Annual Administration Report of the Cooch Behar State (1883)
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| Author | G. Tuite Dalton, Deputy Commissioner of Cooch Behar |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Composed | 1884, by the covering letter (its day left blank); covers 1 April to 3 October 1883 |
| Published | 1884 |
| Publisher | Cooch Behar State Press |
| Place | Cooch Behar |
| Volumes | 1 |
| Volume | (single volume) |
|---|---|
| Pages | p. 9 (§§31–35) |
| Chapter | Section III, "Excise Revenue" |
| Plates | none |
| Regions documented | Cooch Behar State |
| Preparations | Ganja |
| Uses documented | Excise duty; licence fees for the sale of ganja; consumption from 1877–78 |
The Annual Administration Report of the Cooch Behar State for the Half Year Ending 3rd October 1883 is the volume of the annual administration reports of the princely state of Cooch Behar that covers the half year from 1 April to 3 October 1883. The Deputy Commissioner of Cooch Behar, G. Tuite Dalton, submitted it to the Commissioner of the Rajshahi and Cooch Behar Division. It was printed at the Cooch Behar State Press in 1884.[1]: title page; covering letter Its section on excise revenue gives the duty and licence fees the State collected on ganja and a series of consumption figures from 1877–78.[1]: 9
As a revenue report written for the divisional Commissioner, the volume is evidence of how the State's administration reasoned about its income from intoxicants as much as it is a record of cannabis. It counts ganja in maunds, seers and chittacks and in rupees, annas and pies. It explains the movement of those figures in its writer's own terms.
The volume
The report covers the part of 1883–84 that ended when the Maharaja came of age on 4 October 1883. Coming only a few months after the report for 1882–83, it confines itself, in Dalton's words, "as much as possible to the record of statistics and financial results". Some of the tables usually given at the close of a year are left out or shortened.[1]: covering letter Dalton appended a sketch of the State's administration from the end of 1865, where the reports of Colonel Jenkins and Mr. Beveridge had left off. It also describes the state of affairs when Colonel Haughton first took charge.[1]: covering letter
Ganja in the excise accounts
The section on excise revenue compares the collections of the half year with those of the same months of 1882. Duty on ganja rose from Rs. 5,901-8-0 to Rs. 7,279-0-0 and licence fees for the sale of ganja from Rs. 6,049-10-3 to Rs. 6,321-4-0. Total excise collections for the half year were Rs. 33,139-7.[1]: 9 Its paragraph on ganja gives a consumption series and the administration's account of it:
There is an increase in the consumption of ganja caused partly, it is believed, by the influx of a large number of masons and coolies employed in different works, and partly by the growing prosperity of the people. The consumption reached its maximum in 1877-78 when it amounted to 92 mds. 5 srs. 14 ch.; in the following year, 1878-79, the quantity remained very nearly the same. There was a sudden decrease to 76 mds. in 1879-80, when the rate of duty was raised. The decrease continued. During the last year the rate was again increased, and the quantity came down to 70 mds. The collections of duty however, did not fall off.[1]: 9
The same paragraph notes that an increase in consumption was observable for the first time in four years. It expected the causes to be clearer after the close of the year.[1]: 9