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century several parts of the Archipelago were altogether closed to opium. Some of those were opened once more, after the prohibition of opium had existed some time, and when it was evident, that the prohibition could not be maintained properly. In the free areas the Government tried to limit the use of opium as far as possible by means of regulations, even in the leases. Repeatedly the system was changed. One day the Govern- ment tried to decrease the use by permitting the farmers to buy a limited quantity of opium only, next day it tried to attain its end by other means.
But different reasons contributed to make the well-meant efforts fail. Firstly an Archipelago such as the Dutch East Indies is particularly suited for smuggling. Further little co- operation for decreasing the use of opium was to be expected from the farmers. Of course these men cared only for great- est possible profits. A decrease of the sale clashed with their interests, but an increase gave them extra profits. And thus it will be quite comprehensible, that they tried to encourage the use. With regard to the means to that end, they were not always very particular. When, for instance, the raw opium was furnished to them by the Government only in limited quantities or at high prices, they often had recourse to smuggled opium.
Further the opium-farm-system had not only the same imperfections as every other lease-system, but had also other abuses. For coping with the smuggling it required the aid of the Police, and often the latter was obtained in less decent ways. It had also engaged many spies, who often abused their power, to have their personal foes condemned. The Opium-farm was a state within the State especially in Java in different districts and the maintenance of the monopoly often led to diverse provoking situations.
II.
It was especially these and other abuses, to be mentioned afterwards, attaching to the Farm-system, which were the cause of a strong movement against this system.
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After a long controversy it was resolved to take the opium directly under Government management, as an experiment, under the name of: "Opium-regie". This regie was first esta- blished in the island Madura in 1894, and in the eastern parts of Java in 1896. As it appeared, that the Regie worked well, it was introduced gradually throughout the Dutch East Indies. After 1st April 1913 no opium-farm existed in these Indies any more.
From the beginning of the experiment it has been the desire of the Government, that under the Regie all, which could extend the use of opium among the population, should be repressed, so that not only the above-mentioned abuses of the farm should cease but also various other evils, which were unknown before to the Government or against which it was powerless to act from want of officials.
As such can be named: the hawking of opium in the vil- lages by the underlings of the farm, secret places of sale, which could be counted by thousands, the sale of opium on credit in times of money-shortage, the contraventions on a large scale of the regulations relating to the forbidden areas.
III.
In the first place one endeavoured to reach the desired end, by organizing the Regie in such a manner, that no in- termediaries were used, who were interested in the extent of the sale and consequently perhaps inclined to encourage the use of opium.
This is the difference between the Opiumregie in the Dutch East Indies and the exploitation of the opium in the neighbouring countries and colonies.
The opium is sold by paid officials, who are not interest- ed in the increase of the sale. The raw opium is made into chandu in the factory of the Opium-regie. The chandu is put up in metallic tubes of different sizes. The tubes cannot be opened, without being damaged, and only unopened tubes are sold.
When opium is detained on suspicion, that it did not
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