The sun., 1895-04-28
OPIUM EATING DEFENDED.
THE ROYAL COMMISSION APPROVE
OF MODERATE USE OF THE DRUG.

THE ROYAL COMMISSION APPROVE
OF MODERATE USE OF THE DRUG.
eeores OF Medical Witnesses Say It Hs No
More Marmful In Indi, Than Alcohol.
Temper,tely Used. IL In EnElsnd-Its
Re,p,,. Are Benenciai In Numerous
C..e.-The Oscar wilde Exposures Have
Led 90 the Formation OF n Moral vie'-
lance Conrittee-Lord Rossbery VIII
Resign when The Queen Returns to
Err,,nd-Arrest OF Accomplished
sv,ndIer who Has Played Many Parts
Light on y Great Murder Mystery In
s,e,,y-Ev,l Effects Of the Game or Chess.
Special Cable DsspatoA to THE sur.
LONDON, April 27.-The report of the Royal
Commission on tho use Of opium, presented In
Parliament this week. will much astonish many
people, especially in America, bat 1t must be
accented as the decisive verdict Of truth and
scisnco upon this vexed subject Tho inquiry
was conducted on o great scale and tho decision
was practically unanimous. Over 72o witnesses
were examined, including 1852 called at the de-
sire Of tho Anti Opium Society. Every caro- was
taken to obtain representative testimony, and
the Commission record their conviction that
the evidence forms trustworthy ground for tho
conclusions reached.
Upon tho crucial issue, whether tho use OF
opium % habituAlly practtsed in Indin 10 or Is
not Injurious, tho Commissioners relied to
Rreat degree on the statements Of 1el medical
witnesses. The evidence Of tho doctors In the
service of the Government was practically
unanimous. 1t In corroborated by other medi-
cal men In private practice, and by some medi-
cal missionaries. Tho medical witnsssef who
advocated prohibition were few. and all Of
them were moro opposed TO the use of alco-
hol than to that Of opium. The general effect
OF the medical testimony 10 declared in the re-
port to be that "the temperate use Of opium In
India should be viewed in the same light as the
emperate use Of alcohol in England. Opium is
harmful. harmless, or even beneficial, Accord
ing TO tho measure and discretion with which II
Is used"
That is tho Judgment of science upon the
actual consequences OF the opium habit Tho
natives Of India, on tho whole, agree with the
doctors. but they attach greater value to the
drug than science directly warrants. It 10 uni
versally allowed that the excessive consumption
Of opium 10 an evil, though an evil Of which tho
effects have bsen grossly exaggerated.
Opium 10 largely taken as . stimulant BY those
past middle aga They use it. in tho striking
phrase Of one Of the witnesses, as prop to fall
ing house. In the opinion OF tho great majority
Of native medical practitioners and represen-
tatives Of large. influential GLASSES. this en-
ployment of tho drug 10 attended BY beneficial
results. Opium eaters Of fifteen to twenty years'
standing appeared before the Commission. Thoy
believed the habit had done thom good. Thsir
appearance and vigor satisfied the Commission
ers at all events, that It had done them NO per-
ceptible harm.
Opium is also used as an occasional stimulant
in hyslcnl emergencies. 1t has been issued. by
medical advice, to troops engaged in fighting
and roadmuking among the mountains of Six
kim. 1t Is taken occasionally by camel drivers
who work in tue extremes Of heat and cold that
prevail in tho Rajputana desert, Many con-
sumers tn tho Puntaonss tho drng p the winter
mouths only.
Another striking fact about the opium habit IL
that 1t prevails among some Of tho most manly,
hardworking. thrifty races Of India The splen-
did Sikh soldiers and peasants, the active Mar
wari traders aud Rajputs arc among the opium
eaters. Opium 10 consumed in the native army,
and. the witnesses say, does no perceptiblc
harm. and is often beneficial. It Is used among
the natives in tho public service. and in the
service Of railroad companies, planters. and
mill owners. The evidence of employers is all
to the same effect Dismissals for intemperance
in the use of opium are practically unknown.
phum, Or w llllatu hoOertS ousorfcS, oooS uot
appear to beRet any specific disease. Opium
eaters bear surgical operations as well es nom
consumers. and the manager of q large insur-
anco company said that, after twenty years ex-
poriencc, his company charged no extra pre-
MUM on the lives Of moderate opium eaters.
So deep has been the shock to society caused
by the recent revelations In the Oscar Wilde
case, that it has led TO q movement for the for
nation of . moral vigilance committee. 1t Is o
startling commentary on tho condition Of the
society Of modern London that It is deemed
necessary to resort to special organization
with which to combat o strange, unspeakable
vice. Yet 1t is true. Tho present week a circu-
lar is being quietly but extensively circulated.
for the purpose Of forming what will be
called the Queensberry Association. It's aim
Is the collection of o sufficient fund
TO !ustify regular campaign against tho newly
exposed evil, to follow the clues that cropped
up in the recent proceedings, and to do all that
the Government ought. but possibly viii not do.
There is nothing viudictiye about tho circular
tpo!nts out. dispassionately. the existence of q
grave public scandal which cannot be removed