LONDON TABLE TALK.

Evening Star, Issue 9730, 12 June 1895, Page 4

LONDON TABLE TALK.

[From Our Special Correspondent.] London, April 2G. THE REPORT OP THE OPIUM. COMMISSION. “A man convinced fcgainst his will is of the same opinion still,'’ so I suppose that the report of the Opium Commission, the substaiice oi which is now available to all Vvho care to read it, will make no converts from the ranks of Sir Joseph Pease’s little a , rm y-, ihe Commission went out to curse P ane^ traffic,” but after examining V-.3 witnesses gathered from tlie four corners of our great Eastern Empire it has drawn up a report occupying a 177 page Blue Book, winch will satisfy most honest men that the auti-opium agitation is nothing better than a fad. Inline the Commission reports that the Natives of India have no wish to See the use of the drug diminished • that prohibition would be ineffectual; that there woiild be no equivalent for the loss of revenue Certain to be caused by surrendering the monopoly, and that (most cruel cut of all to Sir Joseph Pease and Co.) in the overwhelming majority of cases the use of opium is beneficial rather than btherwise. “The evidence of the medical witnesses,” says the report, and only Mr H. J. Wilson dissents from the Commission’s verdict, “led us to conclude that in the circumstances of India', in lespect to climate, diet, mode of living, and medical aid, the quasi-medical use of opium is probably on the whole beneficial. We do not find it proved that the use of opium promotes to crime, suicide, insanity, or abnormal infant mortality.” In other frords, the opium traffic is responsible for some good and very little evil. The wide scope of the report makes it impossible to give mere thah a cursory review of its essential parts. The Committec Was appointed to report as to (1) whether the growth of the poppy and manutacture of opium in British India should be prohibited except for medical purposes, the prohibition to be extended to the Native btates ; p) the termination of the arrangements with Native States as to the transit of opium through British territory; (3) the effect of prohibition on the finances of India in respect to compensation payable, cost of preventive measures, and loss of revenue ; V w , h ® ther an y change short of prohibition should be made tot Regulating and restricting the traffic and for raising a revenue there l from ; (5) the consumption of opium by the d.fterontraces,and the etfectof suehconsumption on the moral and physical condition of the people ; and (6) the disposition of the neople of India in regard to the use of opium for non-medical purposes, and their willingness to bear, m whole or in part, the cost of prohibitive measures. After a year’s patient investigation the Commission reports on the mam question—that of prohibition—that they found the rulers of the Protected otates opposed to a policy of prohibition ; that they are satisfied that the opium habit, even in the States where it is most prevalent and where there is no restriction, does Dot cause extensive moral or physical degradation. Even if authoritative prohibition had been shown to he desirable the difficulties in the way of enforcement are, they believe, insurmountable. Chiefs and subjects alike would resent the measure. Stoppage of the transit of Malwa opium for export by sea would impose grievous loss upon great numbers of lanclowxiers, cultivators, bankers-, and merchants, and would lead to extensive smuggling into British territory. The moral objections raised against the export of Malwa opium rest, say the Commissioners, on the assertion that the habit of opium smoking in China and elsewhere causes extensive moral and physical degradation j but having reviewed the evidence the Commission agreed that “ the effects of the use and abuse of opium in China are tairly comparable with those of intoxicating liquors in England.” And such effects do not in their opinion constitute an objection to the Malwa tiadc, which makes it morally incumbent upon the rulers of Protected States to put a stop to what is private industry. It is shown that the stoppage of the Bengal export trade would he financially disastrous to hundreds of cultivators, and, moreover,

