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three-fifths of this trade consisted of opium—a prohibited article.
A government trade agent, Captain Charles Elliot, was sent to Canton to look after British interests, also to protect British smuggling.
When Captain Elliot took up his work at Canton, the ravages of opium had already made such inroads on the Chinese that the Chinese government, seeing misery and desolation ahead, was making strong efforts to save her people and drive the opium dealers and smugglers out of business.
Even Captain Elliot in time sickened at the havoc caused by the drug. In 1837 he wrote to Lord Palmerston about the vicious luxury, pointing out that it was a menace to the yellow race and suggested that a check to the growth and importation of opium would be beneficial. British merchants and British trade agents had by this time worked into the good will of the Chinese merchants and bought, bribed and cajoled many mandarins (Chinese officials), thus enabling them to carry on their nefarious work with more ease and success.
Many European merchants and others who were in no manner connected with the opium traffic, shared with China the opinion that opium was detestable and its use or sale a mark of depravity.
In January, 1239, the Chinese Emperor ordered Lin Tsihseu, an official of high reputation, to proceed to Canton as special commissioner, to report on the situation and to propound the best remedy for the opium evil. The instructions given to Commissioner Lin, as he is historically known, were to cut off the fountain of evil, to resort to any and all honorable and lawful means to abolish the opium traffic.
Commissioner Lin was a man of unusual force; he understood the situation in-so-far as it concerned China.
Within a week of his arrival at Canton, he issued an edict denouncing the opium trade and ordered that all stores of opium be surrendered to him within three days. Only a few traders complied with his orders. Lin's appeals to Queen Victoria received less consideration than did his orders to the merchants.
Meeting with such small consideration, he set about carrying out his orders. He surrounded the residences of the traders with an army of Chinese soldiers and again demanded that they deliver to him every pound of opium they had.
Now business men rarely die for their principles.
