§ Mr. PONSONBYasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, in view of the statement made to the League of Nations Opium Commission at its recent session by the British representative regarding the excessive consumption of opium at Hong Kong, he can state what measures are being taken by the Government of Hong Kong to restrict the consumption; and what reasons it gives for its failure?
§ Mr. AMERYAs was explained by the British representative in his statement to442W the League of Nations Advisory Committee, the excessive consumption of opium in Hong Kong is due to the large quantities of smuggled opium which pour into the colony from China. The Colonial Government has established a legal Government monopoly of the sale of opium with the intention of restricting consumption by charging high prices for Government opium. That monopoly, however, is not effective, because in spite of an energetic preventive service which seizes large quantities of illicit opium and the punishment of large numbers of offenders by fines and imprisonment, it has been impossible to prevent the smuggling on account of the abundance of cheap opium in China and the facilities for illicit traffic provided by the close proximity to and regular intercourse with Chinese territory. Primarily in the hope that it will suggest a means of solving the extremely difficult problem in Hong Kong, His Majesty's Government suggested last year that the League of Nations should send a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the opium problem in the Far East and the League have agreed to do so.