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the control of the Governor-General. But gendarmes are by nature detailed for the preservation of civil order, and can hardly exert themselves in anything that concerns the general welfare of a community. Thus, there were but few police available to be distributed throughout the island. With this insignificant force it was necessary to guard against the secret landing of unruly Chinese, and to take preventive measures against the smuggling of opium and other articles constantly practised along the whole coast of the island facing the Chinese Sea. Naturally, it was necessary to call for the action of the garrison troops every time a riot occurred. It was clearly seen that it should be made the duty of both gendarmes and the policemen to guard against these emergencies, and for this purpose it was requisite that their number should be increased by 2,300 and 1,500 respectively, thus making up a force of 3,500 each.

It certainly was one of the prime duties of the Japanese Government to take necessary measures for the sanitary well-being of the island. The most difficult subject of opium-smoking, which actually involves questions of public peace, was forced upon the authorities. Measures relating to the prevention of epidemics—the drinking water and sewerage improvement—were decided novelties in Formosa. The health and even life of the natives are entirely exposed to the dangers appertaining to the climatic conditions of the land. Hence it was felt that to provide for the safety of their lives and for the enjoyment of sound health was the way to secure their attachment and devotion to the Imperial Government. There was also the necessity of encouraging immigration from Japan, for which the sanitary improvement of the island was a preliminary and necessary step.

As to the question of opium-smoking, some insisted upon its immediate prohibition, while others were in favour of the gradual extinction of that baleful custom. With Formosans it is a habit indulged in for generations, and in it is their only relish and refreshment. If a stop were put to this sole enjoyment of theirs, a reaction of a grave nature was inevitable; and should their resentment and enmity have exhibited themselves in a practical manner, the management of all public affairs in the island would have been seriously affected. With a view to gradually and eventually putting an end to this habit, the Government decided that it would organize for this special branch of sanitation a complex and effective executive mechanism. The very importance of the measures demanded that they should be conducted on a much larger scale than the business of a petty department of the Civil Affairs Bureau. The establishment of an independent sanitary bureau was