OCR Text |
Show AN OPIUM REVIVAL. It looks moro and moro as though tho revolution in China against the Manohu dynasty was helped largoly by the feeling among ChincBo farmers against the edicts forbidding tho cultivation cul-tivation of the poppy for the opium trade. It will be recalled that tho Chinese foreign office under tho empire em-pire made a treaty with Great Britain for tho purpose of putting down the opium trado and gradually curtailing the importation of opium from India into China, till it would coaso altogether. alto-gether. The stipulation on tho part of China waB .that the production of opium in China was to bo discontinued in. the same proportion and at tho samo ratio' that tho imports of opium from India were to bo cut down. The Chinose throne issued decrees accordingly, forbidding tho cultivation of the poppy. 'But in many portions of China, tho poppy was the farmer's best crop; the one for which ho could always get' cash, and upon which ho could make a profit. Immediately upon the promulgation of tho orders curtailing cur-tailing tho . poppy crop, signs of discontent dis-content appeared, and revolt against the thrpno was more and moro easily f omentod, as the decree came into effect ef-fect limiting year by year the acreage of poppies that might be grown. Tho scheme was to eradicate the poppy altogether al-together in ten years, and correspondingly, correspond-ingly, Great Britain cugagod to cut down tho imports of India opium until dt the expiration of ten years they would cease altogether. It will bo recalled that the most infamous war of all the ages was the "opium war" waged by Great Britain against China lo compel her to receive tho British import of opium from IndiaJ whore the raising of the poppy and the making of opium from it was a vast industry. It is to be noted also that India made a fervent, protest against the agreement agree-ment to curtail the imports of her opium into China. So' there was the situation; a tottering tot-tering throne in Ohiua trving to do something for the good of the Chinoso people, and vast interests in China and India 'opposed to the efforts of tho throne. It was an expiring act of virtue on the part of tho Manchu dynasty. But it was, fatal. It was the last straw on the patience of tho Chinamen. The net result is tho abrogation ab-rogation of the treaty against opium, and a late semi-editorial item in the New York Tribune tells as, follows of the revival of poppy-growing in China: The Increasing confirmation of the report re-port that China is rosumlng opium cultivation culti-vation and consumption on a large acale will be .disappointing to many, though there are also many whom it will not surprise. sur-prise. There Hccms to be no doubt that, undor the stimulus of international encouragement en-couragement and co-operation, a great work was done for the suppression of the pernicious traffic. But there was at once perceptible a marked Increase in the use of alcoholic drinks, and also of to-bucdo, to-bucdo, to luke the place of opium. That there should now be a widespread reliction re-liction toward the old habit Is little moro than was to 'be expected. |