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In the first place ganja as it is now prepared,
the great bulk of it being "flat," takes much
room, and in the next place the damage from rats
and mice would be very great. As a fact, at pre-
sent each raiyat's house is a gola for his crop until
it is sold, and this is fair, as the crop is the raiyat's
property. At present the raiyat sells to a middle-
man or goladar, and it is only when the sale is
complete and the drug is to be removed that the
crop comes to the Government gola to be
weighed and packed. This goladar is the middle-
man between the producing raiyat and the retail
vendor, and these men make large profits. They
are generally also retail vendors, and they are able
to exact very high prices from the other retail
vendors. These profits, I hold, ought to come
into the pockets of Government; and if the
experiments made by Dr. Prain turn out success-
ful, it will be very easy for Government to deal
with the raiyats and the retail vendors direct.
In dealing with the raiyats I would have Gov-
ernment purchase the crop at once from the raiyats
and undertake the preparation in the manner pro-
posed by Dr. Prain (square cakes). The amount
of crop varies from 3,768 maunds in 1878-79 and
3,888 in 1885-86 to 9,448 in 1877-78 and 8,982
in 1883-84. I would buy this just as it is cut,
and would fix the price yearly according to the
harvest, paying higher rates in bad, and lower in
good years, with a fixed minimum and maximum,
which can be settled from the prices now obtained
by the raiyats. The weak point in our opium
system is that all the loss of a bad year falls on the
raiyats, while Government pays them just as much
in the bad year as in a good. If this be done, I
take it the area of cultivation could be much
reduced. The statistics show that from one to
three thousand maunds a year more are grown than
are consumed. This is partly destroyed as damaged
(about 4 or 5 hundred maunds) and partly never
passes out of the raiyat's hands, the demand not
being sufficient. This last element of uncertainty
to the raiyat would go if Government bought all
the crop, and if Dr. Prain's proposals succeed,
Government will be able to keep the drug longer
without deterioration. After the drug has been
bought and pressed, and, if necessary, put up in
tins, it should be made over to Collectors on in-
dents, just as opium is now made over, and retail
vendors should buy from Collectors direct.
The great bulk of the crop is at present at once
removed from the producing district, and Collec-
tors' indents could be arranged so as to continue
this custom and secure the immediate removal
to the districts of the bulk of the crop, and thus
economise gola space at Naogaon. The pressing
sheds need not be substantial, as the weather is
always fine at the time of the ganja harvest.
What I propose would be liked by the cultivators,
and by the retail dealers, and Government would
at once secure 2 or 3 lakhs of revenue, and would
also have a much stronger hold on the distribution
and regulation of the sale of the drug. The only
men likely to object to it (besides the goladars)
are those who hold that Government should have
nothing to do with excise and similar matters;
but the public gain would in other respects be so
great as to justify Government in disregarding
their views. So far as I am aware, there is abso-
lutely no desire on the part of any section of the
native community to put down the use of ganja
and bhang, and even those who generally support
Mr. Caine and the views put forward in Abkari
do not join in this respect.
60. The cultivation is sufficiently controlled.
61. Not produced, but might be.
Charas.—No charas produced in this province
is sold or goes into the market; but Chapter VII,
pages 16 and 17 of Dr. Prain's report, shows that
some is produced but not used, and if the pro-
posals made above are accepted, the 10 per cent.
of resin now lost and thrown away will be saved
and so much less hemp need be grown. Ganja
and charas are really one, and in time, if the
question be scientifically followed up, possibly
charas will be the only form used.
62. I think it could to some extent.
Bhang.—The rules require that a license should
be taken out for the cultivation of the plant for
bhang just as much as for ganja; but, as a fact,
no such license has ever been taken out, and all
that is used is said to grow wild. The fact is
that most of the hemp used for bhang is imported
from the North-Western Provinces, and only a
small amount is grown in the districts of Purnea,
Monghyr, and Bhagalpur. The orders issued in
Circular No. 6075 of 26th January 1893 were,
in my opinion, in accordance with the law, and
would by degrees have operated so as to give some
control over the cultivation of hemp for bhang;
but the Lieutenant-Governor, Sir C. Elliott, did
not approve of them, and they were withdrawn.
The fact remains that there is hardly a well-to-do
native gentleman who has not a few plants of
hemp growing somewhere handy, and that if the
cultivation or the existence of these was checked,
bhang would be purchased in much greater quan-
tities by licensed vendors. I would also press the
Collectors of exporting districts to get cultivators
to take license. I am opposed to any sudden
drastic action, but think gradual systematic pres-
sure would do much.
63. Vend of drugs.—I have already said I
would knock out the wholesale vendor entirely
and make the wholesale business a Government
monopoly.
I have nothing to say regarding the retail vend,
which seems to me to be sufficiently under regu-
lation.
64. I have no objection to raise.
65. Taxation of the drugs.—This is a very diffi-
cult question to answer as a whole.
As regards (a), I should say that charas and
chur ganja should pay about the same tax as they
now do, but that charas might bear a little higher
tax than chur ganja as it is purer; but then again
it is brought from a great distance. On the
whole an equal rate is not unfair, but consump-
tion should be watched. I do not think bhang
can be taxed higher than it is, as the result would
simply be more illicit cultivation.
As compared with alcohol the taxation is low;
but alcohol is at present too highly taxed, and
the result is large illicit distillation. I do not
think the rate on flat ganja can safely be much
raised without danger of illicit cultivation, and it
is this that should guide taxation rather than
a comparison with alcohol. As stimulants they
can hardly be compared.
66. Yes. Dr. Prain has gone into this in
Chapter X of his report, and the Board have since
recommended that the rates from 1st January
next shall be Rs. 6 for flat (large twigs), Rs. 7
and annas 4 for flat (small twigs), Rs. 7 and
annas 8 for round, and Rs. 9 for chur.
67. Incidence of tax on consumer.—The tax
is undoubtedly light, and it is the cheapest form
of stimulant; but, looking at it in all lights, I
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