3. Evidences of MR. W. II. GRIMLEY, Commissioner of Chota Nagpur.

I am a member of the Indian Civil Service of more than thirty years' standing, and have been posted to nine different districts in various official capacities, besides holding special appointments, which necessitated my travelling about in nearly every district in Lower Bengal. I was for a few months Magistrate and Collector of Raj-shah, the district in which ganja is grown under Government supervision, but during my brief stay there I had no occasioa to visit Naogaon, where the cultivation is carried on, though I am well acquainted with the system. I was for many years Secretary to the Board of Revenue, and had there special opportunities of becoming acquainted with matters connected with the revenue administration of the hemp drugs.

Ganja, bbang or siddhi, and charas are narcotic products of the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa. Garda consists of the resin-coated flowering tops of the cultivated unfertilized female plant; bhang or siddhi is the name applied to the dried or mature leaves, and is usually gathered from the plant in a wild state ; charas is the resin which is collected from the unseeded plant while it is growing. The plant in its wild state does not produce ganja. It is cultivated for. the sake of the narcotic property which is due to a resinous substance secreted both in the leaf and the flowers. This exudation is collected in various ways. In Nepal it is gathered by the band. In Sind and Central India men wearing leathern aprons run through the hemp fields, but in some places they oil their bodies and run naked. In Persia it is pressed on to coarse cloths and afterwards scraped off. The use of ganja, while permitted by the Hindu religion to some, is denied to others, and amongst its votaries the narcotic is known by as many seductive terms as are wont to be applied to beverages of American origin, such, for example, as " the conqueror," "the all-conquering," " the dispenser of happiness," "the quick pleasure-giver," "love-dagger," "rose-pillow," " wife of the dhatura or thorn apple," "cementer of friendship," " delighter," and "ambrosia of the gods,"—epithets expressive of the qualities peculiar to ganja according to popular belief. For revenue purposes there are three recognized varieties of ganja, namely, chapta or chipta (pressed or flat), gol (round), and chur (broken), which are liable to a duty of R6, R7-4, and R8 per seer, respectively. Flat ganja is trampled down by the feet in the process of preparation, while round ganja is carefully rolled and has a less quantity of the twig than flat ; claur consists of the broken particles of resinous matter that fall off in the manipulation.

The hemp plant is said to grow spontaneously in Bhagalpur and Monghyr, and also in the Bettiah sub-division of the district of Chainparan. Occasionally a few plants are to be found on the Burway plateau, a distant portion of the Lohardaga district, bordering on the Native States of Jashpur and Sirguja. It grows sparsely in some of the Native States under me, and is also to be found in the south of the Manbhum district, in Singhbhum, and in the Mohurbhanj State. It is grown best on light, rich alluvial soils with a moderate amount of moisture. The sandy banks of rivers are favourable to its growth, and it thrives well on the " sithi," or refuse of indigo vats. There is no regular cultivation. In some of the Tributary States people smoking ganja grow the plant at their doors according to their requirements for smoking and drinking, but this is done only on a small scale. In the districts of this division the products of the hemp plant are obtained from Rajshahi. There is no special treatment. The plants are allowed to grow according to nature. There are no regular cultivators.

There are nine Native States under meSirguja, Udaipur, Gangpur, Jashpur, Bona,i, Kona, Changbliakal (which are tributary), Seraikela and Khasawan (which are political). The growth, where it exists, is found near the houses of tsthe people, a plant looked after for a man's own consumption. Whether there are plants in the jungle I cannot say. I have never looked for them. I do not know the growing plant. I believe that what the people produce is all consumed in the Native States. I had one complaint from Sambalpur—but only one in five years—as to smuggling ganja into British territory. It was on a small scale. But, on the other hand, the.Raja of this very State (Gangpur) applied for permission to import ganja, about five or six months ago. I gave the vendor (through the Raja) permission to import from Sambalpur on the line of rail. I do not think the Raja knew anything about the difference between Bengal and Central Provinces ganja. These States manage their own excise. The inhabitants generally do not take ganja, as they do not manufacture it to any extent. They have no surplus to export.

