28. Evidence of MR. H. R. H. Coxe, Offg. Magistrate and Collector of Puri.

Oral evidence.

I have been over nine years in the service. I have been Collector of Puri only since the beginning of last December. I have been on tour for two months, about a fortnight of which was spent in Gurjat States, and the rest in the interior of this district. I was, while in the States, occupied specially with work connected with a recent rising and had no opportunity to investigate questions of general information. The only way in which ganja came to my notice then was that in the Rampur State, where I had grievances to investigate, one of the grievances alleged was that the Raja levied taxation on ganja. The people put up their grievances at great length, and mentioned everything that they possibly could against the administration. In respect to ganja they stated that they should have perfectly free trade in ganja and no taxation. My belief is that this was not a grievance that affected the people generally at all and that there was little of weight in it. But it was mentioned. The Raja taxes the vend ; but I am not certain whether he interferes with cultivation. In comparison with other matters contained in the representation of the raiyats this was quite unimportant. I made no inquiries as to the extent of cultivation nor as to the traffic in the drug.

I think there is no part of tha district in which ganja is not used. By" used" I mean smoked. Ganja is generally smoked, though it is also occasionally drunk. My impression is that the use of the drug is common all over the district. At the same time I think it is commoner along the roads. That is, I think, it is commoner with pilgrims than among the real inhabitants of the district. My impression is that Gurjat ganja is at least as popular as the Rajshahi ganja, perhaps more so. This impression is not based on careful inquiry, but it is based on what I have heard here as to the popular view of. the drug throughout the district. Besides the Gurjat ganja is cheaper than the other. Yet it is of the Rajshahi that the most is issued. Thus,' taking the' last quarter's returns, we find that the issues of Rajshahi ganja amounted to 17 maunds and 32 seers and of Gurjat 8 maunds 13 seers, The consumption of licit Gurjat ganja has been steadily rising for the last three years as compared with the consumption of Rajshahi. But still it falls very far short. This leads me to have a strong impression that there has been much smuggling of Gurjat ganja. It is popular, yet it is not issued from the legal sources of supply, and the fact that the legitimate consumption is rising so rapidly would seem to show that the people have long used it, but that we are now only beginning to get the consumption of it under our control. This seems a logical conclusion.

I have before me also the settlement of the shops for next year. There are forty-three shops. Of this, only fourteen shops have taken Gurjat ganja at all during the current year. Of these, all but one or two are in the Sudder sub-division. The Khorda Sub-division has two thanas, viz., Khorda and Bhanpur. Half of Khorda is surrounded by Native States, and Bhanpur is quite imbedded in the Native States. At the head-quarters of Khorda there is one shop, which takes on an average one seer and three chit-tacks a month. No other shop does. In Bhanpur there is only one shop, which takes two chit-tacks. All the rest of the G urjat ganja goes to the Sudder sub-division. Most of it goes to Puri town and the shops on the high road. But the interior shops of the Sudder sub-division also take it. My conclusion is that the Khorda sub-division gets a very large portion of its supply by smuggling. It is obviously natural that the Khorda people would prefer Gurjat ganja, being of the same race as a large portion of the people of the Native States and being accustomed to it. fhe figures seem to bear this out. The average issues per men sem are :—

I am convinced that the total of twenty-eight seers cannot represent anything like the monthly consumption in Khorda.

There are seizures of illicit gauja both in Khorda and in the Sudder sub-division. I cannot say at present how many cases come from each sub-division. The total number of prosecutions for possession of Gurjat ganja in the district for the nine months ending 31st December last was sixty-six. All of the Sudder cases come to me for sanctioning of the distribution of rewards, and I see many of the Khorda cases. My general impression is that the cases as a rule are bond fide cases. If this is so there must be a great deal of smuggling, because our detective agency is no stronger than anywhere else. All the cases I have seen are petty. The people most concerned in the Sudder sub-division are low class people, either consumers or servants carrying it for others. In Khorda it is generally the people themselves. Of course the drug is also found with pilgrims ; but I think the prosecutions of pilgrims are less frequent. There is no search of pilgrims whether coming by sea or land. It would be monstrous to search pilgrims, to search the carts or bundles of pilgrims for Gurjat ganja. We do not search them either for excessive possession of ganja or for illicit Gurjat ganja when coming by routes through the States. Pilgrims by sea are very few. The seizures of ganja being petty would indicate that as a rule it is local consumers who bring it in, but I came across a case the other day in which the man was a professional smuggler. I cannot of course say how large a proportion of smugglers are prosecuted. I cannot say whether Mr. Taylor's estimate of one-twentieth is correct. But I am certain that sixty per cent., the estimate of the Deputy Collector, is preposterous. Ten or twenty per cent. would, I think, be a high estimate. As I have said, I am convinced that the consumption in Khorda is far in excess of the issues from legitimate sources of supply.

Gurjat ganja is sometimes used in drink ; but so also is the Rajshahi ganja. I have been told by some natives elsewhere that they used Bajsbahi ganja thus and been asked to partake. But the principal use of both, £0 far as 1 know, is smoking. I do not know which kind of ganja is stronger nor whether the one is more deleterious than the other. I have no experience here to enable me to say whether a man who has acquired the habit o f using the one will take easily to the other, or prefer what he is accustomed to.

I know nothing of the extent of the use of ganja in the Native States. I do not know about the use of liquor in Native States. The use of liquor there will, no doubt, be much the same among the Uriy a raiyats as it is in Khorda. There the raiyats drink hardly at all. But perhaps the Khonds may be great drinkers. I have not had any opportunity of ascertaining their habits.

As our relations at present stand with the Native States it would be difficult to introduce any system into any part of their administration. For our present position in regard to them is to stand aloof and practically wash our hands of them. But if we were to enter into closer relations with them, I think there would be no difficulty in introducing any ganja system that might be necessary in prohibiting cultivation and otherwise restricting the drug. I think it would be easy, in respect to the three States connected with this district, viz., Ranpur, Naiagarh, and Kandapara.

My attention has not been drawn to smuggling from Madras. We border for a very short distance on Gumsur; but my attention has been directed chiefly to smuggling from our own Tributary States. I have no knowledge of the facts about any smuggling from that presidency. The Madras border is comparatively very small. I cannot give any satisfactory explanation of the slight increase in ganja consumption shown in the figures for 1892-93 as against the average for the preceding five years. I think that the withdrawal of the prohibition of cultivation in Native States within three miles of the border would not affect the matter. For the distance of three miles would he nothing in respect to the smuggling of ganja. Nor do I think the prohibition could be expected to be effectively enforced in our present relations with the States. As to the increase in duty I believe that increase in duty is not invariably accompanied with decrease in consumption, and I have shown that the increase in the use of licit Gurjat ganja has increased steadily since 1891-92.