China: Its State and Prospects/Chapter 4
CHAPTER IV.
REFLECTIONS ON THE POPULATION.
If the population of China really amount to such overwhelming numbers, then what a distressing spectacle presents itself to the eye of the Christian philanthropist. Three hundred and sixty millions of human beings huddled together in one country, under the sway of one despotic monarch, influenced by the same delusive philosophy, and bowing down to the same absurd superstition. One third of the human race, and one half of the heathen world, held by one tie, and bound by one spell; one million of whom are every month dropping into eternity, untaught, unsanctified, and, as far as we know—unsaved. How unaccountable it appears that one individual should be allowed to fetter the minds of so vast a portion of immortal men, and to forbid the introduction of evangelical liberty. How distressing to think, that this nation has been for ages in its present demoralized and degraded condition, with no light beaming on the people, but that derived from atheism and polytheism, with now and then an obscure ray from a questionable form of Christianity. If we were sure that this state of things would always continue, or that the Gospel was not destined at an early period to subjugate and renovate China, we might almost be led to grow weary of such an unimproving and unimprovable world. To see the demon of darkness reigning in one soul is painful, but to see him rampant over a whole nation, and that nation constituting one-third of the human race, is beyond measure distressing, and might well induce one to exclaim, "Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of this people."
There are, doubtless, amongst such a vast concourse of human beings, numbers, who, according to the light they have, lead tolerably decent lives, as it regards moral and social duties; but they must all be destitute of right views of divine and eternal things; and where these fundamental truths are misapprehended, there can be little hope of the claims of human relations being properly sustained; in fact, experience forces upon those who have had the most frequent and intimate intercourse with them, the unwelcome truth, that amongst them, in a remarkable degree, "there is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God; they are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre, with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways, and the way of peace have they not known;" and why? but because, "there is no fear of God before their eyes. Now, if it be true, that they have "all sinned and come short of the glory of God;" that "without shedding of blood there is no remission," and that "without faith, it is impossible to please God;" if they cannot "call on him in whom they have not believed, nor believe in him of whom they have not heard, nor hear without a preacher;" then, how wretched must be the condition, and how dismal the prospect of a nation of sinners, and so great a nation, involved in one common ruin with ourselves, and yet ignorant of the only way of salvation. We are not warranted by divine revelation to conclude, that wilful and determined sinners will be forgiven without an interest in the great atonement; and we have no reason to imagine, that such interest can be obtained, by adult transgressors, without a knowledge of, and faith in, the Divine Mediator. How truly affecting and heart-rending is it, therefore, that so large a portion of the human race should be shut up together, under one tyrannical government, whose exclusive policy forbids all intercourse with foreigners, and whose proud self-sufficiency imagines their native institutions fully adequate to all the requirements of the present and the future world. Really, if the apostle Paul, speaking under the influence of inspiration, could express himself so feelingly and so strongly, relative to God's ancient people, as to "wish himself separated from Christ, for his brethren and kinsmen according to the flesh;" and if his "heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel was, that they might be saved;" then, surely, Christians in the present day, may be excused for feeling strongly on the subject of China's danger, and for panting eagerly after China's salvation.
But the population of China, in its present condition, not only distresses—it appals the mind. The man, who shall set himself to reform his household, or to enlighten his neighbourhood, has assigned himself a task of some difficulty; but of proportionate ease, compared with the great object of arousing a whole nation, turning the current of popular opinion, and bringing the mass of a people to think aright on the subject of religion. The difficulty is increased, however, when the reform of such a nation is attempted, and that in opposition to early and long cherished prejudices, backed by all the array of political power and philosophical cunning. Where shall we begin, or where can we hope to end the Herculean task? And what proportion do our present means and efforts bear to the end in view? Some score of individuals, is all that the churches of England and America now devote to the conversion of China—one thousand persons are thereby brought under instruction, and not more than ten converted every year. This is a very small proportion, and protracted will be the period, ere we can expect at such a rate to succeed. Could we bring one thousand individuals under instruction every day, and give them only a day's teaching each, it would take one thousand years to bring all the population of China thus under the sound of the Gospel; and if even ten of these separate thousands were every day converted to God, it would require one hundred thousand years to make all these mighty hosts savingly acquainted with divine truth. This is a startling view of the matter, but a more affecting consideration still, is, that the ranks of heathenism are increasing at a thousandfold greater ratio than we can expect, by such a system of proselyting, to thin them. For, even allowing an increase of only one per cent, per annum on the whole population, we shall find that they are thus adding three and a half millions, yearly, to their number; so that according to our most sanguine calculations, the heathen would multiply faster than they could be brought over to Christianity. Besides which, while we are thus aiming to rescue a few, the many are still perishing for lack of knowledge.