For smoking purposes the amount of care and manipulation bestowed on the preparation varies with the taste and means of the purchasers. A commodmethod, where a smoke is wanted quickly, is to break off a bit of the chur or broken ganja, and after adding a smaller quantity of tobacco leaf, to mix the two together on the palm of the left hand by rubbing them with the fingers and thumb of the right hand, a few drops of water being applied to give consistency to the whole. After being pressed into a compact shape, the mixture is again broken up and separated and put into a chillutn, a small pellet of stone or some other hard substance being placed at the bottom to prevent choking of the stem. The chillum is only a few inches long, and a light being applied, the smoker holds the lower part to his mouth and draws the smoke by quick inspirations into his lungs, and then slowly emits the fumes, while he passes on the pipe to his companions, a single pipeful, costing a pice or half a pice, being made to do service for half a dozen persons. A more careful method of preparation is to pick out the small leaves and flowers and discard the leave-stalks. These are pounded on the left hand by the thumb of the right, water being applied, to promote adherence, and after being strained through a cloth, the ganja is chopped upon a board and mixed with fine tobacco leaves in the proportion of two or three to one to suit the taste of the smoker. Those moderate smokers, who prefer it strong, add no tobacco. Instead of a piece of stone, a plug of tobacco may be inserted in the chillum to prevent the clogging up of the stem. For eating, bliang or siddhi is prepared as a confection, and is called majum. It is mixed with water and boiled down to a quarter of the original quantity, and, with the addition of atar of roses, ghee, syrup, and cream, is warmed into a kind of toffy, which is cut up into small slices for sale. For drinking, the leaves are pounded up small and mixed with water, pepper and other spices being added to give a flavour ; the concoction is drunk with sugar and milk. In order to preserve the leaves of bhang, they are first dried in the sun, and then boiled in the milk and water and again dried. Charas is also used for smoking. Being glutinous, a quantity of tobacco is placed around it to make it burn in the chillum when lighted.

Bhang can be prepared from the hemp plant wherever grown, but I am doubtful about ganja. The hemp preparations are made by the consumers and not by the vendors. The drugs deteriorate by keeping, but if kept in air tight or tin-lined boxes deterioration can be prevented. The Raja of the Jashpur Tributary State reports that deterioration can be prevented by covering the drugs with the leaves of the moulau tree.

Ganja and charas are usually smoked. The former is said to be occasionally chewed or eaten and rarely used with -spirits. hen eaten or chewed, it is used as a medicine for colic or indigestion. It is also used with oil for the cure of itch. lt is also given to horses as medicine; and in the work of Raj Bullub Kabiraj it is described as a tonic, as increasing animal heat, and as a cure for leprosy. Bhang is used as a beverage by all classes of people, specially in the hot season, and largely by up-country people. Its use is not con- fined to any particular locality. It is sometimes eaten with sweetmeats. It is also taken as a medicine for the cure of diarrhea, dysentery, asthma, and rheumatism in the form of a pill, the leaves being finely ground and mixed with a little water and black-pepper. Sometimes it is taken as a drink by diluting it with mere water. In a Sanskrit work called " Modan Nirghanta," it is described as a cure for coughs and colds, as bitter to the taste, and an astringent. It is further said to increase the appetite and bodily heat, to generate bilious diseases, create nervousness, bewilder and derange the mind, and make a man unnecessarily talkative. Charas is not much in demand in Chota Nagpur. It is said to be used by rich Muhammadans. Ganja is used by all classes of people, but the majority of its consumers belong to the lower classes, such as day-labourers, cartmen, palkibearers, masons, ghasis, domes, bairagies, gosains, jogis, and sanyasis. It is believed to be used throughout the division.

