§ MR. CAINE (Bradford, E.)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if it is true that the import of opium into the territory administered by the British North Borneo Company has increased in value from 19,289 dollars in 1885 to 61,293 dollars in 1890; that in the same period the import of spirits has increased from 14,478 dollars to 100,436 dollars; that the proportion of Europeans to Asiatics is in the proportion of 245 to 120,000; if so, what action does the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs propose to take to protect the Asiatic populations in this territory from demoralisation by these increasing imports of narcotics and intoxicants; and will he lay upon the Table of the House the Proclamation of the Company, No. 1, of 1891, restricting the sale of bluing?
§ *THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FO REIGN AFFAIRS (Sir E. GREY,) Northumberland, Berwickon TweedThe figures are correctly stated in the question. I am informed, however, that the general imports (excluding opium and spirits) have also risen from 614,551 dollars to 1,856,360 dollars, and that the rise in opium and 519 spirits is due, not to any increased consumption by the natives, but to the fact that the Chinese population has grown from 2,000 in 1885 to 7,156 in 1890. The sale of opium and spirits is regulated in the Company's territory, on the same lines as in the Crown Colonies of Singapore and Hong Kong, and under the circumstances there does not seem to be any ground for interference on the part of the Secretary of State. I shall be happy to show the hon. Member a copy of the Proclamation as to the sale of bhang.