547
more often than not leads to crime amongst the
lower classes.
53. Most certainly it does. I know of many
for each of my twenty years' service. I can quote
several during the three months I have held
charge of this district.
54. Yes, more often than not, but more especial-
ly to fortify themselves to commit premeditated
crime with violence, such as dacoity, highway
robbery, rioting, murder, etc., etc.
55. Very seldom indeed, if ever, with these
drugs alone, but sometimes with them mixed with
dhatura for instance. Complete stupefaction can
be induced, I believe, without admixture.
Oral evidence.
Question 1.—I have been in the service a little
over twenty years. I have served in Bengal,
Behar and Orissa, and something less than two
years in Civil employ in Assam.
Question 52.—My answer is based on general
experience and cases which have come before me
in Bengal and Assam. 1 cannot quote any Ben-
gal cases. My opinion is a general impression
which I have gained during my service. I have
never paid the slightest attention to ganja, but
ganja is the only drug which I have ever heard
connected with crime as an incentive in this coun-
try. In this remark I did not refer to liquor;
but I am of opinion that ganja is more used by
the criminal classes than liquor, and therefore has
more connection with crime. The excitement
arising from ganja often leads a man to commit
crimes of violence.
Question 53.—I can quote cases which have
occurred in Assam. One is that referred to by
Dr. Mullane which occurred at Dumduma. The
enquiry made by the Superintendent Police Officer
showed, as far as I remember, that a man under
the influence of ganja ran "amok" and wounded
about seven people. This was in 1890 or 1891.
I cannot say what the result of the trial was,
except that I think the man was convicted. I
cannot say if the fact of the man having taken
ganja was brought out in the trial. Such a fact
very seldom comes out. It is a matter for the
defence. As far as I remember, there was no
motive alleged. The case was tried at Dibrugarh,
but in what Court I do not remember. The
police enquiry and the manager of the garden all
informed me that the man acted under the in-
fluence of ganja. I cannot say whether he was an
habitual smoker, nor whether he was an excessive
or a moderate smoker. He must have smoked to
excess on this occasion. The case came to me in
the usual routine way. This was the sort of case
in which the facts connected with ganja must
have come out. I should not think it proper to
keep back such facts because they told in favour
of the accused. I was not in Court on this occa-
sion, but the facts must have come out, I should
think.
I have had the records of several cases examined
in which offences were committed by ganja-smokers,
and, according to my belief, under the influence
of ganja. But the facts connected with ganja do
not appear on the records. When the Commission's
questions came to me, I examined the records of
the chief cases of violent crime that had occurred
within the year. I spoke to the investigating
officers about these cases as opportunity offered
telling them what my object was. My exact
procedure was this. I called up my head-quarter
Inspector and had a talk with him about the
cases of violent crime for the district in the year.
Out of these cases I selected some in consultation
with him as ganja cases. Of these, some had
occurred in my own time; and in respect to those
which had occurred before my time the selection
was based on the views of the head-quarter
Inspector as accepted by me after questioning him.
Afterwards I talked over some of these cases with
the investigating officers. This I did after de-
spatching my answers to the Commission, and in
order to test the answer I had given, in other words,
to compare my Bengal experience with Assam.
I returned from leave in June last, and my paper
was written on 20th October.
*1. Golaghat station
No. 7 of February 1893,
and
2. Bartola station
No. 9 of August 1893.
In two* of the cases I found facts in the
record tending to show that
the offenders were ganja-
smokers, In the other five
cases such facts were want-
ing. I cannot say that I
found in any of the seven cases evidence that the
offences were actually committed under the influ-
ence of ganja.
In Bartola Station case No. 4 of September
1893, Birbal and Ahalu coolies, son and father,
were convicted of murdering a girl, the daughter
of the latter and the sister of the former. I
suspected the father of having murdered two
other people and I interviewed the prisoners in
the jail both before and after the High Court
had confirmed the sentence of death upon them.
The father denied every thing, but the son
shortly before he was hanged, while still pre-
tending that he himself was innocent, told
me that he and his father were both ganja-
smokers, that on the night when the girl was
murdered they had both smoked heavily, and
that if he had helped in the murder, he had done
it under the intoxication of ganja and knew
nothing about it. He had given up all hope of
avoiding punishment when he told me this.
I think this worthy of credence though it was
not urged at the trial. The only motive I could
find for the murder was to get the girl's husband
into trouble. They put the body by his house.
The examination of the cases was subsequent
to my answering the Commission's questions 51
to 54. I then stated my general impressions on
a subject on which I do not know very much. If
I had expected an examination into details, I
should have been more careful in my written an-
swers though I still hold the opinion which I
then expressed. I should not have given my
opinion in such general terms.
Note by the Commission appended to
MR. DALRYMPLE-CLARK'S evidence.
The records of the two cases quoted in the
margin of Answer No. 53 were sent for.
1. Golaghat case No. 7.
In this case one Krishnaram was smoking
ganja with five other men, when one of them
offered to sell him ganja. He agreed to buy, but
differed about the price. A quarrel ensued, in
the course of which he said he would take the
ganja to the Police thanna. On this, they beat
4 c 2