MR. HOWARD (Cumberland, Eskdale)To ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that trade gin and rum are freely used as a medium of exchange in the Delta districts of Southern Nigeria; and what steps the Government are prepared to take to put an end to this mischievous practice.
(Answered by Colonel Seely.) I am aware that in certain districts of Southern Nigeria liquor, as well as many other articles, is used as a medium of exchange where coin does not circulate freely. Every effort is being made by the Government to encourage the use of currency, but to induce the native to abandon his old methods of exchange can only be achieved by degrees. It must be remembered that the native population is very large and that many are in a backward stage of civilisation, while the European residents are few in number and scattered over a large territory.