Thus, the very magnitude of the object disheartens and depresses the mind. The multitude of individuals to be benefited, astonishes—and the distance to which the supposed accomplishment of the design is removed, sickens—so that men of common mould, and the usual energies, would hardly venture on such an undertaking; and Christians in general, despairing of success, are tempted to restrain prayer before God. And what shall we say to these things? Shall we give up the attempt as hopeless, and leave the Chinese to perish, unpitied and unaided? God forbid. It must be remembered, that we depend not on human resources; for if we did, we never should have attempted the work: and had we thus rashly ventured on the undertaking, we should speedily have sounded a retreat. Our hope is in the Father of Lights, from whom cometh down every good and every perfect gift, and with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. He hath said, "I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall swear." And hath he said, and shall he not do it? hath he spoken, and shall he not bring it to pass? He can cause a nation to be born in a day, and even the conversion of so great and populous a nation as China, is not beyond the compass of Almighty Power; for, is anything too hard for the Lord?
But God does not need to be at the expense of a miracle, or to step out of the way of his ordinary providence to accomplish such an event. The plain preaching of the Gospel, by humble unassuming individuals, accompanied and blessed by the powerful energy of his Holy Spirit, will accomplish, in due time, the desired end; but, in such a way that the power will, after all, appear to be of God, and not of men. The character of the Gospel is diffusion; it is compared to a little leaven that gradually spreads itself, till it leavens the whole lump. The very instinct of Christianity is propagation; and no sooner does one obtain a knowledge of divine things himself, but he is anxious to make it known to others. Thus an individual converted under the reaching of the word, on the shores of China, like Andrew, on the coast of Galilee, first finds out his own brother Simon, and tells liim of Jesus of Nazareth. In this wav, one may be the means of awakening ten, and ten of communicating the same blessing to a hundred; and so they may go on, without any miracle, except that of grace, spreading and increasing in a tenfold ratio, till a district—a county—a province—and the whole empire is evangelized. In this view of the case, numbers no longer appal, nor difficulties dishearten; and though China contained double the amount of inhabitants, fenced around by much severer restrictions, we need not fear attempting, nor despair of succeeding, in the work of evangelizing that people.
On the contrary, there is something in the very abundance of the population which constitutes a ground of encouragement; for, the inhabitants of that empire, though numerous, and spread over eighteen provinces, must be considered as a great whole; and what bears on the political, intellectual, moral, and religious condition of the people bears upon them as a whole. Thus China, though vast, is under one despotic form of government, and if measures could be adopted that would influence the ruler of so vast an empire, the whole mass of his subjects would, in a great measure, be affected thereby. It is not a fanatical suggestion, that the prayers of pious Christians, on behalf of the "Son of Heaven," would be heard in the court of heaven, particularly if all the available means be employed to inform, enlighten, and affect his mind. It is not impossible that a remonstrance drawn up by Christian missionaries, may reach the "dragon throne;" or, that a devoted and zealous preacher of the Gospel should get introduced to court, and plead the cause of Christianity in the imperial ear: and though the expression of his "holy will" might, at first, prove unfavourable, yet the repetition of such attempts might, in time, prove successful; and induce the government to grant free toleration to the profession of real godliness, through the length and breadth of the land. The man, who should make this the business of his life, and expend his talents and energies in seeking such an introduction, and procuring such an edict, would effect, under God, more than Archimedes contemplated, when he speculated upon moving the world.
