513
There are many reasons for these arrangements
and improvements ; but from these questions it
will be found that there is profit, and all harm,
which is considered good, will disappear. How-
ever, from this system there will be profit and no
shade of damage. The arrangement is this, that
in the first five years' contract the Ghazipur opium
be included in the excise contract, and the rate be
fixed at Rs. 20, in the next contract at Rs. 25, and
in the third at Rs. 30, then it will be seen what
increase there will be in the income, and the sales
will gradually decrease. Till such time as opium
is not included in the excise contracts there will be
the usual fluctuations, and the new system is not
exhaustive.
60. Ganja is not produced in this province.
61. Charas is not produced at all in India; the
climate is unsuited.
62. The cultivation is carried on in Bengal and
in States, etc. No benefit can accrue by super-
vision till such time as the systems of the States
and the Government system are not one. A good
system would be for Government to take the con-
tract from the States, or that the State people be
given to understand that by this system they will
also benefit, and step by step introduce the Govern-
ment arrangements. When this arrangement is
carried out, the system will itself show that it is
good. and both the Governments will be benefited.
63. The wholesale license fee should be fixed at
Rs. 15 annually. This would be profitable to Govern-
ment, and would not be distasteful to any one.
Retail shops, where they exist as separate shops,
should be stopped. Government suffers loss from
such shops, because such small retail vendors very
much injure the large thikadars of neighbouring
districts.
64. Thikadars of small capacity transport charas
from one district to another. The Collector exer-
cises supervision, but not with proper firmness.
The reason is that when charas comes into a dis-
trict from another district, he does take stops to pre-
vent the import; but the officers of the exporting
districts do not care ; but there are some who are
gad of it and of the increased income of their dis-
tricts, and it is to be regretted that they do not
consider British interests. The existing arrange-
ments governing export and import are excellent.
65. As regards the taxation of ganja either on
the cultivation or consumption, the opinion of those
officers where ganja is cultivated should be considered
right. The taxation of charas is not liked for this
reason, that Chinese merchants bring the charas,
and if they are burdened with taxation, especially on
articles which go bad in the next season, the trade
of various Indian articles will be injured. As now
the Government is praised, so then for these
reasons it will be condemned. The profits will be
about Rs. 75,000 annually if there is a tax of
Rs. 20 a maund, but one trade will suffer and the
Government be condemned. Proportionately to the
profits from taxation the income from license fees
will be decreased.
The taxation of bhang of spontaneous growth,
together with other articles, will be a general source
of displeasure, and in my opinion Government should
never intend to tax bhang. Because, as compared
with general displeasure, the income from taxation
will be nil. It would be better that, at the auction
of contracts, the thikadars in their agreements should
add a clause that Government will tax the sale of
charas, at their shops, at so much a seer. This
should also apply to bhang. Under these circum-
stances taxation will not be condemned, and trade
will not be injured, and merchants will not be dis-
pleased. Thikadars are servants of Government,
and they will take contracts. If they suffer from
the new system, they should not care, because they
are accustomed to profits and losses, and there will
be an advantage gained, in that they will not sell
bad charas or bhang, for this reason that what has
gone bad the thikadars will themselves destroy,
because they do not like paying tax on bad articles.
The tax on liquor should be Rs. 3 per gallon in
all Punjab districts. The vilage taxation should
be Rs. 2-8 per gallon, and in the other districts of
provinces in British India the taxation should be
raised according to the Punjab taxation. It is
meant that the taxation and arrangements should
be uniform in the Indian Empire.
66. If it is taxed, then the best kind should be
taxed highest, the next quality a little lower, and
the last quality very little. But till such time as
the Government arrangements are not likewise in
States, no benefit can accrue.
67. The ultimate incidence should be considered
as three pie on the average per man per day. This
taxation is on those who have 5 to 7 rupees a
month. It should be considered that those who are
accustomed to it give 1/10th of their income, and
now increasing the taxation does not seem to be
right.
68. Regarding the prohibition of charas, etc.,
which has been mentioned in answer to question 35.
If it. was adopted that charas-consumers should not
be allowed to go outside the premises, then they
would of their own will depart from it, and the
people would benefit by it. There will be some
cavillers to the closing of shops, and respectable
people would on no account go to the shops to
smoke charas, and this habit will also die away
from the company of fakirs, provided that the
number of shops be decreased. By this the Gov-
ernment income will suffer. But in India after
two or three years the population would increase,
and a time will come when the result of this loss
will be a gain.
69. It is the custom; to enquire, and a considera-
tion of this is correct.
70. Innumerable orders are passed regarding the
arrangements of drugs from Native States, but no
arrangements are made about unlicensed vendors
who abound in districts. Now consider an un-
licensed vendor brings charas for Rs. 3 a seer from
a district where the rate is Rs. 2 a seer. This
vendor gets a profit of Re. 1 a seer. This vendor
keeps the amount allowed by Government, and
started selling, house by house, because the thikadar
sells at high rates, and he begins selling at very
low rates. Under this system every drug should
be considered taxless. Many people buy from him,
and if he is arrested, he has not more than the
licensed quantity, and if it be said that he sold with-
out a license, which is illegal, then the buyers say
that we did not buy, and the seller says I did not
sell, we are smoking among ourselves. Therefore
an arrest cannot be made. This system is more or
less in all districts; when the unlicensed vendors
get a taste of this, then they do not fear either a
fine or imprisonment, and they consider it a source
of livelihood. The thikadars suffer loss from this,
and the Government has to suffer a loss of lacs of
rupees in license fees. These bad practices, if
necessary, should be prevented by law ; district
officers make sufficient efforts, but their efforts can-
not work as against law, and they are rendered
helpless.
vol 7.
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