CH. XVII.] REPORT OF THE INDIAN HEMP DRUGS COMMISSION, 1893-94. 347
Gwalior.
705. All that is known about the administration of the hemp drugs in Gwalior
is that the cultivation is reported to be about 400
acres; that a duty of Rs. 5 per maund is levied on
all ganja exported to British provinces, and Rs. 2-8-0 per maund on ganja trans-
ported from one place to another in the State; and that the cultivator may only
sell to a licensed vendor. The Commission also have information that the
cultivator pays Rs. 12 per acre over and above his fixed rent; but whether this
payment is made to the State is not clear. There is a fixed rate for retail
sale, 4 annas per sér. Mr. Stoker is of opinion that the Gwalior ganja is gaining
ground in the North-Western Provinces, and is being substituted for the Khand-
wa ganja, while both together are ousting the supply of Bengal ganja. The culti-
vation is said to be confined to three tahsils of the State—Antri, Sipri, and Kalaras;
so the control of cultivation would probably be a simple matter; and if such
control can be brought about, it would greatly facilitate the North-Western Prov-
inces administration. Some charas is produced, but apparently in very small
quantities; bhang of a superior quality is produced at Ujjain and Sipri. The State
is bound by special arrangement to prevent export into British territory. (Gwalior
Salt Agreement, Aitchison, No. XXI, Article 6.)
Bhopal.
706. All that has been ascertained in regard to Bhopal is that there is a
licensed contractor for each pargana who sells by
retail in his own shop, and authorises others to
do so as his agents. Mr. Drake-Brockman says that local transit dues are levied,
but they are not sufficiently high to check transport into the neighbouring dis-
tricts of the Central Provinces. Mr. Gunion says that about 100,000 persons
are said to use one or other of the hemp drugs. The Commission have no inform-
ation regarding cultivation in this State. It adjoins the Central Provinces, and
control of the hemp drugs is very desirable from this point of view.
Baghelkhand Agency.
707. The principal State in the Baghelkhand Agency is Rewa. There is
some cultivation for ganja, but no particulars have
been ascertained. There are contractors for sale
of the drugs who are said to pay a fixed duty and license fees to the State. The
greater part of the population are Vaishnavas, and the population in general are
said to be opposed to the use of the drug. A little charas is said to be imported
from Patna. The Agency lies between the North-Western Provinces, the Central
Provinces, and Chota Nagpur, and any want of control in the matter of hemp
drugs would probably have a serious effect on the excise administration of those
provinces.
Bundelkhand Agency.
708. There is no information in the memorandum regarding the administra-
tion of the States of the Bundelkhand Agency. But
Mr. Stoker mentions the Agency as one of the main
sources for supply of ganja to the North-Western Provinces. In all the States,
he adds, there is some duty on export, but it is variable and unequal. In one
place it is 2 annas per rupee of the price, which would be about Re. 1 to Rs. 2
per maund. In another it is said to be Rs. 1-9-0 on each purchase irrespective
of quality. But these rates require confirmation. Mr. Stoker is not sure that
all the ganja which comes from these States is of local growth, and he suspects
some of it comes from Gwalior or Khandwa originally. The plant is, however,