Hawaii Holomua, Volume III, Number 124, 28 May 1894 — The Opium Bogey. [ARTICLE]

The Opium Bogey.

The terrible iniqnities of the opium h.«bit are largely imagin ative. and the chief value of the alleged mor.»lity of our j»rohibitory law whieli does not j>rohibit. is to fill tl»e Pol‘ce CoftfTct»fFers, find employuieot of donbtful jnibl c vaine or morality for the poliee, «ud enrich opium riugs at tho cost of «leuu raliz'ng onr revenue serv!ce. Receutly an I.idiau Royal Con.mis.sion has furntshed an«>lherre;>ort onopium in lndia, whieli g’*es to |>rovethat the oj<iam nsers are not more b se, or weak. or vile thaa other people, that opinm docs not rob tbem of their heaUh, strength anJ sj>irit. Under the use of opium tho UHtives of Iudia have presented the spectacle of a peo- ! ple bearing a yearly tribute in tavation of noarlv a hnudreilmillions of doiiars in gold. Governor Des Y«»ax, formerly of Hong lvong, with as wide an exprience of £asteru nations as any man | livii g, affirms that opium, no donbt, iike aleohoi. does hurm in I cases of iuot«Iinate excess, but to ; : the very groat . m«jor)ty it is to siy the le.«st, inuoeenl. The sbame of the traffio froin j India, whieh Miss Ackermauu aud ber shriek!ugsisterhood work for ull it is worth, is largely a | tictioa to make the ea&h fiow into '

I.. ' v ? e>issioiuiry coners. Toe opiaai j l ■ growc m Iadi » is far 1 o il*-j»r for ( Cbicese. »od n*-ar y ai! tbe opīnm u>5d in Ci.ina is prowa on C ji- ! nei*e soil. Victoiia, the eap toI ji of Hone Kodj; ba.s a- popa’ation of 150.000 cramra* d ii to a sp»ce two asiks loag am a q iarter of a i mile broad. yet the deatb rate i» , aboot the same a> tliat of Hono- < luln, 22 p- r thoosand. As to India supp!ying Cbiaa with opinm, Sir Th m;i> Wade fonnerIy 1 j kh Acr.bas.sador it Pt-kiu savs, J , England i.’ is uot supp ied China with ō {ier cent. jf the opiam consained daring 120 years of trade. If yoa conId succeed in taking awayj*opium fn>m the Chiuese, tkey wooid find a worst -nbs itnte. Hmn.i.n life s sobject to such msnifuld wretche<lness, thut ali natiOL- have ii;vented a some thing to pro*.lnce & brief ob!ivion. Poppies. barley, roi ts. -ogar. pepper und & thoasuad other tbings ure ased t<> yie d this temporary happine-s. In Hawaii,at anvr.it * t> reinove the drag is imp.»' ble. Opium is so sita:l in bulk as to be didieolt to detect, and the only etFect of prohibit.on is to raise the price and nauke (he Chinese poorer fo • the benefit of smngglers wlio may be in league with oflicials. When the pioi» pbilnntrophist says tli 1 1 on opim.i rests all v ce, immorality and c >naption with tlie Chinese, lie talks deplorable nonsense. If with every bu;.dred male Chinesa Ianded m Hawaii conies but oue Chiuese woneau, the demoraliziitio i of the Hawaiian women follows as a matter of course. Wby are the Fawaiians dying i out; asks the Kevorend pnrist;and the canse of caus3s is but faiutly hiuted at. Opinn and the sing!e male eoolie so he concedes. are evils; but when tbe exigencies of cliristi.in millionaires deinand the addition of a few ;housands to reinforce the already large armv of opium nsers, that is another mat- ' ter. Then, the ponderous tact 1 )oros np liko Bauco’s ghost,that the conntry liasn’t got enough single coolies and opium users by several thousauds, becaase the lust 20 000 filtered tiiroagh the plantutions, aud are settled in tlie towns, aud therefore the governraeut shouId import m.>re, who wili go ‘he saine wav, aud it »nd- | denlv appears a* if the opinm bogv bad uo exUtence. and the influx of single iuales was nrta moral cancer aft-r a 11. and all beean.se tbe “prosperity of the c«nntry” demands the eoolie. j Therefore the qnestion of mo al- : ity is siielved, au l discussion of the prime evils t!.at are decimating the u.ttive race are indefiuitelv postponed. |