Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1872-06-07
OPIUM.
A Most Infamous Trade-One Of che
Sources of English Revenue.

A Most InfamO us Trade-One OF enc
7. Sources Of English Revenue.
1t is an admitted fact that large por-
ton of the public revenue of British In
dia is derived from the tax upon opium,
produced from the white poppy, which
is cultivated there, chiefly on the banks
of the 'Ganges, on tract six hundred
miles long by two hundred in breadth,
which, when the plant is in bloom, has
been likened by imaginative botanists to
u green sea studded with white water
lilies. There also is considerable pro-
duction of opium in Egypt, Asiatic Tur-
key, and Persia. But little of this finds
its way to- Hindostan, as its import
would not pay" Indian opium is
chiefly prepared for the markets of
China, the Birman Empire, and Suma-
ira with its adjacent archipelago. On
the average, 5000 tons of opium are
annually disposed of, the assessed value
of which, before shipment, is seventy
millions of dollars. AS every one
knows, this inspissated juice of the
poppy is one of the most powerful and
useful articles in pharmacopeia-
whether dissolved in alcohol or wine, re-
duced to an alkaleid, or taken in its
crude state. But in China and the other
Oriental countries, which. purchase all
the opium that is produced in and ex-
ported from British India, it is largely
INDUCED in, whether swallowed in bulk
or smoked-after the fashion vividly de-
scribed in Edwin brood - as a mar
cotic and stimulant;l and thus used,
or abused, its effects are so deleterious
that its introduction and use are pro-
hibited, by the most restrictive laws and
ordinances, by the governing authorities
of these countries. In 1884, shortly
after the monopoly of the British
East India Company legally termi-
mated, and the trade with China
was thrown open, so much opium was
shipped to China by private spectators
(previously the East India Company,
having the trade wholly in its own
hands, had limited the production, to
keep up the price that the market was
overstocked, and more opium was intro
duced into China in that one season
than had previously been brought in in
three. The Chinese authorities remon-
strated, absolutely forbade all further
sales Of opium, finally suspended the
British trade, and thus arose the sue
cession Of contests between Chinese and
"outside barbarians," which, with vari-
GUS short intermissions, lasted for thirty
years, ending with the capture of Pekin
by British and French troops.
To this hour China prohibits the in
PRODUCTION Of opium, but the article
yields so large revenue to the treasury
that the trade is carried on openly, with
full knowledge, amounting to the i'm
piled permission, of the Indian Govern
ment,
Among the latest news items from the
Antipodes is an announcement that the
cultivation of opium in various parts of
the Australian colony of Victoria has
been largely tried, and successfully, as
far as the quality is concerned. The
commercial results are not yet stated,
but the article has realized from 81 to
81 so per pound. At this rate, which
leaves an immense profit on the produc-
ton, it can undersell the Indian opium
in the Chinese market. If SO, compe-
tition must inevitably arise, which will
injure the finances of British India, to
which the article of opium contributes
100000, 900 per annum, about one-sixth
of the annual revenue. II is surprising
that there is not yet any production Of
opium in this country. In all the South
ern States wherever the rich soil is un-
exhausted the opium-producing poppy
could be successfully cultivated with
little manual and no mechanical labor
Careful wedding appears to be the chief
care required. At the same time, there
is opium enough in the world without
our doing anything to increase it.