But the Chinese are not only living under one form of despotic rule, they possess, likewise, one universal language and literature. It is a remarkable fact, that notwithstanding the spoken dialects of each province and county vary so materially, that the Chinese of different districts are absolutely unintelligible to each other; yet, the written medium of the whole empire is easily understood by all, and writing instead of speaking, constitutes the universal method of exchanging ideas. The Chinese written language, being symbolical, and the same symbols being used to designate certain significations, whatever sounds be attached to the character, each instructed person readily understands a book, though he may use a different dialect from the writer. It is remarkable, further, that not only are the same signs employed for certain ideas, in all parts of the country, but the same style is used. The disposal of the characters, as well as the characters themselves, is according to one uniform method; so that a person able to write well, in Chinese, no matter what may be his native dialect, is intelligible to the remotest borders of the empire. Yea, even beyond the limits of Chinese rule, the Chinese character and style are understood, and throughout Cochin-China, Corea, and Japan, the same mode of writing is current and legible. Thus a book, once composed in the customary Chinese style, if intelligible to one learned man, would be intelligible to all; and might travel among the hundreds of millions inhabiting south-eastern Asia, communicating intelligence throughout the whole region. What a stimulus does this afford to an active and energetic mind, while engaged in studying the Chinese language, or inditing a book for their instruction, that he is doing what may be available to the benefit of so many millions, and that to the latest generation! Such a book needs only to be multipled and circulated, without undergoing the slightest alteration, in order to enlighten and edify one-third of the human race.
The morals, also, of his numerous people have one striking characteristic, and their religious views and practices are precisely similar throughout the empire. When a man has studied the main features of the Chinese character in one place and one person, he has studied them in all; and when he has discovered a train of argument that will silence the philosophical and superstitious objections of one individual, he has provided himself with materials that will be serviceable on all occasions. This uniformity and unvariableness of the Chinese mind is to be traced to their possessing one set of opinions on philosophy and religion; which being laid down in their ancient books, and stereotyped from age to age, constitutes the public and universal sentiment on the above topics, and runs through the whole mass of society. Hence the missionary finds the Chinese always using the same arguments and starting the same objections, which having been often answered before, may be easily replied to again. In this view of the matter, the multiplicity of their population dwindles into insignificance, and affords an advantage to the missionary not to be met with elsewhere.
Whilst considering the population of China in all its bearings, it may be well to observe, that it is possible to draw encouragement from its very increase. It has been before observed, that China, partly by additions to the number enrolled, and partly by the preponderance of births over deaths, has doubled its population several times during the last century. Such has been the rapidity and extent of the increase, that all the waste lands, within the empire, capable of cultivation, have been occupied; and the surplus population, unable to gain a subsistence at home, have been compelled to emigrate by thousands every year, to the islands and countries around. Now, the number of inhabitants is still increasing, and the Chinese, in spite of their exclusive and restrictive system, are bursting forth on every side, and, without our asking it, are coming in contact with Christians, and seeking shelter under European governments, where missionaries may labour unimpeded and unprohibited among them. If the same causes continue to operate, without any counteracting influence, there seems nothing to prevent the Chinese from crowding into the British possessions in Hindostan, and, under the mild and just sway of our Indian rulers, multiplying still more fast and plentifully than they have done in their own country. They have already their hundreds of thousands in Siam, and will soon occupy Birmah, Pegu, and Assam. They have long colonized the islands of the Malayan archipelago, and what should hinder them from pushing on to New Holland, where millions of acres await their assiduous and energetic cultivation; while the extensive and fertile regions of New Guinea and New Ireland lie still more contiguous to their mother country. A nation increasing as does the Chinese, cannot be long confined within narrow bounds, and restriction with them is impossible. Imperial edicts are already weak and inefficient, but will soon be flung to the winds. Hunger cannot be controlled, and necessity knows no law. Let but another age roll by, and China double her population once more, and her very increase will break down her political barriers, and bring her myriads in contact with the Christian world. Let vigorous measures be taken for the thorough instruction of the Chinese emigrants, and, while coming adventurers get an acquaintance with the truth, returning individuals will carry with them what they have learned; and thus, within and without the limits of the empire, all will gradually be evangelized. The multiplication of their numbers, therefore, viewed in this light, presents an encouraging aspect, and would lead us to anticipate the period as not far distant, when China shall stretch out her hands unto God.
