§ SIR WILFEID LAWSONsaid, he wished to ask the Under Secretary of State for India, Whether it is true that, in consequence of the Imperial Chinese Proclamation forbidding the cultivation of the poppy in China, it has been determined to increase the production of opium in the Bengal Presidency?
MR. GRANT DUFFsaid, in reply, it had been determined to increase the production of opium in the Bengal Presidency; but that determination was in no way connected with the Chinese Proclamation to which his hon. Friend alluded. The Government of India some time ago proposed to increase the growth of the poppy in Bengal with a view to obtaining a reserve of 10,000 chests of opium, and to offering for sale a fixed quantity of 48,000 chests in each year, exclusive of the opium sold to the retail traders. The object of the Government of India in proposing this was to steady prices, and to mitigate some, at least, of the uncertainties so embarrassing to the Indian financier which arose from fluctuations in the opium market. This proposal of the Government of India was sanctioned by the Secretary of State in Council as far back as March last.
§ SIR STAFFORD NORTHCOTEsaid, he wished to ask, Whether the Correspondence on the subject will be laid on the Table before the Indian Financial Statement is introduced?