the Colonial Secretary by the person, firm, company, association, body, master, owner, agent or consignee chargeable. the Passed in the Legislative Council this 28th day of June, in Clerk of the Legislative Council. ORDINANCE of the Government of Hong Kong to amend and Consolidate the Laws relating to Opium and its Compounds. [No. 23.] (L.S.) F. D. LUGARD, Governor. [September 2, 1909.] BE it enacted by the Governor of Hong Kong, with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council thereof, as follows: 1. This Ordinance may be cited as "The Opium Ordinance, 1909." In this Ordinance, unless the context otherwise requires"Raw Opium" means any kind of opium not prepared for smoking, chewing, swallowing or injecting and includes the leaves or wrappings in which opium balls have been wrapped. "Prepared Opium" means any preparation of opium or any preparation in which opium forms an ingredient which preparation is used or intended to be used for smoking, but it does not include dross opium or any of the alkaloids or salts of the alkaloids of opium. The subjecting of opium of any kind to any degree of artificial heat, for any purpose whatever, shall be taken to be the preparing of such opium. "Opium Dross" means the residuum produced by smoking prepared opium. "Dross Opium" means a preparation of opium in which opium dross is an ingredient. "Halan' means the residuum produced by smoking dross opium. "Compound of Opium" means any substance, except opium prepared for smoking purposes, which contains any constituent or alkaloid or salt of an alkaloid of opium. The presence of meconic acid and of one other constituent of opium shall be considered to be proof of the presence of opium. "Morphine" includes morphia and all salts of morphine and any solution or preparation containing morphine or its salts. "Opium" includes raw opium, prepared opium, opium dross, dross opium, halan, compounds of opium, and morphine. "Chest of Opium" means a package with the raw opium contained in it of the size and character generally used by merchants for the importation of raw opium. "Loose Opium" means all raw opium found or discovered otherwise than in a chest full of one quality of raw opium. * "The Colony" includes the waters thereof and the additional territories acquired under the Convention dated the 9th day of June, 1898, between Her Majesty Queen Victoria and Ilis Majesty the Emperor of China for the enlargement of the limits of the Colony including the city of Kowloon. "Excise Officer means any person appointed by the Governor under this Ordinance as an excise officer. "Farm" means any exclusive privilege granted under this Ordinance. "Farmer" means any holder for the time being of any such exclusive privilege. "Opium Farmer" means the holder for the time being of the exclusive privilege of preparing and selling prepared opium in in the Colony, either inclusive or exclusive of dross opium. "Dross Farmer" means the holder, if any, for the time being of the exclusive privilege of collecting and purchasing opium dross and preparing and dealing in dross opium in the Colony. Where there is no opium farmer, or no dross farmer, this Ordinance shall be read as if the Governor in Council, or any person licensed for the purpose by the Governor in Council, were expressly named instead of the opium farmer, or as if the Colonial Secretary, or any person licensed for the purpose by the Colonial Secretary, were expressly named instead of the dross farmer. And payment or delivery to the Colonial Treasurer, for the use of the public revenue, or to an excise officer for the same purpose, shall in all such cases be taken to be payment or delivery to such farmer under this Ordinance. "Ship" includes any steam-vessel, sailing-vessel, junk, boat, or sampan, and any kind of craft used or adapted to be used either for the conveyance of persons or things by water or for occupation by persons or storage of things, whether afloat or not. "Steam-ship" includes any vessel propelled by steam and any motor-boat. "Opium Divan" includes any house, ship, room, or other place (1.) Used for the sale of prepared opium or dross opium to be smoked on the premises; or (2.) Used for the smoking of prepared opium or dross opium where a fee or its equivalent is charged. "Divan Keeper" means and includes the occupier or person having the use temporarily of any opium divan, or any person having or appearing to have the care or management of such place, and also any person who acts in any manner assisting in conducting the business of any such place or keeping watch in or about the same. "Implement" means any vessel, utensil, instrument, or other thing which has been used, or which is probably intended to be used, for containing opium, or for preparing or aiding in preparing any opium, or for smoking opium. Any opium, implement, or other thing shall, for the purposes of this Ordinance, be deemed to be in the possession of any person if he has such opium, implement, or thing in possession, custody, or control, by himself or by any other person. "Summary Conviction" means a conviction before a police Magistrate of the Colony. "Duly Qualified Medical Practitioner" means a practitioner registered under any Ordinance for the time being in force relating to the registration of medical practitioners. "Chemist or Druggist' means a chemist or druggist registered under "The Pharmacy Ordinance, 1908." (6 Importer" means and includes any person who brings or causes to be brought by land or sea any opium into the Colony, and the owner, part owner, mortgagee, and pledgee of any opium brought by land or sea into the Colony by such person, and any agent who has authority to transfer ownership or possession or holds documents of title to such opium; but does not include any ship-owner or other common carrier who carries opium in the ordinary course of business for the importer thereof. PART I.-Raw Opium. 3. No person shall bring or receive into the Colony, any loose opium. 4.-(1.) It shall be lawful for the Colonial Treasurer, on such terms and conditions as may be approved by the Governor in Council, to grant licences for the sale or export of loose opium, and no person, except the holder of such a licence, shall be permitted to sell or barter within the Colony or to export from the Colony any loose opium except as provided in section 6 of this Ordinance. (2.) A licence to sell raw opium wrappings intended for export in quantities less than one chest shall be issued to the opium farmer free of charge for the period of his farm. (3.) It shall not be lawful to purchase, sell, or barter quantities less than one ball of Bengal raw opium or three catties of Malwa, Persian, or Turkish raw opium in the Colony. 