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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

C.O. 882

5 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NÓT TO

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If the Government fee had been fixed at a higher rate, so as to close a proportion of shops, the evile already anticipated in this despatch, paragraph 4, might have been experienced.

6. I am therefore strongly of opinion that the license fees should not be increased, and that the maximum price at which the prepared drug may be sold should still be fixed in all future contracts for letting the farm.

7. As regards the proposal that Malays should be excluded from opium smoking shops, the only objection which occurs to me is the theoretical one against class legisla tion, but as we have already excluded women by Ordinance XIII. of 1895, this objection is not a strong one. I do not, however, anticipate much result from such an exclusion, as the Malay smoker would always be at liberty to indulge himself at home, and, if it depended on myself, I should hesitate to legislate in the matter.

I have, &c.

13,113.

(No. 130.) SIB,

No. 44.

C. B. H. MITCHELL.

SIR WILLIAM ROBINSON to MR. CHAMBERLAIN. (Received June 22, 1896.)

Government House, Hong Kong,

May 20, 1896.

In reply to your Despatch, No. 265, of the 1st November 1895, I have the honour to inform you that I referred the question of bringing opium divans under the control of Government to the Registrar-General and the Acting Treasurer for their con- sideration, and I enclose a copy of their report, as well as of a minute on the subject by the Acting Attorney-General.

2. I recommend that on the expiry of the present opium farm in 1898, the opium smoking divans should be brought under the direct control of the Government.

I am confident that in this manner a great improvement will be effected in the sanitary arrangements of these establishments, as has occurred in the case of the lodging houses for Chinese, which were last year, in the face of determined opposition, brought under more direct control by the Government.

SIR,

I have, &c.

WILLIAM ROBINSON.

Enclosure 1 in No. 44.

Hong Kong, April 30, 1896.

WITH reference to Colonial Office Despatch, No. 265, of the 1st of November 1895, we have the honour to report as follows:-

2. We inspected some of the opium divans and are of opinion that, although the sanitary conditions of the divans appear to be somewhat better than formerly, there is still room for improvement,

3. They do not appear to be particularly clean or well ventilated, and in the case of divans situated on upper floors, there would be a great risk to life in the event of fire breaking out on the lower floors, especially if the divans happened to be full of

customers.

4. We have ascertained that each of the dross divans in Victoria pays to the dross farmer (who is a sub-lessee of the opium farmer) the sum of 6 dols. monthly plus a daily fee ranging from 50 cents to 2:30 dols., whilst he in turn farms out such divans in the villages for the monthly total of 457 80 dols.

5. The total received by the opium farmer from the dross farmer is 4,260 dols, a month, or 51,120 dols, per annum.

This sum is paid for the privilege of preparing dross opium for smoking, and selling it for consumption in dross divans.

6. In addition to dross divans, there are divans for the consumption of prepared opium purchased from the opium farmer by the customers.

These pay a license fee to the farmer of generally 6 dols. per mensem bringing in a total of about 1,500 dols. per annum. (There are three which pay, 7 dols., 4 dols,, and

I do)., respectively.)

• No. 41.

121

7. If Government undertook the licensing of all divans, there would be a reduction of the value of the farm which would however, no doubt, be recouped to a great extent by license fees.

8. The licensees might be allowed to purchase prepared opium from the farm or farms and sell it to their customers, and in the case of dross divans the licensees should be permitted to prepare the dross opium themselves instead of obtaining it from the dross opium farmer, who would cease to exist.

Regulations as to sanitary conditions should be enforced by the Sanitary Board and police. Certain structural conditions should also be insisted upon before grant of

license.

9. The license fees should be regulated so as to bring in at least the amount of 52,620 dols, per annum (51,120 dols. + 1,500 dols.), and perhaps a larger sum might be obtained, as the profits of the middlemen would be done away with.

10. The regulations of the Straits Settlements as regards opium divans might be adopted. These together with the ordinary opium and sanitary laws of the Colony would be sufficient.

