The opium manufactured in the Government factory is of three kinds—provision opium for export; excise opium, for consumption in India, and medical opium, for export to London. It is this latter form of opium which, according to Mr. MacDonald, in his "Trade Politics and Christianity in Africa and the East" is being manufactured into morphia by three British firms, two in Edinburgh and one in London, which morphia the Japanese are buying and smuggling into North China.
The "Statistics of British India" shows the countries into which Indian opium has been exported: we will take the figures for the last five years, which show the number of chests sent out.
| 1912-13 | 1913-14 | 1914-15 | 1915-16 | 1916-17 | |
| China | 19,575 | 4,061 | 1,000 | 734 | 500 |
| Straits Settlements | 5,098 | 1,537 | 755 | 605 | 239 |
| United Kingdom | 11 | 115 | 498 | 199 | 0 |
| Mauretius | 10 | 19 | 23 | 65 | 120 |
| Ceylon | 50 | 105 | 80 | 65 | 80 |
| Cochin-China | 805 | 875 | 2,690 | 2,035 | 3,440 |
| Java | 3,010 | 3,265 | 2,650 | 1,835 | 1,965 |
| Other countries | 2,815 | 1,929 | 3,160 | 3,248 | 2,366 |
| Total | 31,374 | 11,906 | 10,858 | 8,786 | 8,710 |
In some countries we see a falling off, as in China. Cochin-China, the French colony, shows a considerable increase—the little Annamites, Tonquinese, Cambodgians and other inhabitants of this colony of the French Republic being shown what's what. Mauretius, a British Colony five hundred miles off the coast of Madagascar, in the Indian ocean, seems to be coming on. The falling off in shipments to the United Kingdom may possibly have been due to the war and the scarcity of ships. "Other countries" seem to be holding their own. With the end of the war, the increase in ships, and general trade revival, we may yet see compensation for the loss of China. With the increase of drug addicts in the United States, it may be that in time America will no longer be classed under "other countries" but will have a column all to itself.
In another table we find a comparison as to the number of chests of provision or export opium and of excise opium, or that intended for consumption in India. Thus:
| Provision Opium | Excise Opium | |||
| 1910-11 | 15,000 | chests | 8,611 | chests |
| 1911-12 | 14,000 | 9,126 | ||
| 1912-13 | 7,000 | 9,947 | ||
| 1913-14 | 12,000 | 8,307 | ||
| 1914-15 | 10,000 | 8,943 | ||
| 1915-16 | 12,000 | 8,391 | ||
| 1916-17 | 12,000 | 8,732 | ||
Each chest contains roughly about one hundred and forty pounds.
Revenue
The revenue of India is derived from various sources, and is classified under eight heads. Thus: for 1916-17.
| I. | Land | |||
| Forest | ||||
| Tribute from Native States | Total | £25,124,489 | ||
| II. | Opium | 3,160,005 | ||
| III. | Taxation: | |||
| 1. Salt | ||||
| 2. Stamps | ||||
| 3. Excise | ||||
| 4. Customs | ||||
| 5. Provincial rates | ||||
| 6. Income tax | ||||
| 7. Registration | 32,822,976 | |||
| IV. | Debt Services | 1,136,504 | ||
| V. | Civil Services | 2,364,985 | ||
| VI. | Military Services | 1,575,946 | ||
| VII. | Commercial: | |||
| 1. Post | ||||
| 2. Telegraph | ||||
| 3. Railways | ||||
| 4. Irrigation | 51,393,566 | |||
| VIII. | Miscellaneous Receipts | 1,221,497 | ||
| Grand total | £118,799,968 |