It has been suggested, that this would be the case, if no counteracting influence intervened. We lament to say, that such an obstacle to the increase of the population does exist; and that it is to be found, not in external wars, or intestine commotions,—not in the oppressive measures of the Chinese government,—not in the unwholesomeness of their climate, or the confined nature of their buildings,—not in the general neglect of the poor, or in the awful prevalence of female infanticide,—but in the extensive and still advancing introduction of an intoxicating medium.
It has been observed, that wherever Europeans come in contact with their less skilful neighbours, and bring superior intelligence, enterprize, and, we may add, cupidity, to bear on the tawny nations of the globe; the result has been the gradual decline and disappearance of the one before the other, till the hardy and energetic white has taken the place of his coloured brother. In some places this has amounted to complete extermination, and in others the process is rapidly going forward, with the same gloomy prospect. Not one of the race formerly inhabiting Newfoundland is now in existence. The same may be said of the Caribs; while the Indians of North America, and the aborigines of New Holland, will soon be in the condition of those unhappy races. But was it intelligence alone which enabled the tutored tribes to prevail over the untaught? Were not other means employed, and did they not prove most lamentably successful? Was not the rum cask called in to the aid of the scheming colonist, and did not the red man fall but too easy a prey to the insidious allurement? Did not ardent spirits prove the ruin of the Indians, undermining their energies, shortening their lives, and decreasing their numbers? All this is well known fact, and will soon become matter of history. In China, territory is not sought, nor lands coveted; there Europeans do not aim at conquest or colonization; they have no need, therefore, to use an intoxicating medium, in order to subserve their designs of political influence, and territorial enlargement. The only inducement, that English merchants can have to lead them to carry on the opium trade in China, is the desire of gain; and yet that gain is so considerable as to draw them on with increasing eagerness in its pursuit. It is with them not a means to an end, but the end itself; they do not contemplate the wasting away of the population in consequence of the traffic, and yet the terrible effects of the traffic may be the same as though they did contemplate it. Facts induce us to believe that it is so. Those who grow and sell the drug, while they profit by the speculation, would do well to follow the consumer into the haunts of vice, and mark the wretchedness, poverty, disease, and death which follow the indulgence; for did they but know the thousandth part of the evils resulting from it, they would not, they could not, continue to engage in the transaction. Previous to the year 1796, opium was admitted into China on the payment of a duty, when a few hundred chests annually were imported. Since that time, the drug has been openly interdicted, and yet clandestinely introduced, at the rate of 20,000 chests annually, which cost the Chinese four millions of pounds sterling every year. This quantity at twenty grains per day for each individual,[1] would be sufficient to demoralize nearly three millions of persons. When the habit is once formed, it grows till it becomes inveterate; discontinuance is more and more difficult, until at length, the sudden deprivation of the accustomed indulgence produces certain death. In proportion as the wretched victim comes under the power of the infatuating drug, so is his ability to resist temptation less strong; and debilitated in body as well as mind, he is unable to earn his usual pittance, and not unfrequently sinks under the cravings of an appetite, which he is unable to gratify. Thus they may be seen, hanging their heads by the doors of the opium shops, which the hard hearted keepers, having fleeced them of their all, will not permit them to enter; and shut out from their own dwellings, either by angry relatives or ruthless creditors, they die in the streets unpitied and despised. It would be well, if the rich opium merchant, were sometimes present to witness such scenes as these, that he might be aware how his wretched customers terminate their course, and see where his speculations, in thousands of instances, end. When the issue of this pernicious habit is not fatal, its tendencies are to weaken the strength, and to undermine the constitution; while the time and property spent in this voluptuous indulgence, constitute so much detracted from the wealth and industry of the country, and tend to plunge into deeper distress those weak and dependent members of society, who are already scarcely able to subsist at all. In fact every opium smoker may calculate upon shortening his life ten years from the time when he commences the practice; one half of his physical energies are soon gone; one third of his scanty earnings are absorbed; and feeling strength and income both diminishing, while the demands upon his resources are increased, he seeks to