Talk:Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade

Name?

Was the name "Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade" or the "Anglo-Orient Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade". I'm doing a bit of hunting, Joseph Pease was president from 1886-1903 when he died. Earlier the president was the Earl of Shaftesbury (the 7th earl not the 8th earl, 1880-1885 [The life and work of the seventh Earl of Shaftesbury, K.G., page 725]) (Politics of the Poppy: The Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade, 1874-1916). --Erp (talk) 04:37, 25 May 2012 (UTC)

Thanks Erp. Sources use both names - I've gone with the one that seemed more common, but it's entirely possible that those sources which drop "Anglo-Orient" do so merely for typographical convenience; it is a bit of a mouthful. The only document I've found actually issued by the Society (The Friend of China) doesn't use the phrase. I've no objection to renaming the article or changing the lead to include "Anglo-Orient", though. Yunshui 雲‍水 06:50, 25 May 2012 (UTC)

Presidents

I'm not sure Edward Pease was ever president. Some of the early Friend of China list vice-presidents but no presidents so perhaps none was chosen until the Earl of Shaftesbury came on board (one source does mention the Earl as the first president). I can't find who was president after Joseph Pease. --Erp (talk) 17:52, 28 May 2012 (UTC)

Well-spotted! Pease is referred to as the founder several times and it's clear he provided much of the financial backing, but none of the sources claim he was ever President (I was mis-remembering Lodwick when I added that; having checked, that's not what she says). I've changed the text to indicate his financial support instead. Yunshui 雲‍水 07:17, 29 May 2012 (UTC)

Looks like Donald Matheson was President at some point [1], presumably after Pease, though I can't find dates. Yunshui 雲‍水 07:57, 29 May 2012 (UTC)