Drug Abuse

9. Evidence of MR. J. C. PRICE, Magistrate and Collector, Rajshahi.

1. I have served 32 years in Bengal, having been employed in no less than 14 different districts of the province ; in some of them I have served more than once. For the last four years I have been District Officer in Rajshahi where I have had the supervision of the Ganja Mahal.

2. The definitions in Dr. Prain's report may be accepted. The local names are (1) bhang or
(2) charas, and (3) ganja. Rolling by the hand is also applied in the manufactUre of round ganja, besides rolling under foot.

3. The hemp plant grows spontaneously in all districts of Bengal. It is to be seen growing in the Ganja Office compound at Naogaon : most probably the seeds of plants brought to the office for weighment have fallen off and germinated. There is scarcely a place where it does not grow wild to a smaller or larger extent. In the chatare, i.e., manufacturing grounds and adjacent places, and in waste lands on the outskirts of villages and around dwelling-houses in the ganja tract of Rajsbahi, the growth of wild bhang is frequently noticed.

4. Bhang and ganja are the only names I know to be used in reference to the plant.

5. The wild hemp affects a high and comparatively dry site. No special conditions of climate or rainfall, or elevation above sea level, appear to be necessary, as it is seen to grow everywhere in Bengal.

6. The growth of the .wild hemp is ordinarily scattered. Sometimes in this district half-a-dozeo plants may be seen growing together.
But in the ganjaproducing tract even a hundred plants may be occasionally noticed in one locality.

7. Yes ; for production of ganja in Naogaon, a sub-division of the Rajshalii District, and parts of Bogra and Dinajpur that are adjacent. The area cultivated annually averages 800 acres, the produce being about 8,000 maunds in quantity.
Not for charas ; the little charm that adheres to the soles of the feet and to the hands during manufacture of ganja is washed off, as the quantity of it that might be scraped off would be inappreciably small.

8. There has been no appreciable increase or decrease.

I give the figures for the last five years, and the quantities produced —

The demand affects the area cultivated. If a season is a bad one, or the plant damaged by floods or otherwise, the supply will be less than usual. A slight impetus will be given to the cultivation in the next season, and perhaps a larger area will be cultivated and a larger quantity ''be produced. But this impetus will soon cease to have any effect : the third season's cultivation will be normal ; and in the long run, matters will settle down to what they were before.

9. The " Gardener's Chronicle, "* already submitted, gives full details of both cultivation and manufacture.

10. They are of the same class as the other agri. cultural cultivators. There are amongst them both Hindus and Muhammadans in the proportion of 8 to 92 approximately, the proportion for the whole district being 21 Hindus to 71 Muhammadans. But there is no doubt that, as a rule, the cultivation in the genie tract in and adjacent to Naogaon descends from father to son, because ganja cultivation to succeed requires experience and dexterity. These qualities are to be acquired only by families who have made a speciality of the cultivation. A new cultivator of 0-anja would in all probability make a mess of the business for the first year or two.

11. No; never.

12. I have no reason ; in fact, I am sure it is not.

13. Yes; it is restricted to the sub-division of Naogaon in the Rajshahi district, of which I am now serving as Collector, and to the Parts of Bogra and Dinajpur that lie adjacent.

The cause of the restriction is involved in obscurity. It is said that genie used formerly to be cultivated and manufactured in Jessore also. For some reason or other those engaged in the industry were brought or came to Naogaon, where the cultivation was concentrated. The present ganja tract supplies the requirements of the whole province ; this may be the reason that, it is not cultivated in other districts also. It would not pay to do so, and the Government supervision would be felt to be irksome. Besides, as explained before, some knowledge of the cultivation and manufacture of ganja is neceseary before a person can embark on its production with any chance of success.

The ganja-producing hemp requires a dry soil. At the same time, constant irrigation from a well or tank or river is indispensable. No special conditions of climate or rainfall or elevation above sea level seem to be necessary, for these conditions are fairly similar throughout Bengal to what they are in and about Naogaon. The ganja-producing hemp could certainly not be cultivated in low-lying and damp localities ; for instance, in those parts of the district of Rajshahi which do not come under the description of barind or high lands.

14. (a) In Bengal ganja is, as described above, prepared only in Naogaon and the parts of Bogra and Dinajpur that lie adjacent.

