Page:Journal Of The Indian Archipelago And Eastern Asia Series.i, Vol.2 (IA in.ernet.dli.2015.107695).pdf/22

 THE

JOURNAL

OF THE

INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO

AND

EASTERN ASIA.

ON THE HABITUAL USE OF OPIUM IN SINGAPORE.

THE subject of this paper is one which, in spite of the imperfect manner in which it may be handled, ought to claim the serious attention of all.

It has, up to the present moment, engaged the attention of the Government, in so far only as it affords facilities for raising money; and the Public in general, whether residents here, or passing strangers, have looked on the miserable devotees to the vice of Opium smoking in the same light, and visited their abodes with the same curiosity, as they would have done a den of wild beasts, or a raving lunatic's cell. They enter the Opium shop, by pushing aside a filthy mat, and, in a small space, they see many men crowded and crouching on a narrow board; dim lights faintly disclose their squalid appearance; the air is impregnated with a close suffocating odour: the heat is oppressive;&mdash;a few questions are asked by the visitor, a pipe is shown, a human being gazed upon as he slowly and, to all appearance, with much gusto, inhales the sedative vapours;&mdash;at last, unable to endure it any longer, a rush is made by the visitor to the door, and, according to his preconceived