of Supply Hongkong, Oct. 12.
Speaking to the Legislative Council to-day the Acting Governor said he would like to correct a misapprehension which appears to exist with regard to the requirements of the opium monopoly. Iv 1912 the allowance to the Opium Farm was 900 chests, which allowance included opium for export. When the Government monopoly was started in 1914 the amount of opium then required for local consumption was put at 540 chests yearly. It was hoped gradually to increase the selling price to a prohibitive figure with the intention of finally putting an end to the smoking of opium in the Colony. It was, however, an essential condition for the success of this policy that all supplies of opium be adequately controlled at—the source. This was 2] matter entirely outside the control of this Government and in the early days jof the monopoly large quantities of opium were regular smuggled into the Colony from the United Kingdom, but steps were taken at home to stop possession and export which resulted in a complete stoppage of this source of supply.
In recent years the Government thas been faced with the problem of keeping out Chinese and Persian opium. It is well known that opium can be freely. purchased in China at a price much below the Hongkong price and the wider these two prices are apart the greater the incentive to the smuggler until a point is reached where preventative measures with attendant abuses bring great harm to the trade and popularity of the port. It must be remembered that ina place such as this, where thousands of persons pass daily to and from China, nothing short of a vigorous personal search can be finally effective.
The Governor regretted that the present year's sales had increased owing to the more stringent preventative measures.
He is satisfied that for the; veasons indicated a further increase in the monopoly price would not in the present circumstances have any effect on the amount of opium consumed.—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.