The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-05-07

= ussd exclusively for cooking purposes.
- eodieaon 70 the cooks aad other en-
Paoysa The Canadian license for the
~ ~ uiseesfs ~ opium - $50 . year.
- eovefnmsns, In addition 10 PRO-
s.oin9 supicymsns fcs large number
people and besides bringing into the
counsry = great amount Of rnoney from
NE United States. derives . neat little
senue each year, eli ct the expense of
tne United States. Mr.. Van Bokkeasn
1uftnsr says that the sdoption Of the pro-
posed - pound duty would have the I'm
meoisss eject OF closing down The oosum
factories In British Columbia, breaking M
tns smuggiing rings. bus viii not increa se
.ns governments revenue TO any percepti-
bic extent
The development and manufacture of
opium u IN interesting study. The Chinese
gre sns greatest consumers In the world.
next 20 that race como the Burmese and
the inhabitants Of the straits Of Malacca,
tne istssr consuming opium 20 the value
OF 10000 annually. The cultivation of
the poppy. from which juice IL extracted
ana subsequently reduced by boiling until
II becomes liquid resembling moiasses.
when u II termed refined Opium, 10 carried
on In many parts Of Asia, Persia. Turkey
ana some parts Of China The chief ais
srics 10 along the Ganges river. India, and
embraces On area 600 miles long by 90
miles In width. and 10 divided into two
districts. Bshar and Benarss. The cities
OF Pasns and 0azspors are the principal
dspots or shipping points. whsrs the fac
tories for making crude opium are situ-
ated- The producers are required 70 cell
their product to the Indian government,
which in turn supplies the great Chinese
importing houses. Before the fields of
India we're developed opium came from
Turkey and Psrsia, and Was used for
medicinal purposes for the reason that is
contained moro than 10 per cent. of NOR
phis. quality that IL too rich for smok-
ing; opium used for the latter purpose con-
tains about Q Per cen. In India the
seed OF the poppy 10 planted in November,
it flowers In January. and . month later
the capsular bulb attsius the sire Of .
hens egg. when IL 10 punctured By . sharp
instrument. when . thick Juice flows out
and accumulstes on the outside of the bulb.
The next day the gum 10 carefully
and kneading process OF several weeks, is
rolled up In balls Weighing four pounds
each, and prepared for exporting. The
Indian government derives An income Of
EDO sterling for each chest, which con-
tains i60 pounds. Good POPPY soil will
produce about sixty poupds Of refined
opium to the acre. Most Of the crude
opium IL shipped to China. where three
- r.. IL
the factories. managed By the Fook Lung
and the Lai Yuen Companies. are located
In the Portuguese colony OF Macao. about
seventy-five miles from Hongkong. At
tho latter place. an English colony, Fook
Hing d Co., have . monopoly for
that part Of the British possessions. and
pay the government an annual revenue Of
$500. 600 for the privilege. ALI other opium
found IN that district 10 seized and turned
over TO the Fook Hing Co. The
two former firms manufacture over 500
pounds Of opium daily.
The method by which opium is manu-
featured II interesting to observe. although
. sickening odor psrvadss the atmosphere
and will cause . novice to become deathly
ILL The balls Of crude opium are slit
open, moistsned with water and boiled to q
paste. This paste 10 dried, remoistened aud
again boiled. after which il II strained. II
goes through this process several times.
each time being carefully strained and all
foreign substance removed until II has .
rich brown color. The drug 10 boiled In
large hemisphsrical brass pans about
twenty inches In diameter. The other
utensils consist OF . bamboo filter, sprink-
iers. strainsrs and pots. When IL II prop
erly boiled down IL IL sealed up in brass
tins containing ak ounces each. The fac
tories IN China can manufacture better
quality Of opium for $3.50 less pound
than the factories on the Pacific coast. A
good opium cook in China is paid SO .
month and at Victoria $40 month. A
DAYS work consists Of refining two and q
half balls Of crude opium, each ball max
ing five five-tael cans of prepared opium.
For each additional ball refined 1t Is Gus
tomary to pay the cook 30 cents.
Mr. Van Bokkelen has given the opium
question serious consideration, and Is
fully convinced that the proposed duty OF
IS q pound would have the immediate eff.
feet of stopping smuggling, and perhaps
increasing the governments revenue. The
firms Of China will have better opportu
nifty of honestly competing with the illicit
northern factori es and at the same time
pay the United 8 tates government . hand
some revenue. The evil habit OF opium
smoking has obtained such power over
the Chinese and some classes of white peo-
pie In the United States that it is physi
cal impossibility to wholly stop the impor-
tation and use of the drug. and the next
| best measure, IL seems. IL to adopt some
legislation that will check the growth oi
the habit and at the same time not defraud
the government of q revenue that it is
Justly entitled to receive. and which here
tofore has mostly gone into the private
purses of the smugglers of the Pacific
Northwest.
Heretica Divide . Mtssourt Church.
| SPRISeriELp. Mo-, May 6-Revs. Hig
sin hofham and Rolfx of the Rantixl