May About the middle of last month the League of Nations Union issued memorandum on the Japanese drug policy in Manchoukuo, considering the state of affairs as they existed prior to 1991 and in the second section conditions as they are now. Opium culture was, of course, common in Manchuria before the famous incident which led to the displacement of Chang Hsueh-liang. One of the four Eastern provinces, Jehol, was famous for its opium and its governor derived much of his income from taxation on its cultivation. It is claimed by the report that immediately the state Manchoukuo was established opium was systematized as a revenue producer. A State monopoly was set up, the drug was ought at a fixed price from the producers and sold at unfixed prices to the consumers. No limit was set to the amount of consumption and it is claimed that peasants were actually incited to grow opium, The tax on opium-growing was reduced by half and as a result the output has been so increased that it is anticipated that the revenue from the monopoly this year will be ten million yuan as compared with half that sum in 1933. An interesting point with regard to the "importation of opium into the new State arose when the Advisory Committee of the League of Nations recommended that Manchoukuo should not be allowed to join in international conventions. The Advisory Committee recommend~ ed:—
With reference to the Geneva Opium Conventions of 1025, Chapter 'V. the Committee recommends to Members of the League and to interested States non-Members that applications for the export admitted if it dig, the only jing membership nor likely to be {portant traffic services of that plore this proposed further addition that can be taken consist of mea-steps /metropolis. In the course of the to the administration of the Inter-
[sures to prevent the export of the Jdrug to the new State. That, it Hwould appear, is being adequately Jdone, but it presents no solution of ithe menacing problem -which, is posed by the existence of a legitimate trade in opium not only permitted but actually established by the new State. The question of the exportation by other countries Manchoukuo is of minor: im-
[portance, because of the big supplies Jwhich it already has and the posslbilities of further development which are undoubtedly great.
It was only a comparatively short white ago that Russell Pacha in his well known report upon the. drug frame im Europe and the Near East laid great stress on the fact that lite the situation there was more funder coutel than it' ever had been throughout. the. deplorable history of the trate in narcotics, there were signs that the Par East would "become. the manufacturing centre for the supply of the whole arid, "There were, he emphasize, important indications that already the Far" 'East was' developing Dusiness in the "manufacture. of opium and opium derivatives which was likely to become a serious menace, There' is evidence that large quantities of these drugs have been and ate. being" rant factured in China itself. white the possibilities of an extensive develop-{Puent of the business in Manchoulo tare so impressive as to aive rise [very grave concern on the. part of hoe authorities endeavouring. to end to" this evil Unfore Rinately there is little chance the atuation being bettered. Part fof the scheme "to. popularize the new government in" Manchoultwo ihas been the seduction of taxation, which has been, pointed to Considerable pride as evidence' of the efficiency of the new regime. Tew apparent, however, that this has bean achieved to a" great extent by the revenue producing latualites' of system which other countries are gradually wiping out, hey have not already" done 20, 'There is something cynical about the tact that whereas' Japan takes atic measures to. prevent drug Addition amongst its "own people, is willing to permit the creation a system in Manchoukuo capable argument the writer of the letter national Settlement by a series of makes a remark the aptness of commissions. With the Council so which wi Tegard to Shanghai is small as it is, it is difficult to see alt too painfully apparent: how that can be avoided. It is clear Experience has shown that however that the present members of the fatefully the franchise of a public Council have as much if not more Utlity company is drawn. ance the to do than they should be reason-Vested Interest is' insalied it is ably expected to perform. and the Particularly diieit to do anything only solution seems to lie in the monopel shed formation of this further. body. and endures. True, questions of designed to maintain some sort of mittea'to the Counci, but if there balance ered ce to be sub- balance between the increasing fas been any debate in the Council between Chamber about the public's views Parent reluctance of the companies public andthe of the services, this has never been concerned to meet them. A Tead-known. [The slowness with which public jutility companies at times move in ithe interests of their clients may be best estimated by the following feature of the correspondence between the China General Omnibus Company Ld. and the Municipal [Council as far back as 1923. On May 4 of that year Mr. H. JArnhold, on behalf of the members jot the proposed Board of that Com-Ipany requested that permission be granted to establish and operate Imotor omnibus services throughout the International Settlement in Jaccordance with the terms of a minute recorded and subsequently confirmed at the Council's meeting. Jot February 22. 1923. the modifications of that minute which was desired should be authorised lby the Council was the followin, That so far as the Council is concerned the use of double decked carson all routes be permitted subject to prior submission and approval of plans of such vehicles. ing of the documents connected with the bus and tram services as published in the various annual reports of the Municipal Council indicates that there is considerable room for tightening up the tondi-{tions under which these two utilities are allowed to operate. Further, there is a very definite impression abroad in the minds of the public that full advantage is being taken lof these lacunae, which ought never to have been permitted in the first. instance. It is suggested, therefore, that the demand for extensive reform is now so great that in the best interests of all concerned some. [such organization as a Transport Board should be established for the purpose of securing the necessary changes in procedure at the earliest possible moment. For it must be apparent that the longer the present evils are allowed to continue the more difficult will be their ultimate reduction, Writing on May 28, the same gentleman, in the last paragraph of his fetter sai It is understood that the question of double-decked ears is now under consideration and will be the subject of further correspondence in the near future, The point it is desired to make is that it took approximately eleven years between the original sugges-that double-deckers were necessary and the ultimate appear-Jance of an experimental vehicle on the streets.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.