§ 43. Sir C. Osborneasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give, in column form for each year, the net inflow of immigrants for each of the last ten years from the West Indies, East African Territories, West African Territories, Cyprus, Malta, Hong Kong, Malaya, Singapore, India, Pakistan and Ceylon.
§ Mr. RentonI will, with permission, circulate the figures in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Following are the figures:
§ been done, but he has no evidence to suggest that there is any practice calling for preventive measures.
Dr. JohnsonNevertheless, will my hon. Friend keep this matter under review? Is he aware that whereas this drug can be bought ostensibly for innocent purposes, such as cleaning clothes, it can be a dangerous addiction-inducing, intoxicating drug?
§ Mr. Fletcher-CookeWe will certainly keep the matter under review. The pharmaceutical societies have informed us that as a matter of professional honour a chemist would not sell ether unless satisfied that a purchaser wanted it for bona fide purposes and certainly would not give it to children It is true that an ingenious person can use almost any substance for this sort of nefarious purpose if he knows how.
§ Sir H. LinsteadHas my right hon. and learned Friend any reason to think that this habit is at all widespread and that there is any real abuse in this way?
§ Mr. Fletcher-CookeNo, Sir. We have no reason to believe that there is any widespread abuse.