Flat ganja is said to be preferred by the consumers of Hazaribagh and Lohardaga, and round by those of Manbhutn and Singhbhum. In Palamau flat and chur gatija are most consumed, but the consumers are said to prefer chur. A glance at the Board of Revenue's Table XI will show that while the metropolitan districts prefer round ganja, the eastern and more western districts have a taste for flat. I have had no opportunity of investigating the reason of this difference, but the difference of climate and race may have something to do with it, and I beg to offer the following suggestive remarks. (1) The eastern districts are damper than other parts of Lower Bengal; (2) there is a preponderance in them of Muhammadan Bengalis as compared with Hindu Bengalis elsewhere. There are certain parganas in Loharda,ga, specially known as "The five parganas," owing to certain customs which differentiate them from the rest of the district, and in these parganas, and also in Matibhum, there is a preponderence of Hindu Bengalis as compared, with other parts of the division co-existent with a taste for round ganja in preference to flat.

Bhang is sometimes used by poor people and by those who cannot at once smoke ganja. It is used as a substitute for ganja when the latter drug is not easily procurable. The consumers are mainly taken from the following classes :—

(a) Agriculturists, shopkeepers, artisans, day-labourers, palki-bearers, up-country datwans, athletes, and some people of the richer classes.
(b) Baira.gis, jogis, sanyasis, Brahmans who worship Mahadeba, palki-bearers, porters.
(c) Young people of dissolute and depraved habits.

People who worship Siva and Rama are addicted to the use of ganja and bhang, asserting that they are enabled thereby to divert their mind from worldly affairs to the meditation on the gods whom they worship. The religious mendicants who use it do so not only as a devotional exercise, but also to render themselves fit to undergo the hardships of their ascetic life, and the inclemency of climate incidental to their prolonged pilgrimages to distant places. It may be here remarked that while the classes above noted are allowed by the Hindu religion to use ganja, the " Shaktabs," or followers of the goddess " Shakti," are only permitted to use liquor for devotional purposes, while the Voistabs, or worshippers of Vishnu, are not allowed liquor or ganja. There is a passage in one religious work to the effect that liquor, so far from being used, may not even be smelt. The use of liquor ought to lead to a Brahman being excommunicated, but no degradation necessarily attaches to the use of ganja, and the effects of intoxication are not so openly displayed and offensive to the public as those of ganja.

Majum and charas are beyond the means of the poorer classes. They use ganja and bhaug as a tonic or exhilarant The moderate use of these drugs is considered beneficial, enabling the consumer to bear fatigue, withstand cold, and shake off mental anxieties. Those who worship the god Slib rarely begin to smoke without calling upon his name "Barn Maliadeo " or chanting couplets in praise of ganja, some of which are of the Bacchanalian type :—" How can I tecite the virtues of ganja with an alphabet of only thirty-two letters. The consumer of ganja is sanctified, and even the messenger of death flees from him." "Salvation comes from partaking of ganja " "One pipe leaves you as you were : be persuaded, take two; with a third you are a vazir, the fourth a king." The Kuhn Brahmans in Eastern Bengal for specific purposes or to serve their private ends, are said to be great consumers of bhang.

The ingredients mixed with the drugs are—

(a) Ordinarily, tobacco leaves with ganja ; and black-pepper, sugar, milk, and cucumber seeds with bhang, in order to reduce the strength and render the mixture more agreeable.

(b) Exceptionally, dhatura is used with bhang to strengthen the mixture. Aniseed is sometimes used with bhang to cool the mixture. The admixture of sugar with bhang has the effect of increasing its intoxicating powers.

Ganja is used in company ; bhang to a certain extent in solitude. Both these drugs are mainly confined to the male sex. The exception is public women, who take some preparation of the drugs both as a stimulant and a solace for the troubles and cares of their unhappy life. It is not usual for children to consume either of these drugs. The habit of consuming both is, I think, easily formed. It is difficult to break off in the case of ganja. In the case of both the tendency of the habit is to develop into the excessive.

