OPY
ONFIDENTIAL.
GOVERNMENT HOUSE,
HONG KONG.
306
13th February, 1923.
My Lord Duke,
With reference to your Confidential despatch
of 7th December, 1922, regarding the Colony's opium
requirements, I have the honour toenclose for transmis-
sion to the Advisory Committee of the League of Nations,
if your Grace sees fit, a statistical table giving the
more important figures relating to the consumption of
opium in the Colony since 1914.
2. From this table it will be seen that while the
consumption of Government opium per head of the popula-
tion has varied considerably from year to year the
tendency is on the whole decidedly downwards.
3. The average consumption for the last four years
amounts to approximately .53 taels per head, and it may
be of some interest to compare this figure with the
corresponding figures for other Colonies as deduced from
the information contained in the "Summary of Answers to
the Opium Questionnaire 1921" published by the League
of Nations.
For example Macao's average internal consump-
tion for the years 1915-1920 amounts to 10,400 kilos for
population of 85,000 (page 14), equivalent to a consump-
tion of 3.23 taels per head, or more than six times the
Hongkong rate.
RIGHT HONOURABLE
THE DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE, K.G.,
etc.,
etc.,
etc.
The