'गय
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O. 882
5 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
84
levied, but this is trifling compared to the tax upon opium which is the result of the colonial system. Ball opium which has paid this import duty may be freely manufac- tured into chandu by anyone, and it can be retailed at a large profit at a much lower price than that which prevails in the Colony. The result in that the consumption of opium is much larger at the tin mines than anywhere else in these parts.
The extent of the consumption of opium in the Straits Settlements and Native States may be roughly gathered from the import and export returns.
In 1893 these show the following quantities :—
Imports of Patna Opium from India
Do. Do.
do. from Hongkong do. Inter-Settlement.
Imports of Persian Opium from Hongkong Imports of Turkey Opium from Hongkong
from other places Inter-Settlement
Do.
Do.
do. do.
Bingapore,
Penang.
Malasca.
Imports of Benares Opium from India (cheats)
7,127
8,540
Do.
do.
from Hongkong
281
10
Do.
Do.
do. do.
from other places
1
Inter-Settlement
160
85
188
Imports of Malwa Opium from Hongkong
16
8,524
266
858
18
49
187
26
89
4
Total
11,893
4,002
188
2,150
Do.
do.
to China
741
Do.
do.
to Native States
1,566
1,881
58
Do,
do.
to Hongkong
584
Do.
do.
to Siam and Siamese States
501
Do.
do.
to other places
253
Do.
do.
Inter-Settlement
223
800
Do.
do.
to China
1,610
Do.
do.
to Native States
-
180
Do.
do.
to Hongkong
665
Do.
do.
to Siam and Siamese States
343
Po.
do.
to other places -
51
Dq.
do.
Inter-Settlement
do.
to Netherlands India
do.
Inter-Settlement
Exports of Benares Opium to Netherlands Indis
Exports of Malwa Opium to Hongkong
Exports of Paton Opium to Netherlande India
Exports of Persian Opium to Hongkong
Do. Exports of Turkey Opium to other places
Do.
Chandu imported from Hongkong (tabils)
Do.
Inter-Settlement
-
Chandu exported to Hongkong
to Netherlands India
Do.
Do.
to Native States.
Do.
to other places
·
6
êཙྪཱཙྪཱ༅।ཡཽ॰ ཎྛ ༐© 1& I ། །
Total
9,177
3,704
58
$,000
3,600
Total
5,000
8,500
669,080
2,950
1,800
500
674,280
Total
| | | | | |
showing a balance (excluding inter-Settlement trade) of 2,898 chests to be accounted for. It must not, however, be supposed that this balance was wholly consumed in Singapore. The opium farmer for the Straits Settlements is also the opium farmer for the Native State of Johor and for the Dutch Settlements of Riouw and Karimung. He exports chandu to other places also.
The consumption of opium in the Native States may be more accurately gathered from the import and export returns than in the case of the Colony, for practically all the opium is imported for local consumption, and there is little or no re-export.
85
The published returns give the following results :-
Benares Opium
Patna Opium
Total
3,504 chests.
368 "
3,872 cheats.
PER-CENTAGE AND CLASS OF CONSUMERS.
2. What proportion, should you conjecture, of the adult males of each race, are consumers? Do women consume opium to any extent? Do children?
how
The difficulty of arriving at a fair estimate of the proportion of opium smokers to non- smokers in our population will be readily recognised. Opium retailers in particular districts can, no doubt, as far as their own trade extends, make a fairly close conjecture, and employers of labour can, of course, say, in respect of a limited number of men, many smoke and how many abstain. But the general difficulty remains, and is illustrated in the diversity of opinions given in the answers to Question 2, the per-centage of smokers ranging from 7 per cent. (the Dato Mantri of Johor) to 85 per cent. (Mr. Clifford). An attempt has been made by some witnesses (e.g., Mr. Anderson) to classify the consumers and to give a per-centage for each class, and this is perhaps the method which is likely to give the most accurate results. One thing that appears pretty clear from the evidence is that the proportion of smokers is higher in the Native States than in the Colony. Another is that a mining population furnishes a larger proportion of consumers of opium than an agricultural population. This was to be expected, and is partly explained by what I have already said as to the comparative cheapness of chandu in mining districts.
Here are the per-centages of male smokers, among Chinese, a given by the witnesses:
Per cent.
7 (The Dato Mantri.)
(Shellabear.)
12
15
(Vermont.)
15 to 20 (Riccard.)
20
20 to 25
20 to 30
30
30
90 to 40
35
40
40 to 50
(Chew Sin Yong.)
Kennedy.)
(Penney.)
(Hare.)
Į (Trading class-Gentle.)
(Treacher).
Above coolie class—Mugliston.)
(Dr. O'Sullivan.)
(Lamont.) (Meyer.)
{(Kynnersley.)
Anderson.) (Skinner.)
(Planters only-Lister.)
(Seah Liang Seah.)
(Birch.)
(Ellis.)
(Evans.)
50 (Coolie class-Gentle.)
60
(O'Sullivan.)
(Coolies-Mugliston.)
(Swettenham.)
60 to 70 (Kerr.)
70 (Foreign Chinese-(O'Brien.)
75 (Miller.)
80
Miners only-Lister.)
85 (Clifford.)
The
It is generally admitted that opium smoking is not common among women. Chinese women who smoke have generally acquired the habit in brothels, in which establishments half of the Chinese female population of the Colony are, according to one witness (Rev. A. Lamont), to be found. The women in the country districts mentioned
L. 3