CO129-472 - Others - 1921 — Page 248

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Memorandum on the Opium Trade in the Eastern Colonies.

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Colleis 9.2

4. Rambut. 10/2

Fiddes 10

spies required

1.

Supervision of the Traffic in Opium and

similar Dangerous Drugs having been entrusted to the

Council of the League of Nations, it is desired to

draw attention to the special position occupied by

certain Eastern Colonies in regard to this traffic,

with a view to ensuring that their interests shall

not be overlooked by the Advisory Committee which is

to be established to assist and advise the Council

in dealing with the question.

2. In Hong Kong, Straits Settlements and

Federated Malay States the trade in Opium has for

eight of the last ten years been conducted as a Government

Monopoly. The raw material (obtained chiefly by

direct purchase from the Government of India), is

prepared for consumption under Government arrangements

and retailed to the public through licensed vendors

at an artificially high price. Profits on the trade

go to the Exchequer of the Colonies concerned.

Under the Monopoly system, the local

Government is able effectively to regulate the use of

•

the drug, by raising the price, limiting the amount

placed on sale, and suppressing smuggling.

3

The Revenue derived by Hong Kong and the

Straits Settlements from the Opium Monopoly system

during 1921 is estimated as follows:

Sterling

equivalent.

Opium Revenue

Hong Kong

$4,000,000

2666,667

Straits

Settlements

$20,000,000

£2,333,333

Percentage of total

Revenue

26%

53%

In the Federated Malay States, the Estimates for 1920

anticipated an Opium Revenue of $12,200,000 (£1,423,333)

4.

Quite apart from the loss to Revenue. there

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