Sessional_Paper_1929 — Page 273

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limitation

7. The Government feels that the fixing of any maximum limit for the amount The possibil- of prepared opium to be placed on sale, calculated according to the number of adult ity of Chinese population, would result in the buying up and hoarding of stocks by specula- by fixing a tors who would resell at an enhanced price, and the substitution of smuggled opium maximum for for Government opium in so far as the supply fell short of the demand.

This was sales. found to be the case when a similar expedient was tried in the Straits Settlements and the Punjab.

Government

8. The limitation of sales by any further raising of the price of Government The possibil- opium would in the opinion of the Government, also fail to diminish consumption, as

ity of smuggled opium would take the place of Government opium.

There is an undoubted demand for Chinese opium, but the fact that much of the smuggled Chinese opium is heavily adulterated prevents its ousting entirely the Government opium from the local market.

limitation by increasing Government prices.

9. In the past stringent measures were taken against those keeping or using Opium opium divans.

These divans were used largely by members of the coolie class and were in the main cubicles in tenement houses and bed or bunk spaces in coolie lodging houses.

The keepers were generally people in very poor circumstances who kept a few pipes and a few mace of smuggled opium and charged 5 or 10 cents for a smoke.

Any attempt to control and limit the use of the divans necessarily involved great demands upon the time of revenue officers, and the result of raids was that the gaols became congested with thousands of members of the labouring classes who were thrown into prison every year for smoking opium in these so-called divans. The Government recognized that these individuals were the victims of economic pressure who, unable to afford to pay the price of Government opium, found available à plenti- ful supply of cheap smuggled Chinese opium.

The enforcement of the provisions prohibiting the keeping and using of divans thus involved the Government in heavy expense and at the same time curtailed the time available for the more useful activities of the Revenue officers.

In these circumstances the Government in 1928 relaxed the enforcement of measures against the keepers and users of divans and the number of convictions for "divan" offences in that year fell to 13 as compared with 4,796 in 1927.

The very small quantity of opium usually seized in "divan" raids and the more beneficial use of the revenue officers' services in other directions can best be gauged by the fact that while 2261 seizures in 1927 yielded 48,921 taels, the reduced num- ber of 711 seizures in 1928 yielded the closely comparable figure of 48,450 taels.

divans.

10. A strong force of revenue officers and searchers is maintained by the Increase in Government and this has been increased as the population grew.

This year three additional female searchers have been appointed for the spe- cific purpose of prevention of smuggling of opium by incoming female passengers.

excise staff.

11. The general physique of the Chinese population does not appear to give Medical any indication of the ill effects of the use of opium.

Its use is common among members of the coolie class who are engaged in heavy manual labour and among the agricultural community working in localities where fever is prevalent.

By members of these classes and also by those suffering from pulmonary dis- eases opium is regarded as being of great medicinal value. It might be said that almost all persons suffering from tuberculosis use opium and, as this disease is rife in the Colony, they probably account for a high percentage of the consumers.

aspect,