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the confirmation of Dr. Wright's statements which is lacking in the commission's own recorded proceedings.
14. In conclusion, 1 desire as a member of the commission to repeat what I said in effect at the outset, that I was in cordial personal agreement with its resolutions, as I believe was every other British delegate, and wish to see them faithfully carried out; and I believe that the anti-opium movement in China, the instant and effective co-operation of Great Britain, and the action of the United States in convening the Shanghai Commission have supplied the impetus and set the course through which a settlement of what is termed the opium problem may be reached. But that settlement will be retarded rather than expedited, and the whole idea of the international solution of social problems will be discredited, if the considerable measure of agreement reached at Shanghai is to be recklessly exaggerated to make it fit in with views which the pressure and commission abstained from endorsing and to justify international interference which they never contemplated or implied; or if, where all were working to a common end, the facts are to be strained with the object of disparaging the activities of one of the co-operating Powers, or of unduly emphasising those of another.
J. B. BRUNYATE.
July 21, 1910.
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the United States to propose an international conference with full powers to complete the work of the commission. "Such a proposal was made by our Government on the 1st September, 1909.
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Note was made that it was a matter of discussion, and was recognised by the commission as a whole, that the resolutions passed by the international commission, however important morally, would fail to satisfy enlightened public opinion unless by subsequent agreement of the Powers they and the minor questions involved in them were incorporated in an international convention.” (Pp. 72-73.)
(d) In continuation of its policy, our Government has invited the Powers to such further co-operation as will place the production, trade in, and use of opium under the control of international law. It has been historically demonstrated that no nation working alone, that no two nations working together, are able to destroy the opium vice. It was a hopeless task. To-day, as the result of the international efforts initiated by this Government, the world is well on its way to see the thorough solution of not only China's oppressive opium problemn, but that of other countries not so heavily burdened.” (P. 75.)
Appendix 1.
Extracts from Dr. Wright's Report.
Extract (A).
"(a.) Turning for a moment to the resolutions adopted by the international commission, it will be readily appreciated that, quite apart from their condemnation of the opium vice, they are of great importance in that they were passed unanimously. Had seriously opposing views in regard to the moral, economic, and other aspects of the opium problem developed, the As the commission might have had to issue a majority and minority report. American delegation stood for the principle of immediate and effective prohibition of the abuse of opium, it would probably have had to head the minority report. Had that been the event, the whole question would have been once more in the melting-pot, where it had been thrown by nearly every national commission that had sat on it, and the way to further proposals for interuational action would have been blocked to the United States. "The international commission having unanimously agreed that the opium vice must cease, it was open to our Government to propose further international co-operation for the placing of the production and traffic in opium under international law." (P. 69.)
"(3.) Although uo formal declaration was made as to further international action in regard to opium production, traffic, and misuse, it was nevertheless recognised that such action was necessary before the Powers could congratulate themselves on having solved the problem that has loomed so large and so long in the Far East, causing war and other evil consequences not outstripped by the evil consequence of slavery.
"The American delegation introduced a resolution to the effect that further
international action be advised. But as there was a feeling on the part of· some of the delegations that this was carrying advice too far and might lead It had served to to separate and confusing proposals, it was withdrawn.
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develop the fact that the other Governments, would look to the United States for further proposals for international action to control the production, trade in and abuse of opium.
Looking broadly at the results achieved by the International Opium Commission, and considering that the United States has now proposed an international conference, this time with full powers to conventionalise the Shanghai resolu- tions and minor questions arising from them (Pp. 70-71.)
"(c.) It has been stated above that, as the result of the unanimity of the inter- national commission, as expressed in its resolutions, the way was opened to
Extract (B).
"It was claimed by the Chinese--and their claim was accepted by most of the delegations present-that since the edit of the 20th September, 1906, the internal production of opium had been reduced from 584,800 piculs in 1906 to 367,250 piculs in 1908." (P. 67.)
The following is an extract from the report of the Chinese delegation in which these statistics were contained ("International Opinn Commission," vol. ii, pp. 57-58):
"These reports are based on the personal investigations of the writers and assistance derived from inland postal officers, missionaries, and Chinese merchants, as well as an occasional recourse to official sources. It is acknowledged that accurate statistics about
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opium are most difficult to obtain in China, and it must therefore be understood that the figures given are in many cases only approximate and the result of sifting the scraps of information received here and there and the putting of two and two together' in the minds of the framers of the estimates. This is more especially true in regard to the estimates for the inland provinces-the greatest opium-producing districts in China- where the taxation is irregular and, for the greater part, evaded, and where public or official returns are practically unknown, When, in addition, the percentage of an uncounted population, who locally consume the opium, is a matter of conjecture, the most carefully made computation may be easily controverted."
The following is a reply given by the Chinese delegation on the same subject (ibid., p. 118):--
"In reply to the question of the British delegation whether trustworthy returns of the acreage under poppy and of opium smokers in each province will be compiled, and, if so, when they will be made public, we beg to state that no definite date can be fixed for the compilation of trustworthy returns, owing to the enormous difficulties involved in obtaining such returns under existing circumstances. It is too well known that under the present system of local and provincial administration, there is neither proper Government machinery for the compilation of statistics nor proper survey and land records out of which statistics can be compiled. A number of the provinces have attempted to make such returns, but for the reasons given above, the Chinese delegates do not consider them of much real value. In regard to the number of opium sunokers in each provice, the remarks given above as to the difficulties of obtaining trustworthy returns of the acreage are equally applicable here, and only estimates can be given which we have done according to the best of our ability in our meinorandum on opium. For our shortcomings in these respects, we can only repeat that we crave the indulgence of not only the British delegation, but of all the delegations of this honourable commission.
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