INDIAN OPIUM.
26
Apart from the seizure mentioned above no Indien
Opium was found. No information was received which pointed
to the existence of any smuggling of Indian opium direct
from India.
The precautions taken in India to control raw
opium soom to have been quite effective. The supplies of Indian opium which are still reaching China, appear to originate wholly in the French protectorate of Kwong Chow Wen.
OPIM DIVANS.
4 9681
In this the fifth year of a concontrated attack on
divans the number is practically the same as that for the last two years.
The divan-keeper laughs at the sentences inflicted
by the Court which are generally a tenth of the maximum fine, in quite a large percentage of cases he does not trouble to attend at Court, forfeiting the bail which is generally a
little higher than the fine likely to be imposed. The man who goes to prison if the fine is not paid, is usually & paid keeper or a coolie who is past work, or too lazy to mork, There is a regular tariff in the trade; if the man has dependents in the Colony, which is rare, they are looked after, and the man gets a regular fee when he comes cut based on the length of time he has served in prison. The factor which decided whether the fine shai be mid or not is purely a financial one, the actual owner
of a divan will make more money outside prison, so he pays his fine, but the master of several divans finds it pays him better for his employee to serve his sentence, as he can easily fill his place, and give him some small compensation on his release.
3
The campaign against divans has proved absolutely abortive, there are probably as many divans being operated now as there were 5 years ago, and the profits have probably increased as the price of illicit opium has decreased.