Con closure.
13
500
Bye-Law
the operation of the Bye Law
Mor
any
in question.
sity to hold the en
neces
enquiry. in the Prayer of
asked for the Petition.
I have the honour to be,
Sir, Your Most Obedient
Humble Servant,
William Robinzon
TO THE RIGHT HON,
JOSEPH CHAMBERLAIN, M.P.,
HER MAJESTY'S PRINCIPAL SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES,
Respectfully sheweth:
THE HUMBLE PETITION OF THE MAN FOOK CO., OF
VICTORIA, HONGKONG, OPIUM FARMERS, ON BEHALF
OF THEMSELVES, THEIR LICENSEES, AND SUB-LICENSEES.
1. By a grant dated February 27th, 1895, under the hand of H. E. the Governor, and the Seal of the Colony of Hongkong, your petitioners obtained the entire privileges known as the Opium Farm, including the privilege of collecting dross opium and of preparing and dealing in dross opium and of keeping divans for the smoking of opium, subject to the conditions specified in the said grant, for 3 years from the 1st March, 1895, and in consideration thereof your Petitioners agreed to pay to the Government the yearly sum of $286,000. A copy of said grant is sent herewith.
2. All that portion of the said privileges known as the Dross Farm and the Opium Divan Farm, are sub-let by your petitioners to one Hu Shun Chuen, hereinafter called the Dross Farmer, for the whole of their term for the sum of $4,260 monthly. The Dross Farmer and his licensees have the sole right of preparing and dealing in dross opium and of keeping houses of call for the smoking of opium within the Colony.
3. In the Colony there are 139 Opium Divans divided into 18 first class, and 121 second class Divans. In the second class divans dross opium alone is used. The keepers of all the Divans are licensed by the Dross Farmer to keep opium Divans, and in addition the second class divan keepers are licensed to prepare dross opium.
4. Opium dross is the residuum from prepared opium that has been smoked in the Chinese fashion in pipes. This dross when properly treated can be smoked again, and is extensively used by the poorer classes of Chinese. The dross in its unprepared state is collected from the 1st class opium divans and from private houses by licensees of the Dross Farmer and sold by them to the second class Divan keepers. The Divan keepers can also obtain dross direct from Canton and elsewhere on the mainland of China, but in that case they pay a duty to the Dross Farmer on the weight they so import.
5. The amount of Dross Opium used in the Divans per month is 30,000 taels weight, valued at Tls. 10,000, viz., about $13,900.
6. The customers of the second class Divans, which alone are seriously affected by the Bye-law mentioned below, are drawn entirely from the coolie classes. The habit of the majority is to smoke a mace or so (i.e., about 2 drachms) of opium, divided into two or more pipes according to the fancy or leisure of the smoker, before going to work in the morning and after the evening meal before going to rest.
Some of course smoke during the day but they are comparatively few; consequently, the busiest times of the 24 hours are from 6 to 10 p.m. in the evening and from 3 to 7 in the morning. From 7 to 10 p.m. are actually the busiest, and during those hours the second class opium Divans are densely crowded. From 10 p.m. to 1 a.m., the numbers gradually diminish, and from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. the houses are emptier than at any time during the night, but even then are fuller than during the day, the numbers being kept up by late working rickshaw and chair coolies, and by the coal coolies who discharge coal from the godowns at night under special permits, and later from about 2 a.m. onwards by the night soil coolies. At about 3 a.m. coolies of all kinds begin to come in for their morning pipes before going to work, and from 4 to 6 a.m. the houses are crowded, not as crowded as from 7 to 10 p.m., but still crowded.
Con closure.
13
500
Bye-Law
the operation of the Bye Law
Mor
any
in question. sity to hold the en
neces
enquiry. in the Prayer of
asked for the Petition.
I have the honour to be,
Sir, Your Most Obedient
Humble Servant,
William Robinzon
TO THE RIGHT HON,
JOSEPH CHAMBERLAIN, M.P.,
HER MAJESTY'S PRINCIPAL SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES,
Respectfully sheweth:
THE HUMBLE PETITION OF THE MAN FOOK CO., OF
VICTORIA, HONGKONG, OPIUM FARMERS, ON BEHALF
OF THEMSELVES, THEIR LICENSEES, AND SUB-LICENSEES.
1. By a grant dated February 27th, 1895, under the hand of H. E. the Governor, and the Seal of the Colony of Hongkong, your petitioners obtained the entire privileges known as the Opinn Farm, including the privilege of collecting dross opium and of preparing and dealing in dross opium and of keeping divans for the smoking of opium, subject to the conditions specified in the said grant, for 3
the 1st March, 1895, and in consideration thereof your Petitioners agreed to pay to ,years from the Government the yearly sum of $286,000. A copy of said grant is sent herewith.
2. All that portion of the said privileges known as the Dross Farm and the Opium Divan Farm, are sub-let by your petitioners to one Hu Shun Chuen, hereinafter called the Dross Farmer, for the whole of their term for the sum of $4,260 monthly. The Dross Farmer and his licensees have the sole right of preparing and dealing in dress opium and of keeping houses of call for the smoking of opium within the Colony. 3. In the Colony there are 139 Opium Divans divided into 18 first class, and 121 second class Divans. In the second class divans dross opium alone is used. The keepers of all the Divans are licensed by the Dross Farmer to keep opium Divans, and in addition the second class divan keepers are licensed to prepare dross opium,
4. Opium dross is the residuam from prepared opium that has been smoked in the Chinese fashion in pipes. This dross when properly treated can be smoked again, and is extensively used by the poorer classes of Chinese. The dress in its unprepared state is collected from the 1st class opium divans and fron private houses by licensees of the Dross Farmer and sold by them to the second class Divan keepers. The Divan keepers can also obtain dross direct from Canton and elsewhere on the mainland of China, but in that case they pay a duty to the Dross Farmer on the weight they so import.
5. The amount of Dross Opium used in the Divans per month is 30,000 taels weight, valued at Tls. 10,000, viz., about $13,900.
6. The customers of the second class Divans, which alone are seriously affected by the Bye-law mentioned below, are drawn entirely from the coolie classes. The habit of the majority to smoke a mace or so (ie., about 2 drachmis) of opium, divided into two or more pipes according to the fancy or leisure of the smoker, before going to work in the morning and after the evening meal before going to rest.
Some of course smoke during the day but they are comparitively few; consequently, the busiest times of the 24 hours are from 6 to 10 p.m. in the evening and from 3 to 7 in the morning. From 7 to 10 p.m. are actually the busiest, and during those hours the second class opium Divans are densely crowded. From 10 p.m. to I a.m., the numbers gradually diminish, and from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. the houses are emptier than at any time during the night, but even then are fuller than during the day, the numbers being kept up by late working rickshaw and chair coolies, and by the coal coolies who discharge coal from the godowns at night under special permits, and later from about 2 a.m. onwards by the night soil coolies. At about 3 a.m. coolies of all kinds begin to come in for their morning pipes before going to work, and from 4 to 6 a.m. the houses are crowded, not as crowded as from 7 to 10 p.m., but still crowded.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.