Note {508} — Chapter XXI · TRADE AND LABOUR IN WEST AFRICA. (continued 2)

Lagos Annual Consular Report (150, p.6), 1894: “There were only three cases of drunkenness. Considering that in the Island of Lagos alone the population is over 33,300, this clearly proves that drunkenness in this part of Africa is uncommon, and that there is insufficient evidence for the contention which is advanced that the native is being ruined by what is so often spoken of as the heinous gin traffic; it is a well-known fact by those in a position best able to judge by long residence that the inhabitants of this country have a natural repugnance to intemperance.”