Nigeria : $b Its peoples and its problemsMorel, E. D. (Edmund Dene)
History
Nigeria : $b Its peoples and its problems
Morel, E. D. (Edmund Dene)
Ethnology -- Nigeria; Nigeria -- Description and travel
The Native Races Committee’s suggestions carry us then no further. The
alternative line of action I suggest is the following:—
The liquor traffic in Southern Nigeria (as everywhere else in
Western Africa), must be carefully watched.
It is not now an active evil in Southern Nigeria. It need never
become one if certain things are done.
Those things are—
_A._ Frequent analyses of the imported article. Severe
punishment if bad stuff is going in.
_B._ Continuation of the legislation, consistently followed
since 1905, of taxing, over and above the general tax, higher
degrees of alcoholic strength _pro rata_. Perhaps pursuing that
still further by prohibiting altogether the importation of
liquor above a certain strength.
_C._ Keeping duties to the level of safety, raising them
whenever possible, but never so highly that the population will
altogether cease to buy, and take to distilling, which by the
pot-still process is the easiest thing in the world.
_D._ Not permitting the proportion which the spirit trade now
bears to the general trade to increase—that means watching, and
increasing the duty when possible. At every sign of the present
proportion being increased, another increase of duty should be
made.
_E._ Restricting, if possible, the present proportion, by
_degrees_ either by the policy of successive increases of
duty; or by an arrangement with the merchants (very difficult
to bring about, owing to the advent of new firms; but not,
perhaps, impossible), whereby they would be precluded from
exceeding in the spirit branch of their trade a certain fixed
proportion to their general trade turn-over—the imports of
each firm being calculated on a basis which would establish
a decrease in the total volume of the spirit trade. This
arrangement, if it were possible, would have, really, the same
effect as judicious increases of duty, by making the imported
article dearer.
_F._ The creation of a sitting committee in Lagos—sitting and
permanent—the members of which would be gazetted and paid a
small salary: with two branches, one in the Central and one in
the Eastern Province, and (if necessary) with corresponding
members in several of the more important centres—with the
object of creating in each province a sort of bureau of
information on the spirit trade to which every one would feel
free to communicate.
_G._ Standing instructions to every medical officer to give
attention to the subject from the physiological point of view,
within his area and to furnish a half-yearly report to the
Principal Medical Officer. These reports would be annotated by
the P. M. O., who, reviewing the whole evidence, would give
_his_ report. Specific instances raised by any medical officer,
might if necessary be referred to the permanent committee above
mentioned.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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