568972-1929-Supplementary-Draft-Bill---Opium-Amendment — Page 3

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coutain (nature and quantity of opium, market value, ete.)

....and that on

I personally handed the said (quantity and nature of opium)

..to (name and description of officer)

.....in a sealed packet (or as the case.

may be).........

mark)........

Date

.............marked (if any special

(Assistant) Superintendent of Imports and Exports.

Objects and Reasons.

1. This bill is intended to fill up certain minor lacunae which have been noticed in the statutory provisions relat- ing to the control of opium.

2. Sections 2 and 3 of this Ordinance introduce new definitions of the terms exportation and importation which are based on those in the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, 1923, as enacted by the Dangerous Drugs Amendment Ordinance, 1928. The new points are the following :—

(a) Aircraft are specifically referred to,

(b) Conveyance by mail is expressly mentioned. (c) The word "despatch" is introduced in order to meet the possible though unlikely case of con- traband being thrown across the land frontier.

3. It has been suggested that although dealing in raw opium is illegal generally yet the prohibitions of section 4 of the Opium Ordinance, 1923, as enacted by section 2 of the Opium Amendment Ordinance, 1924, would not apply if it could be shown that there was no intention that the opium in question should ever be imported into the Colony. Section 4 of this Ordinance introduces words which are intended to meat that possible defence.

4. Section 17 of the Opium Ordinance, 1923, makes illegal the possession of any Government label or wrapper which has been or has become detached from the opium receptacle to which it was attached when issued by the Superintendent. In a prosecution under this section it would usually be impossible to prove that the detached label or wrapper had ever been attached to a receptacle issued by the Superintendent, except by relying on a general statement that in practice no label or wrapper is issued except attached to a receptacle. Section 5 of this Ordinance repeals section 17 of the principal Ordinance and substitutes a new section. Sub-section (1) of the new section meets the point above referred to by making illegal the possession of any label or wrapper of a kind used by the Superintendent unless such label or wrapper is attached to some receptacle which was issued by the Superintendent.

5. Sub-section (2) of the new section 17 deals with an- other point. It would be possible to remove the label from a Government opium receptacle without damaging the label and to use it again ou another receiptacle containing nou-Government opium. It is true that the possession of this non-Government opium would be an offence in itself,