The Secretary of the Anglo-Oriental Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade, acting on & suggestion of Colonel Gordon, wrote to the Grand Secretary, Li Hung-chang, on the subject of the opium trade. The following i the reply, together with the letter of Secretary of the Chinese Legation in London, who was requested to forward it by the Minister Chinese Legation, 25th July.
Dear Sir,—I am directed by the Marq Taeng to forward you a letter which he has boon requested to transmit to you from His Excellency the Grand Secretary Li, Yours very truly, F, Storrs Tenser, Esq.
Viceroy's Yamen, Vientsin, China, 24h May, 1981.
Sin,—It gave me great pleasure to receive your letter dated 25th February, with its aeveral_euclos sent on behalf of the Anglo-Oriental Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade, Your society has long been known to me and wany of ty countrymen, and Lam sure that all—save victims to the opium habit those who have not a spark of would unite with me in exp of gratitude for the philanthropic moves efforts of the Society in behalf of Chit To know that so many of your countrymen have united to continually protest against the ovile of the opium traffic, and thus second the efforts Chiva has long been making to free elf from this curse, is a source of gee:
ction to my Goverment, to whom I municated a copy of your letter.
of injury which China hss so long with reference to opium finds some relief in the sympathy which a society like yours existing in Kugland bespeaks, Opium is a subject in the discussion of which England and China can never meet on common ground. China views the whole qu tion from a moral standpoint; England from affiscal, England would ree of revenue in India, while China contends for the lives and prosperity of her people. The Auling motive with China iv to repress opium by heavy taxation everywhere, whereas with England the manifest object is to make opium chouper, and thus increase and stimulate the demand in China, With motives and principles so radically 4 that the discus in 1876 has up to time been fruitless of yood results, cussion #hows that inducement and persuasion have been naed in behalf of England to prevent any additional taxation of opium in China, and objections male to ming her undoubted right to regulate her own taxes—at lerist, with regard to opivin, may take the opportunity to assert here, once for all, that the single ment in taxing opium 8 alvrays past, to repress the traffic—never the desire to gain revenue from such a source. Having failed to kill a serpent, who would be so rash as to nurse it in his bosom? If it be thought that China countenapees the import for the revenue it brings, it should be known that my Government will gladly cut off all such revenue in order tw} stop the import of opium. My Sovercigo has never desired his empire to thrive upon the es of his subject jing opium taxation a approaching to alarm, in behalf of China, lest ancritice her revenue; and yet object and protest are made against rates which could be fixed for collection at thy ports and in the interior. The Indian Government is in the background at every otfivial discussion of the opium traffic, and every proposed arrangement should he forced into a shape acceptable to that Government and harmless to its revenues This is not as it should be. Each Gov ment should be left free to deal with opin according to ity own lights. If Chine, out of compassion for her peuple, wishes to impose heavy taxes to discountenance and repress the use of opium, the Indian Gorernment should be equally free, rf it sve fit to preserve ite revenue by increasing the price of ite opium as the demand for it diminishes in China. certainly surreptitious)
Imperial edicts prohibiting its cultivation. Yet this unlawful cultivation no more shows that the Gorernment approves of it than other crimes committed in the Empire by lawless subjects dicate approval by the Government of such crimes, In like manner the present import duty on opium was established, not from choice, but because Chiva submitted to the adverse decision of arms, The war must be considered as China's standing protest against legalizing such My Government is impressed with the necessity of making strenuous efforts to control this flood of opium before it overwhelms the whole country. The new treaty with the United States containing the prohibitory clause against opium encourages the belief that the broad principles of justice and feelings of humanity will prevail in fature relations between China and Western nati My Government will to enforce the laws against the cultivation of the poppy in China, and otherwise check the of opium; and I earnestly hope that your society and all right-minded men of your country will support the efforts China is now making to escape from the thraldom of opium. Tam, Sir, our obedient servant, Li Hoxe-cnaxc, To F, Storrs Torsen, Esq., Anglo-Oriental Society for ion of the Opium Trade, —L. and 0. Bzpress.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.