(b) Charas is very little, if at all, consumed in this district, and is manufactured, I understand, entirely in Nepal and some parts of the North.Western Provinces, from where it is imported into Calcutta and other consuming districts under cover of an import pass No. 121 issued by the Collector, and distributed to places where it is in demand. Tile importer brings the quantity passed by the Collector, and duty upon it is realised at RS per seer, half before the issue of pass and half after the charas arrives. Bhang, I understand, can be and is used by many persons in every district of Bengal. The leaves of the wild plant are taken, dried and pounded, and then mixed with sugar and water, and taken in a draught. Any one can make this "sherbet" for himself. For this kind of use the Bhagalpur and Monghyr bhang is generally preferred. For purposes of taxation these dried leaves are called siddhi. A licensed vendor, authorized to sell, collects the leaves in the presence of an excise officer deputed by the Collector to attend when an application to be allowed to collect bliang is made to him. Duty is paid at 8 annas a seer according to weight. In siddlii-consuming districts the importer, a licensed vendor, stores siddlii in a warehouse, and pays duty for the quantity he takes out. There is no appreciable consumption of siddhi in Rajshahi.

15. I can speak with authority only of ganja, and this can be produced from the cultivated plant only. Ganja is used only for smoking, generally with an admixture of tobacco--to take off, it is said, the harshness of the inhalation.

There are three recognised sorts of ganja manufactured for excise purposes, viz., flat, round, and ehur. The two processes of the manufacture of flat and of round ganja vary in some matters of detail. After the plants are matured, they are cut for manufacture and removed from the field to the ehatar, i.e., manufacturing ground. There the plants are cut into lengths of about 2 ft. each, and are then exposed to the sun and dew. So far, the process is the same in the preparation of flat or round. For manufacture of flat ganja, on the second day those plants which appear to have sufficiently withered are collected and placed layer upon layer in the form of a circle with a diameter of about 4 ft. Two or more men tread upon the ganja twigs thus stacked, with a view to compress them into a flat shape. This process is repeated at intervals of two to three hours, when the stalks are broken and exposed to the sun. Towards the close of the day the twigs are all arranged on mats in a line, and the men commence pressing them from the bottom to the top, care being taken to hold the twigs firmly under the sole of one foot. For the night the twigs are kept upright (by aid of a bamboo pole placed horizontally) on the ground and are covered with a mat. On the third day the twigs are placed together in a new stack, and kept under pressure for some time. The twigs are again taken out and again exposed to the sun. e”The leaves are then carefully brushed or scraped off by means of the feet, after which the manufacture is completed and the twigs are tied into bundles of two sorts, viz., flat large twigs and flat small twigs. The broken bits that drop off during the process are collected as e4nr.

For manufacture of rotind ganja, on the second day the plants are rolled under the sole of the feet. When they acquire a rounded form they are exposed to the sun ; and as soon as they become a little dried, they are taken up and pressed hard with the hands to give them a completely round shape. This is repeated several times until sunset. The twigs are tied up in loose bundles and kept under the cover of a mat for the night. On the third day, after 10 a.m., the bundles are untied and the twigs are exposed to the sun piece by piece. They are then taken up and pressed again with the hands and then laid bare and exposed tothe sun till they become quite dried. Next the twigs are broken into lengths of 8 to 10 inches, and the bundles are tied together at the end, the bottom being cut uniformly. The ganja is then kept under the cover of a mat for the night. Some time after the bundles are made, the superfluous leaves are scraped off by the application of a stick cut and sharpened to an edge. The manufacture is then complete.

The broken bits that fall off during the manufacture are collected as chur, also called rora. The leaves are always rejected. The chur is, I understand, nothing but the broken bits of flower that break off in the process of manufacture. I believe that the ganja leaf, i.e., the leaf of the cultivated plant, does not contain intoxicant property, and could not make bhaag or siddhi.

16. Yes, from the wild plant, wherever it grows. No ganja or charas can possibly be manufactured from the wild hemp plant. This is my own individual opinion ; but before committing myself to it, I have made inquiry from those who know about ganja, and I am told that the wild plant cannot produce ganja. I understand that this is due to the absence of flower. It is possible that by a little manipulation at a certain stage in its growth, some flower might be produced in the wild plant. But if it does thus flower, the produce would certainly be much less potent than the usual excise ganja.

