B
384
[May 21, 1904.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL—That Ordinance is a dead letter.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND the rights of the public and even of business of opium pills or wine and nothing else. I should know the extent to which he is protected an individual case in which rights are jeopar- The position they had taken up from the very but it is also necessary that other people should dised-for after all, the public life is simply the outset was that it was not their sole business, have it clearly defined what they may do aggregate individual life-and that we should but, sir, although it is not their sole or may not do vis a vis the opium farmer. consider well before passing an ordinance of this business it is a business; and as my hon. and Therefore this express provision was passed kind which will include new rights in the learned friend the senior member for the defining what prepared opium is to be, concession or monopoly to the opium farmer and Chinese has pointed out it is a question of prin- and it is expressly limited, as your Ex- impose very great hardships to the extent of ciple upon which a stand must be taken. A cellency will see, to opinin which has been sub- depriving many people of the right to continue party has a perfect right to be protected in a jected to any degree of artificial heat for any their trade in this Colony. I do not think I legitimate business, and I shall show that this purpose whatever. and I think it extremely can usefully go on to discuss other points is a legitimate business. With regard to the probable, as the learned senior member for the because, as I say. I have endeavoured to place learned Attorney-General, there is another Chinese has suggested, that the reason why that before the Council my one objection to the point he tried to make, I think, and that was definition was adopted-was that the Legislature Bill and if that one objection is removed I that the trade in these pills or wine intended to legislate for and had in their would be very glad to give the Bill my support. was after all a comparatively small matter. mind the preparation for the
Hon. Mr. POLLOCK next rose to speak.
of purpose But the hon. senior member for the Chin-smoking, and that is probably the reason why His EXCELLENCY-I should be very much
ese drove him from that petition very
these words are inserted there. Then, sir, as if obliged if you will inform me what the position effectively because he had afterwards to admit to make the matter doubly clear, as if to make is exactly of these petitions. This Council has that you may call it small with regard to sure that there could be no possibility of mis- received two petitions; one purports to emanate individual firms but in aggregate it is large. take. farther down in the same section of from certain members of the general community Why should a trade or business which is in Ordinance 21 of 1891 there is a definition of and the other from the shops dealing in these the aggregate large and which is, I shall show preparation. Preparation, the subjecting of pills. Both of these 'petitions have been for lawful, be interfered with by the Legislature opium of any kind to any degree of artificial warded to us through a somewhat unusual of this Colony? I submit, sir, there can be heat for any purpose whatever, shall be taken to channel the channel of the hon. member for only one answer, and that is, because the opium be the preparing of such opium. Therefore, the Chamber of Commerce. I shall be very farmer pays a very large sum yearly to the sir, the test there in that definition of prepara glad to be informed whether the hon. member Government of this Colony. That is to say, tion, as in the test of prepared opium, is in the exercise of his profession has drawn these that the Government have some fear, some the test whether or not the opium has been sub- petitions, has been paid for drawing them. and apprehension, that unless some measure of this jected to any kind or degree of artificial heat. is to be remunerated for advocating the prayer sort is passed to give the opium farmer rights If it has not been subjected, if it does not fall contained in these petitions before this Council? additional to those which he already possesses within that, then no person in this Colony, no Hon. Mr. POLLOCK-Your Excellency, in the revenue may suffer some loss, and because Magistrate, no Judge, no member of the execu reply to the questions which have been just put of that fear, that apprehension, they propose to tive can possibly say that that opium has been to me, I did prepare these petitions profession-override these people who have been dealing prepared." ally for the parties on behalf of the parties for in opium pills or wine, to take away whom they are prepared. There is no secret their business from them, business which about it. And I forwarded the petitions to the has hitherto been lawful and legitimate. Now, Government. With regard to the other ques- upon the point of this business hitherto carried tion which has been put, I think, your Excel- on by dealers in these pills or wine being lawful lency, that it was hardly necessary and hardly and legitimate, it is only necessary to refer to proper that such a question should be put. I the Ordinance. No. 21 of 1891. That, sir, in need hardly say I think those who have followed order to show what the rights of the opium my public career in this Colony know that I do farmer are. we must look at the law. It is not accept pay and that I have no intention of
tedious rather, but it an important matter in this accepting pay for appearing in this Council and question. The hon. and learned senior member for any views which I may express in this for the Chinese stated the matter in a very clear Council. I think it would be obviously improper and lucid fashion, but lest perhaps some of his for me as a member of this Council to accept arguments might not have gone home I think it any fee, reward, or gratuity whatsoever in respect is very important that we should look at the of any views which I may lay before this Prepared Opium Ordinance and see from it Council. As I have stated I was asked to what is the actual protection that has been prepare and did prepare in a professional accorded to the opium farmer. Of course in capacity and I think it will be found that I the grant which was made him he was given was perfectly right in so doing-these petitions the privilege of dealing in prepared opium which have been forwarded to this Council. as defined by law. Prepared opium These petitions were addressed to the hon. of course is an expression which may mean a members of this Council. I do not know great many different things. If a man came to whether they were circulated. It rather seems a lawyer about a tender for prepared opium, the to me they were not.