would not affect consumption in China, since both Persia and Asia Minor only need the withdrawal of Indian competition to stimulate poppy cultivation within their boundaries. Apart from the export trade, the report declares that the moral and physicil effects of opium consumption in British India are not of such a character as to call for the enforcement of prohibition. Opium is the common domestic medicine of the people, and is also used as a stimulant, as alcohol is in Europe. As a general rule opium is used throughout India without injurious moral or physical results. Cases of excessive use are not frequent, and even those cases are not so bad as cases of excess in the use of alcohol in India. Having demolished the moral objections urged against the opium trade, the Commit ■ sioners wisely refrain from discussing at great length the financial and administrative obstacles to prohibition. "If we are right/' they say, "iu concluding that it would be impossible to extend prohibition to the Protected States, it is evident that the difficulty of preventing extensive smuggling into British territory would be immense." As regards the financial difficulty, thev point out that the direct loss due to the attempt to limit the consumption in British districts to that required for medical use cannot be estimated, but would doubtless be very considerable, and the cost of a largo preventive service to I keep out smuggled opium would have to be added. The chief obstacle to prohibition, when all is said and done, is, however, the disposition of the people of India. The great mass of Native opinion in British India is entirely opposed to the proposal of prohibition as an unnecessary restriction on individual liberty, and an unwarrantable interference with established Native habits and customs. The Natives believe also that prohibition would lead to an increase in the consumption of alcohol, and alcohol, besides being an unclean thing to Mahomedan and Hindoo, is considered infinitely more injurious, physically and morally, and more disgraceful when carried to excess, than the opium habit. In summing up, the Commission point out that the whole case against opium rests Upon the assumption that the drug is essentially a poison, and when not taken for special-maladies is widely used for ' vicious and baneful purposes. This assump- i tion the Commission regard as unjustifiable in the light of the evidence forthcoming in their searchiug inquiry. The suppression of the habit in China is, they rightly point out, a matter in which the Chinese Government should take the initiative. So far as India is concerned, they believe that the antiopium movement in England has proceeded from an exaggerated impression as to the nature and extent of the evil to be controlled. The descriptions of the moral and physical degradation due to the use of opium which have been presented to British audiences have not, the Commissioners consider, been confirmed by medical evidence, by the evidence of witnesses representing the people of India, or by those responsible for the government and welfare of that country.

Whilst the Opium' Commission was learning, at considerable cost to England, what most sane men with Oriental experience already knew, the Indian Government conducted an inquiry into the consequences of the use of bhaug and ganga. These products of Indian hemp have for a long time been denounced as fearful agents of Native demoralisation, but when the facts are examined " bhang " is proven a " refreshing drink " of a harmless kind, and "ganga "a useful stimulant. You can " make a beast of yourself" with either, as you can with four ale or milk punch, and you can injure your health by excessive use of both as you can by continually swilling green tea or ca/'d nob: Bhang and gan«a to the Hindoo are just about as harmful as tea and eo/l'ee are to us—not more so. They do not fill prisons and lunatic asylums, and if they were abolished in all probability Western alcoholic drinks would fill their places, and a minor evil would give place to a greater, for bhang and ganga are drinks which suit the climate, whereas Western stimulants, as every " sojer " and civilian in India knows, have a very baneful effect in sunny climes. Amongst the Natives drunkenness caused by native drinks is very unusual, but where the Natives, by reason of proximity to the grog shops of civilisation, become drinkers of beer, whisky, and the like drunkenness is much more common. They use their native productions with judgment, but have not yet gauged the Western beverages eoricetlv.

LABOR NOTES. The great boot trade dispute is over, thanks to the Board of Trade and Sir Courtenay Boyle. The leaders on both sides met on Friday, and in six hours the broad conditions under which work is to be resumed were agreed upon, and each side had guaranteed lo deposit £I,OOO with Sir C. Boyle to bind their pledges. Roughly speaking the terms of ihe agreement are thus : That there shall 'be no limitation of the output of muchinery; that country work is not to'be interfered with, bub work may not be sent into the country to evade an award; classification of goods to be maintained at present on the old basis, but it cannot bo made the subject of a dispute by the union} no non-unionists are to be discharged » and the question of wages for clickers and pressmen is left for arbitration. .The remarkable feature of the conference at the Board of Trade on Friday was the method by which it was conducted by Sir Courtenay Boyle. Only for about half an hour were the conferring parties face to face. The rest of the time the opposing sides occupied different rooms, and communication between them was per officials. Thus neither side could indulge in idle recrimination, and it is highly probable that the separation greatly facilitated the settlement.

