9
67. No.
68. No. They would be extremely objection-
able.
69. Wishes would be consulted if occasion
arose for considering the question of opening or
closing a shop, as is always the case in the
instances of liquor, or opium, or toddy shops.
Local public opinion certainly ought to be
con-sidered.
70. No. I have no reason to suspect any abuse.
Oral evidence.
Question 1.—I joined the service 26 years ago,
and I have served in six districts and in all the
divisions, but chiefly in the Southern Division.
I am now serving in Abmednagar and have been
there for the last two years.
Question 45.—I have had no personal experi-
ence of the effects of ganja smoking. The
subject did not attract my attention until the
last two months. I then had a census taken
thr oughout the district of the number of persons
who consumed the drugs moderately and exces--
sively, of those whose health had suffered thereby,
and those who had become insane. The propor--
tion of smokers to the total population was, as
well as I remember, • 7, and to the male adult
population something under • 2. Seven cases of
lunacy were reported out of a total population
of 850,000, of whom 6,500 were smokers. Forty
people were reported to have had their brains
affected in more or less degree, and I think about
150 were recorded as having suffered physically.
The statistics were collected by the mamlatdars
through the village officers. The returns of
consumers were approximately accurate as tested
by the consumption of the shops. As regards
effects, the accuracy cannot be guaranteed. I tried
to test two or three of the cases by further enquiry
without seeing the lunatics themselves, and the
reports failed to satisfy me that the hemp drug
was responsible for the insanity. I think the
returns were prepared with perfect honesty. The
matter is looked on with perfect indifference
locally, and the enquiring officers were free of
bias. I have absolutely no experience of the
connection of the hemp drugs with crime. I
cannot recall a single instance of a crime for
which the hemp drug was responsible. It appears
to me that the vast majority of the consumers
are the very poor, who cannot afford a more expen--
sive intoxicant, and that the deprivation to them
caused by prohibition would be very serious. I
consider it quite unnecessary to prohibit it.
There would be no difficulty in restricting the
cultivation to the districts of Ahmednagar and
Satara. The cultivation in other districts seems so
insignificant that the prohibition of it would
hardly cause any inconvenience. In Ahmednagar
the cultivation will more than half of it be found
in the Ahmednagar taluka. The rest is in small
patches scattered over eight other talukas. I
believe the plant is cultivated to a considerable
extent in the continuation, in the Nizam's terri--
tory, of the range of hills called the Balaghat,
on which the greater part of the Ahmednagar
cultivation is to be found. I see no objection to
the system of storage and issue of the prepared
ganja under Government control. I don't know
the Satara district. The hemp drugs are very
much cheaper than liquor now. For a pice a man
can get enough ganja to last him for a week if he
is a moderate consumer. There is, therefore,
considerable margin for heavier taxation of the
drug without driving the people to liquor or
other intoxicant. I consider there is a consider--
able margin for taxation, though, as I have said,
the drug is consumed by the very poor. I have
no sympathy with the excessive consumer, and the
moderate consumer would not feel a moderate
increase, The most famous village as producing
the best quality of ganja is Mehekri. The wild
plant does not grow in the district spontaneously.
Regarding the consumption of the ganja produ-
- c e d i n N a g a r , I b e l i e v e t h e l a r g e s t e x p o r t i s t o
Kolaba. I have been told that some is exported
to Europe.
Letter from MR. EBDEN appended to
his evidence.
1. With reference to my evidence given before
the Commission on 19th December 1893, I have
the honour to state that I have made inquiry into
the extent of the cultivation of the hemp plant
in the Ahmednagar district of the Bombay
presidency during the period 1881-82-1893-94,
and find that the average area of the cultivation
during those 13 years has been 577 acres.
2. The taluka averages for the same period have
been as follows :—
1 Ahmednagar
.
.
. 217 acres.
2 Newasa
.
.
. 169 ,,
3 Rahuri
.
.
.
.
. 89 „
4 Shrigonda .
.
.
.
. 26 „
5 Parner
•
.
.
.
. 25
6 Kopargaon .
.
.
.
. 19 „
7 Karjat
.
.
.
.
. 14 „
Sheogaon .
.
.
.
. 12 „
9 Sangawner .
.
.
. 5 „
10 Jamkhed .
.
.
11 Akola
„
3, I expressed an opinion that the cultivation
might be confined to the Ahmednagar taluka. On
consideration of the figures before me, I desire to
qualify that opinion by including the Newasa
and Rahuri talukas in the permissive area, the
cultivation there having been fairly regular and of
considerable extent. In the other talukas it has
been irregular and insignificant.
6. Evidence of MR. W. F. SINCLAIR, Collector, Thana.
1. None in particular. Whenever any state-
ment in my evidence or in that of others forward--
ed by me clashes with those forwarded in his own
department by Surgeon-Major Kirtikar, Civil
Surgeon of Thana, the Commission need not
hesitate for an instant about preferring the latter.
One can't serve twenty-five years without hear-
- i n g s o m e t h i n g a b o u t t h e m a t t e r ; b u t I n e v e r h a d
any taste for it nor dealt much with such natives
vol. --vii.
as have, and my duty has never forced it on my
attention,
3. None.
7. Dr, Kirtikar's references to Cannabis indica
as under cultivation in the Konkan are to plants
cultivated in gardens in small numbers for
private use, or in some cases for his own study, as
besides his own garden he has more or less use of
several others, including mine, for such purposes.