345
drugs is quite sufficient, and needs no amendment. I
All orders are down in law books about them.
59. If contracts be given for five years at a
time and the contractors are ordered to sell at one
rate all through, and if severe punishments are
awarded to the secret dealers, I think improve-
ment can be effected.
60. Persons of this part of the country do not
grow ganja, nor do they know the method of its
cultivation. The plants of spontaneous growth do
not yield as nice a bud as the Gwalior plants do
Besides, these are not as much intoxicating.
Potato and sugarcane crops supply an important
portion of food consumption, hence cultivators are
not induced to sow ganja, nor is its cultivation cus-
tomary with them. But if its cultivation is in-
troduced, no doubt a small quantity can be pro-
duced, but this will tell upon the Government
income, because it will then be indirectly placing
that article within the reach of the public, and
few will care to buy it in that case. This is gene-
rally the case with everything, e.g., opium can be
had here at Rs. 17 a seer, because it is cultivated
in these districts, but in Calcutta a seer of opium
would cost Rs. 30.
61. Charas is not produced either in this district
or in its neighbourhood, nor does any body know
how it is made. It comes from Nepal and Kabul ;
and the manner of preparing it is known to the
persons who live there. These men say, on en-
quiry, that the bhang of those places is very in-
toxicating, and that its leaves after they are well
trodden under foot become rather sticky and then
these are filled in leather bag and called charas.
62. No special care has to be taken of the pat-
son plant. It grows like a wild herb in the dis-
tricts of Bahraich, Gonda, Pilibhit, Lakhimpur, and
the Terai Nepal. It is no use paying much at-
tention to a crop which even the cattle do not
graze.
63. Dealers in such drugs are paid in kind, and
hence they should be permitted to receive payment
in that way. Charas contains much of ganja in
it, sometimes are both mixed together and then
smoked. Bhang is used as majun, which is made
by mixing with it sugar, khoya and ghee. Im-
provement in income can only be had if the Gov-
ernment takes the management in its own hands,
and keep in its custody the whole quantity of
these drugs, and fix its own rate. But the system
of giving contracts should then be stopped alto-
gether, and the secret sale prohibited. The secret
sale of opium is possible as opium is produced here,
but as ganja and charas are not produced here;
and no one is expected to take the trouble of bring-
ing them from such distances for secret sale. This
will lead to Government income, which is possible
also in case contracts are given for fixed periods
of time. The area of Bahraich district is larger
than that of Lucknow, and yet the contract of these
articles in the former district is given for Rs. 2,200
a year and the latter for Rs. 33,000 a year, for the
simple reason that in the former district these
articles are produced, which is not the case in the
latter district.
63. No objection. The present arrangement
according to law is quite sufficient.
65. The tax charged in the districts is heavy
enough, and requires no further enhancement,
especially because another tax is charged by the
States from which they are imported. The tax on
liquors has been raised, hence the poor classes can
afford to use it. as usual. They say that now-a-
days the strength of liquors has been so much
VOL. V.
diminished that they cannot get sufficient intoxi-
cation even though they have to pay higher rates,
but as it is a matter of advantage to Government,
they do not murmur.
66. The States in which ganja and baluchar are
produced charge a kind of tax at the time of ex-
porting, and when they are brought to the dis-
tricts of British territory for consumption then
contracts are given for each district, and the sale-
proceeds of these contracts are thought a sufficient
tax in themselves. In my opinion this is enough,
because the people of India are very poor, and
these drugs provide intoxication for them at a
small cost—say a pice or half.
67. The Indians are poor and loyal to Govern-
ment ; their chief business is to obey the orders of
Government without caring for their own profit
or loss. If the Government thinks the present
income insufficient, and wishes to enhance it, the
poor people cannot but abide by it.
68. In cities and in villages the shops of these
drugs are generally situated on thoroughfares ;
men come to these shops, and, according to their
need, purchase ganja, bhang or charas ; some use
them at the shops, and others at their home ; and
it is better if the present system continues, because
a change in it would diminish the sale by which the
Government income would suffer, since at the
auction sale of the contracts the bids would not
be very high.
69. The wishes of the people become known,
because regard is had to the population of those
classes who use ganja, bhang, or charas ; for
instance, the villages in which there are more
Brahmins, Thakurs, Ahirs, Lodhas, Passis, and
Kahars, these articles will sell most, and people
of those villages themselves apply for a shop to be
opened there ; so far as it is possible these shops
are opened according to their wishes.
70. Those who sell charas privately get it some-
how or other, with which way I am not fully ac-
quainted, nor is there any particular class of men
who do so. They perhaps bring it along with
other commodities, to detect which is rather diffi-
cult. The exporting Native States levy their
own tax, which is realized at a place where these
articles cross their boundary. The amount of this
tax is either fixed by the State or settled upon
with the traders themselves, so that the contrac-
tors have to pay the tax twice—first to the export-
ing Native State, and then to Government, which
latter is charged on the sale of these intoxicating
drugs, and is rather heavy.
Oral evidence.
Question 4.—Patsan is called bhang also. There
is patsan of which the fibre alone is used and it
has no intoxicating properties. The intoxicating
bhang is also called patsan.
Question 13.—Ganja is pathar (Gwalior and
Khandwa), mundwa or round ganja (formerly
found on the banks of rivers in Barabanki, not
used), and baluchar (Patna). These are the only
three kinds of ganja. "Patsan" was used in the
translation received by us, and hence I use it. I
do not know the word otherwise. It is not used
here for the intoxicating drug.
Question 25.—Ganja is less intoxicating than
charas. Charas also is more injurious than ganja.
There has been some mistake in translating my
answer. I never held it to he less injurious.
Question 34.—By 80 per cent. I mean only of
the adult males of these low classes. I do not
3 C