THE OPIUM TRADE. 175 



Total chests of Opium. Total candareens. Smokers, at 3 cand. per day. 



1845 - 37,286 - 3,325,720,000 3,037,190 



1846 - 39,063 - 3,887,560,000 3,550,2a3. 



1847 - 42,179 - 4,194,760,000 3,830,000 



1848 - 45,490 - 4,338,800,000 3,971,507 



1849 - 54,532 - 5,103,840,000 4,661,041 



I have followed this calculation in the same manner as 

 Mr. Martin did, viz : one chest of opium contains 100 

 catties. The Patna and Benares opium contained 800 

 candareens per cattie, of pure extract, at fifty touch, 

 and the Malwa opium, 1200 candareens per cattie, of 

 pure extract, at seventy-five touch. Three candareens 

 are equal to 17! grains the quantity each opium smoker 

 consumes per diem. 



Therefore, the above table shows, to use the expres- 

 sion of Mr. Lay, one of her Majesty's consuls, that Eng- 

 land, humane, liberal England, hamstrings 4,661,041 

 Chinese yearly, and when we consider that these only 

 live some seven or eight years, the 3,831,744 that were 

 the consumers of opium in 1840 having dropped off by the 

 year 1850 and the 3,037,190 of 1845, will drop off by 

 1855, and each succeeding year millions will drop off, 

 and infatuated millions will fill up their place. Oh that 

 China was become bankrupt that she might be saved ! 



It is hard to give credence to this, that any Christian 

 nation could, for the sake of money, be such wholesale 

 butchers ; but, above are the figures ; give any man in 

 this country at tfie rate of 171 grains of pure extract of 

 oj><"/u a day and how long will he live? It, of course, 

 does not follow that every man who uses this drug takes 

 171 grains in the day ; at the commencement it is 

 always less, but, to the end, it is more than that. No 



