§ SIR ROPER LETHBRIDGE (Kensington, N.)asked the Under Secretary of State for India, Whether the attention of Her Majesty's Government has 1394 been directed to the correspondence recently published between the Deputy Commissioner for Darjeeling and the General Manager of one of the largest local Tea Companies, in which great pressure was put upon the latter to open grog-shops on his estates with a view to "the protection of the revenue and the enforcement of the law;" whether a very large number of the managers of tea gardens in the Darjeeling District have signed a document protesting against the Government Excise system; and, whether the Secretary of State will take any steps to put a stop to the establishment of these grog-shops in the public and private bazaars of India?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE (Sir JOHN GORST) (Chatham)The Secretary of State has no official information on this subject; but he will inquire from the Government of India what action the Local Government is taking in the matter.