic and thoroughly impartial witness. This is what he says, -in his very valuable book:-- - - It is another fallacy to say that if the East India Company were to - prohibit the cultivation of opium in her territories that the article - would disappear from China altogether. The poppy grows freely between - the equator and latitudes 30 deg. to 40 deg.; it is produced in large - quantities in Java, the Phillipines, Borneo, Egypt, and other places, - as well as in China itself, where for many years past some thousands - of chests are annually produced. It may be that the opium grown at - Java has perhaps a different taste from that grown at Malwa and - Benares, and may seem to be of inferior quality, but the consumers - would soon become accustomed to that, and would probably prefer the - former to the latter. Persons who are in the habit of smoking Havanna - dislike Manilla cigars, and those who generally smoke Manillas prefer - them to Havannas. At present opium is not exported from other - countries because Indian Opium is so cheap. - - What, then, may I ask, is the reproach constantly hurled at the East - India Company? That it derives an annual income by the culture of - opium of at least three millions of pounds sterling. Should the - Company prohibit the culture of the drug in order to allow other - nations to derive the emoluments arising from it? I who have travelled - in both upper and lower India, and know something of the country, am - persuaded that the people there are already over-taxed, and to demand - from them a substituted tax for those three millions would be a very - serious matter indeed. And for whom pray would this sacrifice be made? - To reduce the quantity of opium smoked in China? Most assuredly not; - for the Chinese would still smoke just as much. This sacrifice on the - part of England would only benefit those countries which would take up - the cultivation of opium in order to supply the Chinese markets from - which the Indian drug had been withdrawn. And what fault can be found - with the merchants? Is it not the Chinese who ask for opium, and who - buy it of their own free will, although not a single foreigner, either - by example or precept, encourages them to do so. Is it not the Chinese - who go out of their ports to the "Receiving Ships" to fetch it? Is the - Chinese nation composed of children, or of savages who do not know - right from wrong? Ought, for instance, the Queen of England to - undertake to redress Chinese habits, or let us say vices, and to - reform her Custom-house administration by watching the Chinese Coast? - By what right could the English Government or any other Government do - such things? If that is not what is wished, what is? Against whom and - against what is all this outcry? - - It is said that the receiving ships are anchored at the mouth of - rivers, that British war-ships anchor alongside of them, and that the - consuls know this. That is quite true. The consuls admit all this--in - fact, they often send their despatches by these very opium ships to - Hong Kong. How many times has it happened that the consuls have had - discussions with the Chinese governors respecting these receiving - ships? They say, "We do not protect these ships; why do you not drive - them away?" All this, I repeat, is notorious, and it is to be - regretted that it is so; because, under proper legal authorisation, - opium might be introduced into the Chinese Empire with such great - advantage to the Imperial treasury.... - - It cannot be expected that the English Government through its naval - commanders should prevent its subjects from carrying on a remunerative - commerce, whilst Americans, Dutchmen, Danes, Swedes, and Portuguese - would continue to carry on the trade with increased profit through the - withdrawal of the English. - -Were the supply of opium from British India discontinued we should have a -class of merchants who would form syndicates to buy up all the opium that -could be found, and Macao would become the great depot for Persian, -Javanese, and Malwa opium for the China market, so that we should have -probably four times the quantity of the foreign drug shipped to China that -is now imported into that country, and thus the alleged evils of opium -smoking in China would be intensified. By a stupid though well-meaning -policy, that ultimate demoralisation, degradation, and ruin which the -Anti-Opium Society allege is now being wrought upon the natives of China -by the existing Indo-China opium trade would be enormously accelerated, -whilst England and English missionaries would only earn the contempt of -the Chinese nation and the ridicule of the whole world. I have shown you -that the Government of China is not sincere in its professed desire to put -down opium smoking; for if it was we should never have had the poppy grown -so extensively as it is at present all over the empire. The evidence of -Sir Robert Hart alone upon this point puts the matter beyond the question -of a doubt. How, in the face of that gentleman's book, this Anti-Opium -agitation can continue I really cannot understand. He is an officer of the -Chinese Government, and he would be the last man to publish anything -damaging to the Government or people of China. Here have these Anti-Opium -agitators been forty years in the wilderness without making any progress, -but only getting deeper into the quagmire of error and delusion. Even now, -although defeated at all points, they persist, as I shall show by and by, -in obstructing public business in the House of Commons by again -ventilating their unfounded theories. - -As matters stand, this book of Sir Robert Hart's must show to every -impartial mind that the teaching of the Anti-Opium Society, from its -formation to the present time, has been fallacious, misleading, and -mischievous. Yet, in the face of this most damaging official Yellow-Book, -we are still calmly and seriously told from many platforms, by dignitaries -of the highest position in the Church, and by clergymen of all -denominations, that we are demoralising and ruining the whole nation, -because we send the Chinese a comparatively small quantity of pure and -unadulterated opium, which is beneficial rather than injurious to them. -But what does Sir Robert Hart, with all his official information, say? -That all this opium, amounting to about six thousand tons annually, is -consumed in moderation by one million of smokers, or one-third of one per -cent. of the whole population of China, estimating the number of people at -three hundred millions only. - -The missionaries and the Anti-Opium Society, in the face of facts which -directly contradict them, say that the Chinese Government has a horror of -opium; but they never tell us that that Government has a horror of -themselves. What was the celebrated saying of Prince Kung to the British -Ambassador? "Take away your opium and your missionaries," said he. Now the -Chinese Government does not hate opium; it derives a very large revenue -from the drug at present, and it is only anxious to increase the amount. I -have very little doubt that Prince Kung, and all the other Imperial -magnates, including Li Hung Chang, that strictest of moralists, revel in -the very Indian drug they affect so to abhor. But they do detest the -missionaries most cordially; so do the whole educated people of the -empire, and so do Chinamen generally. None know this better than the -missionaries themselves. That disgraceful book, written by a Mandarin, -called "A Death-blow to Corrupt Practices," which was, by the aid of his -brother Mandarins, extensively circulated throughout China, but too -plainly proves the fact. That infamous volume was aimed at the whole -missionary body in China, Roman Catholic as well as Protestant; it -attributed the foulest crimes, the most disgraceful and disgusting -practices to the missionaries. It was, in fact, the precursor of the -fearful Tientsin massacre; yet the missionaries tell us that if we will -only discontinue the Indo-China opium trade the millennium will arrive. I -may here observe that if opium was the terrible thing, and was productive -of so much misery to its votaries, as the Protestant missionaries and the -Anti-Opium Society would have us believe, it seems strange that no mention -of opium or opium smoking appears in this book. If half the outcry raised -against the Indo-Chinese opium trade were true, here was an excellent -opportunity for the writer to have inveighed against the wickedness of -foreigners in introducing the horrible drug into the country. If the -Gospel is objected to because of this Indian opium, what a fine occasion -for the author to have enlarged upon the iniquity. If the Chinese mind -had been in any way impressed with the evils proceeding from opium -smoking, can it be supposed for a moment that the author of this book, an -educated Mandarin--one of the _literati_, in fact--would have omitted the -opportunity of denouncing the missionaries and foreigners generally for -introducing the terrible drug into the country and making profit by the -vices and misery of the Chinese people? Does not the entire omission of -opium from this book prove most eloquently that there is no real truth in -the outcry raised by these missionaries against the opium trade? The real -fact, believe me, is this, the Chinese dislike and distrust the -missionaries not because opium is an evil but because they hate and -despise Christianity. From the Anti-Opium Society one never hears anything -about the removal of the missionaries; it is all "take away your opium." I -am perfectly sure that, if we agreed to exclude our missionaries from -China, the Government of that country would unhesitatingly admit Indian -opium into the country duty free. No greater proof can be adduced of this -than the zeal and persistency with which the Chinese Government recently -and successfully prosecuted the celebrated Wu Shi Shan case, which was in -the nature of an action of ejectment against a Protestant missionary body -at Foochow. The late Mr. French, the Judge of Her Majesty's Supreme Court -for China and Japan, tried the case, the hearing of which occupied nearly -two months. It cost the Chinese Government about one hundred thousand -dollars, or twenty thousand pounds; they were well satisfied with the -result, although the land they recovered was not worth a tenth of the -money. - -It is declared by Mr. Turner and the other advocates of the Anti-Opium -Society that we have treated the Chinese with great harshness; that we -have extorted the Treaty of Tientsin from them, and bullied them into -legalizing the admission of opium into the empire; that we began by -smuggling opium into China, and ended by quarrelling with the Chinese. It -must not be forgotten, on the other hand, how the Chinese have treated us. -For more than a century before we introduced opium into China, and began, -as it is said, to quarrel with the Chinese, we had been buying their teas -and silks, and paying for them in hard cash. During all that time we were -treated by the Mandarins with the greatest indignity. Our representatives -and our people were insulted, often maltreated, and sometimes murdered. As -to opium smuggling, about which so much is sought to be made by the -Anti-Opium people, there is one point that the writers and speakers upon -the subject seem to have forgotten. In the first place, I think I will -show you that smuggling, in the proper sense of the term, has never, in -fact, been carried on in China by Englishmen--or, indeed, by other -foreigners--at all. But even admitting, for argument's sake, that -smuggling in its ordinary acceptation did, in fact, exist, how does the -matter stand? It has been for centuries the recognized international law -of the civilized world that one nation is