The opium question is so complex in its nature, and is so largely influenced by the habits and constitution of those nations who are addicted to its use, that it is obvious that only those with skilled medical knowledge, who are on the spot and have lived and had a daily experience of the people, are in a proper position to deal with the question at all. So much has been written by religious enthusiasts, and other persons totally ignorant of the nature and properties of the drug, that one almost hesitates to touch upon the question at all. Our only excuse for so doing is, that the following facts have been furnished by reliable medical authorities, who are really in a position to judge on the subject. The cause which led to the use of this narcotic drug by the races of the East may have been primarily due to the prohibition of wine by the Moslems, but more likely on account of its valuable remedial or protective properties, needed by a race subject to malaria and kindred diseases, and to counteract the effect of the hot climate to which they are exposed. It is a remedy at hand, and would seem to be one to which they at once fly. The evil lies more in the smoking than the eating of the drug; the former habit is more prevalent in China, and has the most demoralizing effect. The extent of its use in the East varies according to the geographical and social differences of the people, and it is used in various degrees of moderation and excess. The drug is employed in various forms, according to the class of people who consume it. In India it is largely used in the crude state, and is sold at about two annas a drachm, in small square pieces. The opium eater will take two or three grains and roll them into the form of a pill between his fingers, and then chew or swallow it, often twenty times in the day. It is also used in a liquid form called Kusambah made by macerating opium in rose-water; others boil it with milk, then collect the cream and eat it. The varieties for smoking are known as Chundoo and Mudat, the former being a very impure extract of a fairly stiff consistence, and the latter made from the refuse of Chundoo, of which it largely consists; but being much cheaper, is chiefly used by the low-class Hindoos and Mahomedans. From two to four grains a day may be called a moderate use of the crude drug. The poorer people regularly give it to children up to two years of age, to keep them quiet, also as a preventive against such complaints as enteritis, so common in the East; and so before youth is reached they become inured to its action. Licences to sell the drug are sold to the highest bidder at the opium auctions, the licensee having the privilege of supplying a certain number of small dealers.