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2. Legislation.—A considerable amount of time was devoted to the drafting of an ordinance to abolish manufacture in bond, and to introduce a flat rate tariff in place of the existing classified ad valorem tariff. All the necessary legal work was completed by the end of the year.
3. Licences.—Authority was given to increase the licence fees for importers and retailers from the 1st day of the New Year, the date of renewal. The new fee for retailers was adjusted according to locality.
4. Some of the smaller factories and licensed warehouses were warned in good time that their licences would not be renewed, as the amount of their business did not justify the necessary supervision.
III. OPIUM.
The gross Revenue collected was $3,376,115.95 as compared with $3,344,370.65 in 1927.
Prices were restored to the former rates at the end of January, and the old qualities were again placed on sale. As was anticipated, sales at once fell off from some 12,000 taels a week to under 5,000 taels within one month, subsequently falling to 4,000 in May, and finally to 3,600 at the end of the year. Thus it only took the illicit opium dealer one month to recapture almost completely the Hong Kong market which had largely been lost during the period of cheap sales.
2. Sources of illicit opium.—(a) For the first time I am able to report that Kwong Chow Wan has ceased to be the chief source of illicit prepared opium. For the last 6 months of the year very little opium coming from this port was seized, and it was noticeable that several of the small and ancient steamers plying to that port on which constant seizures had been made in former years were diverted to the West River run during the season of high water, or laid up, thus confirming the opinion of this department that the smuggling of opium was their chief source of profit. The reasons which have led to the diversion of the opium traffic from this port are not known certainly, but Chinese gossip has connected the fact with stricter official control at Kwong Chow Wan.
(b) Wuchow has become the chief source from which illicit opium is derived. During the last 6 months of the year practically all the illicit prepared opium seized as well as all the raw Chinese opium came from this West River port, in spite of occasional large seizures from Hong Kong bound steamers at Do Shing, a station of the Canton Opium Suppression Bureau situated below Wuchow. Most of Wuchow opium came direct, though a little came through Canton.
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2. Legislation.-A considerable amount of time was devoted to the drafting of an ordinance to abolish manufacture in bond, and to introduce a flat rate tariff in place of the existing classi- fied ad valorem tariff. All the necessary legal work was com- pleted by the end of the year.
3. Licences.—Authority was given to increase the licence fees for importers and retailers from the 1st day of the New Year, the date of renewal. The new fee for retailers was adjusted according to locality.
4. Some of the smaller factories and licensed warehouses were warned in good time that their licences would not be re- newed, as the amount of their business did not justify the necessary supervision,
III. OPIUM.
The gross Revenue collected was $3,376,115.95 as com- pared with $3,344,370.65 in 1927.
Prices were restored to the former rates at the end of January, and the old qualities were again placed on sale. As was anticipated, sales at once fell off from some 12,000 taels a week to under 5,000 taels within one month, subsequently fall- ing to 4,000 in May, and finally to 3,600 at the end of the year. Thus it only took the illicit opium dealer one month to recapture almost completely the Hong Kong market which had largely been lost during the period of cheap sales.
2. Sources of illicit opium.-(a) For the first time I am able to report that Kwong Chow Wan has ceased to be the chief source of illicit prepared opium. For the last 6 months of the year very little opium coming from this port was seized, and it was noticeable that several of the small and ancient steamers plying to that port on which constant seizures had been made in former years were diverted to the West River run during the season of high water, or laid up, thus confirming the opinion of this department that the smuggling of opium was their chief source of profit. The reasons which hare led to the diversion of the opium traffic from this port are not known certainly, but Chinese gossip has connected the fact with stricter official con- trol at Kwong. Chow Wan.
(b) Wuchow has become the chief source from which illicit opium is derived. During the last 6 months of the year practi- cally all the illicit prepared opium seized as well as all the raw Chinese opium came from this West River port, in spite of occasional large seizures from Hong Kong bound steamers at Do Shing, a station of the Canton Opium Suppression Bureau situated below Wuchow. Most of Wuchow opium came direct, though a little came through Canton.
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