obtain by duplicity what he cannot earn by labour, and thus his moral sense becomes blunted and his heart hardened, while he plunges into the vortex of ruin, dragging with him his dependent relatives, and all within the sphere of his influence. Calculating, therefore, the shortened lives, the frequent diseases, and the actual starvation, which are the result of opium smoking in China, we may venture to assert, that this pernicious drug annually destroys myriads of individuals. No man of feeling can contemplate this fearful amount of misery and mortality, as resulting from the opium trade, without an instinctive shudder. But the most appalling fact of all is, that the trade is constantly increasing. The following statement exhibits the consumption of opium during the last twenty years:—
| 1816 | • | Chests, | 3,210 | • | Value, | 3,657,000 | dollars. |
| 1820 | • | " | 4,770 | • | " | 8,400,800 | " |
| 1825 | • | " | 9,621 | • | " | 7,608,205 | " |
| 1830 | • | " | 18,760 | • | " | 12,900,031 | " |
| 1832 | • | " | 23,670 | • | " | 15,338,160 | " |
| 1836 | • | " | 27,111 | • | " | 17,904,248[2] | " |
By this it will be seen, that while the consumption has been increasing, the price has been falling, from 1139 to 660 dollars per chest, or nearly one half its original value. Still the enterprising speculator has been pushing his article into the market, determined to furnish the Chinese with it at any price, rather than lose so large a customer. Thus the appetite has been created, and is largely fed, until nearly three millions of victims have been drawn into the snare; and there is every prospect of its increasing still more, until the consumers dying off in proportion as the consumption extends, the country will be thinned of its inhabitants, and Mammon at length be disappointed of his prey.
But is there no remedy? The emperors of China have wisely and patriotically determined, from the very moment they spied the onward march of the threatened evil, to denounce and resist it: and instead of admitting it, on the payment of a duty, have, as rulers, resolutely refused to derive any profit from the vices of the people. In the first year of the late emperor, Këa-king, 1796, the introduction of opium was interdicted by law; those who were found guilty of smoking it, were pilloried and bambooed; and the venders and smugglers made liable to the severer penalties of banishment and death; so late as the year 1833, the amended law upon the subject, was as follows:—
"Let the buyers and smokers of opium be punished with one hundred blows, and condemned to wear the wooden collar for two months. Then, let them declare the seller's name, that he may be seized and punished; and, in default of his discovering the vender, let the smoker be again punished with one hundred blows, and three year's banishment, as being an accomplice. Let mandarins and their dependants who buy and smoke opium, be punished one degree more severely than others; and let governors of provinces be required to give security that there are no opium smokers under their jurisdiction; and let a joint memorial be sent in, representing the conduct of those officers, who have connived at the practice."
Thus, as far as law goes, the government of China has, ostensibly, done every thing in its power to check the growing evil; and one would imagine that these regulations were sufficiently severe to ensure the entire exclusion of the article from the empire. Yet, in the year 1836, a Chinese officer, high in rank, presented a memorial to the emperor, in which he tells him,
"That, recently, the number of chests imported has exceeded 20,000, and that the sum paid, annually, exceeds eleven millions of dollars. Within the last few years, he adds, foreign ships have visited all the ports along the coast, from Canton, as far as Chinese Tartary, for the purpose of disposing of their opium, and though the local authorities immediately expelled them, yet the quantity clandestinely sold, is by no means small. The foreigners have, besides, a depot, for opium, at Lintin, in the entrance of the Canton river, where they have seven or eight large vessels, called receiving ships, anchored all the year round. In Canton, the native brokers pay the price of the opium to the foreign merchants, when they obtain orders for the drug from the receiving ships. They have also convoys, plying up and down the river, which are called fast-crabs, and scrambling dragons. These are well armed, with guns and pikes, and manned with desperate fellows, who go, as if they had wings. All the custom-houses and military stations which they pass, are literally stopped with bribes; and if they chance to meet any of the armed cruisers, the smugglers do not scruple to come to an engagement, and bloodshed and slaughter ensue. The governor of Canton lately sent a naval officer, with a sufficient force, and captured a boat laden with opium, seized one hundred and forty chests, and killed and took prisoners, scores of smugglers; yet, the traffic was not at all checked. Multitudes of the people, have but little dread of the laws, while they use every device to escape punishment, and are eager after gain: indeed, the laws are, sometimes, utterly without effect."
