The opium difficulty is postponed for a year. Mr. W.
H. Smith pointed out on Monday that while the Indian Govern- ment would, of course, be aware of the vote of the House,. they were not bound by it, or responsible to the House of Commons. Sir J. Pease also explained that he should take no further step this Session, being entirely content with Mr. Smith's statement that the Government was intent on a steady reduction in the cultivation of the poppy. He also took the opportunity to withdraw from his proposal of compensation, inasmuch as the House cannot vote away English money except on the proposal of the Crown,—a rule he ought to have known before. This is all very well for the year, but the House of Commons is never to be trusted in dealing with philan- thropic fads—it abolished the Salt-duty one evening in 1854— and the Secretary for India will do well to transfer the Behar monopoly into private hands, and compensate the revenue by a tax levied like that on Malwah opium. The change will be troublesome, but it can be made, and the State will then be placed in its true position as the restricting authority,. which to the limit of its power makes a dangerous luxury a dear ono.
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