Washington sentinel., 1899-06-17
81

must be wide spread among the Egypti-
ans, for last year no less than $4,000
kilogrammes Of It we're seized by the
preventive services and presumably
only traction OF the total supply was
! captured. AT SO grammes per head,
which amount is said to "meet the
requirements Of confirmed smoker tor
a week." the above quantity would
suffice tor nearly three thousand habit
ual consumers during a twelvemonth.
The coastguard agents are now very
Ebert but they are comp paratively few in
number, and to supervise effectivelvt the
frontier which consists largely Of sandy
desert, Is very difficult. The extreme
portability ofhashish renders it an easy
article to smugg!e and the greatest
ingenuity is exhibited in concesling it.
Amongst other unlikely hiding places
the narcotic extract has been discovered
in the hollow frames of IRON bedsteads,
inside specially prepared grindstones,
and even in holes bored longitudinal
through innocent looking cask slaves
In the Pireus hashish costs about IS. Sd.
per pound, but owing to the Expenses
of possible bribes and transport" the
Egyptian retailers have to pay at least
three times that sum,
Last year Lord Cromer was OF opinion
that the best way of dealing with the
hashish question was to admit the stuff
as q taxable commodity, but he IS now
IN favor of partial prevention. In spite
OF The recent extensive seizures he does
not believe thattotal exclusion will ever
be practicable. at is more than
doubtful" he says, whether the use of
the drug can ever be entirely suppressed
by preventive measures, The
efforts Of the coastguard to check the
| introduction and OF the police to detect
/ the presence Of hashish in the interior
may keep the price OF the drug at
comparatively high figure and thus
increase the difficulties Of it's acquisition
by the people, More than this IS hardly
to be expected" In this connection It
may perhaps be permissible to indicate
a possible danger. Experience shows
that in all communities there are people
iucurably addicted to narcotism in one
form or another who will go to any
length to procure the means of MINIS
teflng to their appetite. Were hashish
10 be totally suppressed IN Egypt the
hashash or habitual consumer, would
inevitably seek far and near for some
substitute. in alcohol perhaps or in some
other narcotic Of a still more deleterious
rnaraTfar flE Ice 81,
be chosen, but then the difficulty often
IS to determine which that is. The abuse
of hashsh undoubtedly does cause
insanity although apparently the pro.
portion Of consumers whose mental
equilibrium becomes disturbed is not a
very large one. In 1898 the number OF
hashish patients at Abbasiyeh, where
the confirmed lunatlcs in Egypt are
iaterued, was only I33, or about 10 per
1000 of the total population. 1t would
be well for England if the proportion Of
dipsomaniacs under restraint we're no
greater. In England the ratio Of insane
to population is ; 3 per 1000, but in
Egypt it is only .o5 per 1000. Since
hashish cannot be suppressed perhaps
the wisest course would be to impose a
heavy tax upon il while at the same time
insisting on the maintenance OF a fixed
standard Of purity, Badly prepared
bhang or hashlsh is more injurious than
the properly elaborated extract. Just as
interior whisky is more injurious than is
a carefully matured spirit,
THE HAMLET" DUEL IN PARIS,
One OF the most serious duels that
have taken place in Paris for some time
came OFF on Tuesday on the island of
the Grande latte, near Neuilly. NJ.
Calulle Mendes, the poet, novelist and
dramatic critic, met NJ. George Vanor,
another literary man, with whom he
had a dispute at Madame Sarah Bern.
hardts theatre on the night of the
play of Hamlet The combatants used
swords, and after they had fought tor
nearly ten minutes the duel was stopped
! as NJ Mendes had received deep aud
dangerous wound IN the stomach. He
leaned for a few moments against a tree
| after having been touched, and tried to
| roll a cigarette, remarking that his
| injury was only trivial. This, however,
| was not the case, for NJ. Mendes soon
! tainted, and was laid on a mattress
| while surgeon examined the injury
and found it to be the reverse Of insig-
| niicant,
Madame Mendes. who had a carriage
waiting near the place Of meeting, took
her husband to their residence in the
| Rue Boccador, where he again tainted,
and had to be placed for a while on
/ couch in the first floor OF the house.
| The novelist was subsequently carried
/ up to his own rooms, and was put to
/ bed. His sufierings were 50 acute that
/ the doctor had TO ease him bv injections
| Of morDhine. NJ, Catulle Mendes IS now
! SO years old, although ne does not seem
to be that age. His first wife, from
whom he has long Leen separated, was
AIdIIe Judith Gautier daughter Of the
| famous poet and critic, and who is
herself well known in the literary and
! dramatic world, NJ. Meudes has written
poems, plays and novels. as we'll as
inuumerable newsp aper articles. His
! opponent on the island OF the Grand
| latte, NJ. George Vanor, is less known as
an author, but he has been a regular
| contributor to several uewspap RS.
1 ESCAPING FROM rHE CoNscRIPTIoN IN
AUSTRIA HUNGARY
The OHlitgy- Zsit4ug publishes an
interesting article on the escape over