17. Answered already.

18. Ganja deteriorates by keeping. It is not accounted to be worth much after two years. In three or four years it is fit only to be thrown away.    In this respect it resembles tobacco.
Like tobacco, were it compressed and enclosed in hermetically sealed tins, the progress of deterioration might be retarded. But under the present conditions it is kept exposed to all sorts of atmospheric changes, and loses what may be called its fragrance and aroma very soon.

19. Ganja and charas are used only for smoking.

20. As a rule only the poorer classes smoke ganja : they are sanyasis, bairagis, fakirs, mendicants, the poorer agriculturists who work in the fields exposed to the sun or in damp and wet, day-labourers, palki-bearers, and a few prostitutes. The proportion of those who smoke ganja in this district is very small ; I do not believe more than 6,000 for the whole district containing a population at the last Census of 1,313,336 souls. The way I make the calculation is as follows :—

The total consumption in Rajshahi District for the year 1891-92 was 87 maunds 36 seers, or 3,516 seers, equal to 281,280 tolas.

Taking all classes of consumers into consideration, the average quantity consumed per head per mensem I estimate to be 4 tolas = l ounces. Therefore, the total of average for the year is 4 x 12=48 tolas. Therefore, the total number of consumers in the district =28418,2130 =
5,860, or in round numbers 6,000 persons.

The consumers of ganja are to be found in all parts of the district indiscriminately. Abort charas I can say nothing.

21. In this district flat ganja is principally smoked. In Calcutta and the metropolitan districts, and in Orissa, I understand round gartja is in demand.

In Eastern Bengal people affect flat ganja mostly.

I give particulars of the export of the different kinds to the different districts (Appendix A).* It is with ganja as with tobacco. The man who has learnt to smoke latakia will stick to it ; a man accustomed to bird's-eye will smoke none other. These varieties would be despised by the common sailor, who thinks Limerick Twist the only tobacco fit to smoke. A taste once formed in this direction rarely alters ; so it is with ganja. The man or boy who has learnt to smoke with flat keeps to flat ; another whom his father or a friend taught to smoke round affects round. Chur is preferred to the other two because it is more free from stalk and is more potent ; but as it is made from both flat and round, it is mere caprice or fancy which will induce a man to smoke chnr instead of the other two varieties. Chur is cleaner and of course more expensive, and goes further.

22. I have nothing to say.

23. No.

24. I cannot say. I have no good information ; but a very small proportion, 1 in 500, will be a habitual drinker or eater of bhang : he will be found principally amongst bairagies, sanyasis, fakirs, who wander about the country.

25. I can speak only of ganja. Smoking ganja is certainly not on the increase.

There is no appreciable difference in the quantity exported to the different districts from Naogaon. The largest differences are found in Shahabad, Darbhauga, Hazaribagh.

From the detail export list* submitted herewith, it will be seen there bas not been very great increase in export to any district. But export to all districts of the Patna Division is very large as compared with the export to most other districts in Bengal. The reason for this large export is explained by the fact that from there, that is, Behar, certain quantities are transported to the North-Western Provinces.

26. It is difficult for me to give figures which will carry conviction to the minds of others ; but 1 should say habitual excessive consumers and occasional excessive consumers of ganja are very few—about 5 per cent, each of the total number of consumers. Habitual moderate consumers will be 60 per ceut, of consumers; occasional moderate consumers about 30 per cent.

27 Nearly all, if not all, ganja consumers come from the lower orders: agricultural labourers, day-labourers, palki-bearers, domestic servants, such as syces, mahauts, and people accustomed to hard work. They take a smoke of ganja as a sort of pick-me-up, to be relieved of the discomfort they are called upon to endure in the performance of their duties. These are mostly all habitual or occasional moderate consumers. Jogis, sanyasis, and others who smoke ganja in excess are slaves to a vice, in the same way as drunkards.

28. (a) Habitual moderate consumers, 1 to 2 annas' worth of ganja, i.e., to 5 tola.
(b) Habitual excessive consumers, 4 to 8 annas' worth of ganja, i.e., 1 to 2 toles.

I must say I am inclined to doubt the accuracy of these estimates. I think the quantities are overrated. But not knowing anything personally, I have given what I have been told.

29. Tobacco is ordinarily mixed with ganja in smoking, to correct the harshness of the more potent weed. Ganja by itself burns the throat, even though only five or six whiffs are taken at a time. I understand dhatura is used by sanyasis, jogis, and others for the purpose of inducing intoxication in smoking ganja. I have no idea what bhang massala is. It is not known here.

