The annual sum expended for the support of civil and military establishments in Assam cannot, I suspect (for I have no documents to refer to), be less than 700,000 rupees, 70,000l. And the net revenue derived from six districts exhibited in the following table [1] is rupees 611,268 9 7, showing that the disbursements exceed the receipts. This is to be regretted, for disinterested individuals conclude that Assam might be made a source of profit instead of expense to the Government, without the smallest possible risk of the peace of the north-eastern frontier of India not being maintained in security. But were it otherwise, the sum yearly expended in excess of the net revenue for the management of Assam, it must be borne in mind, is not thrown away, for Assam forms the best frontier protection for Bengal that could be desired; and if troops were not located in that province, a force would be required on the north eastern frontier, involving much heavier expense than the Local Corps of Assam. Every endeavour, therefore, to promote the advancement and civilization of the people of Assam must be hailed as a favourable omen of future prosperity. The utter want of an industrious, enterprising spirit, and the general degeneracy of the Assamese people, are greatly promoted by the prevalent use of opium; they would rather consent to be deprived of food than their accustomed dose of this deleterious drug, and so emaciated and weakened have many become from indulging in its use, that they are unequal to any great exertion, either mental or bodily, until the usual stimulating dose has been imbibed. Government have established no regulations against the growth of opium in Assam, neither do they derive any greater revenue from its cultivation than is yielded them by other lands. It cannot be doubted that, if a heavy tax were levied on every acre of land producing opium, and a high duty imposed on its sale, it would be beyond the means of the people to purchase and consume such quantities of the drug, as is now the practice of men, women, and even children. The consequence would be that in a few years many would be weaned from their predilection for the pernicious opiate, which at present is esteemed a sovereign remedy for every evil in life. Notwithstanding the degraded state of the Assamese population, we may yet regard Assam as a rising country; the price of all commodities, as well as the wages of labour, having been greatly enhanced under the British rule.