TOPICAL READING.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9568, 14 August 1909, Page 4

TOPICAL READING.

OPIUM QUFSTIONJN CHINA.^ A British Parliamentary paper was issued last month containing a report by Sir Alexander Hosie, Acting Conor mercial Attache c.t the Pekin Legation, upon the opium question in China. In his covering despatch, Sir J. Jordan, the British Minister, says | that considering the magnitude of j the task, the success of the movement for the suppression of opium has so tar been as great as could reasonably be expected. A memorial recently addressed to the Th'one by the Hoard of the proposals contained in which were approved on October 4th, 1908, expresses the opinion that poppy cultivation and opium smoking will be abolished well within the 10 years period. Sir A. Hosie summarises information supplied by British Consuls as to the progress of the anti-opium campaign in the provinces. Two questions connected with the suppres/1 sion of opium call, Sir A. Hosie considers, for some attention. First, what can be grown in place of the poppy; secondly, how is the revenue hitherto derived from opium to be made good. The solution of the first question, he points out, lies in better railway communications. One of the chief advantages of opium is thai it can be more easily carried by men over bad country than other crcps. Where and when communication is cheap the farmer will lose little by abandoning its cultivation. The question of revenue is more difficult .Salt, however, which is a Government monopoly, is to be taxed, and a fresh duty on opium is to be levied, as well as a i tax on poppy land, to help to minimise the loss of revenue.

THE PROGRESS OF INDIA. The yearly Blue Book showing the moral and material progress" of India for 1907-8 has just been issued. In the year under review India's revenue was £71,003,275, compared with £73,14,4554 in the previous year, and her expenditure £70,697,229, aa against £71,555,179, whilst the outstanding debt increased from over 234J millions in 1907 to just over 246 millions In 1908. The gold standard reserve is £2,247,207. The foreign seaborne trade of India has greatly increased during the last 25 years, and if the value in 1882-3 be compared with that if 1907-8, imports show an increase of nearly 160 p*>r cent., and exports an increase of 115 per cent.fcln 1907-8 the imports represented £86,571,000. and the exports £115,652.000, something like two-thirds of the former coming from the United Kingdom, and about a quarter of the exports going to it. Germany, China, the United States, Prance and Japan are the next best customer?. The Post Office statistics are very striking, the general correspondence returns showing an increase of 47,-1 000,000 articles (excluding money or-' dersj for 1907-8, as compared with the figures for 1906-7. Of the add i tional articles 170,000,000 were post cards. The mineral output nas shown a marked in the last fiye years, the estimued value of that for 1907 beinc; £7,072,000. as against £4,550,000 for 1902, an increase of 55 per cent., Bv far the most important and gold, the production of which in 1907 was valued at £2,610.000 and £2,134,000 respectively, followed by petroleum £610,000 and manganese ore £590,000.