30. Ganja is generally smoked in company, because a chillum-full is too big a smoke for ciee smoker. A chillum-full suffices for 3 or 4 smokers. It would be expensive for one smoker to have a chillum-full of ganja all to himself. It burns or affects the throat ; so that he could only inhale 7 or 8 whiffs, and then have to lay the chillum aside ; the ganja would in the meantime all burn away. Adult males alone smoke ganja, except a few of the lowest order of prostitutes. Children do not smoke, though I have heard of native boys having a smoke of ganja on the sly, much in the same way as an English school-boy will indulge in a clandestine smoke.

31. I could not say anything with authority ; I have had no experience.

32. The use of bhang on the fourth day of the Durja Puja, after the idol is committed to the river, is very common among the Hindus. They prepare a sort of drink by pounding siddhi and mixing it with sugar and water, and offer it to all friends and relatives whom they meet. The use is so common and so widespread, that it may be regarded as essential. The consumption of bhang sherbet is very temperate, and has no tendency to become a habit. Ganja is offered to the idol at Tarakeswar in the district of Hughli by almost every one of the pilgrims; and from the compulsory nature of the offering, it appears that it has some kind of religions obligation about it. In Baidyanath temple the Siva is worshipped with siddhi and genie. In East Bengal a fair is held in honour of the gd " Tinnath," where ganja is worshipped. This custom, however, has now nearly died out.

33. There is no decided public opinion in regard to the practice of ganja-smoking ; but it may be said that ganja-smoking is in disrepute, for the appellation of "ganja-kbor " is a term of opprobrium. Ganja-smoking is thought disreputable merely because the article is cheap, is within the poor man's reach, and is generally the poor man's only stimulant. If the article was expensive, like opium or in a less degree like country liquor, I am sure no disrepute would attach to ganja-sinoking in moderation among the natives. " Ganja-khor " is used to denote a man who stoops so low as to seek for a relief from bis troubles in so cheap and nasty a stimulant as ganja. Besides, from the religious point of view of both Musalmans and Hindus, recourse to any stimulant, however moderate, is to be deprecated. The strictly orthodox of both sects will not touch any stimulant of any kind. No custom of worshipping the hemp plant has come to my notice. All customs in existence having reference to hemp, have nothing to do with the hemp plant.

34. Undoubtedly the moderate consumers of ganja among day-labourers, palki-bearers, and others would look upon it as a serious privation, because ganja smoking affords them relief from toil, and is a source of enjoy ment, just in the same way as if you deprived the English navvy of his beer or of his pipe. There would be about 4,000 or 5,000 people in this district who would perhaps feel aggrieved if their supply of ganja was stopped.

35. Of ganja with the greatest ease. Prohibit the cultivation altogether and no ganja could possibly be produced in Naogaon ; or enforce strictly the various restrictions already prescribed with regard to the cultivation, manufacture and storage of ganja, and the cultivators would gradually throw up the cultivation of the plant in disgust and betake themselves to the cultivation of jute and sugarcane. I may add that the profits from sugarcane now equal, if they do not exceed, those from ganja ; and there is no inquisitorial supervision connected with the cultivation of the former. There would be no illicit consumption, because there would be no ganja at all. Ganja cannot be cultivated secretly by a cultivator. If it were so cultivated, every one would know all about it. Neighbours would turn informers to get the reward which would be offered. The prohibition of the use of ganja would occasion much discontent among the consumers; but such discontent could not in any case amount to a political danger. I do not think there would be any recourse to alcoholic stimulants in case of the prohibition of the use of ganja, because the influence of alcohol is so different from that of ganja. Excessive indulgence in alcohol makes a man generally noisy and boisterous. Ganja renders him quiet and sedate, sometimes morose and sullen, occasionally irritable with a decided disinclination to be disturbed. Recourse to opium would not follow, for opium is too expensive.

36. There is no reason.

37. I do not know anything about charassmoking.

38. They are all from the same plant, the method of manufacture only being different as between flat and round, and there cannot be any difference in effects.

39. I am acquainted only with ganja, and that is never eaten but smoked. I cannot tell.

40. Not that I know of.

41. The moderate use of ganja in smoking is said to be beneficial, because (a) it promotes digestion and acts like a tonic ; because (b) it gives staying-power under severe exertion or exposure, and alleviates the sense of fatigue ; because (c) it prevents and cures dysentery and bowel complaints. Only labouring men use ganja habitually in moderation in this way, and very few even of this class.

