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 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