not bound to take cognizance of -the revenue laws of another. This principle has been carried out in past -times with the greatest strictness. For instance, there was once a very -large contraband trade done between England and France. When brandy was -heavily taxed, and when it was thought more of than it is now, smuggling -it into England was a very profitable business. It was the same as regards -silks, lace, and a great many other articles before free trade became the -law of this country. Our Government knew this very well, but they never -dreamt for a moment of sending a remonstrance to the French Government -upon the subject. Had they done so, the latter would probably have -replied: "We cannot prevent our people from doing this. We give them no -encouragement whatever. We have enough to do to prevent your people from -smuggling English goods into our country, and you must do your best on -your side to prevent our subjects from introducing French goods into -yours." For I suppose our people, carrying out the principle of -reciprocity, had some contraband dealings with French contrabandists on -their own account. That was the law for centuries, and it is so still. - -But of late years what is called "the comity of nations" has become more -understood, and there is a better spirit spreading between different -states on this subject, although, as I have said, the law is still the -same. If our Government knew that there was now an organized system of -smuggling carried on here with France, they would, I dare say, try to put -a stop to the practice, and would, at the least, give such information to -the Government of France as would put their revenue officers on their -guard, and I am sure that the French Government would act in the same way -towards us. That would be due to the better feeling that has arisen -between the two countries within the last forty years. The moment, -therefore, it was found that there was a considerable demand in China for -Indian opium, British and other vessels brought the article to China; and -there can be no doubt that they met with great encouragement from the -Chinese officials, but they got no assistance from us. The opium shippers -carried on the trade at their own risk. All this has been very clearly -shown by Don Sinibaldo de Mas. There was no actual smuggling on the part -of the owners of these vessels. The Chinese openly came on board and -bought and took away the opium, "squaring" matters, so to speak, with the -Mandarins. These so-called smugglers belonged to all nationalities. There -were Americans, Portuguese, and Germans, as well as English, engaged in -it. According to the international law of European countries, the Chinese -Government ought, under the circumstances, to have had a proper preventive -service, and so put down the smuggling. But, instead of this, the practice -was openly encouraged by the Chinese officials, some of them Mandarins of -high position. - -Now and then an explosion would occur; angry remonstrances would be -addressed to the British Government, and bad feeling between the two -nations would be engendered, the Chinese all along treating us as -barbarians, using the most insulting language towards us, and subjecting -our people, whenever opportunity offered, to the greatest indignities. The -missionaries have ignored all this. They appear to have satisfied -themselves so completely that we forced this trade upon the Chinese that -they have lost sight both of fact and reason. The very existence of an -opium-smuggling trade with China shows that the article smuggled was in -very great demand in that country. People never illegally take into a -country an article that is not greatly in request there. They will not -risk their lives and property unless they know large profits are to be -acquired by the venture, and such profits can only be made upon articles -in great demand. It was because there was found to be a demand for Indian -opium that this so-called contraband trade sprang up. This furnishes the -strongest proof that the Chinese valued the opium highly, and that it was -on their invitation that the drug was introduced. There is, I believe, a -considerable contraband trade now carried on in tobacco between Germany -and Cuba and England, just because the article is in demand here, and -there is a very high duty upon it. The fact is, that if the arguments of -the Anti-Opium people are properly weighed, they will be found, almost -without exception, to cut both ways, and with far greater force against -their own side. - -Now with respect to smuggling, it is right that I should clear up the -misconception that seems to prevail upon the subject. Whatever may have -been the practice previous to the Treaty of Nankin, which was signed on -the 29th of August 1842, and ratified on the 26th of June 1843--forty -years ago, I say it advisedly, and challenge contradiction, that _no -smuggling or quasi smuggling, or any practice resembling smuggling, has -been carried on in China by any British subject_ since the signing of that -treaty. Although no mention is made of opium in that convention, it is an -indisputable fact that from the time of the making of it until the Treaty -of Tientsin in 1858, Indian opium was freely allowed into the country at -an _ad valorem_ duty. This is shown by Don Sinibaldo de Mas, in his book, -and also by Sir Rutherford Alcock, in his valuable paper. No doubt the -Chinese themselves have since then smuggled opium into their country, and -are doing so still. They are, in truth, inveterate smugglers, and it has -been found impossible for the British authorities of Hong Kong to prevent -the practice. For the past thirty years laws have from time to time been -passed in the colony with the object of checking the practice, which have -not been wholly unsuccessful; for instance, some twenty-five years ago an -Ordinance was passed prohibiting junks from leaving the harbour between -sunset, and, I think, 6 a.m. on the following morning, and compelling -every outward-bound junk to leave at the harbour master's office a copy of -the "Manifest" before starting, and I have known many prosecutions for -breach of this Ordinance. - -Still smuggling by Chinamen goes on more or less, but not now, I think, to -any large extent. As for any connivance or participation in the practice -by the British authorities or the British people, and, indeed, I may say -the same for all foreigners in China, there is none whatever. I am fully -borne out in this statement by the _Friend of China_, which you will -remember is the organ of the Anti-Opium Society. It would appear that Sir -John Pope Hennessy, lately Governor of Hong Kong, made a speech last -autumn at Nottingham, on the occasion of the meeting of the Social Science -Congress, in the course of which he made some allusion to smuggling by the -British community of Hong Kong. I have not myself read the speech, but -collect this from the statement of the journal in question, which I shall -now read to you. This is the passage:-- - - The present governor of Hong Kong is extremely unpopular with the - British community under his jurisdiction. Into the occasion and merit - of the feud we do not pretend to enter, but in reproducing the - Governor's condemnation of the Colony it is only fair to note the fact - of the existing hostility between governor and governed. _We are - sorry, too, that Sir John did not state that these desperate smugglers - are of Chinese race. So far as we know there is no ground for - inculpating a single Englishman in Hong Kong in these nefarious - proceedings; the English merchant sells his opium to Chinese - purchasers, and there his connection with the traffic ceases._ - -So much for the delusion as to smuggling by British subjects in China. As -for the "Hoppo" of Canton, who farms from the Chinese Government the -revenue of the provinces of Kwantung and Kwangsi, and whose object it is -to squeeze as much as he can from the mercantile community of these -provinces during his term of office, he has a fleet of fast English-built -steam cruisers, heavily armed, ostensibly to put down smuggling, but -really to cripple the commerce of the port of Hong Kong, they keep the -harbour blockaded by this fleet of armed cruisers to prey upon the native -craft coming to and sailing from the colony. Wild with wrath at the -prosperity of Hong Kong, the Hoppo and his cruisers lose no opportunity of -oppressing the native junks resorting to the place. All those vessels they -think should go to Canton to swell the Hoppo's income. Many Chinese -merchants have put cases of oppression of the kind in my hands, where -those armed cruisers simply played the part of pirates, seizing -unoffending junks, taking them to Canton, and confiscating junk and cargo; -but I regret to say that only in a very few cases have I been able to -obtain redress. This state of things has been going on for the past -fifteen or twenty years, and should be put down by the British Government. -So far as respects the Chinese authorities, and the junk owners, and -native merchants, it is simply legalised robbery; whilst as regards the -British Government and people of the colony, foreigners as well as -natives, it is a system of insult and outrage--a very serious injury, and -a glaring breach of international law, which no European Government would -tolerate in another. I mention this to show how forbearing and -long-suffering the Government of Hong Kong and the Imperial Government -have been towards China during the continuance of this most nefarious and -unjustifiable state of things. This is in truth a very serious matter. -When Sir Henry Elliott took possession of Hong Kong in 1841 on behalf of -the Queen, he invited by proclamation the Chinese people to settle in the -place, promising them protection for their lives and property, upon the -faith of which the natives took their families and property to the colony. -But how can it be said now that their property is protected when this -piratical fleet, like a bird of prey, hovers round the colony, pouncing -down upon the native craft going to or leaving the port? - -To close this part of my subject, I may say in short, that the charges -brought by the Anti-Opium Society against the importation of Indian opium -into China are exactly on a par with the objections of a Society -established in France for the purpose of prohibiting the importation into -England of cognac, on the grounds that that spirit intoxicated, -demoralised, and ruined the English people. If any set of men in France -were fanatical and insane enough to set forth such views, they would be -laughed down at once. The answer to the objection to the brandy trade -would be, "That the English people manufacture and drink plenty of gin and -whisky, and if they, the French, discontinued sending them brandy the -English would simply manufacture and drink more spirits of their own -production." No two cases could be more alike. - -Before proceeding to the last of the fallacies by which the opponents of -the Indo-Chinese opium trade have been so long deluding society, I wish to -refer to the statements made by Mr. Storrs Turner in his book, and by the -advocates of the Anti-Opium trade, respecting the Treaty of Tientsin. It -is alleged that Lord Elgin, who bore the highest character as a statesman -and Christian gentleman, extorted the treaty from the Chinese, and forced -them to include opium in the schedule to that treaty. Mr. Turner, at p. 95 -of his book, typifies the conduct of England thus:-- - - The strong man knocks down the weak one, sets his foot upon his chest - and demands:--"Will you give me the liberty to knock at your front - door and supply your children with poison _ad libitum_?" The weak man - gasps out from under the crushing pressure--"I