42 to 57. I believe the moderate use of ganja in smoking to be harmless, because, in my 32 years' experience of Bengal, I have never come across a single instance of the injurious effects of such ganja-smoking. Surely if ganja-smoking was so baneful, and so widespread as many people wish to make out, there would be numerous examples to be met with in every large town, and especially in the hospitals maintained therein. I do not remember to have ever been made acquainted with a single case. I believe moderate consumers of ganja to be inoffensive to their neighbours if left alone; if disturbed, I am told they are very imitable. About the effects of ganja-smoking, immediate or remote, I can say nothing. I have no personal experience. I could speak only from hearsay, and there must be many people able to speak of the effects of ganjasmoking at first hand : I believe, principally because I have not met with a single instance in my long service, that excessive ganja-smoking is rare—one man in 10,000 perhaps has contracted the vice. It is so easy to indulge in sensational writing in the matter ; but the absence of instances leads me to believe that the crusade against ganja-smoking has no grounds. Why should the habit he hereditary ? As well might tobacco-smoking be hereditary. Ganja-smoking is a cultivated appetite. The son of a father who smokes ganja might, by the force of example, be led to learn this habit, but certainly not from a natural craving for the indulgence.

I have been told that a draught of bbang, by way of sherbet or perhaps a decoction, is sometimes used as an aphrodisiac. I have never heard about its effects leading to impotence. As I have said before, in the course of 32 years' residence in Bengal, I have never had a criminal before me who was said to have committed an offence under the influence of ganja-smoking. I do not think ganja-smoking has any connection with crime. I do not believe that a large proportion of bad characters are ganja smokers at all. Criminals, when about to commit a premeditated act of violence or other offence, may possibly have a good pull at the ganja chillum as a preliminary in order to fortify themselves or get up Dutch courage, but I have never heard of any instance. An English criminal, very much more often, I believe, takes a glass of grog as a sort of preparation before embarking on the commission of a daring burglary—to steady his nerves, as he would say.

You would not stop the consumption of alcohol entirely because it was once in a way used in this manner. A glass of coca wine would act better, I should say, to secure this end than any stimulant, but you would not prohibit the drinking of coca wine altogether. I have never heard of criminals inducing their victims to partake of a ganja smoke so that they might become stupefied.

I believe complete stupefaction cannot be induced by smoking ganja without admixture. Tobacco is constantly used with ganja in smoking to take off the harshness of the last-mentioned article, which is said to burn the throat even in half-adozen whiffs if smoked pure. I know nothing about the admixture of dhatura with ganja. Ganja is not eaten or drunk in Bengal.

The use of charas for smoking alone is so limited in Bengal that it is not possible to take it into account.

58. I think the present system of administration of ganja in Bengal is working extremely well, especially when the moderate dimensions of the entire cost of the establishment are taken into consideration. I believe there is very little smuggling—not 50 maunds—while over 8,000 maunds represent the annual outturn. I doubt that there would be much appreciable reduction in smuggling if ganja was made a monopoly like opium, and the expense of the system of monopoly would be considerably greater. Larger establishments would have to be entertained and store-houses constructed all over the ganja tract.

59. All the material improvements in the system that could have been introduced have already from time to time been applied. Perhaps there is not sufficient pressure put upon cultivators to build proper store-houses, and the duty of chur ganja might be raised, so as to be proportionally equal to that of flat and round. But it should be remembered that the duty has been increased from Re. 1 both for flat and for round in 1854 till it has now reached Rs. 6 for flat, Rs. 71 for round, and Rs. 8 for char. Originally only flat and round ganja were recognised, and the same duty was levied for both. A different rate of duty in Orissa Division was of later introduction, and it is now as follows : Rs. 44 for flat, Rs. 6 for round, and Rs. 64 for chur. Compelling cultivators to build secure store-houses would check pilferage and consequent smuggling, and raising the duty on chur would have the effect of limiting the manufacture of chur ganja, which acts detrimentally to the Government revenue owing to the abstraction of the woody portion.

60. I am quite satisfied that the present method of cultivation of the ganja-bearing plant and the process of its manufacture are sufficiently controlled. At the same time I am quite prepared to admit that improved systems of manufacture could be introduced. lt is possible that the manufactured ganja could be made up into cakes, like tobacco; but I can give no advice in this matter, not having the necessary information or knowledge.

