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of M. Asser, the committee had prepared the following formula, which specifically applied only to raw opium, but would, of course, be equally necessary in regard to importation or exportation of other drugs :---
"Par importation, on entend l'acte d'introduire de l'étranger en qualité de commerçant en gros, demi-gros ou en détail, de consignataire ou commissionnaire, de l'opium brut.
"Par exportation, on entend l'acte d'expédier vers l'étranger, en qualité de commerçant en gros, en demi-gros ou en détail, où de commissionnaire, de l'opium brut.”
83. This definition would show that it was only actual traders who required a licence. M. Asser and Sir William Collins had objected to the addition of the words, à l'exclusion des simples transporteurs, expéditeurs ou transitaires, on the ground that the formal exclusion of these persons might coustitute indirect encouragement to contraband dealing, and that it was, therefore, better to omit them by implication, in the event of the definition proposed being necessary, rather than explicitly. The committee further pointed out that the question of carriers was specifically raised by the second American resolution brought forward at the fourteenth session and referred to in paragraph 72 above.
84. As Sir William Meyer subsequently pointed out to the conference (twentieth session), we could not accept the definition prepared by the committee, since it omitted two categories of persons, whom experience in India had shown to be
very dangerous smugglers of prohibited drugs, i.ee -
(a.) Persons who were not in any way traders by profession, but took advantage of their visit to a prohibiting country to introduce, for their own profit, considerable quantities of the forbidden drugs.
(b.) Go-betweens secretly employed by persons engaged in trade, who were paid to undergo fine or imprisonment, if detected, rather than divulge the names of their real employers.
Our desire was therefore to treat importation and exportation as having the widest possible sense; but this, on the other hand, was not in the least likely to be accepted by the German delegation.
85. The remaining portions of the committee's report dealt mainly with--
(a.) The wording of a number of the articles already agreed on, in regard to which the suggestions of the committee were subsequently in large measure accepted.
(6.) The proposal, already referred to in paragraph 61, for bringing the special Chinese articles into the main convention.
(e) The submission of a fresh draft final protocol.
86. Apart from the important questions which had been thus raised by the report of the Drafting Committee, we were also faced with a very serious difficulty in regard to the morphine and cocaine articles. Although, as previously explained in paragraphs 45 and 46, the resolutions on which these were based had been put forward by us after consultation and agreement with the German delegation, and we had in some cases modified our original proposals in order to bring them along with us, the Germans now informed as, to our great surprise, that they would be obliged to move a series of amendments in regard to articles 10 to 16 of the original draft convention, as quoted in paragraph 48, which would have the result of invalidating the binding character of most of these articles.
87. We had thus, as will be seen, to face problems of a very serious character, and which involved not merely private conference with other delegations, but in some cases references to His Majesty's Government. Unfortunately, too, we were deprived at this juncture of the guidance of Sir Cecil Clementi Smith, whose health had not permitted him to return to The Hague after the Christmas recess. The leadership of the British delegation accordingly passed, during the remainder of the conference, to Sir William Meyer as the next senior delegate.
38. The sixteenth session (10th January) dealt mainly with matters which have already been reported on, such as the transfer of the special Chinese articles to the maiu convention.
89. At the seventeenth session (11th January) the report of the Drafting Committec on the various " effectuating proposals came up for discussion. Sir William Meyer pointed out that superficially the main cleavage seemed to be between the primary and the British schemes on the one hand, and the German scheme on the other, since the
first two followed the usual method of ratification of the contracting Powers preceding the adhesion of others, while the latter put adhesiou first. From the practical point of view, however, the primary and the German schemes stood together on one side, and the British on the other, since the former postponed the coming into force of the convention until the adhesion of all the outside Powers had been obtained, while the latter provided that all matters which did not involve special legislation (or its equivalent, as suggested by the French delegation) should come into force on ratification by the Powers represented at the conference.
90. M. Delbrück gave a clear exposition of the circumstances which had led to the propounding of the German scheme, in the course of which he hid stress on the fact (as we have already indicated) that ratification of the convention by the Reichstag would make it an integral part of the German corpus juris; while in the United States, for example, even if the convention were ratified by the Senate, its provisions would remain ineffective until applied by internal legislation.
91. M. Cremer (Netherlands) said that his delegation could not accept the British schete even if modified by the acceptance of the French amendment, since no Govern- ment was likely to put in hand laws or their equivalents without any certainty that these would eventually be applied. It would, in fact, be a case of every country waiting to see what the others would do.
92. Dr. Hamilton Wright objected to waiting for the adhesion of outside Powers, and said that his delegation would like ratification and the coming into force of the convention to be effectuated as soon as possible. Finally, M. Delbrück indicated that it might be possible to proceed without getting the adhesion of all the outside Powers. The debate was then adjourned to the next session.
93. The course of the discussion, however, and exchanges of opinion with other delegations, had already convinced us that the British amendment to the primary scheme was not likely to find acceptance. As we more than once indicated to the conference, our object throughout was to insist on the practical and expeditious enforcement of the measures that had already been agreed to, rather than on questions of form; and as between the primary and the German schemes, the latter had the advantage that the adhesion of outside Powers was to be sought immediately after the signing of the convention, while under the former that process would not be commenced till six at least of the conference Powers bad ratified. Accordingly, on the 11th January, we sent you a telegram asking whether we might negotiate on the basis of the German scheme, endeavouring to shorten the periods before which the convention should come into force, and to substitute "substantial for "unanimous " adhesion of outside Powers.
94. At the eighteenth session (12th January) the adjourned debate on the subject of the "effectuation" procedure was opened by M. Brenier (France), who pointed out that the divergent schemes before the conference arose from a conflict of ideas, typically represented by the German and British delegations respectively. The former, looking to the great difficulties of embarking on the measures approved by the conference without adhesion of outside Powers, held that the obtainment of such adhesion was the first object to be aimed at; the latter, concerned chiefly with getting the convention into force as soon as possible, objected to the delay which the German method would involve. In order to bridge these differences between these divergent ideas, M. Brenier suggested a compromise scheme and proposed that the Drafting Committee should reconsider the subject on the lines he had put forward.
The American delegation, however, proposed an amendment referring the matter back to the committee without any specific instructions, and this was carried.
95. The Drafting Committee, which had been materially aided in its fresh deliberations by the kind assistance of M. van Swinderen as well as of M. Asser, then agreed to put forward a scheme following in some respects the lines of the German proposal as a basis for further discussion by itself. Sir William Collins, our repre- sentative on the committee, thereupon discussed with us the amendments which would be necessary in order to make the scheme a satisfactory one from our point of view, and we reported these to you in our despatch No. 9 of the 14th January. The main lines of the scheme as it was thus to be altered are shown below, the clauses italicised being those which Sir William Collins was to propose : —
(1.) As soon as the convention had been signed, the outside Powers of Europe and America were to be invited to sign it also. No reference was now made to the word adhesion as being an unsuitable term to use in the circumstances proposed.
(2.) As soon as these supplementary signatures had been obtained, ratification would be proceeded with.
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