395
159. Evidence of the REV. M. THOMAS, Missionary, London Mission, Vizagapatam.
Oral evidence.
Question 1 .—I have been fifteen years in this
district. I have now four or five taluks with my
head-quarters here. My sphere is east of the
Ghâts from Toony to Vizianagram. It does not
include the Agency tracts. I have only twice
visited them. I have been in almost every
village in my own district.
Question 45.—I have given the matter of hemp
drugs very little attention until I was asked the
other day. I had noticed the use among the bai-
ragis at the chatrams (rest-houses) in villages,
and had known one or at most two cases among
the Native Christians. As regards the common
people, the use of the drugs had not been brought
to my personal notice in any way. I am there
–fore not prepared to say that there are any pal-
pable effects on the people generally from the use
of hemp drugs. I could not say the same of
alcohol. I have seen much more of the effects of
alcohol, i . e ., of drunkenness publicly. I cannot
say whether the use of the drugs is less injurious
than that of alcohol, for I have not seen enough
of the use of the former to be able to institute
a comparison. I have seen but very little of the
drugs in the outlying villages ; and generally
speaking nothing of them. I have seen nothing
in this part of the district that seems to call for
Government interference. I am myself a total
abstainer; but the London Mission does not make
a point of total abstinence. Most of our Native
Christians are total abstainers ; but this is not
made compulsory. I should not myself permit a
member of the church to use hemp drugs. I
should strictly forbid it. If be did not obey I
should not permit him to remain a member.
I should not take the same course in regard to
alcohol (spirit) provided that no effect came to
my notice, and that the use was not a confirmed
habit but only occasional. I should treat the use
of opium precisely as I should treat the use of
ganja. The reason of the difference in my at-
titude towards alcohol is that I think the drugs
seem to affect a man more directly and markedly
than alcohol. It is possible that this opinion
may be due to the fact that I know less of
the drugs and less of what may be moderate
or excessive use, and may be therefore more
apprehensive of the drugs. It may be less
that I know the effects of the drugs than
that I fear their being possibly very injurious.
I cannot say whether there is any general im-
pression in the country that the effects of the
drugs are worse than those of alcohol. What I
have been describing above is my own attitude,
not that of the church, which as i have said, has
not taken up the ground of compulsory abstin-
ence. I have not discussed this matter with
brother missionaries ; and as I am far from our
other stations I have not been at any conference
for some years. I have only had to deal in
discipline with one man ; and he gave up the
habit on admonition ; and we had suspicion of
another man. I have had struggle with one
man about opium, but believe he has given it up.
I have had to warn two or three persons about
alcohol but never to dismiss a man.
160. Evidence of the REV, GEO. PITTENDRIGH, Missionary, Free Church of Scotland
Mission, Madras.
Oral evidence.
Question 1.—I have been in India (entirely in
Madras) for nine years. I am a Professor in
the Christian College, and am Acting Secretary
to the Free Church of Scotland Mission. For
the greater part of the time I have been in
Madras I had heard the name of ganja. I had
heard it occasionally in connection with bandy-
men and coachmen, and so on, but I had (so far
as I know) seen none of its effects. I had heard
that they were similar to opium, a narcotic or
intoxicant. That was all I knew. It was not
till after I heard of the Commission that I made
any special enquiry into the matter. I enquired
first of Europeans and respectable natives, stu-
dents and others, graduates and other men of some
standing. No one seemed to know anything
about it. The ordinary caste native seemed only
to know in a general way that it was used by
Muhammadans, bairagis, loafers, and ruffians.
Europeans seemed to know nothing of its use.
Afterwards I visited some of the places where
the ganja consumers smoke. These places are
near the shops, and I understood that they were
places where people met as friends to smoke. I
did not understand that they were licensed places.
But they were frequented by consumers to smoke.
One or two of my native agents discovered these
places for me and took me there. They knew
where to find them. I have visited only two or
three. There are no doubt more. But I do not
think there are many, as I had to go some con-
V O L . V I .
siderable distance to reach those I visited. There
are, as far as I could find, four different prepar-
ations used—ganja, bhangatani, majum, and
puranathi. Ganja is smoked with tobacco, I
h a v e h e a r d o f n o o t h e r a d m i x t u r e . B h a n g a t a n i i s b o i l e d g a n j a w i t h a m i x t u r e o f r o s e , p e p p e r ,
and poppy (I am not sure of the form of poppy).
I understand that this is not the bhang of the
north. It is prepared not from the leaf, but
from ganja proper. I did not see the true bhang.
Majum is a kind of sweetmeat of jaggery and
ginger along with ganja. Puranathi is said to
have seventy-two ingredients, and is nearly a
pure sweetmeat. It is said to be nourishing. I
gathered that there was a little opium in it, I
understand that neither the ganja nor opium is
there to any great extent. There is a great deal
of sweet and spice. In the ganja haunts above
referred to, only smoking of ganja goes on. In
the shops I have seen bhangatani taken, a glass-
ful asked for and drunk at once. I understand
that all the forms of the hemp drug are sold in
the same shop, but I cannot vouch for that.
I made enquiry as to consumption. My belief
is that the drug is either not used by the respect-
able Hindu population at all, or it has no ap-
parent effect on them. The most important
evidence that I have for making this statement
is the evidence of three doctors in the Mission :
two are Europeans and one a native Christian.
They tell me they have never come across the case
of a single patient who used ganja so far as they