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after a fixed period wold plage Great Britain in a much stronger position internationally and would produce a very good effect in America which holda very strong views on the opium traffic. It would also be welcomed by a large body of o inion in this country. The League of Nations Union has just declared in favour of prohibiting all exports of oplum except for medicinal parḥoses.
It is admited of course that there will be difficulties in giving effect to the policy of prohibition. It will be unpopular no doubt among the large body of smokers, especially in the coolis
Class: and the representative of the Straite
Bettlements and Malay states fears it might lead to actual disturbances, There seems no reason however
2
to suppose that the Volonial Governments will not be able to deal with the situation. Ample notice
would be given and the Goverments could b
iven a
free hand to carry out the chang in the way they thought beat, provided the Home Government was Assured that the Colonial Government was actively
preparing for the final step and was in the meantime
taking steps to eliminate the opium revenue from its
normal budget,
It must also be admitted that legal prohibition
wouldnot mean the extinction of the practice,
maggling will go on, as it goes on in the Philippine: today and everywhere else where the opium traffic is controlled, and a. lonį, as China grows vast
quantities of opium and Turkey and Persia exercise no
control over their experts, there will always be an
ample supply. The Colonial Governmente ould not
be asked, however, to do more than they re doing already to prevent muggling. Complete prevention
is impossible the a mirable preventive service
of Hong Kong, even under the present system, denot
revent huge quantities of opium being smuggled
Into the Colony.
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The position would in future be that opium
smoking would be an offence against the law, as it
is a ready in Great Britain and the rust of the Empire, and the authorities would take all the measures in their power to put it down, as for example the authorities are doing here to put it down among the Chinese of Li :ehouse,or Liverpool.
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