Few people have any idea of the vast areas given over wholly to the cultivation of opium.
The consumption and the manufacture of this drug, far from being on the decline, are on the increase to an almost incredible extent. The greed for gold is far more predominant in the human make-up than is the philanthropic spirit which seeks to elevate mankind, though its purse may suffer in so doing. In the district of Bengal alone there are nearly 1,000,000 acres devoted exclusively to the cultivation of the poppy. Its cultivation is legalized and in every way encouraged by the British Government, which has an absolute monopoly of this industry in India. The two principal districts are presided over by and under the direct control of English officials residing at Patna and Ghazipur.