From the terms laid down it will be seen that there was truth in the masters' avowal that the men meant war against machinery, and it is also plain that the workers have gained very little by their ill-advised action. It is certain that hundreds of operatives will permanently lose their employment, for a large quantity of new machinery has been put down during the run of the dispute. The most serious disaster, however, is to be found in the fact that whilst the strike-ram-lock-out lasted the Americans got a footing in our markets, which, by/ reason of the quality and cheapness of their goods, they are not likely to lose. The men obstinately refused to recognise the American clanger when it was pointed out to them by parties not immediately concerned in the squabble, and their own leaders were very careful not to touch upon this matter lest they weakened their followers' determination to fight the employers. Of course both parties profess to be pleased with the terms agreed upon, but it is utterly impossible to understand how either men or masters can congratulate themselves upon an issue to obtain which so much has been needlessly sacrificed. AMUSEMENTS. Mr G. W. Anson has the leading male" part in Mr G. W. Godfrey's comedy ' Vanity

Fair,' due at the Court Theatre to-morrow; Mrs John Wood returns to her old house to play a middle-aged lady with pronounced ideas concerning the rights of her sex, and Arthur Cecil is also in the cast. Business has fallen off iu the better parts of the St. James's Theatre to nothing since Oscar Wilde's arrest, aud the last nights of ' The Importance of Being Earnest' are consequently announced. 11. A. Jones's ' The Triumph of the Philistines' will.take its place on May 11. ' Delia Harding,' at the Comedy Theatre, calls for no detailed description, as it is a failure, unworthy alike of Sardou's genius and Marion Terry's exquisite ■ art. The plot turns on the hopelessly improbable sacrifice of the heroine, who, to save her brother from imprisonment for shooting a rascally gambler, swears away her own character, declaring it was whilst he was coming out of her bedroom her brother wiuged the wretch. Presently, when she loves a young baronet, this idiotic untruth rises up in judgment against her, and threatens to ruin her life. The brother she saved is dead, aud the villain wants her for himself. Delia pour 3 out a of "cold pison " to end all, but the villain kindly drinks it by accident, and also clears her character. The piece is shocking stuff. I ran across Mr Mandeno Jackson, the Auckland tcuor, the other day in Brompton. He was looking particularly fit and well ; and, seeing that he had but just returned from a fortnight's holiday in Jersey, he had no excuse for seeming otherwise. Considering the season, Mr Jackson finds business pretty brisk ; but what is more pleasing to him, however, is the fact that engagements for the future promise to be fairly plentiful. Besides appearing at several "at homes" since his return from Jersey, Mr Jackson has made public appearances' at the Bow and Bromley Institute and at Hackney Town Hall. Iu both cases he achieved success, and the management of the former hall pomptly booked the New Zealander for several dates next session. Last the Aucklandcr appeared as principal tenor in Mr Cartel's 'Placida' at Notting Hill Assembly Hall, and created a very favorable impression. His future engagements include appearances at Ealing and Guildford early next month, and a week's spell with the Barth Concert Company at the end of May. During July, August, and September Mr Jackson will be on tour with the Belle Cole-Evangeline Florence Company in Wales and the provinces. On the whole, I think the New Zealander has every reason to be satisfied with himself and Dame Fortune, who has smiled upon him as she seldom smiles upon adventurous colonial singers who come Home " on spec." '--h The man with the incurable liver—George B. Sims, 1 mean—in conjunction with Cecil Raleigh, have brought back old times to the Strand. In place of Scandinavian drama we have now a rollicking farce, out of which

