Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1889-04-03
VILE OPIUM DENs.
What British M. p. Saw in tho City Of
9fI $50 Lucknow. China. ifE PIN; r

What British M. p. Saw in the City OF
Lucknow, China.
Il have been in East-end gin palaces
on Saturday night, have seen men in
various stages of delirium tremens,
have visited many idiot and lunatic
asylums," writes Mr.. Game, M. p,
from Lucknow, ''but I have never seen
such horrible destruction Of Gods
image in tho face of man as I saw in the
government opium dens Of Lucknow.
To my dying day I shall carry the
recollection of the face of handsome
young woman Of eighteen or nineteen
years, sprawling on the senseless bodies
Of mon, her fine brown eyes flattened
and dulled with coming stupor, and her
lips drawn back from her glittering
white teeth. Another girl Of tho same
age was sitting in a group of newly
arrived smokers, singing some lewd ro-
nance as they handed round the pipe.
/ went from room to room and counted
ninety-seven persons of both sexes in
various stages of opium stupor Green
hands could get drunk for penny or
less, but by degrees more and moro
opium is needed, and the callous keeper
of this hideous den showed us men
whom one hundred and eighty drops of
thick opium, mixed with tobacco,
hardly sufficed to intoxicate. I came
out staggering and faint with the
po1son-laden atmosphere.
''After a few minutes walk my guide
said, Here is another opium shop; will
you go imp could not believe there
was moro than one such abomination in
Lucknow, and, mastering my disgust,
entered a second. 1t was even worse
and more squalidly beastly than the
first Again I went from room to room,
and counted on the ground floor alone
liz human swine of both sexes, noticing
among them bonny little lad of six or
seven watching his fathers changing
face with a dreadful Indifference. Hay
ing counted III, was asked to go up
stairs, where there were many moro
customers; I had had even more than
my strong stomach could stand, but
was told that there would be probably
fifty more. It was three in the AFTER
noon when visited these places, and I
am told that after dark the attendance
is doubled. have felt the effect OF
the fumes ever since, and the slight
headache produced will probably last
for two or three days. In the city of
Lucknow there are thirty distilleries
of native spirits, POI liquor shops,
twenty-four opium shops, and ninety
two for bhang and other intoxicating
drugs. An opium sot is the most hope
less of all drunkards- he is well
into the clutches of this fend, every
thing gives way to his fierce prompt
ings. He only works to get moro
money for opium. Wife, children and
home are all sacrificed to this horrible
lust.
The receipts of the government of
the Northwest Province and Dude from
opium, bhang and other Intoxicating
drugs is no less than f67,00O, and is
steadily on the increase. It will give
your readers some idea of the way in
which this horrible traffic in intoxicants
is being stimulated if I give the aver
age revenue for the Northwest Province
and Dude from all intoxicants for the
three years 1S7S-9-S0, as compared with
1867. In the former case its yearly
average was 9284,000. In the latter it
had run up to e546,OOO, showing a
doubled consumption within seven
years. Every day spend in India
brings fresh proof that the Government
is stimulating the sale of intoxicants to
the verge of indecency for the sake of
the cheaply collected and rapidly in
creasing revenue which it furnishes
Chicago Times.