BOARD

OF

AGRICULTURE

Laid before the House (pursuant to

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC IN WEST
AFRICA.

*THE LORD ARCHBISHOP OF CAN

TERBURY: My Lords, I rise to call attention to the subject of the importation and sale of intoxicating liquor in West Africa, especially in Lagos and Nigeria; and to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies for further information on the subject.

Less than two years have passed since I had the honour of calling the attention of your Lordships to this matter,† and it might seem unnecessary to raise the question again but for one or two considerations. First of all, I regard this as no local or merely financial or technical matter, but as one involving the very largest principles which govern the relation we bear to the native races in different parts of the world with whom we are brought into direct contact; and it is impossible, in my view, and herein I am supported by the best authorities, to exaggerate, in connection with that relationship, the importance of this particular point. But there are other reasons why what I said a year and a half ago requires to be restated, or the subject

+ See (4) Debates, cxlvii., 826 et seq.

reintroduced, now. I was then answered, on behalf of the Colonial Office, by the Duke of Marlborough, and I think any of your Lordships who refer to what was said on that occasion will see that the noble Duke, referring to the points I had brought forward, stated that there were some of them requiring further inquiry, and he promised that they should be looked into. I think that when looked into it will be found that some of the supposed facts which the noble Duke then stated to the House were based on wrong information.

Since the time when this matter was last before your Lordships a Convention has been held at Brussels in accordance with the promise of the noble Marquess the present Leader of the Opposition. It was held in the autumn of 1906, and I desire to have a little further information as to the result of the consideration there given to this particular subject. Most of all, my Lords, the matter is, to my mind, important because of the very prosaic but vital fact that the railway is weekly or monthly advancing and bringing with it fresh difficulties which we have hitherto not been called upon to face.

May I for a moment remind your Lordships of the geographical situation of the countries I am referring to? In the strip of the coast of West Africa which runs from east to west there is along the sea-line the Colony of Lagos and the rotectorate of Southern Nigeria. Behind is a hinterland cut off entirely from the sea, comprising the very much larger Protectorate of Northern Nigeria, the population of which is roughly estimated at about 10,000,000 of people as against 6,000,000 in the southern region; and the matter which is now, to my mind, most pressingly urgent for consideration relates to the Northern Nigerian territory with that immense population. regards the laws prevalent on this subject now, in Southern Nigeria there is a restriction upon the sale of liquor by means of a tariff, and in the Colony In Northern Nigeria, the great region of Lagos by means of heavy licences. that lies away from the sea, where the people are far less in contact with European life and trade, there is as yet total prohibition of the sale of liquor in any form, and it is in consequence of the danger lest we now interfere with that prohibition-it is for that reason that I

As

It is almost unnecessary to multiply quotations to show what has been felt by those best qualified to judge as to the peril involved to the native races from the introduction of that liquor for whose introduction we are, in large part, if not wholly, responsible in the regions which are directly under our control. Mr. Chamberlain, who identified himself many years ago with this movement and has spoken again and again on the question, used these words when Colonial Secretary in 1889, in answer to a deputation

"I do not think I am a fanatic, and no one,

I hope, has called me a sentimentalist, and I am certainly not a teetotaler. I hope I am not extreme with regard to any subject; but I hold, as a matter of deep conviction, that the liquor trade, and above all, the increase of the liquor traffic in West Africa amongst the native races, is not only discreditable to the British name, not only derogatory to that true Imperialism-the sentiment which I desire to inculcate in all my countrymen-but it is also disastrous to British trade.”

That was in complete correspondence with what was said by a former Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury, who in 1888, in reply to a deputation, made this

statement

"I need not inform you that I am not a temperance enthusiast myself. I do not coin cide with many of the views which I hear urged with great confidence in this country. But the controversy here and the controversy with respect to the native races have nothing in The native races are for all practical purpose children, and so far as we can do it, like children they must be protected. No one who even looks at history, still less at contemporary history, can doubt the extreme character of the evil which this unrestricted

common.

traffic causes. It has before this swept whole races away; it is now producing the greatest havoc in all parts of the world. We are so deeply convinced of that, that any efforts on our part would never be wanting, nor would our attention for a moment relax, for the purpose of inducing that common effort by which alone this miserable traffic can be restrained." Among those who on the spot have gained the widest experience would certainly be placed Sir George Goldie and Sir Frederick Cardew. Sir George Goldie was formerly President of the Royal Niger Company, and really administered Northern Nigeria before it was taken over by the British Government; and Sir Frederick Cardew was Governor of Sierra Leone. Sir George Goldie said--

"I speak from sixteen years experience... and I say confidently that unless immediate The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury.

