There is satisfactory evidence that before these territories came under the British flag, the opium vice, though not absolutely unknown, was not prevalent. An official report, dated 1870, states that “Opium eating is not a Burmese habit; it is a _new_ vice.” Another, dated 1856, says, “The use of this deleterious drug, strictly prohibited in Burmese times, has been considerably on the increase of late.” The late Rev. C. Bennett of the American Baptist Mission said, “When I first arrived in the country in 1830 opium was rarely used, and almost entirely confined to Chinamen. There were, however, a few Burmans who used it, and they were looked upon by their countrymen as outcasts and worse than thieves.” One of the earliest measures of the Indian Government was the establishment of shops to retail opium, with no restriction as to the number of shops. It was a notorious fact, and it was officially stated at the time by Government servants, shocked at the demoralising effects of the vice, that— “Organised efforts were made by Bengal agents to introduce the use of the drug, and to create a taste for it among the rising generation. The general plan was to open a shop with a few cakes of opium, and to invite the young men, and distribute it gratuitously. Then when the taste was established, the opium was sold at a low rate. Finally, as it spread throughout the whole neighbourhood, the price was raised, and large profits ensued.” In the Excise Report for 1879-80, the district officer for Prome called attention to this growing evil in similar terms, and he gives the details of the way in which lads of twelve or fourteen years of age were allured to evil courses by having the opium supplied to them at first in a milder form. From time to time the Burmans expostulated with their rulers on this matter. The Chief Commissioner reported in 1865:— “Last year a majority of the respectable Arakanese petitioned me, asserting that their own children and most of the young men of the country had become drunkards, and had acquired within a few years a craving for spirits and opium.” Again, in 1880, a large deputation of the most influential natives of the town waited upon Commissioner Aitchison, and presented a petition, describing in very forcible language the misery entailed on the population by opium, and praying that the traffic might be altogether abolished in Arakan. The petitioners suggested that Government should impose an extra land tax, in order to make up the deficit which would be occasioned by the loss of the opium revenue, a clear proof of their sincerity.