Medicine - Drugs > Report of the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission, 1894-1895 > Volume I
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CH. XVI.] REPORT OF THE INDIAN HEMP DRUGS COMMISSION, 1893-94. 325
provinces are, no doubt,
affected by the proximity of Native States,
they are nevertheless sufficiently successful for practical
pur-
poses.
(2) That there is nothing
to prevent the Government from entering into
negotiations with the States (as has been done in the case of
the
Central Provinces, apparently with marked success) for mutual
co-operation in the interests of the excise revenue, and the
Commis-
sion (vide Chapter XVII) are prepared to recommend that
this
should be done.
Evidence relating to
control of
cultivation in Madras.
667. It will be desirable
to analyse the evidence on this point in both presi-
dencies. Several witnesses in Madras speak of the
needlessness of controlling cultivation, but on this
point it cannot be expected that they should take a sufficiently
wide view, as
the interests at stake are larger than those of individual
districts. The only wit-
nesses who consider the measure impossible are—Mr. Sewell,
Collector; Mr.
Mounsey, Collector; Mr. Willock, Collector (as regards the Agency
tracts);
and Mr. Taylor, Manager, Jeypore Estate (as regards the Agency
tracts); two
Deputy Collectors; and a Missionary.
On the other hand, there
is a much larger consensus of opinion that control
is feasible. The Hon'ble Mr. Crole, Member of the Board of Revenue,
in charge
of Excise, says: "If you were to order the stoppage of cultivation
of hemp or
even rice, it would be done. There would be no difficulty in having
the order
carried out. The people would stop the cultivation: they are quite
amenable.
It would be stopped without the necessity of espionage and
interference, but
there would always be the risk of false charges." Mr. Merriman,
Deputy
Commissioner of Salt and Abkari, says: "There is a good deal of
backyard
cultivation which is untaxed. It would be desirable to stop the
sporadic culti-
vation if feasible. I think we could do this. I think it would be
far simpler
to issue an order stopping cultivation, and that would be far
easier than attempt-
ing to tax it. I believe this cultivation could be stamped out by
the mere
issue of the order; and, supposing that there were reasonable
facilities for
consumers obtaining the drugs, the dissatisfaction would not be
great." Mr.
Benson, Deputy Director of Agriculture, says that "prohibition of
cultivation
would not harass the people, as those affected would be so few; and
it would,
I think, within a short time accomplish its object." Mr. Levy,
Acting Deputy
Commissioner, Salt and Abkari, thinks "the cultivation of the hemp
plant, and
the manufacture and possession of the drugs therefrom, should be
brought under
thorough control." Mr. Bradley, Collector, thinks that, except in
the Wynaad,
prohibition of cultivation would be possible in Malabar, and could
"be generally
carried out without much interference with the people, but would be
hardly
possible in the jungly parts." He thinks that for ordinary tracts
the present
abkari staff might be sufficient to secure compliance with the
order, though he
does not guarantee this.
Other advocates for the
control of cultivation are—Five Deputy Collectors,
one of whom, Mr. Azizuddeen Sahib Bati, in North Arcot, says that a
prohibitive
order would have the effect of stopping cultivation without any
great interference;
two Deputy Conservators of Forests, three Tahsildars or Acting
Tahsildars,
82
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India Papers > Medicine - Drugs > Report of the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission, 1894-1895 > Volume I > (359) Page 325 |
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Permanent URL | https://digital.nls.uk/74574784 |
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Description | Chapter XVI, cont. |
Description | [Volume 1]: Report. |
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