§ MR. SAMUEL SMITH (Flintshire)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for India I whether his attention has been drawn to the Burma Excise Administration Report for 1904, in which the Deputy Commissioner for Tharrawaddy and others allude to the great increase in the habit of drinking to excess among the Burmese, and to the difficulties experienced by the Excise officers in Burma in suppressing illicit distillation; and, if so, whether he proposes to take any steps in the matter.
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIA (Mr. BRODRICK,) Surrey, GuildfordThe Report to which the hon. Member refers shows that the local authorities are fully alive to the evil, which mainly results from the increasing wealth of the population. In Lower Burma, in order to restrict facilities for obtaining liquor, the number of shop licences has been reduced in the current year by twelve per cent. The local Government has further directed a systematic scrutiny of shop licences in every district with a view to securing, if possible, still further reductions. Measures are being taken to deal with illicit distillation of country spirits, which is confined to the wilder and more inaccessible tracts. I do not consider that any action on my part is called for.