At any rate I do first question the lawyer would ask would be, not see them on the table. My position is What do you mean by prepared opium" perfectly clear, and I should have thought it But here of course we know what is meant be. was absolutely unnecessary that I should ex- cause we passed a special Ordinance to deal with plain to this Council that I have not been paid it. It was passed 13 years ago, and therefore any fee or reward and that I do not intend to one would think, that by the process of accept any fee or reward for coming here to-day filtration in people's minds people would at all and stating my views to the Council.
events hare some idea of what was meant by prepared opium." What did the Ordinance say about "prepared opium"? It was in Section 2 of the Ordinance in which prepared opium was defined and, sir, you will see it is not merely defined but is defined in such a way that shows clearly that it is defined for the express and HIS EXCELLENCY-They have been circulated. specific purpose of considering how the Hon. Mr. POLLOCK-Then from the learned privilege which is granted to the opium farmer Attorney-General's speech I gathered that they to prepare opium shall so far as relates to the had not reached him or been sufficiently con- infringement of the opium farmer's pri- sidered by him because we have been told with vilege of preparing opium within this a great flourish of trumpets in this Colony by Colony mean-what shall it mean?-mean the learned Attorney-General of some wonder- opium which has been subjected to any degree of ful discovery or alleged discovery made by the artificial heat for any purpose whatever and Government; that is to say, it is supposed to shall include dross opium whenever such a have been made by the Government on its own construction is consistent with the contents. initiative-namely that of the people who signed Well sir, what could be clearer than that? this petition some only were exclusively There is not merely a definition of prepared employed in the business of opium pills or wine. opium there, but it is a definition of prepared Why, sir, that question is dealt with specifically opium which is expressly stated to relate to the in paragraph 1 of the petition. What is the infringement of the opium farmer's privilege. wording? Your petitioners have during the It is a provision of the law SO that not periods of years which are set opposite to their merely the opium farmer but anybody else respective signatures been carrying on business who deals in any way with any mixture of in this Colony in (inter alia) either opium pills a chemical material in which opium occurs may or opium wine or in both these articles." I know perfectly clearly what is meant by the should have thought, sir, that the words inter words "prepared opium." And that, sir, was alia" were sufficiently explicit, though in Latin passed by the Legislature, that provision is and not in English, to convey that these gentle-enacted by the Legislature not merely for the - men who brought in this petition in bringing it in were not and did not purport to be solely or exclusively employed or engaged in the sole
HIS EXCELLENCY--I thank you. My ques- tions were simply made to find out the hon. member's position.
Hon. Mr. POLLOCK-Your Excellency, as I say. I do not know that these petitions have been circulated to hon. members.
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purpose of informing the opium farmer but also for the purpose of informing other people. It is not merely necessary that the opium farmer
Hon. Mr. POLLOCK-That definition of pre- pared opium is expressly made with reference to the opium farmer's privilege. Now, in this matter, as has been shown by the petition from the dealers in opium pills or wine, they have been dealing in these pills and wine in this Colony for a great number of years. I think, analysing that petition, it would be seen that 16 of these firms out of the 83 have been dealing in this Colony unmolested in opium pills or wine for 30 years or over; 24 out of the 83 have been dealing, in this Colony, inter alia in pills or wine. for 20 years or, over; and 40 firms- roughly half-have been dealing in these pills or wine in this Colony for ten years or over. Some have been going on actually for 50 years, and one 60 years. Therefore, as will be seen, it is a long-establish. ed business, and yet these people who have been carrying on this business without let or hindrance for so many years are classed by the Law Officer of the Crown as smugglers. They are put in the same category as the people who are running a blockade, acting in breach of the law, and the expression is used constantly by him of "illicit sales," What does illicit mean? Illicit " means unlawful or contrary to law; and it is not unlawful or contrary to law to sell opium in any way which does not infringe the opium farmer's privilege or this Ordinance which was passed to back him up unless the opium comes within the definition of a prepara- tion subjected to any degree of artificial heat for any purpose whatever. And preparation, I may mention, to make my meaning absolutely clear, in the definition is express- ly stated as to be understood by the ex- pression "preparing of opium." Preparation is the subjecting of opium of any kind to any degree of artificial heat and for that purpose shall be taken to be the preparing of such opium. Therefore it is quite clear what prepared. opium means. It is quite clear what preparation means and what preparing means. The opium farmer stands or falls by this Ordinance. What has happened? Certain prosecutions-I do not know whether one or more-but at any rate a prosecution was instituted at the instance of the opium farmer at the Magistracy. The Magistrate decided that he could not possibly say it was prepared opium and dismissed the case. That so far as this Council is concerned disposes of the matter until it is brought before some higher tribunal for an absolute finding on the question of law. The opium farmer of course has his own legal advisers, and it is a matter which I think is well known that he has behind him some very clever and learned legal advisers, gentlemen who are perfectly able to protect his interests, and if they had considered that the decision of the Magistrate was wrong or in the smallest degree
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