CO129-184 - Governor Hennessy - 1879 [1-5] — Page 37

The Houstons Hium Farm-

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35 is thom the Financial Statement & His Pecellency Forever bennejus, 2.4.4, in the segretation Council 12 tremba 1977.

I now come to the licences. Of these licences, the important ones

are the spirit retailers, the pawnbrokers, and the Opium farm. Now, in every Eastern Colony they have licences or farms of this kind. I had to deal with the little Colony of Labuan, and had opportunities of consulting the neighbouring Governors, the Governors of Singapore and Saigon, and others interested in the management of such revenue farms. It is of importance to know whether these farms really bring us in the proper amount of money. Now, what has happened about the Opium fərm? It fetched in 1875, $137,000 for the whole year; in 1876, $133,000; and this year we will receive from #only $132,000.

The Opium farm is declining in value, because it has been sold to the Opium farmer at a slight falling-off in value. Well, it is a curious fact that, while the Opium farm has been declining value, the number of chests of Opium forwarded to this Colony have been increasing year by year. It is very remarkable that our trade in Opium with California, Australia, and a few other places, has been increasing, that our Chinese population has not been declining, and that nevertheless our Opium The farms there sold in farm has been declining. What has happened in the Straits Settlements?

1876 for $837,000. They have been re-let now for $1,020,000, the increase in all the Penang farms being $161,000, and in the Singapore Opium farm $28,000. Whilst they have been increasing, we have been falling back. In Hongkong, there are 130,000 Chinese; in the Straits Settlements, 104,000. How is this to be accounted for? There are three means of ascertaining what really is the amount of Opium consumed by the Chinese, and what the Opium farmer ought to divide with the Government. The first depends upon having an intimate business knowledge of the Chinese, of understanding especially the means they have of dealing with questions of this kind, in short to have that genuine acquaintance with the trading operations of the Chinese, which would enable the Government to form for itself an independent opinion. In addition to that, it is important to have before the Government, authentic facts and opinions from the European houses importing Opiun; finally the Hongkong Government is in a position to obtain information from the Chinese Maritime Customs, who have accurate means of knowing the number of chests of Opium consumed in this Colony. With these three sources of information at the disposal of the Government, the Opium farm ought to sell for its proper value. Now, what had the Government before it when the farm was sold? The Government had its own knowledge somewhat imperfect, 1 fear, of the Chinese, of their business habits, and of the mode in which they would endeavour to get this farm. The Government also bad before it statements from the leading European importers of the drug into the Colony. But the Government did not appear to have had information from the Chinese Maritime Customs' officers. Now, with respect to the information obtained from European houses; in looking through the papers on the subject, I observe an important, piece of information was communicated by Mr. Sassoos. The facts he laid before the Government I have had an opportunity of testing, and I find they were perfectly accurate. They have been supported by the independent testimony I have obtained of the officers of the Chinese Maritime Customs. But, Had it been, unfortunately, the Opium farm was sold not upon the data furnished by Mr. SASSOON, it ought to have realised a far larger sum.

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How ought an Opium farm to be sold? If you get a number of tenders, and assume that they are all genuine, you are very likely to be mistaken. If, on the other hand, you do that which the Singapore Government threatened to do, which the Government of Saigon threatened to do, which has been done before now by the authorities in Netherlands-India, where they have a population of 300,000 Chinese to deal with, or what I myself had to do in Labuan,-then indeed you at once deal with it in a way which enables you to get at its fair value, and which compels the Chinese traders to pay to the Government the fair proportion they should of a great business and large profits. When I went to the little Colony at the other side of the China Sea, $730 a mouth was received from the Opium farm. It had been $800 a month, but the farmer went to my predecessor, and explained that he was being ruined. Fortunately, on passing through Singapore, I had the opportunity of seeing Sir HARRY ORD, who pointed out to me the proper way of dealing with the Opium farm, and soon after my arrival in Labuan, I had the satisfaction of learning from one or two of the leading Chinese merchants that they were really willing to give me the best advice and assistance they could on the question. I well remember one of them (Mr. CHOA Mansoo) came to me at Government House and said-"The Opium farm is undersold. If you choose to take it into your own hands and let the superintendent boil the Opium, instead of selling it at $730 you will be entitled to get $1,000 a month.' gave me his figures. He said the number of Chinese is so much, the export of prepared Opium so much, the Government is entitled to expect a fair share, and the farmer will have a handsome profit. I took his advice. The result was that in a few weeks the Opium farmer came and offered $800. That was declined. He then offered $900, and before the end of the year, when we were making our preparations to deal with it, he offered $1,000; and before I left that little Colony I was able to sell that Opium farm for $1,450 a month. Thoroughly competent judges-- I need not quote their names are of opinion that your Opium farin, instead of declining, ought to have been increasing, and instead of fetching only $132,000, ought to have fetched nearer a quarter of a million this year. When Sir HARRY ORD resolved to exact a larger share of the profits some of the Chinese in Singapore said the Opium farmer in Johore would make all the Chandoo, and that the Singapore Government would lose by the attempt to increase the value of the farm: and to me in Labuan it was also pointed out that the profit would go to the Opium farms in Bruunci if I persisted in asking more than the $730. It is the old story. Such things are always said, and I believe they have been said here too; but there is a way of dealing with them, and no anticipation of what might occur at Macao ought to prevent us, when the time comes, from getting from the Opium farmer of this Colony that which he ought to be paying at this moment & far larger sum than $11,000 a month. It was sold in March, 1876, for three years, so that it will be a little time before I shall have the opportunity of dealing with it.

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