The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1892-05-12

EIoncn possessions IN southeastern
Asia, with q population Of 5000, 600 or
10000. 600. The vice is also carried by
the Chinese immigrants into Siam and
I'LL the islands of the, Eastern Archipel.
ago. IT the populations of the various
countries in Asia in which the free sale
OF opium is permitted are added to.
gether the aggregate number Is more
than GOO, 100000. In Europe and Amer.
lea the sale is restricted to medicinal
use. by the direction of physicians, and
the walls and boxes containing 1t, when
thus given out by. druggists, are care.
fully labeled: .Poisonv
SO the laws of China once prohibited
the sale and use of opium, the violation
OF which was punished by death. So
earnest were the Chinese to prevent its
introduction into the country that the
~ war with England about it, at the
close of which treaty was made in
which England recognized Chinas
right to prohibit the introduction of
opium, but left it with China to seize
the vessels that Struggled it in and con-
fiscate the vessel aud cargo. But as
the smugglers were Englishmen and
ships English ships the Chinese were
afraid to execute the law, and so opium
was brought in English bottoms from
India to China from 1912 to 1860.
After thus fighting the traffic for
sixty years the Chinese government,
finding it could not stop the smuggling
of opium into the country by British
vessels, finally gave up the contest and
submitted to legalize the horrible traffic
which it could not destroy. And, once
admitting it into the country, it could
not enforce the laws against it's sale
and use, and shops were opened in
every city and town and village in the
empire. The next step was, as they
could not keep out the opium from
India, to begin the cultivation of tho
poppy in China itself. Now, the opium
made from the native grown poppy is
said to be three times as much in guam.
tity as that imported from India.
In the districts where it is thus grown
the price of the native opium is very
cheap and its consumption has spread
among men, women and children, so
that some resident missionaries in these
districts say that 60 and 70 out of every
100 of the people are more or less opium
eaters. When went to China in 1874
it was supposed that 1900, 600 used it.
Before left China estimated that the
1900, 900 had grown to 10000, 900, while
Hudson Taylor now puts the number of
those who use it directly or Indirectly
at 100, OOO, 900.
Now let us sum up the enormous ex-
tent of this curse. The population of
India and Burmah according to the CEN
sus taken last year is $4,000, 900; that
Of China is $50, 600, OOO-some make it
400, 100000 The island of Java counts
its 10000, 900, to which the French pos
sessions in southeastern Asia add at
least 100000 more. The Eastern
Archipelago has, say, 5000, 900. making
altogether a total of 10000, 900. The
curse of Asia has been saddled upon
that continent by Christian Europe.
For this terrible blight cast upon the
greatest of the four quarters of the
globe the British government is chiefly
responsible. A hundred years ago the
East India Company commenced to mo-
nopolize the production of opium for
sale in China. and the government at
home gave to the company the protec-
ton of the British flag. Since 1858 the
British government has had monopo-
| ly of the production and sale of opium.
Great Britain is thus directly responsible
for the prevalence of the opium plague
among the 67o,ooo,ooo people in ASIA
n. Y. EVANGELIST