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537
fear?
It indeed became apparent that with the
ilable means the forbidden areas could not be sufficiently maintained everywhere, and there was justification for the fear. that, if no other means "ere sought, the Government would fail to do what was expected of it, and would not succeed in causing the use of opium to diminish to the extent desired by many, while the prohibition laws would in the long run be broken too frequently. One thing and another would bring about more and more dissatisfaction with an otherwise excellent system of por- sonal licences.
The introduction of it in the near futuro in larger centrus of population such as Palombang and Choribon 777s considered undesirable. In those pineos the number of buyurs was considered too lrge, and the trafic too consider blo, to pormit of proper supervision of Thoro the opium bought goes to. The roquin.monts more thoruforo first restricted to a propor identification of all buyers, later on to strive for a reduction of the amount bought, firstly by generally reducing the quantity of opium, "hich at the very outside one person might possess, and thereafter probably by fixing for every buyer sopirately, how much he was allowed to buy, the result therefore being a system whereby only those persons were allowed to buy, who had a personal permit to do so. The great difference between this and the liconco systems then in oxistonoo, was therefore, that although the buying of opium was only permitted to possessors of an identification orrd, the possession of opium (provided it was not in oxcoas of the general maximum) was not forbidden to others. For, ns has alrʊndy boon sid, it was fonrod, that a prohibition nghint tho possession of opium, would be difficult to enforco, and that it would exposo the population to numerous scnrchos in the houses and would very easily lead to illegal pratiocs,
One therefore wished to begin with a proper identifition of all buyers, so that these would all become known at the opium-retail-shops. The buyers wore formerly elrundy
that thoy woro rogistorod, but it was far from boing the ongo thoroby all known, Firstly, for prretion) runsons, portion of the buyors
at the largest opium-rotril-shops nover como on the regiators,
7708 extendod But oven though the registration include all the buyers, na ws the case in Palembang and Cheribon for instance, its utility in those large places was nevertheless Comparatively small, amongst other runsons booruse it was only too easy for the buyers to give up fictitious nomos and wrong ndrcasca.
This thon was often dono.
to