I am not asking for that, but am quoting his words—

"a state of things will soon be brought about that must ultimately lead to the entire believe that the conscience of Europe will long abandonment of the country. . . . I cannot allow that the vast populous regions of tropi cal Africa should be used only as a cesspool of European alcohol."

Sir Frederick Cardew said, in a speech at the Royal Colonial Institute that

all that the lecturer has said, so far as my "As to the liquor traffic I can fully endorse knowledge goes. . . . I feel convinced that if you would take away from the natives the liquor, other wants would be created, and they would purchase other articles which would be far more remunerative to the British merchant."

I quote these extracts to show that I am not speaking on behalf of fanatical or narrow enthusiasts, but am backed by the opinions of the men best qualified to speak on the whole subject.

The difficulty lies in this, that undoubtedly this liquor traffic is one of the most profitable modes of increasing the revenue of these somewhat striving and struggling Colonies and Protectorates, and to expect that those in official position will readily confess that it ought to be to a very large extent restricted or put down-above all, that while holding office and more or less responsible for the

revenue,

they will confess that-is expecting a great deal of human nature. When I last spoke I pointed to the indisputable fact that there had been a very great increase in the consumption of liquor imported from Europe into Southern Nigeria, and to the huge peril arising as the railway and other means of communication were approaching the frontier of Northern Nigeria. The Duke of Marlborough, in answering me, denied that there was great drinking in Southern Nigeria, and quoted certain statements or statistics in support of that view and of the assertion that the number of drunken people seen was small. I hold that in this particular matter it is not satisfactory to place excessive reliance, without further inquiry, on the personal observation of high officials. It is most natural that one occupying a high official position in the Government of a Colony or Protectorate will be able to say, "I do not see any people drunk.” The Home Secretary here would very

likely be able to say that he has seen very little drunkenness in London, but in that matter you would not rely on the personal observation of a Secretary of State, though that is practically the kind of testimony we have had on the part of Governors and others.

I appeal to other testimony difficult to formulate in statistics, but easily obtainable from a large number of people now in England who are familiar with the territories in question, and I have no hesitation in saying that the evidence is ample that whole villages and even districts are deteriorating month by month in consequence of the importation of liquor. As to the increase in Southern Nigeria, I do not think it can be disputed. The drinking is going on in the compounds rather than in public. The consumption is very great and the results are I fear indisputable. The evil exists, and it justifies our persistence in a policy of absolute prohibition with regard to Northern Nigeria. The prohibition rules which are in force there will very soon, I fear, become practically impossible of application. When I spoke before, the railway was still, as we were reminded by the Government spokesman, a long way off the frontier. It is now close to the frontier, and the survey for it has been completed right across the frontier. In a short time the railway will be carrying goods right into the region of the prohibited area.

I do not suppose that the Government will allow liquor to be carried by the railway across the frontier, but it will be carried in great quantities up to the very border of that territory, and, once there, arrangements will be made for storage with a view to its being taken across the frontier into Northern Nigeria. That point calls for the immediate attention of the Government, for I fail to find anything in the official Papers to show that the authorities are cognisant of the gravity of the matter. I mentioned last year that the extension of the liquor traffic was shown by the fact that at certain railway stations iron sheds had been erected for its storage. At stations I could name these sheds are built and being filled with. goods, and there is reason to suspect that when the railway reaches the frontier liquor will be accumulated there in that way.

some

After this matter came up in the House two years ago there was correspondence between the society which interests itself in the matter and Mr. Lyttelton, the then Colonial Secretary who wrote that a despatch had been addressed to the Belgian Government, in which Lord Lansdowne stated that the points to which His Majesty's Government wished to call the attention of the Conference were (a) increase of duty, (b) carriage of liquor on the railway, and (c) importation of spirits injurious to health. I have before me an account of what took place at the Conference, but I cannot find a word in it about carriage by railway; and I want to ask the noble Earl whether the intention that that subject should be discussed was persevered in, and what was the outcome if it was discussed.

