The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-05-07
BOXING OF OPIUM.
Manufacturing Industry
Of British Columbia.
vEcr OF THE WILSON, BILL.


AIYO80y-OU0bboS8co 0B ne
Besinsss.
bef TowssKsp. May e,-fspeciai. r.
msicipation Of the Wilson bill becom.
s Law and thereby lowering the duty
& opinm from $l2 70 g pound, ten
- factories or "cooksFies" in British
<vmbia have ceased operations. The
| n 1stfy In that particular line IL about
niyssd. % to speak. and the four fac
70 nov running employ less than one
{Nf8 the number Of cooks formerly en-
[#ugod. On March ! there were about
rlsn tons Of prepared opium stored in
warehouses In British Columbia ready
~ market. The merchants, however.
- . dispose Of their stock before the
SunEs Of the new tariff Law. They fully
IiDe thst ii the duty il lowered 20 g
und their product win b practically
- eut Of the American markets for the
oen that they cannot successfully com.
-, sithsr a. to quality or prics, with
enanufactursrs Of China. In Macao
- Hongkong. the big opium manufact.
HIne csntsrs Of China, the actual cost Of
fning one five-tael can Of opium. which
dutumbiA the same article costs not less
80 8, and the flavor and quality 10
- inferior to that Of the Orient. The
spooos and atmospheric conditions Of
fNtns appear to b. better adapted TO cook
~ refining opium than on the Pacific
1T
i fact about the consumption Of opium
he United States 10 that when the tar.
evas IS pound nearly twice the amount
II opium was imported and paid duty
y whom the duty was SO and $l2 .
toead. From 1850 to 1883. . period Of
SmSiy four years, while the duty was % .
peand, the same ~ proposed in the Will
- bill, 100000 pounds were imported TO
- Pacific coast, on which duty OF
4eo0.O0 was paid, averaging &750.00O
~. From 1883 to 1880 the duty was
lissd TO SO . pound. and there were
Nl000 pounds imported. from which the
1ossrnment collected . customs tar Of
III. 600, or 100000 year. Since the
1nsctmsnt of the Mckinley Law in 1880 the
1ssy has been and Il $l2 pound on crude
~ refined opium containing less than 8
~ cant. Of morphia. During that period
1900 pounds was shipped into the
united States. the duties aggregsting
4D0,000, and the annual import WAS 81, 900
p9unds . year. which Melted an annual
lysnue of $4,000. Thus 1t 10 apparent
1hst under the low tariff more than
1oubls the amount of opium was
shipped into this country than during
~ periods of high tariff. but the
government did not receive any more rev.
ssue. Under the present law the manu-
lscturers Of China are able In . measure to
oeccsssfulfy compete with the British
Columbia factories after paying duty Of
1t2a pound and allowing the latter the
banefit Of avoiding the duty tar BY snug
ling their product into the United States.
1Ihe China exporters manufacture . "a.
3sfior quality Of opium, and pay the duty
md retail II In the San: Francisco markets
sos $3.50 pound. Only twice In the history
SSof the Puget sound customs district, once
n lsss and again last January. was opium
5sgularly imported through the custom
Aeuse. and then in small quantities. al
though IL 10 well-known fact that hun
tssds Of tons have been smuggied across
W. boundary line. The British Columbia
hctories depend solely on smugglers to get
their product into the American markets.
The United States government prohibits
hreigners from engaging in the manu-
tActure Of opium. and also imposes an in
tsfnal revenue tax of SO pound. This,
together with the duty OF &i2 pound on
crude opium, entirely wipes out the profits
IN domestic manufacture. The average
quality of opium in Victoria and vicinity
cannot be purchased for less than 81 50 =
pound; add to this the cost of Transports
Won 10 san Francisco. the opium-consum-
Ing center of the United States, reason
able rate for probable loss by seizure or
theft. and profit of say 81 . pound for
ths smuggler. and it will be apparent that
British Columbia opium placed on the
market in California cannot be sold for
lsss than 81 a pound Imported China
opium retaiis for $3.50 more a pound, and
on account of its age and superior flavor Is
much preferred to the other qualities.
Opium is similar to whisky-it improves
With age. Chinese will gladly pay an
extra fancy price for opium more than ten
years old. Tho manufacturers in China
Ore immensely rich. aud they gauge their
output by the demand. always keeping a
large stock on hand, that IL may increase
N value rs 1t ages.
opium is 81 pound and ON refined
Sfthsu 80 AZ vac iphoc
passed the Wilson bill. several Chinese
merchants IN Victoria became frightened
and shipped back TO China sixty-fise cases
q crude opium, each case containing ltt
pounds. One firm IN that city, mp To las,
February. made speciality of shipping
prepared opium to Toronto. Canada. aver
aging from i,ooo pounds to ton each
month. This opium eventually finds its
say into the United States. Customs
officers have learned of several instances
where opium Was shipped 10 Eastern
canada. smuggled into the United States
and then shipped back to San Francisco.
John A. Van Bokkelen, of this city. for
merly customs inspector, who was fol
long time stationed at Vancouver, II. C..
Investigated the subiest of opium manu-
iacture in British Columbia and sub
msssed Synopsis of his researches TO the
Treasury department. His report was very
exhaustive, dealing with the question in
I'll Its phases and showing the enormous
quantities Of the drug manufactured In
taat province and the profits In the husi
hess OF smuggling. Following 10 tabu!ai
statement he prepared. showing the factor
les and number of cooks employed octo
Der l. iS.S. and March /. 1854: