16
miles in the Rajshahi Division. Every cultivator has to take out a license, for which
no fee is charged. Within the area above mentioned, which, for the purposes of ganja
administration, is placed under the jurisdiction of the Collector of Rajshahi, though
it lies in the three districts of Rajshahi, Dinajpur, and Bogra, applications for licenses
are granted, unless there be any valid objection, and remain in force for one working
year. The average area of ganja cultivation is 2,220 bighas, equal to 740 acres.
What follows is in the words of the Honourable D. R. Lyall, C.S.I., Member, Board
of Re ve nue : ' The c ul t i va t i on i s i ns pe c t e d by s upe r vi s or s t hr oughout t he pe r i od of
growth, the areas cultivated being compared with the licenses. The cultivator cuts his
crop not necessarily under the supervisor's eye, nor does he require to get permission,
but he gives three days' notice of his intention to cut. The manufacture is done by the
raiyat at his own option as to time and place. The supervisors move about and
supervise the manufacture as far as they can. Practically the bulk of the manufacture
is not completed under the supervisor's eye. When the manufacture is complete, the
raiyat carries his produce to his own store under the latter part of Rule II of Section XX
of the Excise Manual, page 155, there being no public godown large enough to receive
the whole crop. A license is given to the raiyat describing the quantity and kind of
ganja he is allowed to store, and authorizing him to keep it until he disposes of it to a
licensed purchaser. The amount is arrived at by the supervisors by inspection of
the crop after manufacture and the number of bundles into which it is manufactured.
The crop is made up by the raiyat into 2-seer bundles, and by long practice the measure--
ment is wonderfully exact, though it is done by guess. The raiyat's store is generally
situated close to his manufacturing ground. The wholesale dealer comes to the mahal
armed with a license from the Collector of his own district, giving the amount he is
authorized to export. He makes his own arrangements with the raiyats, visiting
any store be likes, and, as far as I know, unaccompanied by a supervisor or any excise
officer. Having made his bargain, the dealer brings the ganja to the Government gola,
where it is weighed, and the sale recorded on the back of the raiyat's license as well as
in the Government books. No pass is required for the removal of the ganja from the
raiyats' store to the Government gola. The dealer's consignment is sealed at the Govern--
ment gola, and then carried by the wholesale dealer under pass to his gola at the
head-quarters or sub-division of the place of import. There it is placed under double
lock, one being in the possession of the dealer, and the other in the possession of the
Excise Deputy Collector. The wholesale dealer sells to the retail vendor at his own
price, and the retail vendor sells to the public at his own price, except in one district where
a maximum limit is imposed under the terms of the arrangement with the monopolist.
This district is Cuttack. The right of retail vend is sold by auction.' "
The rules require that ganja shall ordinarily be stored in a public store-
house, and that it shall only be stored in private storehouses as an excep-
tional case, where the cultivator can satisfy the supervisor that he has a secure
private storehouse of his own. As there is, at present, no public storehouse, the
exception has become the rule.
50. Ganja is not ordinarily imported from any other British province into
Bengal, but ganja grown in the Orissa Tributary Mahals (Garhjat) is imported
under passes in small quantities into the districts of the Orissa division. The
rules as to storage and levy of duty on Rajshahi ganja apply, mutatis mutandis,
to Garhjat ganja. Any vendor licensed to retail Rajshahi ganja may sell
Garhjat ganja under the same license. The Excise Commissioner states that
Garhjat ganja is largely smuggled into Orissa, but with this exception, the
growth and trade in ganja in Bengal are fairly under control. The cases of
illicit cultivation are few; they are all of a petty description, such as the
growing of a few plants (very often only a single plant) in the courtyards of
houses, more for the purpose of using the leaves as bhang than for manufactur-
ing ganja. Cases of unlicensed sale of ganja, though comparatively numerous,
generally represent sales of the excised drug by petty dealers who have obtained
their supplies from licensed vendors, and often arise from the licensed shops
being too few to supply the local demand.
51. Charas is not made in Bengal, but a small amount is imported from
Upper India under passes and is sold by licensed vendors after paying duty.
52. There is also no licensed cultivation of the hemp plant for the cultiva-
tion of bhang in Bengal. Bhang is either imported from the North-Western
Provinces or collected for the market from the spontaneous growth which abounds
in Bhagalpur and in districts north of the Ganges, and especially Monghyr and
Purnea. Legal possession, except by licensed persons, is limited to one-fourth of
a sér, but there is no restriction on the use of the hemp plant in its green state.
It is only when prepared to be used, stored, or sold as a narcotic or stimulant, that
it comes under excise rules. Passes are required for the import or sale of bhang,