will, I will; anything - you please." And the strong man goes home rejoicing that he is no - longer under the unpleasant necessity of carrying on a surreptitious - back-door trade. - -This metaphor is really absurd, and has no application whatever. Were a -man so infamous as to act in the manner stated, it would be a matter of -little concern to him whether his poison entered by the front or the back -door, so long as he got paid for the article. The fact is, as I have -stated, that since the Treaty of Nankin, in 1842, opium has been openly -allowed in the country without any difficulty or objection. If there is -any point in this metaphor of Mr. Storrs Turner's at all, it applies not -to the insertion of opium in the tariff, but to the clause in the treaty -as to the admission of missionaries into China, for that was really the -bitter pill the Chinese swallowed. In 1858, when the Treaty of Tientsin -was being drawn up, the tariff upon British goods had to be settled. The -Chinese Commissioners, not only as a matter of course, and without any -pressure whatever, proposed to put down opium in the schedule at the -present fixed duty of thirty taels a pikul, but actually insisted upon -doing so. There was no necessity for using pressure at all, and none in -fact was used. It was included in the tariff just like other goods. Mr. H. -N. Lay, who jointly with Sir Thomas Wade, Her Majesty's present minister -at Pekin, was Chinese Secretary to Lord Elgin's special mission, and who -then, I believe, filled the important post in the Chinese service now -occupied by Sir Robert Hart, expresses his opinion on the subject as -follows:-- - - Statements have been advanced of late, with more or less of precision, - to the effect that the legalisation of the opium trade was wrung from - Chinese fears. At the recent meeting in Birmingham Lord Elgin is - credited, in so many words, with having "extorted" at Tientsin the - legalisation of the article in question. There is no truth whatever in - the allegation, and I do not think, in fairness to Lord Elgin's - memory, or in justice to all concerned, that I ought to observe - silence any longer. Jointly with Sir Thomas Wade, our present minister - in China, I was Chinese Secretary to Lord Elgin's special mission. All - the negotiations at Tientsin passed through me. Not one word upon - either side was ever said about opium from first to last. The revision - of the tariff, and the adjustment of all questions affecting our - trade, was designedly left for after deliberation and arrangement, and - it was agreed that for that purpose the Chinese High Commissioners - should meet Lord Elgin at Shanghai in the following winter. The Treaty - of Tientsin was signed on the 26th of June 1858; the first was - withdrawn, and Lord Elgin turned the interval to account by visiting - Japan and concluding a treaty there. In the meantime the preparation - of the tariff devolved upon me, at the desire no less of the Chinese - than of Lord Elgin. _When I came to "Opium" I inquired what course - they proposed to take in respect to it. The answer was, "We have - resolved to put it into the tariff as Yang Yoh_ (foreign medicine)." - This represents with strict accuracy the amount of the "extortion" - resorted to. And I may add that the tariff as prepared by me, although - it comprises some 300 articles of import and export, _was adopted by - the Chinese Commissioners without a single alteration_, which would - hardly have been the case had the tariff contained aught objectionable - to them. Five months after the signature of the Treaty of Tientsin, - long subsequently to the removal of all pressure, the Chinese High - Commissioners, the signatories of the treaty, came down to Shanghai in - accordance with the arrangement made, and after conference with their - colleagues, and due consideration, signed with Lord Elgin the tariff - as prepared, along with other commercial articles which had been drawn - up in concert with the subordinate members of the Commission who had - been charged with that duty. _The Chinese Government admitted opium as - a legal article of import, not under constraint, but of their own free - will deliberately._ - -Now Mr. H. N. Lay is a gentleman whose testimony is altogether -unimpeachable, and this is his statement. He explains the whole -transaction, and it is substantially and diametrically contrary to the -allegations of Mr. Turner and the Anti-Opium Society. His account of the -matter has the greater force, because I believe he is rather anti-opium in -his views than the opposite, and at the time of the treaty he was in the -service of the Chinese Government. The truth is, that we never should have -had the Chinese urging us to increase the duty had they not been supported -by the Anti-Opium Society. Mr. Laurence Oliphant was Lord Elgin's -secretary at the time of the Tientsin Treaty. This is what he says on the -subject:-- - - As a great deal of misconception prevails in the public mind upon this - subject, I would beg to confirm what Mr. Lay has said as to the views - of the Chinese Government in the matter. - - I was appointed in 1858 Commissioner for the settlement of the trade - and tariff regulations with China; and during my absence with Lord - Elgin in Japan, Mr. Lay was charged to consider the details with the - subordinate Chinese officials named for the purpose. On my return to - Shanghai I went through the tariff elaborated by these gentlemen with - the Commissioner appointed by the Chinese Government. When we came to - the article "opium," _I informed the Commissioner that I had received - instructions from Lord Elgin not to insist on the insertion of the - drug in the tariff, should the Chinese Government wish to omit it. - This he declined to do. I then proposed that the duty should be - increased beyond the figure suggested in the tariff; but to this he - objected, on the ground that it would increase the inducements to - smuggling._ - - I trust that the delusion that the opium trade now existing with China - was "extorted" from that country by the British Ambassador may be - finally dispelled. - -But Mr. Storrs Turner will doubtless still say, "Oh! these gentlemen are -Englishmen; you cannot believe them." I do not think, however, this kind -of objection will have much weight with my readers or the country at -large. - -And now, as I am on the political side of the question, I will say a few -words on the Indian aspect of the case. The Government of India is charged -by Mr. Storrs Turner and the Anti-Opium people generally with descending -to the position of opium manufacturers and merchants, and quotes an -alleged proposal of the late Lord Lawrence to drop the traffic, leaving -the cultivation and exportation of the drug to private enterprise, and -recouping itself from loss by placing a heavy export duty on the article. -If Lord Lawrence ever proposed such an arrangement, which I doubt very -much, I hardly think he could have carefully considered the question. No -doubt, in an abstract point of view, it is contrary to sound policy for -the Government of a country to carry on mercantile business, much less to -take into its own hands a monopoly of any trade, yet the thing has been -done for a great number of years, and is still practised by some -continental Governments without the existence of any special reason for so -doing. The Indo-China opium trade, however, is an entirely exceptional -one. When an exceptional state of things has to be dealt with, -corresponding measures must be resorted to. The opium industry in India is -an ancient one; and the exportation of this drug to China began under the -Portuguese, several centuries ago. Were the Government of India to adopt -the alleged proposals of Lord Lawrence, the result would be that a much -larger quantity of opium than is now produced in India would be turned -out, so that not only would the alleged evils now complained of by the -missionaries and the Anti-Opium Society be intensified, but the Government -of India would find its revenue greatly increased by its export duty on -the drug. This is very conclusively shown by Don Sinibaldo de Mas, a most -competent authority, who has studied the question deeply and can have no -possible object but the revelation of the truth. - -There are numerous objections to throwing open the Indian trade. As -matters now stand, the Government of India annually makes advances to the -opium growers, to enable them to produce the drug. These advances are made -at a low or nominal rate of interest. Let the Government once drop the -monopoly and throw open the trade, and then the small farmers--and they -form perhaps seventy-five per cent. of the whole, whether they cultivate -the poppy or any other crop--would be at the mercy of the usurers, who are -the curse of India. Thus the poor cultivator, instead of paying the -Government two or three per cent. interest for the advance, would have to -pay perhaps five times that amount, with a bill for law costs; and a much -larger bill staring him in the future, in case he should be so unfortunate -as not to be up to time with his payments. The usurers or Marwaris as I -believe they are called, would in such cases profit by the fruits of the -soil instead of the growers. As to the morality of the proposed change, I -do not see what could be gained by such an arrangement. If it is wrong to -derive a revenue from opium by direct, it is equally wrong to do so by -indirect means. Before closing this part of the subject, there is another -point I wish to say a few words upon. It is put forward by Mr. Turner in -his book, with great plausibility, and is, no doubt, accepted by his -disciples as fact, that every acre of land put under opium cultivation -displaces so much rice, the one being a poison, the other the staff of -life. This is perfectly fallacious; wherever rice is grown in China--and I -fancy it is the same in India--there are two crops taken in the year. Rice -is cultivated during the spring and summer months (that is, the rainy -season), for the grain only grows where there is abundance of water. - -The poppy thrives only in the dry season, that is, during the latter part -of the autumn and the winter, when the rice crops have been saved. The -poppy requires a rich soil, so that before planting it the farmers have to -manure the ground well; then, when the poppy crop has been secured, the -land is in good heart for rice, and so the rotation goes on. This I stated -in the first edition of this lecture; since then Mr. Spence's Report for -1881 has appeared which fully confirms my view. Thus much for the accuracy -of this statement of Mr. Storrs Turner. - -I come now to the last of the fallacies, follies, and fantasies, upon -which the huge superstructure of delusion put forward for so many years by -the Anti-Opium Society has been built. At once the least sustainable, it -is the one which carries the most weight with the supporters of that -Society, for it furnishes the _raison d'etre_ of their whole action. It is -_that the introduction of Indian opium into China has arrested the -progress of Christianity in that country, and that if the trade were -discontinued the Chinese would accept the Gospel_. No greater mistake, nor -more unfounded delusion than this could be indulged in; indeed, it seems -to me something very like a profanation to mix up the Indo-China opium -trade with the spread of the Gospel in the Empire of China. If the -objection to embrace Christianity because we send opium to that country -has ever, in fact, been made by natives, that objection was a subterfuge -only. - -The Chinese are an acute and crafty race; when they desire to attain an -object, they seldom attempt to do so by direct means, but rather seek to -gain their ends indirectly. They despise and hate