5. It shall be the duty of the holder of a licence granted under section 4 of this Ordinance to attach to all parcels of loose opium sold by him a certificate in the Form No. 1 in Schedule (A) to this Ordinance. 6. No person, except the opium farmer or a licensee under section 4 of this Ordinance shall have in his possession or under his custody or control any loose opium without a certificate of purchase from a licensee, unless he can show, to the satisfaction of a Magistrate (a.) That the said loose opium is covered by a certificate of one of the licensees; and (b.) That he has received it under an official export permit under section 10 of this Ordinance. Provided always that it shall be in the absolute discretion of the Superintendent of Imports and Exports to grant or withhold the same, and that this section shall not apply to samples not exceeding 2 taels covered by a certificate of the importer, which certificate shall be countersigned by the opium farmer. 7. It shall be the duty of every licensee under section 4 of this Ordinance to keep a register of the particulars of purchase and sale, in such form as the Governor may from time to time order. 8.-(1.) Every person who offends against the provisions of any of sections 3, 4, and 6 of this Ordinance shall, on summary conviction before a Magistrate, be liable to a penalty not exceeding 1,000 dollars and the forfeiture of the raw opium, or the Magistrate may order a period of imprisonment, with or without hard labour, in lieu of a portion of the penalty, provided the whole imprisonment does not exceed six months. (2.) Notwithstanding the penalty for the breach of conditions to which a licensee under section 4 of this Ordinance is subject, it shall be lawful for a Magistrate to impose on such licensee a penalty not exceeding 500 dollars for a breach of any such conditions in case it may not be deemed advisable to proceed for the full penalty under the licensee's bond. 9. Every person importing into the Colony any raw opium shall forthwith report the same to an officer appointed by the Governor, named the Superintendent of Imports and Exports, and hereinafter called the Superintendent, giving the number of chests, and shall, before landing such raw opium or any part thereof, send or cause to be sent to the Superintendent a requisition, in the Form No. 2 in Schedule (A) to this Ordinance, giving the particulars therein required, whereupon the Superintendent shall furnish a permit, in the Form No. 3 in the said Schedule, authorizing the raw opium to be landed and stored, and such permit shall be exhibited to the opium farmer or his agent, and shall be signed by him or his agent, and shall not be used or acted upon until it has been so signed. 10.-(1.) Every person moving raw opium for exportation shall, before doing so, send to the Superintendent a requisition, in the Form No. 4 in Schedule (A) to this Ordinance, furnishing the particulars therein required, whereupon the Superintendent shall grant an export permit, in the Form No. 5 in the said Schedule, authorizing the said raw opium to be exported. (2.) The owner or shipper shall cause such permit to be exhibited to the opium farmer or his agent, and such permit shall be signed by him or his rent, and shall not be used or acted upon until it has been so ad.. furnish the master of every ship carrying raw opium for export with a memorandum containing the particulars set forth in the Form No. 5 in Schedule (A) to this Ordinance, and no vessel carrying raw opium shall, subject to the provisions of section 13 of this Ordinance depart from the Colony without such memorandum. (2.) The Superintendent shall also, in the case of a steam-ship bound for a port in China, forward a duplicate of such memorandum, by post, to the Commissioner of Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs at the port of destination, and, in the case of a junk or steam-launch or motor-boat, he shall forward the said duplicate memorandum to the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation at Hong Kong, for transmission to the Commissioner of Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs controlling the customs station through which such raw opium is to pass. 12. Every person who moves a chest or chests of opium from one place to another within the Colony or tranships such chest or chests within the waters thereof shall, before doing so furnish to the Superintendent a requisition properly filled up, in the Form No. 6 in Schedule (A) to this Ordinance, whereupon the Superintendent shall furnish a permit, in the Form No. 7 in the said Schedule, authorizing the removal or transhipment of the said raw opium, which permit shall be exhibited to the opium farmer or his agent, and shall be signed by him or his agent, and shall not be used or acted upon until it has been so signed. 13. In the event of the arrival at or departure from the Colony of any steam-ship carrying raw opium when the Superintendent'soffice is closed or may be closed before application for a permit can be made, it shall be lawful for the agent of such steam-ship to land or ship any raw opium which is entered on the ship's manifest without a permit, and to deliver any raw opium so landed to the owner or consignee thereof or to keep the same in his own custody, but, so soon thereafter as the Superintendent's office is opened, the said agent shall apply for the necessary permit and furnish the requisite particulars. 14. In the event of the departure from the Colony of any steam-ship bound for a port in China carrying raw opium, before application for an export permit can be made (in the circumstances stated in the last preceding section), the Superintendent shall, on receipt of the requisite particulars, telegraph the same at the expense of the exporter to the Commissioner of Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs at the port of destination, and forward, as soon as practicable, the memorandum provided for in section 11 of this Ordinance to the said Commissioner. 15. The master of any ship departing from the Colony without the memorandum required by section 11 of this Ordinance (except in the case provided for by section 13) shall, on summary conviction before a Magistrate, be liable to a penalty not exceeding 500 dollars. 16. Except as provided in section 13 of this Ordinance no removal or movement of raw opium whatever under sections 10 and 12 of this Ordinance shall be allowed between the hours of |