When a Chinese mandarin undertakes to make, and the emperor consents to receive, such a statement as the above, we may conclude that this, and much more, is true. In fact, opium is not only regularly introduced, but openly sold, in all parts of China. Notwithstanding the prohibition, opium shops are as plentiful in some towns of China, as gin shops are in England. The sign of these receptacles, is a bamboo screen, hanging before the door, which is as certain an intimation there, as the chequers are here, that the slave of intemperance may be gratified. Into these shops, all classes of persons continually flock, from the pampered official to the abject menial. No one makes a secret of the business or the practice, and though the officers of government are loud in denouncing the indulgence in public, they privately wink at what is patronized by their own example, or subservient to their own interests. It is a well-known circumstance, that the government officers come regularly on board the receiving ships at Lintin, and demand so many dollars per chest, for conniving at smuggling; while it is currently reported, that even the viceroy of Canton receives a very respectable consideration, for winking at these illicit transactions. The military and naval officers sometimes get up a sham fight, in order that they may have to report their vigilance and strictness to Peking; and when the smugglers are remiss in paying the accustomed bribes, they now and then seize a boat or two, to keep them regular and submissive. Thus, it is evident, that the imperial government is absolutely powerless, in aiming to prevent the introduction of opium; and that the traffic does and will increase, notwithstanding the most violent and sanguinary edicts to the contrary. Surrounded by corrupt and venial officers, the emperor's best efforts, if indeed, he use any, are entirely nugatory; and bribery laughs at imperial proclamations, which universally forbidding and never punishing, become, in fact, so much waste paper. Every one acquainted with China knows, that as long as the appetite for opium exists there, the traffic cannot be put down by the present inefficient police; and should the naval and military force of China be resolved to use their utmost efforts to prevent the introduction from abroad, they cannot overcome the force of well manned and armed European vessels, nor elude the vigilance of the fast-crab and scrambling-dragon native smugglers.[3]
To the foreign community of Canton we would appeal, did we not fear that most of them are now actively engaged in the traffic; and should the present residents, influenced by principle, abandon the trade, there are not wanting others, who will gladly embrace the opportunity of enriching themselves at the expense of the miseries of thousands. Many, doubtless, are deluding themselves with the idea, that if they do not deal in it, others will: and as the Chinese will have opium, whether or not, they may as well furnish them with it, as let others reap the profit of what their over scrupulousness would deprive them. They are fully aware that opium is injurious to the constitution, and that, imported in such quantities, and consumed by so many, it must tend to the destruction of life, and the diminution of happiness. But, then, they plead that they were involved in the trade, before they were aware of the extent of the evil; and, now that they are embarked in it, they cannot well retract; besides, they intend soon to return to their native country, when they will leave the Chinese, and future opium dealers, to do as they please. The principle, sanctioned by all this special pleading, it will easily be seen, is untenable: it is simply this, that immediately we can ascertain that a thing will proceed, whether we take part in it or not; or that others will carry on a measure, if we abstain from abetting it; it then ceases to be an evil in us to participate in the transaction, however ruinous or destructive it may be. True morality will lead us to enquire, whether the thing be right or wrong; and, if the latter can be established, it is ours to renounce it, however lucrative to ourselves, or grasped at by others. The golden rule, of doing to others as we would be done by, will teach us to avoid being accessory to the spread of allurements, and incentives to vice, when we pray every day, for ourselves, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." When Mammon has less hold on the hearts of civilized men, and when educated merchants begin to be more scrupulous about the craft, by which they get their wealth, then we may expect that opium dealers will be diminished, even in Canton; and the time is not, we hope, far distant, when it shall be considered as disreputable to administer to the vicious indulgences of the Chinese, as it is now to those of the British—and as creditable to abstain from opium dealing abroad, as from distillation at home.