Christianity, although -they will not tell you so, much less will they argue with you, or enter -into controversy upon the subject. They will rather try to get rid of it -by a side-wind. They are a very polite and courteous people, and -understand this style of tactics very well. I have no doubt whatever that -if the British trade in opium were suppressed to-morrow, and that no -British merchant dealt any longer in the drug, or sent a particle of it -into China, and if a missionary were to go before the Chinese and say, "We -can now show clean hands, our Government has stopped the opium trade," and -then were to open his book and begin talking to them of Christianity, he -would only be met with derisive laughter. "This man," they would say, -"thinks that because the English have ceased to sell us opium we should -all become Christians. If they sold us no more rice or broadcloth, we -suppose they would say that we should become Mahomedans." - -Knowing the cunning and keen sense of humour of the people, I have no -doubt they would use another argument also. There is a story told of a -Scotch clergyman who rebuked one of his congregation for not being quite -so moderate in his potations as he ought to be. "It's a' vera weel," -returned the other, who had reason to know that the minister did not -always practise what he preached, "but do ye ken how they swept the -streets o' Jerusalem?" The clergyman was obliged to own his ignorance, -when Sandy replied, "Weel, then, it was just this, every man kept his ain -door clean." And I can well fancy in the case I have supposed, an equally -shrewd Chinaman saying to the missionary, "What for you want to make us -follow your religion? Your religion vely bad one. You have plenty men -drink too muchee sam-shu, get drunk and fight, and beat their wives and -children. Chinaman no get drunk. Chinaman no beat or kill his wife. Too -muchee sam-shu vely bad. Drink vely bad for Inglismen; what for you don't -go home and teach them to be soba, plaupa men?" Believe me, the Chinese -know our little peccadilloes and are very well informed respecting our -doings here at home. - -We send but six thousand tons of opium annually to China, which, according -to Sir Robert Hart, who ought to be a reliable authority on the subject, -inflicts no appreciable injury upon the health, wealth, or extension of -the population of that vast empire. The truth is, that the alleged -objection of the Chinese against Christianity amounts simply to this: -because some of our people do what is wrong, and we are not as a nation -faultless in morals, we should not ask them to change their religion for -ours. Perfection is not to be attained by any nation or the professors of -any creed. If we had the ability, and were foolish enough to stop the -exportation of Indian opium to China, the natives of the country would -find some other reason for clinging to their own creeds and rejecting -Christianity. They could, and doubtless would, point to the fearful plague -of intemperance prevailing amongst us; they could also refer to the great -number of distilleries and breweries in the United Kingdom, to our Newgate -Calendar, and to the records of the Divorce Court. In short, they would -say, "You do not practise what you preach. What do you mean, then, by -trying to make Christians of us?" The same doctrine has been used over and -over again even in Christian countries, and it is lamentable to see -educated and intelligent men becoming victims to such a delusive mode of -reasoning. This sad hallucination on the part of the missionary clergymen -is the origin of the mischievous and very stupid agitation going on -against the Indo-China opium trade, but now rapidly, I believe and hope, -coming to an end. - -A few years ago I paid a short visit to Japan. Whilst I was at Tokio, the -capital, a lecture was given there by an educated Japanese gentleman, who -spoke English well and fluently. He introduced religion into his lecture, -and considered the question why the Japanese did not embrace Christianity. -"Our minds," said he, "are like blank paper; we are ready to receive any -religion that is good, we are not bigoted to our own, but we object to -Christianity because we do not consider it a good religion, because we see -that Christians do not reverence old age, and because they are so -licentious, and so brutal to the coolies." But these reasons are again -merely subterfuges. The Japanese do not smoke opium, and the very same -objection they urge against Christianity might also be used by the -Chinese. The Oriental mind is very much the same, whether Chinese, -Japanese, or Indian. Upon religious or political questions they well know -how to shift their ground. As to the Chinese embracing Christianity, I -trust the day will come when they will do so. They would then be the most -powerful nation in the whole world, and probably become our own best -teachers on religion and morals; but at present I see no immediate hope of -their conversion. I say this in view of the stand taken by the Protestant -missionaries on this opium question. Nothing, in my opinion, is more -calculated to impede the progress of missionary work than this most absurd -and unfounded delusion. The reason given by the missionaries for the -apparently small success which has hitherto attended their efforts, is -that the so-called iniquitous traffic in opium has been the one stumbling -block in their way. Put a stop to this villanous trade, they say, and the -Gospel will flourish like a green bay-tree. This sort of argument takes -with the missionaries themselves and with religious people generally, and -thus converts to the anti-opium policy are made. Yet all these statements -rest, I can assure you, on an entirely fallacious foundation. We are not -dealing with a savage but with a civilized people. You may change a -nation's religion, but you cannot alter its customs, and if China were -evangelised to-morrow the Chinese would still continue opium smokers. The -Reverend Mr. Galpin has hit the nail on the head when he said in his -letter to the missionaries of Peking:-- - - Looking at Christianity in the broad and true sense, as a great - regenerating force breathing its beneficent spirit upon and promoting - the welfare of all, of course the excessive use or abuse of opium and - every other thing, is a serious hindrance to its happy progress. But - this is a very different position from that of supposing that the - present apparently slow progress of mission-work in China is to be - attributed to the importation of Indian opium. China is a world in - itself, and the influence of Christian missions has hitherto reached - but a handful of the people, for there are many serious obstacles to - its progress besides opium. - -As before mentioned, the Roman Catholic missionaries have never complained -that their missionary labours were impeded by the opium trade. I had the -honour of being Solicitor at Hong Kong to a wealthy and important -religious community of that persuasion which has missionary stations all -over China, Formosa, and Tonquin, and might call the head of the order a -personal friend, yet I never heard a complaint of the kind from him or any -of his clergy. I was on very intimate terms with a Roman Catholic -gentleman who was in the confidence of the Catholic Bishop at Hong Kong, -and the Roman Catholic community generally, and I have had conversations -with him on missionary matters. He has never uttered such a complaint, -but, on the contrary, has always spoken of the success which attended the -Roman Catholic missions throughout China. In this connection it should not -be forgotten that the Chinese treat all foreigners alike; they know no -distinction between them--English, French, German, Spanish, Americans, -Portuguese, are to them one people. The victims of the Tientsin massacre -were, with the exception, I think, of a Russian gentleman, a community of -French nuns. The petition to the House of Commons set out in my first -letter emanated from the Protestant missionaries alone, and it has not, I -am well assured, been signed by a single Roman Catholic missionary. It is -plain, therefore, that this alleged obstacle to the spread of the Gospel -in China by the English and American missionaries is a monster of their -own creation, and has no real existence. Bishop Burden, of Hong Kong, the -missionary bishop for South China, who, although no authority on the opium -question, ought, on this point at all events, to be well informed, -estimates the number of Protestant converts in China at forty thousand, -and of Roman Catholics at one million. The disparity is great, but then it -should not be forgotten that Roman Catholic missions in China date from a -period probably two centuries earlier than Protestant missions. If out of -these forty thousand converts I allow five per cent., or two thousand, to -be really sincere and able to give a reason for the faith that is in them, -I believe that I am not underrating the precise number of true and _bona -fide_ converts which these missionaries have made. But knowing this as I -do, it is very far from my intention to cast blame upon the missionaries -in consequence. To those who understand the difficulties those devoted men -have to contend with in the progress of their labours, the wonder is not -that they have done so little, but that they have achieved so much. Upon -this point, I would say again, I am very far from attributing any blame to -our missionaries, save in so far as they have allowed themselves to be -cajoled by certain Chinese and others as to opium smoking. No one is more -sensible of their piety, learning, zeal, and industry; and a very sad task -it has been to me to impugn their conduct and controvert their views as I -have done. A good cause, however, cannot and ought not to be promoted by -falsehood; for such this Anti-Opium delusion amounts to, and nothing more, -and there can be no hope for more solid results from the missionary field -until it is swept from the missionaries' path. Two thousand sincere -converts after all is, in my belief, a great and encouraging result, -considering the tremendous obstacles our missionaries have to encounter in -overcoming in the first instance the prejudice of the Chinese against -foreigners, and then in displacing in their minds the idolatrous and -sensuous creed that has taken such firm root there, and become, so to -speak, engrained in the Chinese nature, and implanting in its stead the -truths of the Gospel. Each of these two thousand converts will prove, I am -well assured, like the grain of mustard seed that will fructify and in -time bring forth much fruit. But it must not be forgotten that China, in -the terse and apposite words of the Rev. Mr. Galpin, is "a world in -itself," containing as it does about a fourth of the whole human race. - -The custom of opium smoking has existed in the Empire of China from time -immemorial. You might as well try to reverse the course of Niagara as to -wean the Chinese from the use of their favourite drug. As to the Treaty of -Tientsin, it is unfair and ungrateful of the missionaries to speak of it -as they do. It did no more than reduce to a formal settlement a state of -things that had been for several years tacitly acquiesced in and agreed to -by the Chinese and British authorities and people. That treaty was -prepared with the greatest deliberation by an eminent statesman who was -singularly remarkable for his humanity and benevolence, assisted by able -subordinates who were in no way deficient in those qualities. The -missionaries seem to forget that this very Treaty of Tientsin, which they -so denounce, is the charter by which they have now a footing in China, -with liberty to preach the Gospel there. They would have no _locus standi_ -in China