11. The opium farmer and the police should be consulted in each case of application for a license.

12. Alterations in the law may be necessary. requested to advise on this point.

The Attorney-General might be

We have, &c.

J. H. STEWART LOCKHART,

Registrar-General.

Acting Treasurer.

Enclosure 2 in No. 44.

A. M. THOMSON,

MINUTE by the ACTING ATTORNEY-GENERAL.

HON. COLONIAL SECRETARY,

May 9, 1896. THE Crown Solicitor has furnished me with a copy of the grant to the present opium farmers, from which I note that the farmers have been granted the sole and exclusive privilege of keeping divans, and of licensing them, and that the present grant will not expire until the 1st March 1898.

Sections 11 and 17 of the present Prepared Opium Ordinance, No. 21 of 1891, deal with the licensing and farming of opium divans, but, seeing that these sections have, owing to the concession of an exclusive monopoly to the prepared opium farmer, remained a dead letter ever since they were passed, and also seeing that no form of license, nor conditions, nor regulations, have been approved or made under those sections, I think that it will be advisable to repeal the above sections, and to pass a short new Ordinance through Council at the beginning of the year 1898, dealing specially with the licensing of opium divans, and with the sanitary regulations which are to be observed in them.

Government Notification No. 299 of 1884, published, in the "Gazette" of the 23rd August 1884, appears to contain some useful hints as to the form which such sanitary regulations should assume.

H. E. POLLOCK,

Acting Attorney-General.

GOVERNMENT NOTIFICATION No. 299 or 23rd August 1884.

SALE OF THE OPIUM DROSS FARM.

Tenders for the exclusive privilege of collecting and dealing in opium dross and of preparing and dealing in drosa opium within the Colony for the term of one, two, or three, years from the 1st March 1885, under the provisions of the Opium Ordinance, 1884, will be received at this office until noon on Thursday, the 23rd October 1884. Each tender must specify the payment offered monthly.

The successful tender will have to comply with the following regulations as to the sanitary condition of second-class opium-smoking divans :—

1. The houses must be substantially built, be in good repair, clean, and have proper

house-drains disconnected from the public sewers.

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122

2. The houses must be provided with proper means of ventilation, and have adequate

kitchen, privy, urinal, and ash-bin accommodation.

3. The houses must have proper receptacles for the storage of water, and accommoda-

tion for personal washing.

4. The houses shall at all times be kept in a clean and wholesome condition, and they

shall be lime-washed regularly once in every four months.

5. Every room, passage, and stair in the house shall be thoroughly swept at least once a day, and all filth and refuse matters must be removed from the premises daily.

6. Every adult person lodging in an opium smoking-house must have at least 350

cubic feet of space for sleeping accommodation.

7. Any person found in an opium smoking-house after 9 p.m., not being the holder

of a night pass, shall be considered a bond fide lodger for the night.

8. The opium smoking-house shall at all times be open to inspection by members of

the sanitary board or any of its officers.

The Government does not bind itself to accept the highest or any tender. Further information may be obtained from the Treasurer.

Colonial Secretary's Office,

་

Hong Kong, 23rd August 1884.

8389.

SIR,

(No. 281.)

No. 45.

By command,

FREDERICK STEWART,

Acting Colonial Secretary.

MR. CHAMBERLAIN to SIR C. B. H. MITCHELL.

Downing Street, July 10, 1896.

I Have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No. 114, of 24th March last regarding the consumption of opium in the Colony.

2. I am of opinion that the existing number of licensed shops should be regarded as amply sufficient for the requirements of the population, and need not be exceeded for some years to come.

3. With reference to the last paragraph of your Despatch, I think it desirable that your predecessor's proposal, that Malays should be excluded from the opium smoking shops, should be tried as an experiment, to be watched and reported upon in due course; I request you, therefore, to introduce an ordinance to that effect, to come into operation from the date of the expiration of the present opium farm.

I have, &o.

J. CHAMBERLAIN.

13113.

No. 46.