As the Chinese government cannot put down, and the foreign community of Canton, it is to be feared, will not abandon, the illicit traffic in opium, we must look for a more immediate remedy to another quarter. It is well known, that the greatest part of the opium is grown within the territory, and transported through the dominions of the Honourable East India Company. It is, in the Bengal presidency, a monopoly in the hands of our Indian government, who dispose of it to our merchants, at the annual sales. The profit derived from the transaction is, doubtless, great; and as a comparatively small quantity of the article is consumed by the immediate subjects of the company, and the evils consequent thereon, are confined to foreign lands, it is possible, that the Board of Directors, at home, and our Indian government, abroad, may have overlooked the enormity. Now, however, neither the company, abroad, nor the directors, at home, can plead unconsciousness in the matter: it has been told, and it shall be rung in the ears of the British public, again and again, that opium is demoralizing China, and becomes the greatest barrier to the introduction of Christianity which can be conceived of. Not only are the wretched victims of the indulgence, themselves, impervious to remonstrance, and callous to all feeling—not only must we despair of the conversion of an opium smoker, almost as much as if his doom were already sealed—but the difficulty of convincing others of the truth of Christianity, and of the sincere intentions of Christians, is greater, in proportion, to the extent of the opium trade to China. Almost the first word uttered by a native, when urged to believe in Christ is, "Why do Christians bring us opium, and bring it, directly, in defiance of our own laws? That vile drug has poisoned my son—has ruined my brother—and, well nigh led me to beggar my wife and children. Surely, those who import such a deleterious substance, and injure me, for the sake of gain, cannot wish me well, or be in possession of a religion that is better than my own. Go, first, and persuade your own countrymen to relinqmsh this nefarious traffic; and give me a prescription to correct this vile habit, and then I will listen to your exhortations on the subject of Christianity." Alas! they little know, that the one is almost as impossible as the other; and that the work of persuading the growers and venders of opium, to relinquish the source of their ill-gotten wealth, is as difficult as the task of curing a confirmed opium smoker of his evil habits; and that both are to be effected, alone, by that Power which can cause the Ethiopian to change his skin, and the leopard, his spots; and make those who have been accustomed to do evil, learn to do well. But, surely, when the evil is known, and its effects seen, the rulers of an empire which professes to be governed by the principles of mildness and equity, will never lend themselves to the promotion of a measure which demoralizes a population, in such a wholesale manner; and, still less, condescend to derive a profit from that which ruins myriads. The East India Company might, if they would, greatly diminish the trade in opium. If they were to discontinue the growth of it, in their own territories, and to bind down the native princes in alliance with them, to do the same; while they forbad the transport of it through their dominions, India would, then, no longer be what it now is,—the great source from whence the evil originates. Were the supplies from India cut off, the inconsiderable stock, and inferior quality, yielded by Turkey, would be far from supplying and satisfying the market, and the practice sink into desuetude, from the fewer facilities afforded for its gratification. The lands now employed in the cultivation of the poppy, being necessarily rich and fertile, would, if laid out in the raising of other productions, be equally valuable to the possessors; and, while the revenue was not diminished, the happiness, health, and industry of the people, would be increased; in addition to which, the divine blessing would, doubtless, be doubly bestowed on those, who renounced an apparent benefit to themselves, in order to extend a real good to others.
If unsuccessful with the East India Company, we would carry up our remonstrances to the government of Great Britain. Since the discontinuance of the company's trade with China, and the consequent withdrawal of its establishment, the English government have placed a superintendent of British trade at the port of Canton. The attempt of Lord Napier to fix his residence in the provincial city, and to open a negociation with the native authorities, together with the failure of the same, is well known. Since that period, the viceroy sanctioned the residence of his successor in Canton, for the purpose of watching over the conduct of Europeans, though he is still unwilling to treat with our agent on political matters. It is possible, however, that in the course of time these jealousies may diminish, and the British superintendent come into correspondence with the native authorities on state business. The English have much to ask of the Chinese, and are anxious to place the trade on a secure, respectable, and advantageous footing; to have the rights of British subjects recognized, and the security of British property acknowledged. When, however, the representative of our government makes a demand from the Chinese of increased privileges and advantages, the first requisition made by them will be that we aid them in putting down the illicit traffic in opium carried on by our own countrymen, who, in defiance of Chinese laws, introduce an intoxicating medium into the country, and seduce their subjects into disobedience and voluptuousness. They will not believe, that with all the power of