a.—That this island is the base of operations for a class of desperate men who carry on a large contraband trade in opium with China;b.—That for the purpose of carrying on that trade, junks heavily armed with cannon are fitted out here and wage a chronic war with the neighbouring Empire;c.—That these junks engage, within sight of the island, in naval battles with the Chinese Revenue cruisers resulting in large loss of life on both sides;
a.—That this island is the base of operations for a class of desperate men who carry on a large contraband trade in opium with China;
b.—That for the purpose of carrying on that trade, junks heavily armed with cannon are fitted out here and wage a chronic war with the neighbouring Empire;
c.—That these junks engage, within sight of the island, in naval battles with the Chinese Revenue cruisers resulting in large loss of life on both sides;
The facts are:—
a.—There is no large contraband trade in opium carried on between this Colony and the China coast. On the contrary, the opium smuggled, considering the extent of the trade, is inconsiderable, and for the most part is carried into China in small quantities, portable and easily concealed, just as parcels of tobacco are smuggled into the United Kingdom.b.—That within the knowledge of the Harbour Master and the Colonial police authorities no armed junks have been fitted out in this harbour during the last five years for the purpose of opium smuggling. Smuggling of opium, when attempted at all otherwise than by passengers in the various steamers trading to the coast of China, is carried on in ordinary trading junks or in rowing boats dependent for success in their illicit trade upon their swiftness and small size.c.—No such contests as those referred to in allegationchave taken place within the last five years, and no loss of life in connection with opium smuggling during the same period has come under the notice of the police. Any serious affrays attended with loss of life which have occurred in the neighbourhood of this Colony between native vessels and revenue cruisers, have been in connection with contraband traffic in other articles on the adjacent China coast with which, so far as is known, this Colony has had no concern. The only instance reported by the police in which revenue officers have been injured, was the case of the salt junk referred to above and shown to be a purely Chinese affair.
a.—There is no large contraband trade in opium carried on between this Colony and the China coast. On the contrary, the opium smuggled, considering the extent of the trade, is inconsiderable, and for the most part is carried into China in small quantities, portable and easily concealed, just as parcels of tobacco are smuggled into the United Kingdom.
b.—That within the knowledge of the Harbour Master and the Colonial police authorities no armed junks have been fitted out in this harbour during the last five years for the purpose of opium smuggling. Smuggling of opium, when attempted at all otherwise than by passengers in the various steamers trading to the coast of China, is carried on in ordinary trading junks or in rowing boats dependent for success in their illicit trade upon their swiftness and small size.
c.—No such contests as those referred to in allegationchave taken place within the last five years, and no loss of life in connection with opium smuggling during the same period has come under the notice of the police. Any serious affrays attended with loss of life which have occurred in the neighbourhood of this Colony between native vessels and revenue cruisers, have been in connection with contraband traffic in other articles on the adjacent China coast with which, so far as is known, this Colony has had no concern. The only instance reported by the police in which revenue officers have been injured, was the case of the salt junk referred to above and shown to be a purely Chinese affair.
It may be added that on goods other than opium there is very little, if any, illicit trade carried on between the Colony and the mainland, and that no allegation has ever been made that foreigners are engaged directly or indirectly in smuggling of any kind.
In conclusion, the Committee cannot refrain from expressing regret that Sir John Pope Hennessy having had the fullest opportunities, as Governor of this island for five years, of obtaining accurate information with regard to occurrences taking place and the state of affairs prevailing here during his term of office, should have been led to make statements, unfounded in fact and misleading in the inferences they are calculated to raise, which could not fail to damage the character of the Colony, the legitimate interests of which it might justly have been expected he would have been most anxious to defend.
Copies of this letter will be sent through His Excellency the Administrator to Her Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies, and to the various Chambers of Commerce in the United Kingdom.—I am, Sir, your most obedient Servant,
(Signed)F. Bulkeley Johnson,Chairman.
Charles Magniac, Esq., M.P.,President of the London Chamber ofCommerce, London.
LONDON:PRINTED BY W. H. ALLEN AND CO., 13 WATERLOO PLACE.
Footnotes:
[1]“British Opium Policy, and its Results to India and China.”
[2]The loose control possessed by the Emperor over his officials was well described by one of the most trusted ministers of the great Emperor Keen Lung. He said to one of the Jesuit missionaries at Pekin, that “the Emperor himself cannot put a stop to the evils that exist in the service. To displace those officials who have misbehaved themselves, he may send others, but instead of removing the evil they generally commit greater exactions than their predecessors. The Emperor is assured that all is well, whilst affairs are at their worst and the people are oppressed.”
[3]“China: a History of the Laws, Manners, and Customs of the People.”
[4]“The Middle Kingdom.” A Survey of the Geography, Government, Education, Social Life, Arts, Religion, &c., of the Chinese Empire, and its Inhabitants.
[5]As a matter of fact the skull of a Chinaman is fully double the thickness of that of a European.
[6]“The River of Golden Sand; the Narrative of a Journey through China and Eastern Thibet to Burmah,” by Capt. William Gill, R.E.
[7]“The Principles and Practice of Medical Jurisprudence,” by Alfred Swaine Taylor, M.D., F.R.S.
[8]I have a distant recollection of a syllogism with which schoolboys once used to exercise the minds of their juniors, which ran, I think, thus:—
Epimenides said all Cretans were liars,Epimenides himself was a Cretan,Therefore Epimenides was a liar,—therefore he was not a liar.
Epimenides said all Cretans were liars,Epimenides himself was a Cretan,Therefore Epimenides was a liar,—therefore he was not a liar.
[9]“L’Angleterre, la Chine, et l’Inde.” I am indebted for a transcript of the chapter in question to Mr. H. Henry Sultzberger, Merchant, of No. 10 Cannon Street, City, who has taken such an interest in the opium question that he had the chapter printed at his own expense; and also to M. d’Audlan, a teacher of modern languages, for a translation of it.
[10]“Annals of Chemical Medicine, including the Application of Chemistry to Physiology, Pathology, Therapeutics, Pharmacy, Toxicology and Hygiene.”
[11]In those days about £100 sterling.—W. H. B.
[12]The unfounded charge of smuggling by British merchants and foreigners in Hong Kong has been completely refuted by the Honourable Francis Bulkeley Johnson, the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of the Colony, in a very able letter to Charles Magniac, Esq., M.P., the President of the London Chamber of Commerce. This letter, which reached me just before going to press, will be found set outin extensoby way of Appendix. It is full of valuable and interesting information on the Indo-China opium trade, and is well worthy of careful study.
[13]In a recent number of theTemps, England was flouted with playing a humanitarian, hypocritical part towards Tunis, whilst we oppressed the natives of China by forcing them to smoke opium, in order to augment the revenue of the Indian Government.