Page:History of the Indian Archipelago Vol 3.djvu/537

 ARTICLES OF IMPORTATION. 521 When it was extravagantly liigh, many who had before used it moderately, desisted altogether, and those whose habits were more confinned, had re- course as substitutes to native narcotic drugs?, less agreeable and more pernicious. The history of the introduction of Turkey opium is of some interest in a commercial view. Like all new articles, there was at first a strong prejudice against it. The Chinese, who are the farmers of the opium excise, as well as of every other branch of revenue that is farmed, could hardly be induced to take a few chests at one-third of the Bengal prices ; this was in 1815. In the contracts they made with the merchants, they shortly afterwards consented to take one-fourth part of the supply in Turkey opium. In I8I7 they expressly stipulated for Turkey opium, to the amount of one-half of the supply they required, although the price rose to double its first amount, while that of Bengal opium continued station- ary. In 1818 they demanded that three- fourths of the whole supply should be Turkey opium, and the price approximated still more to that of the Bengal drug, which suffered a great re- duction of price. As by the importations of the Americans in Turkey opium into China, a similar revolution is there going forward in that country, it is probable, that the legitimate influence of compe- tition will put an end to the illegal and unfair mo-