There seems to be no custom, social or religious, regarding the consumption of ganja, but bhang is required to be used by both males and females on the last day of the Durga Puja, after the images have been thrown into the water. The use, however, on this occasion is very moderate, and not at all injurious or likely to lead to the formation of the habit of using the drug. Those unwilling to drink it merely put a drop on their tongue by way of acceptance from the dispenser. The consumption of ganja is generally regarded with dislike, and an inveterate smoker of the drug is always considered a disreputable character. The use of bhang is not considered equally reprehensible. The use of ganja is considered disreputable, because its effects are injurious, both physically and mentally. The custom of worshipping the hemp plant is unknown here ; but in the cultivating districts the treaders-out of the ganja salute it before commencing operations. A shopkeeper keeps a small branch of ganja in a pot or Iota as a sign of bis trade, and may be observed to salute it reverentially on opening his shop in the morning, but there is no special sanctity attached to the plant, the practice of making a salaam on opening their stores being common to other shopkeepers.

It would be a serious privation to habitual smokers of ganja if obliged to forego the consumption of the drug, because the habit, when once formed, cannot be easily given up. Not so in the case of bhang. The habit of using it is not so difficult to give up. It is not easy to make a correct or even an approximate estimate of the probable number who would suffer. It would be feasible to prohibit the use in the case of bhang, but not so in that of ganja, the smokers of which will most assuredly resort to the use of dhatura and other drugs of a more virulent character to satisfy their cravings. The prohibition of the use of ganja would cause very serious discontent among the consumers, especially among those every-day toilers who use it as a food-accessory while undergoing fatigue, or as a refreshing piek-me-up when the day's work is done. It cannot be asserted that the discontent consequent on the prohibition will not amount to a political danger. It is, however, almost certain that the prohibition will be followed by recourse to either alcoholic stimulants or other drugs.

The effects of charas smoking are milder than those of smoking ganja. Charas is the rich man's drug, and the man that keeps his body well nourished feels least the effects of any drug. I am aware also thut these drugs deteriorate. I believe there is really very little difference between the three preparations of ganja, but round is said by some to cause headache, and to be more effective than flat or " chur " in producing intoxication. Flat ganja is undoubtedly milder, and the drinking preparation of bhang is less injurious than smoking ganja or bhang.

Native physicians use bhang as medicine for diarrhoea, dysentery, asthma, and dyspepsia. Both bhang and ganja are used in the treatment of cattle diseases. Ganja is also prescribed in cases of impotency. As an alleviator of sorrow and anxiety, a black-care-dispeller, a death-scarer, and devil-driver, it is held in high repute. Bhang is known to be beneficial when used moderately. It makes a person who has a long journey before him indifferent to hunger, thirst, or fatigue. Ganja in moderation is said to be a preventive of disease in malarious and unhealthy tracts. Its use is said to help devotees in concentrating their

It is said to produce a state of ecstasy favourable to religious contemplation, hence its use among bairagies, gosains, and jogis. As a food-accessory or digestive, bhang is used by people suffering from bowel-complaints or dyspepsia. As a staying-power ganja is used by the hardy sons of toil, such as fishermen, boatmen, blacksmiths, shell-cutters, weavers, potters, car-peuters, masons, wrestlers, lattials, milkmen, day-labourers, palki-bearers, runners and mendicants. As a preventive of disease, it is used by most people belonging to the lower classes. Ganja is also used by devotees and mendicants. The moderate habitual use is here referred to, and is, I believe, harmless, just as the moderate use of wine, spirits, opium, and tobacco is not injurious, but there is this difference, that the habit once formed of taking ga,nja, it is an easy step from moderation to excess. The moderate use is refreshing, though it may produce intoxication in a novice. It is said to allay hunger, while hhang is said to increase the appetite. The effects of ganja and charas last from two to three hours, and of bhang from three to six. The after-effects may be headache and giddiness, where the smoker is not well seasoned, and the deprivation of the narcotic occasions uneasiness to an habitual consumer.