but for this sorely abused treaty. There is a special clause in -it drawn up by Lord Elgin himself, providing that we should be at liberty -to propagate Christianity in the country. That treaty is the missionaries' -protection. It is to it they would now appeal if molested by the Mandarins -or people of China. They cry it down for one purpose, and rely upon it for -another. I may here not inappropriately observe that the missionaries of -Peking seem to have been under a misapprehension as to the nature of this -treaty. From their petition to the House of Commons it would appear that -they were under the impression that some special clause legalizing the -importation of opium into China was introduced into it under pressure from -the British Government; but that was a mistake. There is no "clause" -whatever in the treaty on the subject of opium. The only place that the -word "opium" appears is in the schedule, where it is set down amongst -other dutiable articles, such as pepper and nutmegs, exactly as stated by -Mr. H. N. Lay. It is plain, then, that these missionary gentlemen had not -a copy of the Treaty of Tientsin before them when they drew up their -petition, and I doubt very much if any of them ever read the treaty at -all. They appear to have got the delusion so strongly into their heads -that the legalization of opium was wrung from the Chinese Government that -it seems they thought it quite unnecessary to read the treaty and took -everything for granted. - -I have now, I think, shown and fully refuted the fallacies which within -the past thirty years have crept into the minds of the opponents of the -Indo-China opium trade, dimming the faculties, blinding the reason, -warping the judgment, ministering to the prejudices, deluding the senses, -gratifying the feelings, until these fallacies have become so interwoven -and welded together as to form and culminate into one CONCRETE PLAUSIBLE, -FASCINATING, DEFAMATORY LIE! A cruel, false, and treacherous lie, that -misleads alike its votaries and its victims, and that, too, in the names -of religion and charity.--A lie circumstantial,--so highly genteel and -respectable,--so sentimental and pious,--so sleek and unctuous,--so -caressed and flattered,--so bravely dressed, and so beflounced and trimmed -with the trappings of truth, that even those who have bedecked the jade -fail to see the imposture they have created, so that the tawdry quean -struts along receiving homage as she goes, whilst plain honest TRUTH in -her russet gown wends her way unnoticed.--I have shown that this -Anti-Opium scare is a sham, a mockery, a delusion--a glittering piece of -counterfeit coin, which I have broken to pieces and proved to you that, -for all its silvery surface, there is nothing but base metal beneath. - -Let me now recapitulate. I have, I think, made it irrefutably clear-- - -1. That the Chinese are a civilized people, very abstemious in their -habits, especially as regards the use of opium, spirits, and stimulants of -all kinds. - -2. That there is and can be no analogy or comparison whatever between -opium eating and opium smoking, as each stands separate and apart from the -other, differing totally in the mode of use and their effects, and that -opium eating is not a Chinese custom. - -3. That an overdose of opium, like an excessive draught of spirits, is -poisonous and produces immediate death. - -4. That opium smoking is a harmless and perfectly innocuous practice, -unless immoderately indulged in, which rarely happens, as seldom, indeed, -as over-indulgence in tea or tobacco in England. - -5. That even when immoderately indulged, any depressing effects resulting -from opium smoking are removed simply by discontinuing the use of the drug -for a short period. - -6. That no death from opium smoking, whether indulged in moderately or -excessively, has ever occurred, and that death from such cause is a -physical impossibility. - -7. That opium smoking is a custom far less enslaving and more easily -discontinued than dram drinking or even tobacco smoking. - -8. That opium smoking is a luxury which can only be indulged in by those -who are well-to-do and is wholly out of the reach of the poor, and, save -in Western China and certain other districts, where the poppy is very -extensively cultivated and opium comparatively cheap, beyond the means of -the working classes. - -9. That opium smoking is a universal custom throughout the whole of the -immense empire of China, just as tea, wine, or beer drinking is with the -people of the United Kingdom, its use being limited only by the ability of -the people to procure the drug. - -10. That it is admitted by Sir Robert Hart, a high official of the Chinese -Government, that the greatest quantity of Indian opium of late years -imported into China is only sufficient to supply about one million of -people with a modicum of the drug, and that, in his own words, "neither -the finances of the State, nor the wealth of the people, nor the growth of -its population," can be specially damaged by a luxury which only draws -from five-pence to eleven-pence a-piece from the pockets of those who -enjoy it, and which is indulged in by a comparatively small number of the -Chinese people. - -11. That the poppy is extensively cultivated in all the provinces of China -proper as well as in Manchuria, and that there is probably three or four -times as much native drug produced annually in China as is imported from -abroad. - -12. That in the western parts of China, where the poppy is more -extensively cultivated and opium more generally smoked than in other parts -of the empire, no decadence whatever is produced in the mental or bodily -health, or the wealth, industry, and prosperity of the people, but on the -contrary, that these very people are peculiarly strong and vigorous. - -13. That the Chinese Government is not, and never was, sincere in its -professed desire to put down the practice of opium smoking in the empire, -which is evidenced by the fact that the poppy is largely cultivated -throughout the country, and that a revenue is derived by the Government -from the native drug. - -14. That Hong Kong being the great depot of Indian opium and the place -where the drug is most largely prepared for smoking purposes, and where -also the native population (about three-fourths of whom are adult males) -are in good circumstances, and therefore better able to indulge in opium -smoking than their countrymen in the mainland of China, is the place where -the alleged evils of opium smoking, if they existed, would be found in -their worst form, yet that _those evils are unknown there_. - -15. That the outcry, got up and disseminated for so many years past in -England against the Indo-China opium trade has not, and never had, any -substantial foundation; that such outcry has arisen from the complaints, -of the Protestant missionaries in China, which also are equally baseless, -those missionaries having been simply made dupes of by certain designing -and mendacious natives for purposes of their own, or of the Government of -China. - -16. That opium was inserted into the Schedule to the Treaty of Tientsin at -the express desire and request of the Chinese authorities; that Lord Elgin -wished and proposed to those authorities by his Secretary, Mr. Laurence -Oliphant, to place a higher duty than thirty taels on the drug, but that -the Chinese officials declined to do so, fearing that, if the duty were -raised, an impetus would be given to smuggling. - -17. That the career of the Anti-Opium Society has been signalized by a -continuous series of mistakes and blunders--commencing with the monstrous -figment (the invention of an American missionary) that there were twenty -millions of opium smokers in China supplied by the Indian drug, and that -_two millions of these smokers died annually from the practice_,--and that -the Anti-Opium confederacy is only kept alive by the continued reiteration -of exploded fallacies, sophistries, and mis-statements of the same nature. - -18. That the British merchants connected with China in the past and the -present were and are wholly free from the stigmas cast upon them by the -Anti-Opium Society, anent smuggling and the opium trade;[12] that, so far -from having acted wrongfully towards China and the Chinese, their conduct -towards both has been, and still is, emphatically characterized by honour -and rectitude, and by uniform courtesy and kindness; and that those -merchants, have deserved well of their country. - -19. That the Anti-Opium Society, from its formation to the present time, -has wrought nothing but mischief, crippling by its pragmatical efforts the -action of Her Majesty's Government, both here and in India and China, -abstracting by its mis-statements enormous sums of money from the -charitable and benevolent, and squandering that money in the propagation -of unfounded theories and injurious reflections against our -fellow-countrymen in China; and that the public should withdraw their -confidence from the Society, and cease to supply it with one farthing -more. - -20. That, save in respect of the blockade of Hong Kong by the armed -cruisers of the Hoppo or Revenue Farmer of the provinces of the two -Kwangs, which inflict great and bitter hardship upon the Chinese merchants -of Hong Kong and the junk owners who trade to that place, the British -nation, by its Government and people, has amply redeemed the promises made -to the people of China by Her Majesty's representative, Sir Henry Elliott, -on taking over Hong Kong, which is amply verified by the flourishing state -of that Colony, and its large, thriving, and contented Chinese population. - -21. That, whilst it is desirable to maintain the most amicable and cordial -relations with the Government of China and its various viceroyalties, that -most unjustifiable blockade by the Hoppo or Revenue Farmer of Canton -should be promptly suppressed; a matter which has only to be taken in hand -by Her Majesty's Consul at Canton, supported, if necessary, by the British -Minister at Peking, and firmly but courteously pressed upon the Viceroy -of the two Kwangs, who cannot but acknowledge the gross injustice and -cruel wrong inflicted on Hong Kong and its native merchants by those -cruisers, and who has the power and only wants the will to let right be -done. - -In the course of these lectures I have spoken of some of the vices of the -Chinese, and of our own also. The people of England have, however, many -virtues, the growth of centuries; one of these is a broad and liberal -charity, that pours forth a continuous stream of benevolence over the -whole world. It is a virtue that pervades all classes, from our honoured -Queen to the humblest of her subjects. It is not without a swelling heart -that one can walk through the streets of London and see the noble -charitable institutions surrounding him upon all sides, such as hospitals, -convalescent institutions, homes for aged and infirm people, educational -institutes, and such like, _supported by voluntary contributions_--living -evidences of the charity and benevolence of our people in the past and -present. Yet these splendid monuments but faintly testify to the flow of -munificence perpetually running its course around us. Observe how -liberally the public respond to the appeals made to it almost daily. Look -at the case of the persecution of the Jews in Russia, the famine in the -North of China, the distress and troubles in Ireland. Then, again, there -is the charity "that lets not the left hand know what the right hand -doeth," of which the world sees nothing, but which is known to go on -unceasingly, and which probably is the most liberal of all. The history of -the world, so far as I am aware, does not record a parallel to this in any -other nation or people. With such an active and unceasing charity going on -amongst us, we should take care that this beneficent stream is not -diverted into worthless channels, for that would be a matter concerning -the whole public. - -Now, though I hold in respect all the officers and supporters of the -Anti-Opium Society, who are actuated, I admit, by the best motives, and -whose characters for benevolence and good faith I do not question, I -cannot forbear from repeating that their crusade against the Indo-China -opium trade is as unjustifiable as it is mischievous, and is well -calculated to produce the results I have deprecated. It encourages the -Chinese Government to make untenable demands upon us, under false -pretences, and it is an unwarranted interference with an industry, wholly -unobjectionable on any but sentimental grounds, affording subsistence to -millions of our fellow-subjects in India. It aims, also, at cutting off -some eight or ten millions sterling from the revenue of that vast -dependency, now expended in ameliorating the condition of its dense -population. Furthermore, it offers to useful and legitimate legislation an -opposition and obstruction of the worst kind, seeing that it obtrudes upon -the Legislature its unfounded and exploded theories, to the displacement -or delay of really useful measures. - -I say that the Anti-Opium Society, in the course of its agitation for the -abolition of this Indo-China opium trade, is vilifying its countrymen and -blackening this country in the eyes of the whole world, so that the -foreigner can convict us out of our own mouths, and jibe at us for -hypocrisy and turpitude we are wholly innocent of, and for crimes we have -never committed.