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The adulterated Persian opium has borne imitations of the stamp of Beh- behani & Sons of Bushire and the contents of the packets have consisted of a little Persian opium mixed with the cheap paste which is used for making joss-sticks.
The only other Persian opium seized during the year 1928 was taken in tran- sit from Amoy to the Straits or Rangoon.
No Indian opium whatsoever was seized during the year.
As mentioned elsewhere most of the raw Chinese opium seized bears Chinese revenue labels and, so far as is known, no precautions are taken to prevent the smug- gling of opium out of the provinces of Kwong Sai and Kwong Tung into other parts of China or into this Colony.
3. The position in the neighbouring provinces of China varies from time to opium time as different cliques gain the ascendency, but whatever party may be in power Suppression all indications point to the fact that, though at times there may be organizations which bear the titles of Opium Suppression Bureaux and at times there may be recognized Government or private monopolies in opium, the purpose of the authorities is to manage the sale of and acquire the revenue derivable from opium rather than to limit or control consumption or to restrict traffic.
Any internal restrictions on pop cultivation in China became a dead letter throughout the greater part of that country (and particularly in the South) not long after the exclusion of Indian opium became an accomplished fact, and China now appears to produce very large supplies available for export.
An interesting light on the attitude of certain of the Chinese authorities and the alleged attempts to suppress the use of opium is provided by the labels found. amongst 3,000 taels of raw Chinese opium seized amongst passengers' baggage on a shin which arrived from Pakhoi on the 22nd July, 1929.
The opium was concealed in false bottoms of trunks and baskets, in tins of oil and in cakes of wax and bean-cake.
The labels are issued by the Canton (Kwangtung) Treasury and describe the raw opium as a drug or medicine for breaking the opium habit.
The labels are over-printed with characters meaning "This will be treated as contraband if it enters the interior" and would thus appear to be a recognized ex- port stamp similar in character to others which have been found on prepared opium exported from Amoy and seized in this Colony.
Labels of this type, with or without the overprinting, have been found with 4.030 taels of opium seized on arrival from Pakhoi in the first ten months of 1929 and also. 2,920 taels of opium seized on arrival from Canton during the same period:
The 7,061 taels of Wuchow opium seized during the first ten months of 1929 bore blue labels bearing characters meaning "Wuchow District Opium Suppression Bureau. Inspected," and on the 17th October a new design of label appeared on Wuchow opium bearing characters meaning "First Quality. Approved after inspec-
tion."
Documents seized in certain premises recently searched by the Revenue Department furnished at least strong prima facie evidence that an officer holding a responsible position in the Public Safety Bureau at Canton, and who admittedly had a share in a licensed opium shop at Canton, was engaged in sending considerable consignments of opium to an associate in Hong Kong and the accounts rendered by this person indicated that specific payments had been made to "Customs."
4. In the autumn of 1927 the Government of this Colony reduced the price of Experimental its opium experimentally in order to try to recapture from the smugglers the market
price which they had been able to capture owing to the high price of Government opium.
There was an immediate increase in the sale of Government opium and the number of seizures of illicit opium showed a marked decline.