360
charas is very common ; and regarding the dele-
terious effects of both, and especially of charas,
there is no doubt whatever. I have known many
individuals in that district who were physical wrecks
from consuming them, especially charas. In other
parts of the province my attention has not been
specially directed to the effects of the drugs. The
individuals of whom I was thinking were Govern-
ment servants of the lower class, such as chapras-
sis and policemen. They were residents of that
part of the country. I formed the belief that
persons had got into this condition from the
effects of the drugs, from personal knowledge of
them. They would acknowledge it themselves.
The number that came under my personal ob-
servation was of course small ; but from hearsay
I am under the impression that the habit of taking
the drugs was very prevalent among the lower
classes of population of Dera Ghazi Khan.
I can recall the case of one of my own chapras-
sis. He was a Saiad, and originally a flue ath-
letic man. He became useless and afterwards
died. He became physically useless, and also fell
into a state of mental stupidity. He had the
appearance of a man who had a disease from which
he was gradually wasting ; but to the best of my
knowledge, he had no disease. He was never
medically examined. His mental weakness showed
itself in listlessness, apathy, and what 1 should call
nervous depression, which is probably the symptom
generally induced by these drugs. He openly
confessed the use of both charas and bhang. He
was not, to the best of my knowledge, an eater
or smoker of opium ; nor, being a Saiad, would he
drink liquor. I daresay I knew of a dozen such
cases here and there throughout that district.
The man I have mentioned was never removed from
the service. He was off and on in my service for
some five years. His physical deterioration came
on gradually, not suddenly. I do not know of
his having been given to any other form of excess.
He was about 35 when he died.
I know of no peculiarity of the Dera Ghazi
Khan district which should render the hemp habit
more prevalent there than elsewhere. The habit
appears to be spread over Dera Ghazi Khan and
Multan, but I can give no reason for it. It is
true they are especially hot and dry districts.
I have not met any natives whom I could call
physical wrecks from alcohol, though I have
known hard drinkers. I have, however, heard of
cases of dismissal brought about by drink. The
effects of excess in drink are seen in men getting
into trouble from that indulgence.
I am unable to trace any connection between
the hemp drugs and crime, and cannot form any
opinion on the subject. In my large experience
as a Magistrate, I cannot recall any cases in
which the crime was due either to the hemp drugs
or to opium. Nor do I remember having ever
had to punish natives for drunkenness or offences
associated with it. My impression is that riots
in towns may sometimes arise from liquor, and
that Cantonment Magistrates might tell a differ-
ent story, At certain native festivals, such as the
Holi, breaches of the peace due to excitement
caused by liquor are not unfrequent.
I think that the system of levying an excise
both upon liquor and other intoxicants, including
under that head both opium and hemp drugs, is
entirely defensible according to the principles
which regulate the administration of civilized
countries. The main question, it seems to me,
that can arise in this connection is whether any
particular liquor or intoxicant is so deleterious
that, on grounds both of morality and utility
its consumption ought to be prohibited by
law. In the case of opium, at least of opium
eaten and not smoked, my opinion was that the
consumption of the drug was not by any means
proved to be so deleterious as would warrant any
Government in prohibiting its consumption by
law, or in taking such measures as would in any
indirect manner practically stop its consumption.
I would even add to this that, in the case of
opium, I came to the conclusion that, as used by
the natives of the Punjab, this drug was even to
a certain degree beneficial.
As regards the hemp drugs, I am inclined to
hold the opinion, though I am not quite satisfied
on the subject, that the use of charas is so dele-
terious that it might be permissible, both on
grounds of morality and utility, for its use to be
prohibited, or for the price of the drug to be so
artificially raised, or to confine its consumption
to a very small number indeed. The reason why
I say that I am not quite satisfied on the point is
because I feel I have not sufficiently investigated
the facts. All that I can, therefore, say with
certainty is that my opinion tends to the direction
above indicated. I would add, too, with regard
to charas, that the prohibition of its use would
not be a matter of much practical difficulty
because the drug is an imported article, and it
would, of course, be possible either to prohibit its
import or to place upon it a practically prohibitive
duty. But I could not give a decided opinion on the
point without further consideration of the question
whether the above measures would or would not
be nullified by smuggling. I am inclined to
think, however, that the difficulties arising from
smuggling would not be considerable. I would
observe, however, with regard to the Yarkand
trade, that the imposition of a duty so high as
to be practically prohibitive would very consider-
ably injure that trade, because the Yarkandi
trader, in exchange for the charas, takes back
the products of the Punjab to his own country or
to Kashmir. The extinction or serious injury of
the Yarkand trade would, of course, be a very
regrettable circumstance. On the other hand, from
my personal knowledge as Deputy Commissioner
of the Dera Ismail Khan District, I would say
that no harm would accrue to general trade on
the western border from the prohibition of charas.
As regards bhang, my opinion is that it can
hardly come under the description of a drug
which is so deleterious as to warrant the
prohibition of its use by Government. That
the drug is deleterious is, I think, generally
admitted ; but I very much doubt if it can be
described as deleterious to that extent. There is
another very important consideration in the case
of bhang, which is this : that the prohibition of
its use is practically impossible owing to the extent
to which it grows wild and the ease with which
it can be manufactured for consumption. After
giving some consideration to the point, I have
practically arrived at the opinion that the present
system by which this drug can only be sold by
licensed vendors is probably the only practicable
system of taxing it.
By saying that a tax should be practically pro-
hibitive, I mean that it should he fixed so high
as to place the commodity beyond the reach of
any but very rich people. Where prohibition is
not necessary, on the other hand, I would fix the
tax as high as possible consistently with leaving
the commodity within the reach of the majority
of the people. In the latter case, the object
would be the object of all excise, viz., to derive