ct,
except within a five-mile radius of Shillong, liquor of both the
above descriptions can be possessed and sold without restriction.

According to some Khasi traditions the Khasis in ancient times used
not to drink spirits, but confined themselves to rice-beer. It is
only in the last couple of generations that the habit of drinking
spirits has crept in, according to them. From Khasi accounts, the
use of spirits is on the increase, but there is no means of testing
these statements. There can be no doubt, however, that at the present
time a very large amount of spirit is manufactured and consumed in
the district. The spirit is distilled both for home consumption and
for purposes of sale; in some villages, e.g. Mawlai and Marbisu,
near Shillong, where there are fifty-nine and forty-nine stills
respectively, there being a still almost in every house. Mawlai
village supplies a great deal of the spirit which is drunk in Shillong,
and from Marbisu spirit is carried for sale to various parts of the
hills. Other large distilling centres are Cherrapunji, with forty-seven
stills; Jowai, with thirty-one stills; Laitkynsew, with fifty-four
stills; Nongwar, thirty-one stills; and Rangthang, thirty-seven stills.

From what has been stated above some idea may be gathered how very
large the number of stills in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills is. I am
not in a position to state with any degree of accuracy what is the
amount of spirit manufactured or consumed in the year, but it is very
considerable. The out-turn of a Khasi still has been reckoned at from
four to eight bottles per day. From this estimate, and the fact that
there are 1,530 stills in the district, it may be roughly calculated
what is the consumption annually. Practically the whole of the spirit
is consumed within the district. The liquor which is manufactured is
far stronger than the spirit distilled in the ordinary out-stills in
the plains. It has been stated by an expert analyst that the Khasi
spirit contains 60 to 80 per cent. of proof spirit, and that it
possesses "an exceptionally nice flavour and taste." The usual price
at which it is sold is 4 to 6 annas a quart bottle, a second quality
being sometimes sold for 3 annas. It will be seen that the liquor is
exceedingly cheap. A Khasi in the villages of the interior can get
drunk for 2 annas, [19] or a quarter of an ordinary coolie's daily
wage. Drunkenness prevails on every market day at Cherrapunji, Jowai,
and other la