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in the divans. It is not, however, known whether any smokers smoked either one or the other indiscriminately according to their inclination at the moment.
33. In several cases smokers in opium divans were found smoking pills which on analysis proved to contain no substance usually classed as a narcotic. Such pills were found always to contain caffeine as the chief constituent, together with quinine, cinchonine, aspirin or strychnine. The colour was as a rule a very pale pink, and the pills were more roughly made than the genuine kind. The number of cases where such were found being consumed in opium divans tended to give rise to the question as to whether caffeine was not the chief ingredient de- manded by the smoker, and that heroin was perhaps a refine- ment unnecessary for the unsophisticated.
34. One small seizure was made of black pills which in appearance were similar to the anti-opium pills freely sold twenty years ago in China, in the days of strict opium sup- pression, and composed mostly of opium dross. Analysis, how- ever, proved them to be ordinary heroin pills of excellent quality, the only difference being that some very persistent blue- black dye was used in the mix instead of the usual red or pink dye. Presumably the alteration in colour was with the idea of passing them off as ordinary Chinese medicinal pills, many of which are black.
35. Four seizures were made of materials and apparatus for the manufacture of heroin pills, in one case though the factory was not actually working when raided, work had been suspended not long before. In the other three cases the materials were not set out and were apparently in course of removal or arrange- ment in new premises. The materials seized included the following, refined, icing and milk sugar, gum acacia, gum tragacanth, various pink or red dyes especially fuchine, aspirin, quinine, salicylic acid, strychnine, caffeine in considerable quan- tity, atoxicocaine, and strong nitric acid. Heroin was actually discovered in one case only. It was reported that the small quantity of heroin required was brought in by the actual owner of the factory just as it was required when all the other con- stituents had been added. No formula was found, which could be decyphered,
36. In one case a mass of material was found for making pills of various colours ranging from a very pale to a deep pink and from pale yellow to almost brown. No heroin was found in these pills, but only codeine and caffeine, and two bottles containing a mixture of codeine and caffeine. Though this mix- ture was not illegal, the person concerned did not claim the material. Though pills of much the same variety of colours were afterwards seized they were found to contain heroin. containing codeine and caffeine were found elsewhere.
No pills
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37. The commonest pill found was the brand called "Fierce Tiger," the latest label, adopted in August last, being in colours showing a large tiger with one paw on a rock with a small bird in flight above. According to enquiries made the factory is situated in Chinese territory, and the pills in bags of one thou- sand each could readily be purchased in Shanghai. They claim to be made by a firm calling itself the Lung Ma foreign firm." This brand contains the most heroin, and is always of a deep pink and is the best made pill of the kind encountered. Seizures were made on ships coming from Shanghai, and in the possession of persons either natives of or coming recently from Shanghai. In one case a Shanghai pill dealer was arrested in an opium and heroin pill divan with a packet of pills in every pocket; he was on his rounds of the divans to sell them their day's supply.
A certain number of pills come from Kongmoon; these cannot be mistaken for the Tiger brand, being of a light pink shade. A certain number come from Canton, whence came also some of the pill making material seized.
VI. DANGEROUS DRUGS.
38. Only one seizure of importance was made-that of four pounds of morphia which was seized en route to Manila together with Red Lion prepared opium. The different weights were written in Chinese on the packages. One small package was rather crude discoloured morphia, and the majority had beer mixed with caffeine, while a loose label was found enclosed giving a long description in Chinese of its efficacy as a cough medicine. After careful analysis the analyst pronounced that the morphia itself was not very pure originally before its ad- mixture with caffeine, and was of the type to be expected from any factory working in rather a crude way.
VII. OPIUM SHOPS.
39. The number of Government shops for the retailing of opium remained at 6, while the number of salaried retailers using their own premises was further reduced to 24, all in the outlying portions of the urban area or in the country districts. By far the greater proportion of the opium sold was retailed through the Government shops, very little being sold in the out. lying districts.
VIII. LEGISLATION.
40. An attempt was made by legislation to throw respon- sibility on the tenants of a floor or building who knowingly permitted any portion of their premises to be used as an opium divan by their sub-tenants. Several convictions were obtained until one magistrate held that as the person generally known as the
Principal Tenant" had parted with the control of the cubicle, bed-space, or cock-loft by the fact that he sub-let, he
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