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TRANSLATION.
t
Enclosure in Acting Governor General's despatch
of 27th August, 1910.
466
.:
REPORT by Opium Prohibition Burgau.
The recent institution of licenses was due to the fact that
at the present time the use of opium is being suppressed. On more
than one occasion we have reverently received Imperial Rescripta
instructing us to make enquiries sa to the true number of opium
smokers in every place within our jurisdiction. We have, accor-
dingly, drawn up strict regulations, which enact that, in con-
formity with the Board's regulations, every raw opium hong must
obtain a trading license before being allowed to import and sell
raw opium. Similarly, every prepared opium shop, which purchases
raw opium and boils it down, must report the number of balls it is
proposed to buy and obtain a *boiling opium" certificate before
being allowed to prepare opium. Any infraction of these rules
was punishable by heavy fines. The original object of these re-
gulations was mainly to further the work of supervision, in the
hope that, within the prescribed period, prohibition would be
complete. At the time a proclamation was issued and posted up
no as to bring when regulating to the knowledge everywhere of the most distant villages and the most secluded
districts.
According to a report by Liang Chao-t'any, or the Kuang yuan office, after its establishment, on August 8nd (VI. 27)
twenty balls of foreign opium were seized at the mouth of the
river at Samehui. They had been bought in Hongkong and had not
passed through the Samshui Customs, but had travelled by a devious
route to Wuchow in Kuang hsi, at, which place, after having passed through the Customs, the original packages were broken; the opium
was then brought into Kuangtung and there retalled.
With regard to this case, we find that, although the Wuchow Customs had stuck on sealed labels, they did not issue a transit
oertificate