MR. HERBERT ROBERTS (Denbighshire, W.)To ask the Secretary of State for India whether his attention has been directed to the reference in the Financial Statement of the Government of India for 1904–5 (page 6), to the continued increase in the revenue derived from the sale of intoxicating liquors or drugs, and to the announcement that the Government of India were devoting special attention to this matter in the interests of temperance; whether the action of the Government of India in this direction has taken the form of an official inquiry; and whether further legislation for the purpose of checking the increasing consumption of alcohol and drugs in India is contemplated.
(Answered by Mr. Secretary Brodrick.) I have seen the passage in question. I am not aware that any general inquiry is contemplated. A good many specific questions regarding the working of the Excise system in different parts of India lave closely engaged the attention of the Government of India and the Local Governments, and various improvements have been effected. Excise Amendment Acts have lately been enacted in Burma and Bengal, and further legislation is in progress in Bengal.