Oceans of Fate by Dan Black

Author:Dan Black
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dundurn Press

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The Asia and green-canoe caper is just one example of how opium, cocaine, and morphine were smuggled into Victoria and Vancouver on passenger steamships during the early part of the 20th century. The frequency of such activity came as no surprise to Walter Oliver, given how easy it was to conceal illegal cargo and people entering port. His memoir did not shed light on the subject, but he was aware of how readily items could be slipped on board, especially during the Depression or whenever ships were due to call at U.S. ports during Prohibition. It was easy to recall the numerous news stories and yarns spun by fellow sailors in the smoky clubs along East Hastings Street. Dark recesses behind a ship’s bulkheads could become perfect hiding places, but as Oliver discovered — after he concealed four tins of tobacco aboard the Anglo Colombian for resale purposes — anything hidden could easily slip out of reach if the ship rolled in bad weather.7

Following a 1907 visit to Vancouver by Deputy Minister of Labour William Lyon Mackenzie King, the House of Commons passed the Opium Act of 1908, making it an offence to import, manufacture, or sell opium for non-medicinal purposes. The act did not prohibit possession, but the Opium and Drug Act of 1911 did. It also included the prohibition of possessing morphine and cocaine.

The narcotic, extracted from poppies and shipped dry or raw for further processing — boiled into a dark, brown paste — was unregulated until 1865 when sellers were required to purchase a licence. That regulation applied to what was then the Colony of Vancouver Island. Opium was imported and used legally, and governments benefited from the duty flowing from its importation, revenue that reached its peak in the late 19th century.8

King had been briefed on the existence of several opium factories in Victoria’s Chinatown and knew there was widespread use of the drug in Chinese and white populations. It is useful to acknowledge that while there are various opinions behind what motivated the act, there are both race- and class-based theories. Proponents of the former believe those agitating against the drug trade were opposed to any breakdown in the isolation of the Chinese community that could lead to more contact between whites and Chinese. The latter theory suggests the inspiration behind the agitation came from middle-class Christians, a group that saw the working class, whether white or Chinese, as particularly vulnerable to addiction and social degradation.

Soon after the 1908 legislation passed, the Vancouver press reported detectives had unearthed an opium smuggling ring involving an Empress liner, a member of her crew, and wealthy suppliers in China.9 This seizure occurred more than three years before the completion of the two new Empress ships, the Asia and Russia.

Vancouver police arrested and charged a Spanish man, Thomaso Hernandez, for attempting to sell drugs he had obtained from the Empress of India. At the time, the Chinese Reform League was co-operating with police to counter the city’s drug trade.

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