CO129-457 - Public Offices - 1919 — Page 437

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xtract from Reuters', May 8th.

The following information regarding the sale of opium in

Q Dutch East Indias has been supplied to the International

Anti-Opium Association by the Netherlands Minister;-

Formerly the sale of opium in Ketherlands India was farmed

out to Chinese deal ers. 3inee September 1894, the Colonial

lovernment has taken this sale in hand as a government monopoly

|{Fagie), first in the island of Madura and gradually in the

whole island of Java. In 1905 this monopoly was introduced in to

the other islands of the Archipelago. The object of this system

is to raise the price of opium gradually so as to make it pro-

hibi tive. An elaborate system of suryance is necessary to pre-

vent smuggling. Finally different provinces are entirely closed

to opium, al though certain people who are unable to leave off

smoking without imparing their heal th may receive personal

licences, Thus the Residencies of Bantam, Batavia (partly),

'rsanger, Soerabaja (partly), Madura, Lampong, Cheribon, Ban-

jumas and certain districts of the Residencies of Pakalangan,

Jemarang, Kedoe, Kediri, Boerakarta and Hadioen have been entire

ly closed and importation, possession and transport of opium,

the remains of opium, opium pipes and other utensils are strict-

ly forbidden. The same applies to numerous districts and towns

in the other islands besides Jaya,

Regulations have been issued for the sale for medical pur-

poses of opium, morphia and other narcotics and the instrumen la

for the injection of morphia. The possession and transport of

these were forbidɑen in 1911.

The cultivation of poppy was forbidden ähready in 1872,

The use of opium among the troops is forbi dizan