61. No charas is produced in Bengal.

62. No; the plant is not cultivated, but grows wild.

63. I have no objections, and I cannot indicate any improvements.

64. I have no objections.

65. I think the taxation of ganja is reasonable with reference to siddhi and charas, and with reference to alcoholic and other intoxicants.

66. It is proper that there should be different rates of taxation, as at present, for the different kinds of ganja. The cbur has not any or very little admixture of the woody portion of the twigs ; while round has a large admixture and flat a larger still. Only the flowery portion, which contains the resinous stimulating matter, is used in smoking, and this alone should be taxed. Ganja is grown in one place only in Bengal, in and around Naogaon of the Rajshahi district.

67. No

68. There are no such houses or licensed shops. I do not think that I would allow them, because I think the consumption would be stimulated.

But at the same time there is no doubt that many a ganja smoker, especially a traveller or way-farer, takes his smoke in the shop where hè buys the ganja. Very often the shopman invites a smoke from the shop chillum to show the good quality of his ganja.

69. Yes, especially in municipalities, where the Commissioners are consulted.
There is no public opinion outside municipali- ties; but I never open a new shop in the interior without consulting the residents.

70. I have nothing to say.

Oral evidence.

Question 3.-1 have not myself seen the so-called wild plant in all districts ; but I have heard that it grows everywhere. I have seen it in districts far apart and with very different condi- tions, so 1 have no reason to disbelieve what I have heard. I have never seen the wild plant in ehurs or such alluvial lands. It is in homestead sites, such as are higher than the surrounding country, that I have seen bhang growing. My experience is not that it is found in Aura ; but it may be so. Bhang flourishes best in the cold weather, when ganja also flourishes ; but wild bhang may be seen at all parts of the year.
I should not say that it grows mainly in the riverain districts. I have seen it most abundantly in Hill Tippera.

Question 35.-1 wish the Commission to understand that the various restrictions of the Board of Revenue have not been strictly enforced. It was felt that their rigid enforcement would tend to destroy the production. The restrictions not strictly enforced are :—

1 The punctual application for storage license immediately after cutting and manufacture (Rule 12). Since the last two years 1 have endeavoured to enforce this as strictly as is consistent with the existing condition of affairs. Up to a very recent period they did not apply for licenses for a month or two months, or even three months after storing the ganja. Since the last two or three years 1 have compelled them to apply for the licenses immediately, but with this reservation that they need not specify for a month the number and weight of bundles to be stored. They are apprehensive that if they give this they would be held responsible for any deviation from the number and weight on inspection, and the cultivators try to put off the evil day of committing themselves.

2 Next in degree to that is 'this. According to the Government rules no one but the cultivator may meddle with the ganja when ready to be cut and manufactured. The only exception is when a purchaser comes and takes the whole field and takes all the cultivators' responsibility as to manufacture and storage. But they will not do that. The cultivator does not trust the wholesale purchaser ; nor the purchaser the cultivator. Besides, nearly every cultivatior is in need of an advance before he proceeds to manufacture. This he gets from the intending wholesale purchaser, who superintends the manufacture of the ganja to suit his own tastes. He practically becomes the owner of the ganja without assuming the responsibilities that devolve on him. In fact the wholesale purchasers are always moving about the ganja tract. I have only to interdict any interference on their part with the manufacture of the ganja until or unless thy purchase the produce of the whole field ; and their absence from the ganja tract would itself cause the decline of the cultivation of the ganja.

There are also points of less importance (e.g., the adhidari system of sharing fields) ; but these are the two chief points.

Question 42.-1 do not discuss in my written answer the excessive use of ganja. 1 only deal with the moderate use. My reason is that I have never come across an instance of the effects of excessive use. I know, of course, that the asylum statistics show lunacy as due to ganja. But this has never come before me in my own experience. I have never seen any case in which evil effects on health or otherwise have been pointed out to me as due to ganja. I have never seen a social wreck whose ruin was attributed to ganja. It may seem an extraordinary thing to say; but I have never had a man pointed out to me with, "Look, there is a ganja-khor. See what the drug has done for him." I have seen evil effects of alcohol. I knew one man who cut his throat in delirium tremens. I have known several cases of the evil effects of alcohol, not many, but certainly some among natives. I cannot ,explain why my experience of ganja should differ from what is frequently asserted. It may be unique. But it is my experience. I have no doubt that disease and other evil things which have no sort of connection with ganja are often attributed to it. It is natural to cry down the poor man's stimulant. The rich men and leaders of society do not use it.

