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depend upon the production of opium, its alkaloids, derivatives, and preparations for an essential part of its revenue;
And be it further resolved, that in the judgment of the International Opium Commission such revenue problems as exist are not of a nature to baffle the Govern- ments confrouted by them; and that they should be settled as soon as possible to the end that opium, its alkaloids, derivatives, and preparations should be relegated to their proper use in legitimate medical practice.
3. That, whereas, the Reports submitted to the International Opium Commission by the delegations present state that opium-smoking is prohibited to their nationals; further, that some of the Reports submitted state that opium-smoking is prohibited to protected and dependent peoples of some of the Governments here represented;
Be it resolved, therefore, that in the judgment of the International Opium Commission, the principle of the total prohibition of the manufacture, distribution, and use of smoking opium is the right principle to be applied to all people, both nationals and dependent or protected; and that no system for the manufacture, distribution, or use of smoking opium should continue to exist, except for the express purpose and no other of stamping out the evil of opium-smoking in the shortest possible time.
4. That, whereas, the Reports submitted to the International Opium Commission by the delegations present record that each Government has strict laws which are aimed directly or indirectly to prevent the smuggling of opium, its alkaloids, derivatives, and preparations into their respective territories;
Be is resolved, therefore, that in the judgment of the International Opium Commission it is the duty of all Goveruments which continue to produce opium, its alkaloids, derivatives, and preparations to prevent at ports of departure the shipment of any alkaloid, derivative, or preparation of opium to any country which prohibits the entry of any of the said alkaloids, derivatives, and preparations of opium.
5. That, whereas, the Reports submitted to the International Opium Commission by the delegations present indicate that the use of morphia, its salts, and derivatives is indissolubly bound up with the abuse of opium itself, and that their use accompanies, or sconer or later supervenes, on the use of opium itself;
Be it resolved, therefore, that in the judgment of the International Opinm Commission, strict International Agreements are needed to control the manu- facture and trade in, and the present or possible future abuse of morphia and its salts and derivatives, by the people of the Governments represented in the Inter- national Opium Commission.
6. That, whereas, the Reports submitted to the International Opium Commission by the delegations present indicate that though each Government represented is best able by its national laws to control its own internal problem as regards the manufacture, importation, or abuse of opium, its alkaloids, derivatives and preparations, yet that no Government represented may by its national laws wholly solve its own opium problem without the conjoint aid of all those Governments concerned in the production and manufacture of opium, its alkaloids, derivatives and preparations.
Be it resolved, therefore, that in the judgment of the International Opium Commission, a concerted effort should be made by each Government represented in the Commission to assist every other Government in the suppression of its internal opium problem.
7. That, whereas, the Reports submitted to the International Opium Commission, by the delegations present, directly or indirectly recognize that the foregoing Resolutions cannot be made effective except by the conjoint action of the Govern- ment concerned;
Be it resolved, therefore, that the Commission as a whole, record its sense in favour of the principle of an International Conference for the solution of the problem;
Be it resolved, that in the opinion of the International Opium Commission every nation which effectively prohibits the production of opium and its derivatives in that country, except for medical purposes, should be free to prohibit the importation into its territories of opium or its derivatives, except for medical purposes.
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Resolutions proposed by the British Delegates.
1. That the Commission recognizes the unswerving sincerity of the Government of China in their efforts to eradicate the production and consumption of opium throughout the Empire; the increasing body of public opinion among their own subjects by which these efforts are being supported; and the real though unequal progress already made in a task which is one of the greatest magnitude.
2. That the representatives of China in this Commission are unfortunately not yet able to produce reliable statistical evidence of the actual extent of the diminution in the production of opium; and the Commission also apprehends that in some respects this fundamental element of the problem of prohibition may present increasing difficulties; the Commission would accordingly strongly recommend that the different Governments interested should enter into negotiations with the Government of China with a view to the initiation of more systematic methods of dealing with the question of production.
3. That the Commission finds that the unrestricted manufacture, sale and distribution of morphine already constitutes a grave danger to China, and that the morphine habit is already known and shows signs of spreading among other peoples in the East, and elsewhere; the Commission therefore desires to urge strongly on all Governments that it is highly important that drastic measures should be taken by each Government in its own territories and possessions to control the manufacture, sale and distribution of this drug, and also of such other derivatives of opium as may appear on scientific inquiry to be liable to similar abuse and productive of like ill effects.
4. That the Commission finds that the use of opium in any form otherwise than for medical purposes is held by almost every participating country to be a matter for prohibition or for careful regulation; and that each system of regulation now in force aims, as opportunity offers, at progressively increasing stringency. In view of the widely varying conditions prevailing in the different countries, the Commission is unable to pronounce that any one system of regulation is decisively superior to others; but it would urge on the attention of the different Governments concerned the desirability of a re-examination of their systems of regulation in the light of the experience of other countries dealing with the same problem.
5. That as this Commission is not constituted in such manner as to undertake the investigation from a scientific point of view of anti-opium remedies, and of the properties and effects of opium and its products, and deems such investigation to be of the highest importance, the Commission desires that each delegation shall recommend this branch of the subject to its own Government for such action as that Government may think necessary.
Resolutions put forward by the Netherlands' Delegation.
1. Whereas, the total eradication of the use of opium within a few years is to be considered a high, but at present an unattainable ideal;
In order to check the use of opium much may be expected from taking systematic measures which are gradual in their effect;
A careful practizing of such measures requires the management of the opium business in own hands in such a way that no person having anything to do with it is interested in the amount of sale;
Such a system has one great advantage from many others which make it recom- mendable, to wit, the guarantee against spreading the habit in such parts of the country where it is not yet known;
Be it resolved-
To recommend to the Governments of the countries where other systems prevail:-
(a.) That will be decided in principle that the opium business in its whole compass shall be managed in own lands, and that the establishment of such a system shall not be put off longer than the circumstances require;
(.) That disregarding the fact, whether or no the direct Government control has already been put in force, the following measures shall be taken at once to the purpose of restricting the use of opium:
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