Britain, and while the drug is grown in our own territories, we are unable to suppress the trade; and nothing will dispossess them of the idea, that the British government is accessory to the production and introduction of the article. We must then tell them that we will or will not, strive to put down the traffic in question, before we can venture to make any demands from them in our own favour. If we refuse to curb the evil, we give a public and official sanction to what is in their eyes vexatious and abominable; and cannot with any grace, ask them to assist us. If we consent, however, to do what we can to assist the Chinese in excluding opium, we are bound in all honour and honesty, first, to discontinue the growth of opium in our own colonies; next, to prohibit the transport of it through the company's territories; and then to restrict British vessels from trading with it along the coast of China. The mere issuing of a decree of the governor in council at Calcutta would effect the former, and a very small force stationed on the coast of China, would accomplish the latter. In putting down the slave trade, it was not considered too much to maintain a naval force on the coast of Africa; and to abolish slavery in the British dominions, the sum of twenty millions was willingly sacrificed; yet slavery was not productive of more misery and death than the opium traffic, nor were Britons more implicated in the former than in the latter. In the case before us, however, no compensation money could be demanded; and only a few light armed vessels would be required; while the real compensation would be, the turning of four millions annually into another channel, to the benefit of our manufactures and the mother country. By paying four millions for opium, the Chinese shew that they have money to spend, and if we can but induce them to take our cottons and woollens instead of our opium, we shall be blessing them and enriching ourselves. The money paid for opium is equal to what we give for our teas; thus the Chinese are parting with their produce for what is worse than useless, while it impoverishes their country and diminishes their population.
The ruin it threatens to China has already arrested the attention of her greatest statesmen, and they have devised various schemes for remedying the evil. One recommends, that opium be admitted on the payment of regular duties, in order that the clandestine trade may be stopped, and the practice be brought under the control of government. This would increase the public revenue, and by raising the price to the consumer, would place the drug out of the reach of the poor. The emperor has hitherto resolved to reject this plan, and thinks that increased rigour in prohibiting the article will avail. But the Chinese laws are already sufficiently severe, and yet the traffic increases at the rate of four thousand chests per annum. The remedy, then, is not with them, and if neither the East India Company nor the British government interfere, the British public must be appealed to; the cry of "no opium" raised, and be made as loud as the cry of "no slavery," until the voice of humanity prevail, and end in the abolition of the whole system.
But to return to the population, we shall find, that though checked in its growth, it is still immensely great, and claims the attention of the Christian evangelist, as much, or even more than other parts of the heathen world. In attempting to do good, we should do it on the largest scale, and to the greatest number of persons. The physician is most needed where the malady is most distressing, and the diseased most numerous; and so the missionary is principally required where the heathen most abound. Upon this principle, China requires our first attention, and will exhaust our most strenuous efforts. There, all the disposable labourers in the Christian church may employ their energies, without fear of over working the field, or standing in each other's way. Piety the most exalted,—talents the most splendid,—may there find ample room for display; the greatest trophies of Divine grace will there be obtained, and the Gospel is destined to achieve more in China than has ever been witnessed elsewhere, mainly on account of the number of individuals to be brought under its influence. This then is the field for missionary exertions; the sphere where the most influential societies should direct their chief efforts, for until some impression is made upon China, it will matter little what is achieved in other more confined and thinly peopled regions. The conversion of a few islands to Christ, and the introduction of the Gospel to the extremities of a continent, resemble an investing of the outworks of heathenism; but the strong hold remains still untouched, and until China is evangelized, the greatest half of our work remains to be begun.
- ↑ Some take a great deal more than this, but this is the average for the poor, and therefore for the many. Besides which the properties of the drug are not destroyed by once smoking, but will bear to be used as an anodyne twice over.
- ↑ The quantity introduced up to the year ending in the spring of 1837, was 34,000, and the deliveries during the month of July, of the same year, amounted to 4,000 chests.
- ↑ Late accounts from Canton inform us, that the Chinese government were taking very vigorous and decisive measures to break up the opium trade at Lintin. The receiving ships had been compelled to quit their usual anchorage, and to remove to a place forty miles to the eastward. More edicts had been issued: and it was expected that the superintendent of British trade would be appealed to, with the assurance that the whole of the foreign trade should be stopped, unless the orders of the native government were complied with, and the smuggling of opium discontinued.