Question 35.—I do not believe that prohibition of ganja would lead to any appreciable increase in consumption of alcohol or to any increase at all in opium. I think the poor man would have to do without his stimulant. I think the expense of alcohol has to be taken into account. But the principal thing is the difference of habit. I know that a number of poor persons of the same classes as take gun ja already take alcohol. But my experience is that these poor people take alcohol with a view to getting intoxicated; and they cannot get enough without paying high for it. My idea is that ganja is not used with a view to becoming intoxicated or incapacitated, but only for relief. A man says of weak liquor, "Is men nasha nahin hai "—by which I understand him to mean that there it is not strong enough to intoxicate. As to the better classes, I cannot presume to give any opinion as to whether any of them used ganja formerly and have given it up for liquor.

Question 65.-1 think that the limit of taxation in regard to ganja has been reached • for while the consumption of alcohol bas a tendency to rise, that of ganja has been steadily decreasing. The consumption of ganja has fallen from an estimated production of 26,677 maunds in 1854 and a total of 8,125 niaunds of retail sale in Bengal in 1873-74, to 5,451 maunds of retail sale in 1892-93. This shows a marked decrease owing to the growing taxation. It might be possible to go a little further without extinguishing ganja ; but my opinion is that if Government went much further in taxation it would extinguish the industry altogether. That is, if pushed far enough, and not very far either, an increase in the price of the drug from increased taxation would tend to extinguish the demand.

Question 59.—The actual procedure in regard to the cultivation and distribution of ganja is as follows :—A man wants to grow. He applies on a prescribed form for permission to cultivate. He has to give the survey number of the field and the area. He may apply for what area he wants. License, which is free of any fee, is never refused except in case of misconduct during the previous year. I myself have refused on this ground. After the cultivator gets his license there is no active interference with him except to see that the land cultivated corresponds with the register, so as to check the production. No pressure, of course, would be brought to bear on a man to cultivate. If he did not, the entry would be altered. But a man cultivating more than his license covered would be liable to prosecution. There is no active interference with the man beyond this inspection of the fields until the man has manufactured his crop. Then he has to apply for a storage license. In his application he specifies the kind of ganja, the estimated quantity, and the number of bundles. The bundles are of prescribed size. No weighments are made. The statement of quantity is an estimate. The cultivator makes the estimate. It is checked by the supervisor. The cultivator cannot wait for the supervisor ; so he has to check it either in the place of manufacture at the field or in the cultivator's store, according to the pressure of work on him. In many cases there is no need to apply for storage license when a purchaser is found before manufacture is complete. The ganja is the!i taken direct to the weighing shed. A supervisor should then be present; but there are only three. The stuff cannot be removed to the weighing shed without the supervisor's permission.

In the store the stuff is entirely in the cultivator's charge ; but it is inspected periodically. The whole of the stocks are, I believe, as a fact, inspected once a month, and weighed if there is any suspicion of fraud, i.e., of clandestine disposal of any of the stuff.
The goladar is unrestricted in his dealings with the cultivator ; but the supervisor's permission is required for the removal of the stuff, and it can only be moved to the Government weighing shed.

Stocks not sold remain in the cultivator's private stores, but are destroyed after two years if not sold. There is no special standard of wastage, but a man is expected to explain any serious variation ; and this is one of the reasons why cultivators will not apply punctually for storage license.

I should have said that the permission of the supervisor is necessary before cutting crop. But the supervisor need not be present. All the time the crop is growing, estimates of the crop are being entered in the diaries ; and any important discrepancy would lead to enquiries being made.
The opportunities for fraud or clandestine disposal of the crop are few—

(1) There is always a chance of pilferage from the field, generally speaking, by an outsider. Mendicants have been detected and punished for this. Pilfering of a trifling character by the owner would be more difficult of detection. Extensive pilfering must be seldom indulged in, (a) because he has in all probability entered into negotiations for disposal of the produce of his whole field at a better price than he would get locally, and (b) because it is the interest of all persons to give information to the police, and the consequence of detection would be most serious.

(2) In the above there is an opportunity for fraud owing to the fact that absolute accuracy of figures is not and cannot be secured in regard to the quantity in store. It begins with an estimate, and allowance has to be made for dryage, damage, and waste. The only real test is at the weighing shed.