j I defy anyone to extract a moral or an immorality. It is all fun from beginning to end is 'Fanny.' Starting with ready-made complications, the business of the piece is to clear up a mystery instead of to make one. The piece is called ' Fanny' after a young person who does not appear, she having ended her mortal career six months prior to the lifting of the curtain. Her sister Flo, however, is masquerading as Fanny for the purpose of drawing an allowance made to fie departed by . Professor Bixley per his friend, Captain O'Brien. Fanny was a barmaid, who married the professor but separated from him when a doubt ■ arose as to whether her first husband was i really dead. The captain who pays the allowance has never seen Fanny, and the professor is equally ignorant of the person of sister Flo. You can imagine the upshot when they all met, the professor having in the meantime married again. When poor Bixley hears from O'Brien that his first wife still exists and has turned up, his embarrassment takes an incongruously serious turn. But the comic element speedily supervenes and the piece bustles merrily along once more. Fanny, of course, is bowled out in the end, but not before she has afforded a good two hours' pure amusement. Mr Arthur Law's new farce, with which Mr Wecdon Grossmith has commenced his managerial career at the Vaudeville, is an olla poilrida of funny ideas. To appreciate ' The Ladies' Idol' one has to see it, for to adequately describe the adventures of the comic singer who is Joseph Wix at home and Lionel Delamere when in society, mixed up with the search for a missing baby and the pursuit of a disappearing bracelet, and sundry other matters brought into the jumble, is an impossibility. The piece serves its purpose well—that is to say, ' The Ladies' Idol' amuses the audience and brings together full houses. Mr Grossmith plays Delamere, the ladies' idol. He has made his name and fame by singing comic songs " with a pathetic touch. 1 ' For the purposes of his business he has to pretend to be a baohelor, otherwise he would not be run after, and his wife, who is helping to make a fortune for the baby by " skirt dancing," pretends to be a single lady, a deception which encourages many admirers, whose different methods of paying her court make many laughable scenes. The little misunderstandings arising from the deceptions of Delamere and his wife, however, are better imagined than described. The piece will undoubtedly be " picked up " by one or other of the Australasian tnlre.prmmm before many days are gone by.

THE EX-GOVEfiNOR OF TASMANIA. Sir Robert Hamilton, whose long illneßS terminated fatally on Monday last, was a man from whom at one time much was expected, but just as his career seemed blossoming he buried his talents in the Tasmanian Vice-royalty, and when he returned our politicians "knew not Joseph." Illhealth Biipervened, and at fifty-eight the ex-Governor and Under-Secretary for Ireland lies dead. Sir Robert had any amount of pluck, aud showed it incontestably. At the time he succeeded Mr Bourke level money was betted he shared that unfortunate man's fate and was murdered.

CINDEES AND SPIKES. The most noteworthy event in last Saturday's athletics occurred at Stamford Bridge, when F. E. Bacon proved his right to'the ten-mile running championship of England againßt a strong opposition, and in spite of an accident at football a few days previous to the race. No less than seventeen competitors toed the mark for the long run, including Watkins (of the Walthamstow Harriers), Willers (the Essex Beagles crack), Gavin (of the South London Harriers), Sid Thomas (the holder), Martin, Munro, and the veteran J. E. Dixon. As soon as the field had settled down into their places, Watkins took the lead and made the running at a fair pace until Bacon went past him at the completion of the first mile (smin). Watkins, however, quickly resumed command, and when the second mile had been covered (10.53) the order of going was Watkins, Thomas, Bacon, Munro. These four were in a cluster, and were drawing rapidly away from their competitors. Three miles in lomin 19 l-ssec saw no material change, but at the fifth mile (2omin 55 l-saec) Bacon went to the front, and, with the pace improving, Thomas decided to quit. Half a mile later Munro stopped, and when seven miles had been negotiated in 36min 362 ssec Watkins and Bacon were the only men really in it. The former led until the twain were within 100 yds of the winning post. At this point Bacon tried a spurt, but he was very leg-weary, and could only creep away from the indomitable Watkins bit by bit, instead of leaving him hopelessly in the rear in a few strides. Finally Bacon won by half a dozen yards in 62min 43 4-ssec. Willers was third, half a'mile behind, and Gavin a fair fourth, their respective times being- 55min 28 2-ssec and 56min 0 3-ssec, so both got bronze medals for beating standard time.

A few weeks ago a Polish lady, a refugee, named Mdme. Rostowska, said to be 112 years old, appeared at the Prefecture at Lille to receive her pension from the French Government. Her history is extraordinary. She followed the French ai'my in the Russian campaign as a canteen woman, and took part in twelve campaigns in all. She was twice wounded, and wears the order of the Silver Cross. In IS3I she acted aB surgeon to the 10th Polish line regiment, in which her husband wag a captain. For the last twenty years she has lived at Aniche, where she is known for her philanthropy. She brought up fifteen children, though her last surviving son died several years ago, aged eighty.