The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1892-05-18
ASlA'S OPIUM TRADE.
The Horrible Traffic for Which England
Is Responsible.


Inland mission alone that is authority
for the statement that more than 100,.
900, 600 of China are, directly or indi.
rectly, sufferers from the use of opium"
The writer of the article on opium in
the last edition of the "Encyclope-
dia Britannica" states the number OF
those who use it to be 100,000,000 or
125, 900, 600, as the population may be
300, 600, 900 or 400, 900, 600.
And now the British government in
India, TO increase its revenue, has au-
thorized the licensing of shops through
out India and Burmah for the free sale
of opium. These licenses are issued in
a very unusual form. Those who take
the license come under obligation ia
sell stipulated amount or to pay for
felt! Thus the government almost COM
pels the holders of the license to stimu-
late its subjects to consume deadly
poison! The door is thrown wide open
for all the inhabitants of India to take
that which destroys at once the body
and the soul.
The unrestricted sale of opium is per.
mitted in Java, with it's 10000, 900 OF
population. 1t is also permitted in the
French possessions in southeastern
Asia, with population of 100000 OF
$1,000, 900. The vice is also carried by
the Chinese immigrants into Siam and
all the islands of the Eastern Archipel
ago. If 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 6O0,00O,0O0. In Europe and Amer
lea the sale is restricted to medicinal
use, by the direction of physicians, and
the walls and boxes containing it, when
thus given out by druggists, are care
fully labeled: "POison!'
| So the laws of China once prohibited
the sale and use of opium, the violation
! of which was punished by death. Sc
earnest were the Chinese to prevent its
introduction into the country that the
government became involved in cost
ly war with England about it, at the
close of which a treaty was m ade il
which England recognized China;
right to prohibit the introduction o.
opium, but left it with China to seizt
the vessels that struggled it in and con
fiscate the vessel and cargo. But az
the smugglers were Englishmen an(
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 fol-
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 ant
submitted tolegalize the horrible tratfi,
which it could not destroy. And, once
admitting it into the country, it coul(
not enforce the laws against its sal,
and use, and shops were opened il
every city and town and village in the
empire. The next step was, as the,
could not keep out the opium from
India, to begin the cultivation OF tn,
poppy in China itself. Now, the opium
made from the native grown poppy il
said to be three times as much in guam
tity as that imported from India.
In the districts where it is'thus gfbwr
the price of the native opium is yer,
cheap and its consumption has sprea,
among men, women and children, 81
that some resident missionaries in thes
districts say that 60 and 20 out of ever
100 of the people are more or less opium
eaters. When | went to China in 1874
it was supposed that 2,OOO,OOO used il
Before left China | estimated that tn
100000 had grown to 10000, 600, Will
Hudson Taylor now puts the number O
those who use it directly or indirectl
at 100000. 600.
Now let MS sum up the enormous eX
tent of this curse. The population 0
India and Burmah according to the Ger
sus taken last year is 5000, 600; tina
OF China is $50, 600. 000-some make
400 600, 600. The island of Java count
its 20, 100000, to which the French pos
sessions in southeastern Asia add a
least 10,O00,0C0 more. The Easter
Archipelago has, say, 5000, 900, maxim
altogether total of GO. 900 900. Th
curse of Asia has been saddled upo
that continent by Christian Europe
For this terrible blight cast upon tn
greatest OF the four quarters of tn
globe the British government is chief
responsible. a hundred years ago tn
East India Company commenced to me
nopolze the production of opium fo
sale in China, and the government a
home gave to She company the protet
ton of the British flag. Since 1853 tn
British government has had monopC
~ of the production and sale of opium
Great Britain is thus directly responsible
for the prevalence of the opium plagu
among the $4,000, 600 people in Asia
n. y. Evangelist.