ve as they are. As Black
Sea Treaty was to Russia so opium trade is to China.

"I take the root of the question to be as above. I do not mean to
say that all that they urge is fictitious about morality; and I
would go further than you, and say I think they would willingly
give up their revenue from opium, indeed I am sure of it, if they
could get rid of the forced importation by treaty, but their
action in so doing would be simply one of satisfying their _amour
propre_. The opium importation is a constant reminder of their
defeats, and I feel sure China will never be good friends with us
till it is abolished. It is for that reason I would give it up,
for I think the only two alliances worth having are France and
China.

"I have never, when I have written on it, said anything further
than this, _i.e. the Chinese Government will not have it_, let us
say it is a good drug or not. I also say that it is not fair to
force anything on your neighbour, and, therefore, morally, it is
wrong, even if it was eggs.

"Further, I say that through our thrusting these eggs on China,
this opium, we caused the wars with China which shook the
prestige of the Pekin Government, and the outcome of this war of
1842 was the Taeping Rebellion, with its deaths of 13,000,000.
The military prestige of the Mantchous was shaken by these
defeats, the heavy contributions for war led to thousands of
soldiers being disbanded, to a general impoverishment of the
people, and this gave the rebel chief, Hung-tsew-tsiuen, his
chance.

"A wants B to let him import eggs, B refuses, A coerces him;
therefore I say it is wrong, and that it is useless discussing
whether eggs are good or not.

"Can anyone doubt but that, if the Chinese Government had the
power, they would stop importation to-morrow? If so, why keep a
pressure like this on China whom we need as a friend, and with
whom this importation is and ever will be the sole point about
which we could be at variance? I know this is the point with Li
Hung Chang.

"People may laugh at _amour propre_ of China. It is a positive
fact, they are most-pigheaded on those points. China is the only
nation in the world which is forced to take a thing she does not
want. England is the only nation which forces another nation to