PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O. 882
5 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
2
No. 2.
THE MARQUESS OF RIPON to the OFFICER ADMINISTERING THE
GOVERNMENT.
[Answered by Nos. 4 and 6.]
SIR,
Downing Street, August 8, 1893. In continuation of my Despatch of the 27th ultimo,* I have the honour to transmit to you the enclosed copy of a letter from the Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade, relative to the consumption of opium and bhang in Ceylon, together with copies of two Parliamentary Papers [H. C. 97-1893] and [H. C. 141-1893], which are referred to in the enclosed letter.
I shall be glad if you will furnish me with a report, at your early convenience, upon the suggestions made by the society for restricting the consumption of these drugs in the Colony.
I have, &c.
Enclosure in No. 2.
RIPON.
To the Right Hon, the MARQUESS OF RIPON, K.G., P.C., HER MAJESTY'S PRINCIPAL SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES. MY LORD,
""
THE Committee of the Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade desire to call your attention to the articles that have recently appeared in the "Ceylon Observer showing the serious increase of the consumption of opium and Indian hemp or bhang in Ceylon, which has already been the subject of a question by Mr. Schwann in the House of Commons.
64
1. A leading article in the "Ceylon Observer" of the 8th June states that "the "inquiries of the Misses Leitch" two ladies widely known and greatly respected in this country and in the United States, "have shown to us that the evil in the very worst "form is spreading in Colombo to an alarming extent among the Sinhalese, and a certain number of Tamils,” in addition to "the Malays and the few Chinese in the island," to whom the writer had previously supposed the habit of opium smoking to be confined. The article states: "There cannot be the slightest doubt that the opportunity for free purchase at well known points in this town is creating customers, adding a new demand "month by month and year by year, and mainly among a people, the Sinhalese, who
never were addicted in any form to opium."
2. A further article in the same paper of the following day shows how rapidly the revenue derived from the sale of opium and bhang has increased during the last few years, and gives ground for believing that a considerable amount of smuggling takes place. The evidence of the Misses Leitch is printed in the "Observer" of June 21st, and an editorial paragraph in the same issue states: "We have evidence of a sad "character from other quarters besides." This society has had the testimony of an unimpeachable eye-witness that Chinese passengers by steamers calling at Colombo are actually solicited to enter the licensed opium dens for the purpose of smoking.
16
3. The evidence referred to in the foregoing paragraphs indicates that the habit of opium smoking is spreading amongst a population previously unaccustomed to it. The increased consumption is shown by the Misses Leitch to amount to 30 per cent. in 10 years. A similar state of things was produced when the Indian excise system was introduced into the provinces of Lower Burma after their annexation. Sir Charles Aitchison, when Chief Commissioner of the province, said: "There is too much truth in the allegation that we are not merely supplying an existing demand, but artificially creating a taste for the drug." He also stated that the question was "not one of better or worse morality, but of the salvation of a whole people from a vice which we have "introduced among them, and from ruin, which it is to a great extent in our power to "retard, if not to prevent." We entreat your Lordship not to permit that a similar charge shall hereafter be made against British rule amongst the Sinhalese, for want of the prompt adoption of prohibitive measures.
•
4. We have read with much regret the statement of the Under-Secretary of State, in reply to Mr. Schwann's question, that your Lordship intends to "await the report of the
• No. 1.
↑ Return: "Opium (British Burma)," 1881, No. 266.
3
"Commission to be appointed to inquire into the opium question as it affects India, "before deciding whether any steps, and, if so, what steps should be taken to restrict "the consumption in Ceylon." The question as it affects India differs in many impor- tant respects from that which concerns Ceylon. In Ceylon poppy culture does not exist; nor is it needful to consider the interests of independent Native States, or the danger of smuggling from contiguous territories. The inquiry, too, as to the effect of the consumption of opium by the different races and in the different districts of India on the moral and physical condition of the people, cannot throw much light on the question as it affects the Sinhalese, unless, indeed, as we fully anticipate, such inquiry should show that to all races alike opium is "a deadly poison, most injurious to mankind," as it was described by the Chinese Foreign Board in 1869.
5. The measures suggested by the "Ceylon Observer" have already been adopted in the Indian Empire. The evidence collected by that journal shows that opium dens, or shops for the consumption of opium on the premises, still flourish under Government license in Ceylon. Such shops were ordered to be closed throughout India under a resolution adopted by the Indian Government on the 25th September 1891, and the Secretary of State for India, in a Despatch dated 16th March 1893, has called the atten- tion of that Government to the desirability of strengthening the law with a view to the suppression of private opium saloons. It is, we submit, most reasonable that the policy thus adopted in India should be extended to Ceylon. The proposal totally to probibit the sale of hemp drugs in Ceylon is supported by the experience of Burma, where such prohibition has been enforced for many years past, and was declared, in the Excise Report of that province for 1881-82, to be "of immense benefit to the people." With regard to hemp drugs, a resolution of the Indian Government, dated 17th December 1873, declares "that its habitual use does tend to produce insanity," and that," of the cases of
insanity produced by the excessive use of drugs and spirits, by far the largest number must be attributed to hemp."t
T'he proposal to establish a register of opium consumers, and to confine the sale of the drug to those so registered, in such quantity as may be shown to be necessary for their personal use, in order to avoid serious risk to their life, is also already in force in Lower Burma. In view of these precedents, it would seem to us a manifest injustice to the people of Ceylon that they should be kept waiting for protection similar to that which has long been enjoyed by the people of the United Kingdom, until a commission to inquire into all the complications of the Indian opium question shall have completed its
task,
6. For the reasons herein stated we trust that your Lordship will reconsider the decision announced by Mr. Buxton, and will satisfy the legitimate anxiety of the people of Ceylon, and of those who are interested in their welfare, by promptly conferring upon them the boon of protection from the vices of opium and bhang.
We are, with great respect,
Your Lordship's obedient servants,
(Signed, on behalf of the Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade)
DONALD MATHESON, Chairman. JOSEPH G. ALEXANDER, Secretary.
Broadway Chambers, Westminster, July 27, 1893.
No. 3.
SIR A. E. HAVELOCK to the MARQUESS OF RIPON. (Received December 18, 1893.)
[Answered by No. 5.]
MY LORD MARQUESS,
Queen's House, Colombo, Ceylon, November 25, 1893.
I HAVE the honour to submit, for the signification of Her Majesty's pleasure, an authenticated transcript, in duplicate, of an Ordinance lately passed by the Legislative Council, and assented to by me, entitled, “An Ordinance relating to the Sale by Retail
• Return:
"East India (Opium), North-west Provinces," 1898, No. 141, Return: "East India (Consumption of Ganja),” 1893, No. 97. Supplement to the " Burma Gazette," Mar. 18, 1893.
A 2