It is a mistake to say, as was said on the last occasion on behalf of the Govern

ment, that the railway will not necessarily carry the liquor, because it is in many regions cheaper to take it up by road. I reassert absolutely, on the testimony of those on the spot, that it is inaccurate to say that liquor can be carried for any long distance by road anything like as cheaply as by rail. It is the rail-borne liquor which does the mischief. cally none of it is taken by road, but all by railway, for the very obvious reason that it is much more economical.

Practi

There is a point of curious interest showing, as so many of these things do, the complexity which attends the advance of civilisation in these regions. A little while ago it used to be said that it was not easy to smuggle liquor from Southern Nigeria into Northern Nigeria, because the country was so unsafe that parties carrying liquor must follow certain roads; but in the last Report on Northern Nigeria it is stated that the security of the roads now enables travellers to travel singly through unfrequented parts and so avoid the toll stations. Thus even the security afforded by our civilisation is adding to the difficulty. I do not say that with a view of deprecating the peace and security of the country, but it is a fact that must be looked at.

Either it is right to have prohibition in Northern Nigeria or it is not. If it is right, it must be because the liquor is injurious to those to whom it comes.

I can imagine it being said-These statements are all very well; what would

you

have us do? There are three modes

in which it is possible to act restrictively with regard to the traffic in liquor. First of all, by an enhanced duty. There has been a trifling advance in the duty since the late convention, and I cannot understand what prevents us from to some extent acting up to our own theory as to what ought to be done, even if France and Germany on either side of us do not do it. It seems to me that we should hurt nobody but ourselves if we raised the import duty, while it would be a very great gain to the inhabitants of these regions. Then as to railway restrictions, I have tried to point out that we are now in a far more perilous position on the railway as regards Northern Nigeria than we were a little while ago, and that if the railway is used for this purpose it will be fraught with immense mischief.

Then there is the point, why should there not be, even in Southern Nigeria, some insistence on the procuring of a licence for the sale of liquor? I am told that not a few of the traders in Southern Nigeria itself are anxious, finding the mischief that is done to other trades, that a licence should be absolutely required, and I would like to know whether the noble Earl can tell the House anything on that subject. I have no desire to exaggerate this matter or to make the evil out greater than it is, but I repeat that it is not a trifling or local or merely financial question. It involves a large and fundamental principle. The whole question of our relations to native races calls for our closest The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury.

*THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (The Earl of ELGIN): My Lords, I am sure the most rev. Primate will agree that we who sit on this side of the House would naturally be as anxious as our predecessors in office to do all that we could to regulate the traffic in spirits and to promote thereby the well-being of the native races under to treat this as a matter of Party politics, our charge. I do not wish in any way and I accept absolutely the statements which the most rev. Primate has quoted from Mr. Chamberlain and the late Lord Salisbury as to the policy which His Majesty's Government ought to pursue in this matter.

I think I should point out that it was not by choice, but really from necessity, that the regulations on this subject became international. The most rev. Primate has said that he cannot understand why we should not be independent in this matter in Southern and Northern Nigeria because we have a German colony on one side and a French colony on the other. But I believe that what happened was this. Along the whole of that coast the Colonies of the various European nations which exist there have a com

paratively small seaboard but very extensive inland frontiers, and it therefore was necessary to prevent this particular trade being carried on through one of the form of duty to the detriment, not only Colonies which chose to put on a lower of the regulation of the trade in the other Colonies, but also of their revenues. That, I believe, was the origin of the International Conferences; but, at any ferences was adopted many years ago. rate, the principle of International Con

It was agreed that co-operation was essential, and the first Conference was held at Brussels in the year 1889. Since then there have been two other Conferences-one in 1899 and another last year. Now, my Lords, I think I can