I do not think the habitual moderate use of the drugs necessarily produces any noxious effects, physical, mental, or moral, but in the case of ganja, habitual moderate use is not always possible. There is always a tendency to increase the quantity consumed, and the user finds his constitution impaired and digestive powers diminished. Bbang is said to cure dysentery and asthma, but ganja, by injuring the digestive organs, may induce asthma. Like all narcotics it must induce laziness, but it is doubtful if it tends to deaden the intellect or produce insanity, though it may produce excitement amounting to frenzy in a novice smoker, closely resembling the symptoms of acute mania, but this mood changes as the influence of the drug ceases. The habitual excessive use may produce noxious effects, physical, mental and moral. It impairs the constitution, injures the digestive powers, and causes loss of appetite, especially the use of ganja. It is a matter of general belief that the excessive use of ganja causes dysentery, bronchitis, and asthma. It interferes with the free circulation of the blood, nutrition is impeded in consequence, and the smoker presents an anmic and emaciated appearance, and in short may become the victim to a variety of ills, mental and physical, including insanity. In India insanity is often attributed by the medical faculty to indulgence in ganja. Dr. Wise, the Superintendent of the Lunatic Asylum in Dacca in 1871, reported an increase in the number of lunatics who were previously smokers of ganja. In November 1846 out of 198 inmates in the asylum, only 45, or 221 per cent., were ganja smokers. Between 1850 and 1859, among 980 admissions, 406, or 41.4 per cent., were known to be smokers, and between 1860 and 1867, among 2,522 insane persons treated, 1,145, or 454 per cent., had their insanity referred to this cause; but in dealing with these figures, we must endeavour to guard against the post hoc ergo propter hoc method of reasoning. It is difficult to procure accurate antecedents of lunatics. All that may be known is that they have been accustomed to smoke ganja, but the exact bearing of smoking on insanity has never been precisely determined. According to Rai lianny Lal Dey, Bahadur, of 2,283 cases admitted in the Bengal lunatic asylums during the five years ending 1867, 878, or 38.4 per cent., were attributed to this cause. In the opinion, however, of Dr. Lyon many of these cases were simply cases of temporary intoxication from cannabis. Chevers remarks that "it is a matter of popular notoriety both in Bengal and the North-West Provinces that persons intoxicated with ganja are liable to commit acts of homicidal violence," Dr. Grieve, Surgeon-General of British Guiana, wrote in November 1882, when he was Director of Lunatic Asylums there :—" Whilst in the case of the majority of Creole patients admitted to the asylum, the production of the disease can be fairly assigned to indulgence in alcohol ; amongst the coolies alcohol plays but a secondary part as a cause of insanity. With them Indian hemp is the poison from the effects of which the patients suffer." Quite recently, while inspecting the Ran-chi jail, the case of a man came under my own observation who was being released just as I entered the jail. It appeared he was admitted there in October last as an alleged lunatic to be kept under observation and treatment. He was in an extremely excited condition, talking incessantly day and night. For the first few days he never slept, but sang and talked throughout the night. He had pleasant hallucinations. He complained of constant hunger, but would take no food. His body was covered with numerous superficial abrasions, on which he was in the habit of rubbing dry earth. After about two months' treatment he gradually improved, and was able to stand his trial on a charge of paddy-cutting, and was convicted. Enquiries into his previous history, both from himself and others, have elicited the fact that for some years previously he was in the habit of smoking ganja, and that for a short time before he came to jail be had considerably increased the quantity, and he himself thought that his temporary insanity was brought on by the excessive use of ganja.

I do not think that any large proportion of bad characters are habitual moderate consumers, but a person of the criminal class, who is in the habit of taking ganja, may resort to it before starting on a criminal expedition to brace up his energies, Excessive use of ganja is believed to lead to crime. It brings a man into disrepute, and when once a man is known as a reprobate, the transition to crime is speedy. Excessive indulgence in ganja is said to incite to unpremeditated crime and to lead to temporary homicidal frenzy. The only case of the kind that has come before me in my personal experience was the following :—A man, a resident of a Political State under my control, was recently tried by me for the unpremeditated murder of a child in a fit of frenzy. He snatched it up in the street, ran away with it, and cut its head clean off with his axe. The possession of the axe did not denote premeditation, for in the jungly locality in question men carry axes as freely as we use walking sticks. He was said to be a ganja smoker, and while admitting the crime could give no account of why he did it. He had not, however, the appearance of an excessive ganja stnoker, was mild in manner, and generally sorry for the deed, but as regards the incidents of commission his mind was a blank, " Why should I," he pathetically observed, " kill ? I never did such a thing before, but as they say I did it, I suppose I must have " It was impossible for me to decide whether the crime was due to ganja. The man was in his senses when tried, but had been temporarily insane when he committed the crime. He was acquitted on this ground and sent to the asylum. I did not come to a finding either as to whether he was a ganja smoker or as to whether the crime was connected with ganja. The case coming up from a Chief would be very defective in accurate details. The man admitted that he smoked ganja, but there was no evidence that ganja had anything to do with the offence.

