E 3
III. MOTOR SPIRIT.
15. The duty collected reached the high figure of $955,033.69. A very high percentage of this duty is paid by companies holding special Importers' Licenses, and their continued co-operation has greatly facilitated the working of the Motor Spirit Ordinance.
It is proposed during next year to introduce a new ordinance to be called the Hydro-Carbon Oils Ordinance, by which all movements of hydro-carbon oils will be regulated by permits, and duty will be collected on heavy oils when used locally as fuel for road vehicles and on all light oils as heretofore. The Motor Spirit Ordinance will then be repealed.
IV. OPIUM.
16. The total amount of prepared opium sold during the year amounted to 25,029.22 taels, and the total net revenue was $292,119.33. This is an increase by comparison with last year of $47,141.75. Sales of Kam Shan again decreased by 13%, but this decrease was more than offset by the increased sales of Singapore opium.
17. There is little doubt that the increased sales of Singapore opium are due to the shortage of illicit raw opium which, by the end of the year, was very acute indeed. In 1936, in this report, it was suggested that the objection to Government opium was the price rather than the taste. This seems to be borne out this year by the fact that immediately illicit prices approximated to the price of licit opium, the sales of the latter increased.
The continued decrease in the sales of Kam Shan opium is to be expected, for the brand is sold only to a limited and decreasing number of registered smokers. Although stocks of this brand are limited, there is still sufficient stock, at the present rate of consumption, for several years.
18. For the year under review the opium account shows a loss of $300,321.55. The Colony, owing to its geographical position on arterial steamship lines, and also owing to the fact that it is a terminal port of many steamship lines, is the centre of a highly organised international traffic in opium, and the cost of fighting this traffic is all too severe on domestic resources.
19. Chinese Raw Opium. In 1937, seizures of Chinese raw opium amounted to 17,128 taels, whilst in the year under review 25,075 taels were seized. The increase is probably due to the fact that supplies of Iranian raw opium seem to be very limited, and it is noteworthy that the seizures of Chinese raw opium comprise 92% of the raw opium seized. The main sources of supply appear to have been as in former years—Kwong Chow Wan and Macau. (It was not until the last two or three months of the year that the stream of smuggled opium dried up, and it is possible that the extension of Japanese hostilities to South China has quickened this process. There were few cases of outstanding interest among the year's seizures. One case, in which 8,240 taels of Chinese raw opium were discovered on the s/s "Wing Wo," is worthy of mention. The "Wing Wo" had just arrived in Hong Kong from Kwong Chow Wan when she was boarded by revenue officers who found large sealed tins of opium which had been placed on the upper deck of the steamer with ropes and bamboo markers, presumably in readiness for dumping into the sea if the ship had been searched her way up to the Colony. The circumstances in which this opium was found pointed to the fact that the crew must have had some knowledge of these packages, and this, coupled with the fact that other seizures have been made on this ship from time to time, leads to the conclusion that much of the smuggled Chinese opium comes into Hong Kong via Kwong Chow Wan, for it is between these two places that the s/s "Wing Wo" plies.)
E 3
III. MOTOR SPIRIT.
15. The duty collected reached the high figure of $955,033.69. A very high percentage of this duty is paid by companies holding special Importers' Licenses, and their continued co-operation has greatly facilitated the working of the Motor Spirit Ordinance.
It is proposed during next year to introduce a new ordinance to be called the Hydro-Carbon Oils Ordinance, by which all movements of hydro-carbon oils will be regulated by permits, and duty will be collected on heavy oils when used locally as fuel for road vehicles and on all light oils as heretofore. The Motor Spirit Ordinance will then be repealed.
IV. OPIUM.
16. The total amount of prepared opium sold during the year amounted to 25,029.22 taels, and the total net revenue was $292,119.33. This is an increase by comparison with last year of $47,141.75. Sales of Kam Shan again decreased by 13%, but this decrease was more than offset by the increased sales of Singapore opium.
17. There is little doubt that the increased sales of Singapore opium are due to the shortage of illicit raw opium which, by the end of the year, was very acute indeed. In 1936, in this report, it was suggested that the objection to Government opium was the price rather than the taste. This seems to be borne out this year by the fact that immediately illicit prices approximated to the price of licit opium, the sales of the latter increased.
The continued decrease in the sales of Kam Shan opium is to be expected, for the brand is sold only to a limited and decreasing number of registered smokers. Although stocks of this brand are limited, there is still sufficient stock, at the present rate of consumption, for several years.
18. For the year under review the opium account shows a loss of $300,321.55. The Colony, owing to its geographical position on arterial steamship lines, and also owing to the fact that. it is a terminal port of many steamship lines, is the centre of a highly organised international traffic in opium, and the cost of fighting this traffic is all too severe on domestic resources.
19. Chinese Raw Opium. In 1937, seizures of Chinese raw opium amounted to 17,128 taels, whilst in the year under review 25,075 taels were seized. The increase is probably due to the fact that supplies of Iranian raw opium seem to be very limited, and it is noteworthy that the seizures of Chinese raw opium comprise 92% of the raw opium seized. The main sources of supply appear to have been as in former years-Kwong Chow Wan and Macau. (It was not until the last two or three months of the year that the stream of smuggled opium dried up, and it is possible that the extension of Japanese hostilities to South China has quickened this process. There were few cases of outstanding interest among the year's seizures. One case, in which 8,240 taels of Chinese raw opirm were discovered on the s/s "Wing Wo," is worthy of mention. The "Wing Wo" had just arrived in Hong Kong from Kwong Chow Wan when she was boarded by revenue officers who found large sealed tins of opium which had been placed on the upper deck of the steamer with ropes and bamboo markers, presumably in readiness for dumping into the sea if the ship had been searched her way up to the Colony. The circumstances in which this opium was found pointed to the fact that the crew must have had some knowledge of these packages, and this, coupled with the fact that other seizures have been made on this ship from time to time, leads to the conclusion that much of the smuggled Chinese opium_comes into Hong Kong via Kwong Chow Wan, for it is between these two places that the s/s "Wing Wo" plies.)
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