CO129-357 - Governor Sir Lugard - 1909 [7-9] — Page 579

CO129 Colonial Office Hong Kong Records 理藩院香港檔案 All

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Lord Crowe in despatch No.180 of the 18th ultimo,

expresses the fear that the effect of the reduction of the

royalty "will be to decrease the price at which morphine can be

www sold, and possibly to lead to an increase sale of the drug.”

But, in the first place, as stated in Mr. Humphreys letter 570

above quoted, the royalty of $30.00 per tael has not as a

general rule been collected by the Opium Farmer, for Chemists

and Druggists in the Colony have entered into private agree-

ments with him to pay less: and in the next place, as pointed

out by the Chamber of Commerce, the Opium Farmer's monopoly

was never intended to cover the sale of the drug ac medicine.

and the royalty was imposed in order to prevent the abuse of

morphine or compounds of opium as substitutes for prepared and

frosa opium, not in order to restrict legitimate medical use

of these drugs.

This Government, however, while reducing the royalty

payable to the Opium Warmer on morphine, has at the same time

Mopted very stringent measures to restrict the use of the

rug to legitimate purposes. For example at the date when

Ordinance No.10 of 1904 was passed the Registrar General

reported that there were some 83 firms in the Colony dealing

in opium pills and opium wine, and that of these 83 there were

which dealt in these articles exclusively. But in November

908 there remained as licencees only 28 firme which had been

in business in the Colony prior to the passing of Ordinance No.

10 of 1904, while only five firms all of them European (A.S.

Jatson & Co. Emil Niedhardt, W. Shewan & Co. A Rumjahn & Co.

Jatkins Ltd.) had been added to the list since the passing of

the Ordinance: and no firm remained which dealt exclusively

in opium pills and opium wine.

On the 18th December 1907, Mr. Tratuan, as representa-

ive of this Government and Mr. A.H.Todd, as representative

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