Ganja smoked without the admixture of tobacco causes an irritating sensation in the throat and induces violent coughing. Bhang used with black pepper, anise, and seeds of cucumber is said to have a cooling effect. Sugar used with bhang enhances its intoxicating power. The admixture of dhatura with e.,anja and bbang greatly enhances their intoxicating power. No information is available regarding the admixture of dhatura for personal consumption or for administration to others. Ganja eaten does not produce intoxication as rapidly as when it is smoked.

The present system of excise administration is working well. There is no cultivation in this division. The system in force for controlling the cultivation and preparation in Rajshalii, where the hemp plant is cultivated, is, in my opinion, working well and requires no modification. Already different rates for taxation exist. Taxation should be, as it is now, regulated according to the quantitv of the drug from which intoxication is produced in a given quantity of each kind of the drug. This is, I believe, the principle now followed in imposing duty on the different kinds of ganja used. I have heard it contended that because it costs more to get intoxicated from country spirits than hemp drugs, the duty on the latter should be levelled up, but this would be a mistaken policy, as many of the regular consumers of ganja are too poor to purchase country liquor. A recent report of the Protector of Immigrants in Trinidad attributes the increase of crime there to ganja and drink, and refers to the fact that in 1885 an ordinance was passed requiring the payment of as much as £100 per acre of a license to grow ganja. This prohibitive rate, I observe, led to the smuggling of ganja from Venezuela, seven miles off on the mainland, and there can be no doubt that any prohibitive fees and duties introduced in India would have a like result. The wishes of the people are consulted before a shop is opened. Inspecting officers hold local enquiries and submit reports before proposals for the opening of new shops are made. Local public opinion is always considered, and should be considered. Smuggling from Native States on a small scale occasionally takes place and may escape detection, though no complaints on the subject have reached me. Duty is paid in respect of the ganja and other hemp drugs used. The use of untaxed drugs is extremely rare in this division.

In saying I have had no complaints, I except the complaint from Sambalpur already referred to. This complaint did not come to me direct for me to take up and deal with. It was to the best of my belief a representation made by the Central Provinces to the Bengal Government, which came to me through the Board for report.

The memorandum submitted with my letter No. 404-P., dated 13th January 1894, contains one possible inaccuracy to which I wish to draw attention. It states that there is now nowhere in the Tributary States any shop for the sale of hemp drugs. A license was given by me a few months ago, as I have said, to a vendor in the Gangpur State to import ganja Of course I cannot definitely say that the shop has been opened yet. The statement that there are no shops is based on reports received from the States.

As to Mr. Hewitt's order I am not prepared to say that the Rajas keep the lists he prescribed. But I think the spirit of the order is carried out. I think the Chiefs are very loyal and willing to do what they are told in regard to such matters.

Speaking generally, my remarks regarding the use and effects of the drug in its various forms are based to some extent on personal experience, on records, on conversations with people, on the information I acquired as Secretary to the Board for example, and on enquiries I have made from persons whom I believed to be able to give me valuable information. I have seen men smoke and had them prepare their g.:anja before me to show me how they did it. I have also examined golas and shops. So I am not without experience. I have also in the rivers of Eastern Bengal seen the good effects which boatmen and fishermen attribute to the drugs.

* This statement was read to the Commission by Mr. Grimley, a few verbal additions being made to it at the time.