‘BOMBAY – 1924-25. A Review of the Administration of the Presidency’ [‎667r] (267/316)

183
EXCISE
were 55,000 and 310,000 gallons respectively, while the sales increased
by 65,000 and 51,000 gallons respectively. As the ports of Bombay and
Karachi supply a large hinterland beyond the limits of this Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent.
attention may be confined, for the purpose of comparison, to the figures
of sales only. The large increase under this head in both the areas is
attributed to the preference shown by the labouring and middle classes
for imported beer and other fermented liquors and for cheap foreign
spirits, mostly from Java and Germany, on account of their high strength
and low cost compared with country liquor.
The consumption of ganja and bhang showed an increase of 1,213 and
230 seers respectively in the Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. proper and a decrease of 43 and
1,748 seers respectively in Sind. The consumption of charas in the
latter Province decreased by 1,280 seers. The increased use of the drugs
in the Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. proper is attributed by the Commissioner to diversion
of custom from country spirit. In Sind the decrease was due to increased
duties on bhang and charas and the closure of certain shops. The sale
of opium in the Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. proper decreased from 26,866 to 26,311 seers,
while in Sind it increased from 5,897 to 5,994 seers.
Commenting on the year’s work the Government resolution said :—
“ The reduced consumption of country liquor would furnish ground for
satisfaction, but for the belief that the reduction does not altogether
represent real progress in temperance but is set off by increased use
of illicit and foreign liquor. From the nature of the case no direct proof
of increased consumption of the former can be obtained ; but the fact
that offences of illicit distillation increased from 1,148 in 1921-22 to 2,336
in 1924-25—although the latter number represents a fall of 195 over the
previous year— is evidence of larger use. The testimony of experienced
officers also shows that illicit distillation is on the increase. Government
consider this increase to be a most dangerous factor in their excise adminis
tration since it nullifies to a large extent their efforts in the direction of
temperance. They have accordingly sanctioned recently, with the concur
rence of the Legislative Council, a substantial increase in the excise force of
the Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. . But Government recognise that every fresh restriction on
liquor, whether by raising its price or curtailing facilities for obtaining it,
must give an impetus to this tendency, while preventive establishments
cannot be increased indefinitely. In order to strike at the root of the
evil a more radical remedy is clearly needed, and it might be found in the
suggested application of the Mhowra Act to the whole of the Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent.
proper. Government, therefore, desire that the feasibility of this measure
should be fully considered and the necessary proposals for its application
submitted to them at an early date.
The increase of foreign liquor is an equally serious matter. Govern
ment realize that the root-cause of both the evils is partly their own
policy of raising by various means the price of country liquor and thereby

‘BOMBAY – 1924-25. A Review of the Administration of the Presidency’ [‎667r] (267/316)

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‘BOMBAY – 1924-25. A Review of the Administration of the Presidency’ [‎667r] (267/316)

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