§ Mr. WHITEasked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will explain why the importation of gin into the Cameroons, now under British mandate, has increased sevenfold and into Togoland, also under British mandate, four times since 1922?
§ Dr. SHIELSIn the year 1922 conditions were still abnormal owing to the War, but in subsequent, years, particularly 1926 to 1928, the peoples of the Cameroons and Togoland under British mandate shared in the growing wealth and prosperity of British West Africa generally. The greater purchasing power of the people was reflected in increased sales of spirits, tobacco and luxuries of all descriptions. Moreover, in the case of the Cameroons, the number of European residents had increased. For a fuller treatment of the subject, I cannot do better than invite the hon. Member's reference to those sections of the Annual Reports to the League of Nations, on the mandated territory in question, in which the traffic in alcohol, spirits and drugs is discussed.