THE USE AND ABUSE OF TOBACCO 91 



the reasonableness of distributing, instead of wasting, such 

 seizures of tobacco among the men of the Army and Navy 

 could not be gainsaid ; and it was satisfactory to learn that 

 the Revenue Department had been moved to issue direc- 

 tions to the proper officers to, in future, supply troop-ships 

 with seized tobacco at the rate of one ounce per diem for 

 each man. But this humane practice was soon discon- 

 tinued; indeed, the arrangements for the disposal of 

 seized tobacco present some curious features, and have 

 varied considerably from time to time. The course pursued 

 with such seizures, including that unreleased by consignees 

 from the bonded warehouses at the London Docks, had 

 been the very primitive one of burning it in an instrument 

 known and recognised as the ' Queen's tobacco-pipe.' 

 Possibly some outdoor officer of Customs hit upon the 

 device in order to shield himself from blame for thus 

 wasting good stuff. It was a huge instrument of enormous 

 ventrical capacity and would fume away hundreds of tons 

 in a few hours. Then an afterthought of economy crept in, 

 and suggested that the ashes might make good manure. 

 They were accordingly sold to agriculturists for what they 

 would fetch ; a ton of the ashes it was found served as 

 tillage for four acres of ground. But this monster pipe is 

 now put out ; it was arranged that future seizures of con- 

 traband tobacco, and also such as remained in Bond 

 unclaimed on account of its having sustained damage in 

 transit from the place of exportation, should be thrown 

 upon the market for sale, a course which did not commend 

 itself to the trade, nor to the palate of dainty smokers. In 

 face of the difficulty another arrangement was made for its 

 disposal ; the criminal lunatics confined in certain 

 Government asylums were thought of, and gratuitously pro- 

 vided with tobacco from this source. Large quantities were 



