WASTE PRODUCTS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 240, 4 July 1919, Page 8

WASTE PRODUCTS

Sir,—"Do I sleep! Do I dream! or is visions about ?"'" Your issue of "yesterday contains a very interestins; lecture l<y Professor Easterfield, wherein he is reported as having suggested to the Collector of Customs that, instead of destroyin" all the smuggled opium taken from the Chinese, it should be kept, and that when tho war broke out he asked tbe Collector to let him have it to extract the inorphino for the uso of the troops. It is not tho practice to destroy usetul goods of any kind which have been seized. These are either sold by auction or tender, or, where suitable, given to charitable institutions. Tho bulk of tho opium seized is not taken from Chinese, but is found concealed on board ship; further, the opium was in my possession, but I am not the Collector of Customs, and Professor Ensterfield certainly did not ask mo for the opium. The Customs Department has not been suffering' from narcotism in respect to the uses to which the opium in its possession might be put, nor has it beeu overwhelmed by somnolence induced by tho pipe funics of iwpaver fiomm'ferum. The fact is that I wrote to the Hon. Minister of Customs on May 22, 1915, as follows:— -■' It is proposed, with your sanction, to collect all the opium wuicii :« held us seizures by the Customs Department, and to arrange with the Dominion Laboratory or a, manufacturing warehouse to extract the morphine for presentation to the Defence Department for, the use of iuedioal corps of the Expeditionary Forces. The matter was evidently brought to tho notice of the lion. Minister of Defence, who replied, on June 4, statin;; that Professor Easterftcld had kindly offered to extract the morphine without charge for tho use of the military hospitals, hospital ships, etc. It is now clear from whence originated the proposal to utilise the morphine content of the seized opium. Jt way be of further interest to state that a , large quantity of opium was sent to Samoa ns medioine for dysentery, and that the Customs Department handed over to the Defence Department from time to time lot only tincture of opium which had been seized, but a large quantity mode at llio Dominion Laboratory,, and atimdardised to tho requirements of the British Pharmacopoeia. Tho professor is also reported as having eaid that nothing was done in New Zealand to save the other products of milk after tho casein had been recovered. As a matter of fact there is a very cltieient sugar of milk factory established in Southland at a cost of over .£IO,OOO. This fnclory can turn out enough sugar of milk to supply the wants of the whole of New Zealand, and have some left over for export. Samples of the product have been submitted to the Dominion Analyst, who reports that it is equal in quality to all the requirements uf tno British Pharmacopoeia.—l am, etc., \V. B. MONTGOMERY, Cotnn trailer of Customs. July 3.