The Chinese Government is undoubtedly perturbed by the coming, League of Nations' Conference of of the Powers having Far Eastern The programme sug-will be stultified as 1m monopoly countries are concerned, unless China can stop production. The Hongkong Governor declared in 1923 that "no financial consideration would ition in the would povi passe stop cultivation."
The diMtculties of preventing ting axe wwuperable, In Hongkong 0 is gold at $14.50 per ounce: China it is as low as 35 cents, Whilst, morally the trafic in defensible in any Eastern possessions, yot if restriction leads to extensive underground methods of smuggling the results will doubtful. China must stop eultivation, Can she do this? No and Yes. No! she cannot stop it in the South and West, where ths bul fof hier yearly 10,090 tons grown, These' provines have Virtual autonomy and Peking mandates are disregarded, and the will continue to. cultivate and trafic, until some power not present operative makes it impossible. Yes! applies to the Northern provinces such the Central tant, couteols appointments and has the power to enforce the law. Will she do Recently the of Foreign Affairs, Interior, War and Police have formed Suppression Board which the General Secretary of the Association was invited to cuss present conditions and suggest methods of restriction. Later the Association was asked to make Yecommendations in writing, which they did, "and the main' points emphasized were; first, that further investigation of poppy cultivation and opium traffic were unnecessary and would cause delay. Every tone knows where it is grown and the quantities, and in the mean time farmers are planting for the Summer harvest. If, however, the Suppression Board' decides' to send Investigating Commissioners the Association urged that they should act independently of the Civil and Military Authorities, for there is conclusive evidence that in the past the investigators have not been permitted to investigate until the opium harvest had been reaped, and hence their reports fare entirely misleading. Secondly the Azsociation urged that methods for the prevention of opium smuggling be considered. It will little, if prohibition of cultivation "be enforced. in - the North, and no means taken. to prevent the surplus tons of opium entering from the South This Governor Ts'ai -Ch'eng-hsun has the record of being the first Thirdly the Association suggested the opening of "Curing Houses"
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.