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to the extent of the cost price of the additional opium consumed. The only check on the price that can be charged is the danger that the farmer is running of smuggling if he raises his price inordinately, and if he may be thoroughly trusted he may always charge the highest possible price.
In fact, it was one of the very complaints made against the farming system by Mr. Whitehead in the Legislative Council during the session of 1891 when advocating the establishment of a bonded warehouse system - vide page 30 of Hansard for 1891 - that the farmer was able to squeeze his customers to an appalling extent, i.e., to extract an extremely high price from them for his opium, and that he did so, and would certainly continue to do so.
It may be asked why Government could not charge such a duty on removals...