CO129-482 - Public Offices - 1923 — Page 476

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22. The number of shops retailing ozium, hich et the beginning of R.E. 2480 (1917-18) stood at over 3,100 for the hole kingdom, wes reduced to 2,433 by the end of thet verr,

and the folloding successive reductions have since been effected:-

Year

Letter half of B.E. 2461 (1018-19)

#

11

B.E. 2462 (1919-20)

R. L. 2463 (1920-21)

N° of shops

1,639

1,233

028.

From the above figures it will be seen thet since the complete bolition of the forming systen in B.E. 2461 (1918-

a). the number of orium shops has been reduced by tro-thirds,

23. Another obiect aimed at by these changes as the crevention of the smuggling of opium out of the country. AS already expleined in cere 19, the sub-F-rmers arcarently found it rein them to excort orium, ahce the r ofit they made on such operations "es crobably greater then that all07- ed by the Government on Jeritiarte sales in the country, and they had facilities end connections which rendered it easy for them to so distose of the oriun, With the sub-Fermers ebolished, it As hoped that retailers Tho naturally dealt in smaller quentities end who had to obtain their supplies direct from the Ne i Aarhurs ould not be able to engage in out "ard snuggling to eny considerable extent, escecially as the ofit "hich they obtained from the cross left in the cices by their customers as a good one. ireover, a sup- -lementary law as enacted limiting to one temlung the amount of Government orium hich any person might have in his cos- Session Jthout a license. The object a this ensatment,

hich as brought out ending the issue of a concrehend ve no opium

s to facilitate seizure -bove one tamlung Forever found, since it is not osy to prove intention to xport, The limit of one tamlung a fixed for the convenience of travellers who might be bone fide orium stokers,

In

24. The raults of these neesures were not perhaps ́s arcet as anticipstod, The incres asd difficulties in the "ay of oxport de people willing to pay the opium retailers still higher rriaos te cvrdo the rules under "hich they were permitted to sull for consumption on the premiacs only. arite, therefore, of seizures by the Customs, as show in Tablo II. Amoxe IV. the excort cortinaer to some extent. It is cloer, hocvor, that the doesurus (dopted did have some ffect d nee the final result, as shom by the total quantity of orium sold in B.b. 2461 (1918-19) vs decrease of over 9s compared ith the crevious tclve months. Vide Annexe V.