Fluctuations
of sales and variations in population.
The question of the registration
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The sharp rise to nearly four times the ordinary sales when the price of Governinent opium was reduced in 1927 (see Part III paragraph 4 of this Memoran- dum) confirms this view.
4. In the year 1918 the amount of Government opium sold in the Colony was 639,684 taels. In the year 1924 the amount sold was 351,560 taels and in the year 1928 the amount sold was 247,352 taels.
There had been, between 1918 and 1924, a very substantial increase in the population. In 1924 the Colony was in a most prosperous state and the maximum population was in all probability then reached; and though during the years 1925 and 1926 there was a great exodus of the labouring population, it is considered that the population has now again reached the figure at which it stood in 1924. The sales of opium in the year 1928 therefore show a most substantial reduction when compared with those of the year in which the population most nearly approximated the present figure.
It is impossible to state with any accuracy the difference between the popula- tion in 1918 and that in 1928, but some indication of the growth of the Colony can be deduced from the fact that during the intervening years 8,650 new domestic buildings have been erected in the Colony and there is still a demand for increased accommodation.
It is clear that the population in 1928 was very much greater than it was in 1918 but the official sales of opium had fallen by nearly 400,000 taels.
5. The Government has given serious consideration to the question of the pos- sibility of registration and licensing of consumers. It has, however, come to the or licensing conclusion that any system of registration would be impossible owing to the great of consumers. number of consumers, which, taking the conservative estimate of 20% on the last
census figure, would be over 125,000 persons.
Obstacles to
diminution
of use.
It is felt that any system of registration would also be abortive on account of the difficulty which would be experienced in controlling so fluctuating and unstable a population and so large a floating population.
Any system of licensing would be open to great abuses in the buying and sell- ing of licences, in impersonation and in the cornering of stocks and profiteering by licencees.
If the granting of licences were confined to individuals permanently resident in the Colony, it is felt that this would prove an increased incentive to the fluctuat- ing population to bring in opium from China. The wealthier class of temporary re- sidents would in all probability purchase Government opium from the licensed per- manent residents and this would tend to increase application for licences, as members of the lower classes would be put forward as figure-heads in order that larger sup- plies might be obtained.
A system of registration might possibly lead to some diminution in the sales of Government opium but, owing to the difficulty of the prevention of smuggling, it is regarded as extremely unlikely that it would lead to any diminution whatsoever in the total amount of opium consumed in the Colony.
6. In the present state of Chinese public opinion the only way to diminish or put a stop to the use of opium in the Colony is to diminish or put a stop to its pro- duction elsewhere.
That no effective control on the production of opium is exercised within the neighbouring provinces of China is clearly evidenced by the fact that of the total seizures of illicit opium made in Hong Kong in the year 1928 more than 74% was opium of Chinese origin, and it is noteworthy that most of the raw opium seized bore Chinese revenue labels.
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-
limitation
7. The Government feels that the fixing of any maximum limit for the amount The possibil- of prepared opium to be placed on sale, calculated according to the number of adult ity of Chinese population, would result in the buying up and hoarding of stocks by specula- by fixing a tors who would resell at an enhanced price, and the substitution of smuggled opium maximum for for Government opium in so far as the supply fell short of the demand. This was sales. found to be the case when a similar expedient was tried in the Straits Settlements and the Punjab.
Government
8. The limitation of sales by any further raising of the price of Government The possibil- opium would in the opinion of the Government, also fail to diminish consumption, as ity of smuggled opium would take the place of Government opium.
There is an undoubted demand for Chinese opium, but the fact that much' of the smuggled Chinese opium is heavily adulterated prevents its ousting entirely the Government opium from the local market.
limitation by increasing Government prices.
9. In the past stringent measures were taken against those keeping or using Opium opium divans.
These divans were used largely by members of the coolic class and were in the main cubicles in tenement houses and bed or bunk spaces in coolie lodging houses.
The keepers were generally people in very poor circumstances who kept a few pipes and a few mace of smuggled opium and charged 5 or 10 cents for a smoke.
Any attempt to control and limit the use of the divans necessarily involved great demands upon the time of revenue officers, and the result of raids was that the gaols became congested with thousands of members of the labouring classes who were thrown into prison every year for smoking opium in these so-called divans. The Government recognized that these individuals were the victims of economic pressure who, unable to afford to pay the price of Government opium, found available à plenti- ful supply of cheap smuggled Chinese opium,
The enforcement of the provisions prohibiting the keeping and using of divans thus involved the Government in heavy expense and at the same time curtailed the time available for the more useful activities of the Revenue officers.
In these circumstances the Government in 1928 relaxed the enforcement of measures against the keepers and users of divans and the number of convictions for "divan" offences in that year fell to 13 as compared with 4,796 in 1927.
The very small quantity of opium usually seized in "divan" raids and the more beneficial use of the revenue officers' services in other directions can best be gauged by the fact that while 2261 seizures in 1927 yielded 48,921 taels, the reduced num- ber of 711 seizures in 1928 yielded the closely comparable figure of 48,450 taels.
divans.
1
10. A strong force of revenue officers and searchers is maintained by the Increase in Government and this has been increased as the population grew.
excise staff.
This year three additional female searchers have been appointed for the spe- cific purpose of prevention of smuggling of opium by incoming female passengers.
11. The general physique of the Chinese population does not appear to give Medical any indication of the ill effects of the use of opium.
Its use is common among members of the coolie class who are engaged in heavy manual labour and among the agricultural community working in localities where fever is prevalent.
By members of these classes and also by those suffering from pulmonary dis- eases opium is regarded as being of great medicinal value. It might be said that almost all persons suffering from tuberculosis use opium and, as this disease is rife in the Colony, they probably account for a high percentage of the consumers.
aspect.
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