OPIUM. This remarkable substance, which has had so much influence both on the commerce and the wars between England and China, is yielded by one species of plants of the genus Popover. Of the 25 species of this genus, the popover somniferum, or white poppy, which produces opium, is the most important. It is a native probably of Asia Minor, but, having been so long cultivated, it is found wild in many parts of Europe. There are two varieties of this species, both of which yield opium. The juice of the poppy seems to have been used on account of its narcotic powers from a very early period, first in the East, of which it is a native, and afterwards in the West.
The mode of collecting the opium in Asia Minor, is by puncturing the green capsule, and allowing the juice to exude, which is then scraped off, and deposited in small earthen vessels, and beat up with saliva. It is after wards enveloped in dry leaves, and in this state is sold. In India the juice is mixed with oil obtained from the seed of the poppy, to hinder the rapid drying of the juice. The produce of the first incisions is of a light yellow colour ; the others arc fainter in odour and. darker coloured. In general all three gatherings are mixed together, and sent to market in small baskets. The quantity ob tained varies not only with the soil and mode of cultivation, but also with the season and the time of collecting. In wet, gloomy seasons, not only is the quantity less, but it does not keep well; in such a case the proportion of morphia, the active principle of the opium, is also less. The quantity of morphia depends likewise very much on the time of gathering; if the harvest be postponed till the capsules begin to turn white and bard, it is greatly de ficient; and by the time the capsules are ma ture and the seeds ripe, it has entirely disap• peered. It is not, as in the case of many of the vegetable alkaloids, transferred to the seeds, as they are altogether devoid of any narcotic principle, the oil which is obtained from them being bland and wholesome, and abundantly used as food.
The varieties of opium met with in com merce are—Smyrna or Levant opium ; Con stantinople opium; Egyptian or Alexandrian opium ; Trebizond or Persian opium ; Indian opium ; and English opium. The chemical or organic constituents are extremely nume rous, the most important being morphia. Good opium is not perfectly soluble in water ; generally remains undissolved, consisting of the caoutchouc and resin. Constantinople opium however leaves no residuum of caout chouc. It is very inflammable, and burns
with a clear flame, and forms a transparent alcoholic solution : opium from the bruised capsules is not inflammable, and forms a turbid alcoholic solution.
The poppy is cultivated in many parts of Europe on account of its seeds, which yield a bland oil much esteemed in France. In England it is cultivated chiefly for the capsules, which are used medieinally. In India the cultivation takes place in the cold weather, that is, during the winter of Europe. The col lecting of the opium is commenced very soon after the flowers fall, as the capsules rapidly enlarge.
It forms no part of our object here to trace the extraordinary effects of opium on the human system, nor the modes of preparation by which opium is converted into a valuable medicine. As an article of international com merce, there can be no question that opium caused the late war between England and China, however it might be disguised by other circumstances. India produces large quanti ties of opium, which the Chinese are willing to purchase for eating or smoking, or both; but the Chinese Government has never wil lingly sanctioned the purchase, and has often strictly prohibited it. By about the year 1831 the purchase of opium had become so large, that the sale of tea was insufficient to pay for it, and Chinese silver had to be paid to settle the balance. The Chinese authorities com menced a series of petty insults towards the English merchants at Canton, with a view to expel them altogether, if possible ; and these insults gradually brought the attention of the British Government to that quarter. So mat ters continued for some years ; the merchants persisted in bringing opium, which the Chi nese people were ready to buy ; the Emperor effected all he could to prevent the import; and the British Consul tried to hold the balance even between all parties. At length, in May 1839, the European factors were ex pelled from Canton, and all the opium in the ports, amounting to 20,283 chests, was seized by the Chinese authorities and destroyed. This gave rise to a war which lasted, on and off, for three years. The Chinese Emperor was compelled to pay the value of the opium destroyed.—There is a moral aspect in this opium war, which can never be quite satisfac tory.
The consumption of opium in this country is comparatively small. The imports in the last three years were as follow :— 1848 200,019 lbs.
1819 105,724 „ 1850 126,318 „ And of these quantities, about two-thirds were re-exported to other countries.