Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-03-07
Government, Opium Dens.

WHAT BRITISH N. p. SAW IN THE CITY OF LUCK
NOW, CHINA.
81 have been in East-end gin palaces on Sat-
urday nights, have seen men in various stages
Of delirum tremens, have visited many idiot
and lunatic asylums," writes Mr.. Game, NJ. p,
from Lucknow, ''but have never seen such
horrible destruction Of Gods image in the face
of man as I saw in the government opium
dens Of Lucknow. To my dying day shall
carry the recollection of the face of a hand
some young woman. of eighteen or nineteen
years sprawling on the senseless bodies of men.
her fine brown eyes fattened and duiled with
coming stupor. and her lips drawn back from
her glittering white teeth. Another girl OF the
same age was sitting in q group Of newly
arrived smokers, singing some lewd romance
as they handed round the pipe. went from
room to room and counted ninety-seven per-
sons OF both sexes in various stages OF opium
stupor. Green hands could get drunk for a
penny or less, but by degrees more and more
opium is needed, and the callous keeper OF this
hideous den showed US men whom $50 drops of
thick opium, mixed with tobacco. hardly
sufhced to intoxicate. Icame out staggering
and faint with the poison-laden atmosphere.
after few minutes walk my guide said:
Here Is another opium shop; will you 20 imp I
could not believsfhere was more than one such
aoomination In sucknow, and. mastering my
disgust. entered a second. 1t was even worse
and more squalidly beastly than the first. Again
went from room to room, and counted on the
ground floor alone III human swine of both
sexes, noticing among them a bonny little lad
OF six or seven watching his fathers changing
face with dreadful Indifference. Having
counted III was asked to 60 upstairs, where
there were many more customers. had had
even more than my strong stomach could stand
but was told that there would be probably fifty
more. II was 8 in the afternoon when visited
these places, and am told that after dark the
attendance is doubled I have felt the effects
ache produced will probably last for two or
three days. In the city OF Lucknow there are
thirty distilleries of native spirits two hundred
and one liquor shops, twenty-four opium shops
and ninety-two for bhang and other intoxicat-
ing drugs. An opium sot Is the most hopeless
OF all drunkards-once he il well into the
clutches Of this hend everything gives way TO
his fierce promptings. He only works to get
more 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 il no less
than x67 900, and IL steadily ON the increase.
IL will give your readers some idea of the way
in which this horrible tratiic in intoxicants z
being stimulated, IL give the average revenue
for the Northwest Province and Dude from ali
intoxicants for the three years l07S-'79- '0O =
compared with lSS5-'06-'S7. In the former
case II: yearly average vas E2sl 900. In the
latter u had run mp 10 ES46,000, showing .
doubled consumption within seven years.
Every day spent In India brings fresh proof
that the government 10 stimulating ne ssie Of
intoxicants 10 the verge Of irdscsnoy for the
sake Of the cheapiy collected and rapidly in
creasing revenue which Il furnishes"