[13] I say that the history of this Society presents -nothing but a dreary record of energies wasted, talents misapplied, wealth -uselessly squandered, charity perverted, and philanthropy run mad. The -members of this Society never think, perhaps, of the mischief they have -done and are doing. Here has our Government been trying for the past seven -or eight years to agree upon a revised commercial treaty with the -Government of China, and here also, side by side, is an irresponsible -political body doing its utmost to cripple, paralyse, and defeat our -Government in its efforts, taking up, in fact, a downright hostile -attitude to the action of the Imperial and Indian Governments, by carrying -on an unauthorized unofficial correspondence with Li Hung Chang, the Prime -Minister, and the most influential public man in China, who is a master of -the arts of diplomacy, and who is doing his utmost to get the better of us -if he can in the matter of the Chefoo Convention. Here, I say, is this -society putting forward Li's audacious and misleading letter to its -secretary, Mr. Storrs Turner, as an embodiment of truth and justice. Is -this patriotic or proper on the part of this Anti-Opium Society? Should -that body, instead of setting itself up as a junto, with a quasi-official -standing, having a monopoly of all the virtues, be allowed by the -Government to carry on its mischievous organization any longer? I think -not. I believe there is no other country in the world--not even America, -where liberty has run to seed--where such an intermeddling, anti-national -and mischievous confederacy would be permitted to exist. Instead of trying -to thwart Her Majesty's Government, as it is doing, it should be the duty -of its members, of every Englishman interested in China, and, indeed, of -the whole country, to strengthen as far as possible the hands of the -Government in its endeavour to bring the pending negotiations for a -commercial treaty with China to a successful close. Yet what are the -present plans of this pragmatical body? In its latest publication, a -compilation of the most fallacious and misleading matter, bearing a title -meanly plagiarized from this book, it is announced that the following -motion stands upon the Order Book of the House of Commons, and is intended -to be moved in the Session for 1883, viz:-- - - That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that in - the event of negotiations taking place between the Governments of Her - Majesty and China, having reference to the duties levied on opium - under the Treaty of Tientsin, the Government of Her Majesty will be - pleased to intimate to the Government of China that in any such - revision of that treaty _the Government of China will be met as that - of an independent State, having the full right to arrange its own - import duties as may be deemed expedient_. - -What a modest proposition! The Queen's Ministers, it appears, cannot be -trusted in their negotiations with the Government of China, and Her -Majesty in consequence is to be asked to ignore her constitutional -advisers, and personally inform the Chinese Minister that his Government -shall be treated as an independent state, and so forth. In fact, this -proposal is tantamount to a vote, _pro tanto_ at least, of want of -confidence in the Government, which, I have little doubt, would be -rejected by an overwhelming majority of both sides of the House. I only -hope it will be pressed to a division, as the result, I believe, will show -to the country in an unmistakable manner, once and for all, the utter -insignificance of the Anti-Opium confederacy as a political body, the -falsity and mischief of its teaching, and prove the knell of its -existence. If motions like this were to be passed, it would be impossible -to carry on Her Majesty's Government. The matter is really too absurd to -be seriously dealt with by Parliament, and I bring it before my readers -more for the purpose of showing the downright folly, infatuation and -fanaticism which characterize this Anti-Opium confederation than for any -other purpose. To these political philanthropists and amateur statesmen I -would recommend these lines, which seem to me to meet their case -exactly:-- - - "No narrow bigot he, his reasoned view - Thy interest, England, ranks with thine, Peru; - War at our doors, he sees no danger nigh, - But heaves for all alike the impartial sigh; - A steady patron of the world alone, - The friend of every country--save his own." - -Of the missionaries themselves, beyond this opium craze that has -unfortunately possessed them, I have nothing to say except to their -credit. A more conscientious and deserving body of men this world has -never produced; under hardships, troubles, and unspeakable difficulties, -they have sped their way with courage and cheerfulness, undeterred by -dangers, great privations and hardships which nothing but their strong -faith and unflagging zeal in their sacred mission could have enabled them -to surmount. Of their ultimate success I entertain, perhaps, as little -doubt as they do themselves; but on this opium question the "zeal of their -house hath eaten them up," and they have unconsciously been playing the -game of the crafty heathen. Let them pursue their good cause, and not -allow themselves to be cajoled by their bitterest enemies; above all, let -them keep clear of politics. No clergyman ever improves by intermeddling -in such matters, but, on the contrary, by doing so he invariably becomes a -bad politician and a worse priest. Let these vast sums, subscribed for the -promotion of a chimera, be transferred to the missionaries' fund, so as to -improve the lot of these missionaries and give them a little more comfort -in the hostile climate and the bitter fight that is before them. "The -labourer is worthy of his hire," and it is starving the missionary work -not to pay its servants liberally, I should say most liberally. With -respect to the Rev. Mr. Storrs Turner, whose name I have so often -mentioned, and whose writings I have so frequently animadverted upon, I -had the pleasure of knowing him in China. No worthier or better gentleman, -and no more able and zealous missionary clergyman ever set foot there. In -referring to him and his writings as I have done, nothing was further from -my thoughts than to impute to him for a moment an unworthy motive. He is -in the first rank of the missionary clergymen who stood the brunt of the -battle, and is deserving of praise and honour. As yet the missionaries -have been like husbandmen tilling an unkindly soil, trying to produce -wholesome fruit where only gross weeds grew before; and although small -apparently has been the fruit as yet, the unfriendly soil has shown signs -of yielding, and I feel assured that the day will come when their labours -shall be rewarded with a plenteous harvest. - -I have now told the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth on -the opium question; certainly such has been my intention. In doing so I am -afraid I may have given pain to many good and excellent people; I know -that I have given pain to myself. I can only repeat that I have never -intended to impute a wrongful or unworthy motive to any of them. Those who -are and have been engaged in the Anti-Opium agitation are, I admit, -influenced by the best motives. I have myself throughout been solely -actuated by a desire to remove the unfounded delusions that have got -possession of these worthy people, which have done great injustice to our -fellow-countrymen in China, as well as to the benevolent British public, -which has kept this Anti-Opium Society provided with the funds that have -enabled them to carry on their operations, to the embarrassment of the -administration of our great Indian Entire. Personally, I say again, that I -have no interest whatever in the matter, nor have I any leaning towards -the interests of any of the merchants now engaged in the opium trade. My -hands in this matter are absolutely clean. In the preface to the first -edition of these lectures I have explained how and why I came to deliver -them; that is my explanation without any mental reservation whatsoever. I -have, I admit, a very strong feeling upon the subject, but so also have -those who differ from me; and I would ask those most excellent and -honourable people to remember that there are two sides to most -questions,--to imagine, if they can, that there are other persons, totally -opposed to their views, who are quite as honest in their convictions as -they are themselves,--to look upon me as one of those persons, and to -measure my feelings by the strength of their own. I say this because I -have heard that a rumour to the effect of my being in some way personally -interested in the Indo-China opium trade has been circulated. If such is -the case, this rumour has no foundation in fact. I cannot prevent the -dissemination of such reports; but they are, I repeat, utterly groundless. -Honest in my purpose, I can afford to treat them with unconcern, and can -justly add, whilst far from setting myself up as better than my -neighbours, that-- - - "I am arm'd so strong in honesty, - That they pass me by as the idle wind, - Which I respect not." - - - - -APPENDIX. - - - - -APPENDIX. - -_Being an Official Letter from the Hon. Francis Bulkeley Johnson, of the -firm of Jardine, Matheson, & Co., Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of -Commerce, to Charles Magniac, Esq., M.P., President of the London Chamber -of Commerce._ - - - Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, - Hong Kong, 22nd November, 1882. - -SIR,--The attention of the Committee of this Chamber has been called to -certain statements recently made in the United Kingdom regarding this -Colony, on what must unfortunately appear to the public mind to be -competent authority, but which are nevertheless unwarranted and -misleading. - -The statements referred to are, in the opinion of the Committee, -calculated not only to affect injuriously the reputation of the Colony, -but to damage its interests by prejudicing the policy of the Home -Government and