9 DECEMBER 1893, Page 3

The evidence given before the Opium Commission in Cal- cutta

by Mr. James Monro is a remarkable contribution to the literature of the subject. Mr. Monro is the well-known civilian who, after a successful Indian career as Inspector. General of Police in Bengal, was appointed Chief Com- missioner of Police in London. He is a man of deep religious feeling, and has gone to India as a self-supporting missionary, and his testimony is therefore unbiassed by any class-feeling. He emphatically denied that the use of opium produced any general demoralisation, and thought that pro- hibition would produce worse evils. One of these, in native judgment, is the use of spirits.