Our readers ave probably henry of hearing about the proposed Opium Syndicate, and it seems likely that this satiety on their part will be found to {synchronise with the collapse of the project altogether. From private advices recently received from the North we judge that this much talked-of scheme is already doomed to failure, the hostility of one and all the provineial officials to any symptoms of a policy of centralisation, whatever form it may assume, and to any tentative measures that will override provincial rights of local taxation, Now provincialiem, if we may -use the word in a special sense, is very strong in China, this we have lately had a convincing proof in the failure of the Emperor to effect a modifiontion of part of.the Criminal Code, a scheme which had a centralizing tendency, and which has been protested against so unanimously all the Governors and Viceroys in tie Empire that no further effort, probably, will be made to carry out the plan, Besides this, there are many influences inimical to any Syndicate in which Cantonese compradores and foreign speculators will have the power of combining, with the advantage of Government support, to obtain a monopoly the power of which is likely to be felt over several provinces; moreover we hear at the same time that personal feeling has been here, brought into play, and exception taken to some of the names of those who may rightly or wrongly be credited with a wish to profit by the establishment of a syndicate in Hongkong. Another thing that is held as likely to interfere with the oventunl success of the Syndicate is to be found in the conditions that are now to be dealt with of the very Large and untrammelled cultivation of native opium, This new branch of industry is no longer prohibited, or even merely winked at, Ili is protected, encour. aged, and advocated by the official olusses, Years ago this policy was hinted at in no obscure terms by abigh Chinese authority to a foreign officer, The programme was first to crash the Indian trade by native growth, and, that done, to subdue the native growth by degrees, as soon as ever it bad served its purpose. The first part of this plan is now in fall operation, and it will militate strongly against the successful working of the Syndicate, Finally, any monopoly of the kind would have to be carried on under the very strictest conditions before it can win the approval of the British Government. It would be undignified enough for the Crown of India to enter the market asian opium-dealer under any circumstances. To assist the Chinese Government, however, it might so far stretch a point as to sanction the scheme proposed under the most stringent possible provisos; bat under no conceivable pretext, we should think, would it stoop so far as to play into the hands of a body of private speculators, The prospects of the Ssndicate are, therefore, ab an oxceedingly low ebb, and it would be futile to count upon the support of Li Hang-chang, who, after much investigation and carefal thought, is known to nye memorialised the Throne against it,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.