the Imperial Parliament, when dealing with the settlement -of questions arising out of the close political and commercial relations -which the Island of Hong Kong from its juxta-position must necessarily -hold with the Empire of China. - -The Committee offers no apology for addressing you on this subject as it -ventures to believe that the promotion of British Commercial enterprise -abroad in all legitimate channels is one of the objects the London Chamber -of Commerce has in view, and, to that end, it is clearly desirable that a -true appreciation should prevail, not only among the members of your -influential Committee, but throughout the United Kingdom, as to the -position and character of British trade and traders in the Colonies and -foreign countries. - -In the course of an address on the Repression of Crime delivered at the -Social Science Congress, recently held in Nottingham, Sir John Pope -Hennessy, Governor of this Colony, now on leave of absence in England, is -reported to have said--I quote from the _Nottingham and Midland Counties -Daily Express_, of the 22nd September:--"In the little Colony under my -government one million sterling changes hands every month in the article -of opium. But, with commercial activity and profits, there comes an -increase of crime from opium, from its consumption, and from its -smuggling. Hong Kong wages a chronic opium war on a small scale with -China. A desperate class of men, the opium smugglers make the Colony the -base of their operations--they purchase cannon and ammunition there, they -fit out heavily armed junks and engage, within sight of the island, in -naval battles with the revenue cruisers of the Emperor of China. Sometimes -the Emperor's revenue officers are killed, sometimes the smugglers. Not -unfrequently wounded men of both sides are brought into the Colony. All -this gives rise to a class of crimes difficult for the Governor to -repress, difficult on account of the influence of those who profit by it, -whether they are local traders or the financiers of a Viceroy." - -The picture thus sensationally drawn is one which, from its great -exaggerations, gives an untrue representation of the state of things -prevailing in these waters, and cannot fail to lead to the formation of -wholly incorrect inferences as to the relations existing between the -population of this island, for the most part law-abiding and pursuing -honest and industrious callings, and the authorities of the neighbouring -mainland. - -Sir John Hennessy states that opium, to the extent of a million sterling, -_changes hands_ in this Colony every month, and this assertion as to the -magnitude of the trade was obviously made in order to show the vast and -wide-spread interests involved in it, and the influential protection -therefore likely to be afforded to a traffic which the general tenour of -the remarks just quoted cannot fail to lead ordinary readers to suppose is -to a very large extent, if not mainly, contraband. - -Your Committee will be able to judge from the following facts how far the -injurious imputation, thus plausibly insinuated, if not directly stated, -is to be justified by the actual position of affairs. - -The import of opium from India and Persia to Hong Kong and _the whole of -China_, for the year 1881 was-- - - Of Malwa, from Bombay 35,729 chests. - Bengal, from Calcutta 44,124 " - From Persia 6,763 " - ------ - Total 86,616 chests. - -of an approximate value of L10,000,000 sterling. - -With some slight and unimportant exceptions the whole of this opium, the -trade in which it is worthy of note is now practically monopolized by -British Indian firms, passes through this harbour, but by far the larger -proportion of it can only be classed under the head of Hong Kong trade in -the sense in which the traffic through the Suez Canal can be considered as -Egyptian trade. About one half of the quantity of opium I have named as -the entire import, is immediately sent on either in the original foreign -vessels conveying it here, or by other vessels, also foreign, to Shanghai, -where it is entered regularly at the Custom House under official foreign -superintendence. - -Of the remainder, about one half, that is to say, one quarter of the -whole, is shipped by foreign vessels to other treaty ports open to foreign -trade, where it is duly entered at the Customs. The local trade proper of -the Colony, whether for shipment to Macao or Canton by foreign and native -vessels, or in native bottoms, to non-treaty ports,--_i.e._ to ports and -places with which foreign vessels cannot trade,--for consumption on the -island, and for re-export in a prepared state to California and Australia, -or for smuggling purposes, embraces therefore about one fourth of the -entire export to China from India and Persia, or say, in quantity about -21,000 chests of an approximate value of L2,500,000, or about L200,000 per -month instead of L1,000,000 per month as asserted by Governor Hennessy. - -There being no Custom House at this port, it is impossible to obtain -thoroughly accurate statistics as to the disposition of the 21,000 chests -of opium which form the local trade of the Colony. As regards the local -consumption and export in a prepared state, it may be estimated that from -2,500 to 5,000 chests are boiled in the Colony every year, leaving a -balance of 16,000 to 18,500 chests to be accounted for. To suppose that -this quantity is taken into China by smugglers would be to disregard all -the known conditions of the trade and the fact that the preventive service -of the Chinese Empire is probably in point of espionage the most carefully -organized one in the world. On every road, in every village bordering on a -river or waterway, at every port, village, and fishing station along the -coast, there is a watchful Customs Station rendering it very difficult for -a boat of the smallest size to touch the shore without being overhauled -and made to pay levies purporting to be imperial or local dues. To what -extent such dues are honestly levied and declared, there is no means of -ascertaining. The Customs Stations are believed to be farmed out by the -provincial authorities to officials who pay for their appointments, and -although a service thus organized would be considered as a demoralized one -and its system unreservedly condemned according to Western ideas, it is -probable that the receipts of perquisites, and the partial remission of -duties by Customs officials who farm the revenue, is a _quasi_ recognized -practice acquiesced in by all classes throughout the Empire. - -With this system, however, the Colony and merchants of Hong Kong have no -concern, and for its results they are in no way responsible. As the vast -majority of the junks which leave the mainland with produce or arrive -there with imports, undoubtedly obtain from the local Custom Houses port -clearances and bills of entry, the large trade, whether in opium or other -goods, carried on between this port and places on the coast in native -bottoms, being thus subjected to the ordinary fiscal dues levied on the -China coast according to the practice of the Empire, is for the most part -a strictly legal one. - -Smuggling between this island and the mainland in goods other than opium -scarcely exists, as an evasion of the low _ad valorem_ duty of five per -cent. which is payable on entry at the treaty ports, and is probably the -maximum similarly leviable at other ports, would not compensate for the -heavy charges which must be incurred by transit over unusual routes even -if the ubiquitous Customs officials could be avoided. Opium, owing to its -portable character, the facility with which it can be hidden beneath water -without serious deterioration, and the high duty imposed upon it, is more -readily and profitably smuggled, but the returns which have been received -through the Native Custom House at Canton make it nearly certain that the -quantity which evades the payment of duty, either at the treaty ports or -the ports and places not open to foreign trade, is not greater than 2,000 -to 3,000 chests per annum. (See Parliamentary Papers--China No. 2, 1880.) -And the quantity thus estimated to be smuggled is not conveyed, as alleged -by Governor Hennessy, in junks heavily armed for the purpose, fighting -their way to the mainland through the revenue cruisers, but is concealed, -a few balls at a time, about the persons, and in the luggage of Chinese -passengers by the steamers plying between this port and Canton, and other -places on the coast, or in ordinary trading junks and fishing boats of -unpretentious character, or fast pulling boats propelled by a number of -rowers, or by various devices such as are practised by the persons who -evade the duties on tobacco in the United Kingdom. That the revenue -cruisers which surround this island keep up an effective blockade which -prevents the smuggling of opium on a much larger scale than at present -takes place, is probably true, and it is also true that Chinese junks and -boats in the estuary of the Canton river, which do not promptly submit to -be overhauled by the cruisers, are chased and brought to for examination, -if necessary, by being fired upon. The propinquity, however, of this -island to the mainland, so far from being a cause of injury to the Chinese -Customs Revenue, operates most advantageously for the collection of fiscal -levies upon the foreign trade of the southern coast of the Empire. Were -the island situated at a greater distance from the mainland than it is, or -did not exist in its present conditions as a free port under a foreign -government, the difficulties which would be placed in the way of the -Chinese authorities, when engaged in checking smuggling in opium, would be -much greater than they now are. Opium in that case would probably be -shipped in native vessels from more distant depots, such as Singapore, -Saigon or the French mediatized territory of Tonquin, to Chinese ports and -places, and it would be impossible for the revenue cruisers to watch the -entire line of their own coast as effectively as they are now able to -blockade this island in which the trade is centred and controlled. - -There is, therefore, no ground for Governor Hennessy's statement that this -Colony is engaged in chronic war with the neighbouring mainland, or for -his implied imputation that the course of its trade is injurious to the -Chinese fiscal revenue. On the contrary, the facts of the case show that -the physical conditions of the island of Hong Kong not only afford the -ready means by which the Chinese Government is enabled to protect its -legitimate revenue, but also unfortunately place it in the power of the -authorities of the province of Quangtung to surcharge the trade in foreign -goods, carried on in native vessels between Hong Kong and the southern -ports of China, with additional taxation in excess of that authorized by -the foreign treaties. - -With the view to make a representation to H.M. Government in support of -which it may hereafter be necessary to invite the good offices of your -Committee, this Chamber is now engaged in an investigation into the facts, -so far as they can be ascertained, relating to this alleged surcharge of -duties upon the Colonial trade for the collection of which, as well as for -the prevention of an illicit traffic in opium, there is reason to believe -the blockade of this island by Chinese revenue cruisers is maintained. - -So much as regards the general conditions of the trade of the Colony which -evidence the grave misrepresentations contained in the Nottingham address, -but in order to show conclusively, by official returns on matters of fact, -the groundlessness of the specific accusation made by Sir John Pope -Hennessy, your attention is invited to the annexed copies of -correspondence, with its enclosures, between the Colonial Government and -the Committee of this Chamber. - -In response to the request of the Committee, the Acting Colonial Secretary -under the direction of His Excellency the Administrator has furnished the -Chamber with the following documents, viz.:-- - - 1. Extracts from a Report by the Colonial Treasurer and Registrar - General upon the Opium Trade of the Colony. - - 2. Return from the Harbour Master, showing the character of the native - vessels engaged in Opium Smuggling and the number of cases of alleged - smuggling brought before the Marine Court since April 1877. - - 3. Return from the Captain Superintendent of Police, showing the total - number of attacks and seizures made by Customs Revenue Cruisers in the - neighbourhood of the Colony and reported to the Police since 1st - January 1877. - -The Colonial Treasurer's Report on the Opium Trade for 1876, confirms the -figures of the approximate estimate made by this Chamber from independent -sources and given above, as to the probable quantity of opium smuggled -into China from this Colony. - -The Harbour Master's Return shows that there is no special class of -vessels fitted out in the Colony and heavily armed for the purpose of -opium smuggling, as alleged by Governor Hennessy, and in the five cases -cited in the report which comprise the whole number brought before the -Marine Court in the course of five years, it will be seen that the -quantity of opium found in the vessels charged with being engaged in -illicit trade was so inconsiderable, as to make it obvious that the -concealment of opium took place in each case in an ordinary trading junk. -It is also clear from this Return that nothing is known in the Harbour -Master's Department of the armed organization for the purpose of opium -smuggling which is stated by Governor Hennessy to carry on a chronic war -with the Empire of China. - -The return from the Captain Superintendent of Police dealing with the -entire number of cases reported to the police authorities during the years -1878 to 1882 (inclusive) of seizures by Chinese Revenue cruisers and -affrays between the cruisers and native vessels on the neighbouring China -coast, is instructive. - -The number of cases is 23, but of these only 6 are reported to be -connected with the opium trade and the value of the opium seized varies -from $3 in one case to the maximum amount in another of $800, showing, in -confirmation of the Report by the Harbour Master to a similar effect, the -comparatively unimportant character of the opium smuggling which prevails -in these waters, and the absurdity of the allegation that there is a large -contraband trade conducted in heavily armed junks fitted for the purpose -in this harbour. - -The remaining 17 cases of seizures by revenue cruisers during five years -do not appear by the returns to have been connected with opium; 7 of them -were salt junks, 1 sulphur and saltpetre, 3 general cargo, and 2 sugar. In -4 cases the particulars of cargoes are not stated. - -The return shows the number of casualties with fatal results reported to -the police as having occurred in affrays between native vessels and the -revenue cruisers during the period of five years under review. Such -casualties have been 8 in number, but not one of them appears to have had -any connection with opium smuggling, or to have arisen out of any case of -contraband trading with which this Colony was concerned. - -In August 1878, a fisherman on the Hong Kong shore was accidentally killed -by a shot fired by a revenue cruiser when pursuing a junk ultimately -seized for some breach of Chinese regulations with general cargo on board. - -In May 1879, three men of a revenue cruiser were killed in an affray with -a junk carrying salt. As salt is not produced or prepared in this island, -this affray was not generated in the Colony or within Colonial waters. The -preparation of salt in China is conducted as a very strict monopoly by -means of Government licenses, and trade in it other than by duly -authorized persons is contraband. Serious affrays between salt smugglers -and revenue officers are well known to be common throughout the Empire, -they are frequently alluded to in the _Peking Gazette_, and in the case -referred to in the Police Report, the junk must have been passing from one -part of the territory of China to another part outside of British waters. - -On 28th November 1881, a man was killed in a boat which was conveying two -gentlemen of this Colony who were returning from a shooting expedition on -the mainland. Passing by a Customs Station on the Chinese side of the -channel the boat was ordered to heave to; not doing so promptly, musket -shots were fired at it and one of the crew was most unfortunately killed. -In this case there appears to have been no smuggling attempted. - -In April this year a man was killed on board a rowing boat in the narrow -channel separating Hong Kong from the mainland, and in June last two men -were killed outside British waters in a trading junk carrying sulphur and -saltpetre, which are contraband articles of trade in China. In neither -case does it appear that opium was concerned. - -With reference, therefore, to Sir John Pope Hennessy's allegations, which -were to the following effect:-- - - _a._--That this island is the base of operations for a class of - desperate men who carry on a large contraband trade in opium with - China; - - _b._--That for the purpose of carrying on that trade, junks heavily - armed with cannon are fitted out here and wage a chronic war with the - neighbouring Empire; - - _c._--That these junks engage, within sight of the island, in naval - battles with the Chinese Revenue cruisers resulting in large loss of - life on both sides; - -The facts are:-- - - _a._--There is no large contraband trade in opium carried on between - this Colony and the China coast. On the contrary, the opium smuggled, - considering the extent of the trade, is inconsiderable, and for the - most part is carried into China in small quantities, portable and - easily concealed, just as parcels of tobacco are smuggled into the - United Kingdom. - - _b._--That within the knowledge of the Harbour Master and the Colonial - police authorities no armed junks have been fitted out in this harbour - during the last five years for the purpose of opium smuggling. - Smuggling of opium, when attempted at all otherwise than by passengers - in the various steamers trading to the coast of China, is carried on - in ordinary trading junks or in rowing boats dependent for success in - their illicit trade upon their swiftness and small size. - - _c._--No such contests as those referred to in allegation _c_ have - taken place within the last five years, and no loss of life in - connection with opium smuggling during the same period has come under - the notice of the police. Any serious affrays attended with loss of - life which have occurred in the neighbourhood of this Colony between - native vessels and revenue cruisers, have been in connection with - contraband traffic in other articles on the adjacent China coast with - which, so far as is known, this Colony has had no concern. The only - instance reported by the police in which revenue officers have been - injured, was the case of the salt junk referred to above and shown to - be a purely Chinese affair. - -It may be added that on goods other than opium there is very little, if -any, illicit trade carried on between the Colony and the mainland, and -that no allegation has ever been made that foreigners are engaged directly -or indirectly in smuggling of any kind. - -In conclusion, the Committee cannot refrain from expressing regret that -Sir John Pope Hennessy having had the fullest opportunities, as Governor -of this island for five years, of obtaining accurate information with -regard to occurrences taking place and the state of affairs prevailing -here during his term of office, should have been led to make statements, -unfounded in fact and misleading in the inferences they are calculated to -raise, which could not fail to damage the character of the Colony, the -legitimate interests of which it might justly have been expected he would -have been most anxious to defend. - -Copies of this letter will be sent through His Excellency the -Administrator to Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the -Colonies, and to the various Chambers of Commerce in the United -Kingdom.--I am, Sir, your most obedient Servant, - - (Signed) F. BULKELEY JOHNSON, - _Chairman_. - - Charles Magniac, Esq., M.P., - President of the London Chamber of - Commerce, London. - - - - - LONDON: - PRINTED BY W. H. ALLEN AND CO., 13 WATERLOO PLACE. - - - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] "British Opium Policy, and its Results to India and China." - -[2] The loose control possessed by the Emperor over his officials was well -described by one of the most trusted ministers of the great Emperor Keen -Lung. He said to one of the Jesuit missionaries at Pekin, that "the -Emperor himself cannot put a stop to the evils that exist in the service. -To displace those officials who have misbehaved themselves, he may send -others, but instead of removing the evil they generally commit greater -exactions than their predecessors. The Emperor is assured that all is -well, whilst affairs are at their worst and the people are oppressed." - -[3] "China: a History of the Laws, Manners, and Customs of the People." - -[4] "The Middle Kingdom." A Survey of the Geography, Government, -Education, Social Life, Arts, Religion, &c., of the Chinese Empire, and -its Inhabitants. - -[5] As a matter of fact the skull of a Chinaman is fully double the -thickness of that of a European. - -[6] "The River of Golden Sand; the Narrative of a Journey through China -and Eastern Thibet to Burmah," by Capt. William Gill, R.E. - -[7] "The Principles and Practice of Medical Jurisprudence," by Alfred -Swaine Taylor, M.D., F.R.S. - -[8] I have a distant recollection of a syllogism with which schoolboys -once used to exercise the minds of their juniors, which ran, I think, -thus:-- - - Epimenides said all Cretans were liars, - Epimenides himself was a Cretan, - Therefore Epimenides was a liar,--therefore he was not a liar. - -[9] "L'Angleterre, la Chine, et l'Inde." I am indebted for a transcript of -the chapter in question to Mr. H. Henry Sultzberger, Merchant, of No. 10 -Cannon Street, City, who has taken such an interest in the opium question -that he had the chapter printed at his own expense; and also to M. -d'Audlan, a teacher of modern languages, for a translation of it. - -[10] "Annals of Chemical Medicine, including the Application of Chemistry -to Physiology, Pathology, Therapeutics, Pharmacy, Toxicology and Hygiene." - -[11] In those days about L100 sterling.--W. H. B. - -[12] The unfounded charge of smuggling by British merchants and foreigners -in Hong Kong has been completely refuted by the Honourable Francis -Bulkeley Johnson, the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of the Colony, -in a very able letter to Charles Magniac, Esq., M.P., the President of the -London Chamber of Commerce. This letter, which reached me just before -going to press, will be found set out _in extenso_ by way of Appendix. It -is full of valuable and interesting information on the Indo-China opium -trade, and is well worthy of careful study. - -[13] In a recent number of the _Temps_, England was flouted with playing a -humanitarian, hypocritical part towards Tunis, whilst we oppressed the -natives of China by forcing them to smoke opium, in order to augment the -revenue of the Indian Government. - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Truth about Opium, by William H. 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