I think the most favourable opportunity for fraud is at the time of manufacture. For ten to one the supervisor has not been able to make the final estimate ; and there the drug is in the hands of the cultivator and purchaser. Fraud, when the stuff is in the store of the cultivator, is much less likely, because the estimate has been made At present the great uncertainty regarding the amount of damage makes it impossible to insist on ac- curacy. v'Therefore I am trying to enforce the rule that the stores must be "secure." Apart from this there is no check on pilfering in having even secure store houses so long as they are in the hands of the cultivators.

Therefore the most complete system would be to have a public gola. There are none provided. I do not recommend them, because the custody of the stuff would be in the hands of Government officers and subordinates. They would not take care of the stuff as the owners would. No doubt a well-built Government gola would be safer both from vermin and from abstraction than the houses of the cultivators. I do not think there would be any great difficulty if there were several Government golas situated in central places ; but I do not think the cultivators would view the change with favour. They would require to have access to the stuff from time to time. If the stuff were weighed and registered and put in a secure place, the cultivator would not want to see it often. He would want to see it two or three times a week in wet weather. I see no great objection to the plan. The concentration of the market would also be a great advantage. The initial expense is a great objection, unless it is believed that much is abstracted. I do not think there is much pilfering ; but I have no data of course. I do not think the expenditure on buildings and establishment would be recouped by the prevention of such pilfering as takes place. At the same time you cannot have a perfect system without Government golas.

At present some believe that wholesale vendors make high profits, and that retail vendors are in the dark when bidding at auction owing to the ignorance of what they will have to pay for the stuff. I do not think myself that the wholesale vendor has too much profit in view of his expenses and.the risks of the trade, because I have estimated that his net profits are only from us. 10. to Rs. 15 a maund on a average throughout the province. His expenses are in transport, buildings and establishments, and the risk of expenditure on the duty on waste above the allowed percentage is great. As to the retail vendor, of course he does not know what price he has to par for the stuff, but it is a speculation, and I see no reason why Government should interfere. He knows his own business. There is nothing to prevent a retail vendor going to Naogaon to buy ganja if he has a wholesale gola in the importing district. He must have this, or where can he take the ganja ? A retail vendor, to deal direct with the cultivator, must become also a wholesale vendor. And I have no doubt that there are cases where the wholesale dealer has the monopoly of the retail trade as well, i.e., where the whole ganja trade is in the hands of a syndicate. I have my attention drawn to Rule 27of Section XX of the Manual. But it contemplates a warehouse. I have no doubt this means a wholesale storehouse in the importing district. Therefore the retail vendor must be a wholesale vendor before he can purchase direct. The retail dealer can go to any wholesale dealer. At the head-quarters of my district there are three wholesale dealers. There would thus be competition. This is, of course, liable to combination. I think the retail vendor can go to the wholesale dealer of any district. This is contemplated by Rule 60 of Section XX of the Manual. The income from retail licenses has increased steadily. This indicates that the retail licensee makes a profit. I do not think that they are at the mercy of the wholesale dealers, they combination would be difficult among the wholesale vendors of a district. And in any case I see no reason for interference. The rise in retail license fees is due, no doubt, really in large measure to the rise in the price charged for the drug to consumers.

At the same time the retail vendors are in the dark as to the price of the drug when they bid; and the wholesale vendors have better opportunities of knowing what the price will be than the retail vendors can have. For it is the wholesale vendors who go to the ganja-producing tracts and do business there.

The present system affords no criterion of the profits received by the wholesale vendor, except by particular enquiry in each case as to prices and expenses. At present wholesale goladars are appointed on application. I do not think any one would be refused who made satisfactory arrangements. I know in my district there are eight ; and I should say that was a very small number as compared with other districts. All the work could be done by one man if he had a monopoly.

Explanatory statement submitted by MR. PRICE,

I said in my evidence that the cultivators would view the introduction of the system of public golas into the ganja tract with disfavour; they would want to inspect and exhibit their stocks three or four times a week. They would want this for some time at first, in their desire to dispose of their stocks. Intendino. purchasers would not buy without inspection, and it is quite possible that on many days the ganja would be required to be exhibited several times a day to intending purchasers. In any case I am quite sure that a cultivator would wish to view his stock very much oftener than twice or thrice a week when it is stored in a public gola. I omitted to mention this cause of constant inspection when I was being examined.