CO129-479 - Governor Sir Stubbs - 1923 [1-3] — Page 62

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inform those, who are in charge of the recruiting, or through whose intermediary the labourers are recruited, that no opium- smokers may be recruited, and that if opium-smokers should be discovered amongst the labourers engaged through their intermediary all the same, these will be returned at their expense.

The same line of conduct will have to be followed with regard to contractors and the workmen in the latter's service. Might it appear unavoidable in exceptional cases, where large interests are at stake, to take on opium-smokers for certain duties, then recourse may not be had to this, before the Government has given its sanction. In the relative pro- posal, it must be clearly shown, that the employment of certain opium-smokers is unavoidable.

When sending in any such proposals, it must however be taken into account that the sanction referred to, will never be given for those parts of Netherlands India, where the possession of opium is forbidden to everyone, or to persons of the nationality to which the workmen in question belong. Those in charge of works are held personally responsible for the proper observance of the regulations laid down in this circular, and for any expenses, which may be incurred through the returning of opium-smokers and which are the result of the non-observance of rules laid down above, or of any other fact.

XI.

The licence-systems described in § IX, since called "fin- ished", were first introduced in the districts where the number of opium-smokers was still comparatively small. In most of these districts they have been beneficial.

The more one went in for the application of the system in districts, where there were still comparatively many opium- smokers, the less co-operation from the population was to be expected The continuance of the system consequently be- came continually more difficult, partially on account of the increased number of licensees, and partially because the

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big towns, from which it is often easy to bring regie-opium into the forbidden area, were approached more and more. In this connection it must be observed, that the continual im- provement in the means of conveyance, the increased freedom of movement given to various sections of the population, and the increased communications with the rest of the world, continually made the maintenance of regulations such as those under discussion, more difficult.

The prohibited importation in districts, where a licence- system was in operation, from nearby large towns had here and there assumed large proportions.

It indeed became apparent that with the available means the forbidden areas could not be sufficiently maintained every- where, and there was justification for the fear, that, if no other means were sought, the Government would fail to do, what was expected of it, and would not succeed in causing the use of opium to diminish to the extent desired by many, while the prohibition laws would in the long run be broken too frequently. One thing and another would bring about more and more dissatisfaction with an otherwise excellent system of personal licences.

The introduction of it in the near future in larger centres of population such as Palembang and Cheribon was consi- dered undesirable. In these places the number of buyers was considered too large and the traffic too considerable, to permit of proper supervision of where the opium bought goes to. The requirements were therefore first restricted to a proper identification of all buyers, later on to strive for a reduction of the amount bought, firstly by generally reducing the quantity of opium, which at the very outside one person might possess, and thereafter probably by fixing for every buyer separately, how much he was allowed to buy, the result therefore being a system, whereby only those persons were allowed to buy, who had a personal permit to do so. The great difference between this and the licence-systems then in existence, was therefore, that although the buying of opium was only permitted to possessors of an identification card, the possession of opium (provided it was not in excess

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