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The new situation which is arising lends increased importance to the question of the limitation of the production of raw opium which was raised at the Assembly of the League last September. Unless production is reduced, there will be a larger surplus than ever of opium for which the only outlets will be the export for the illicit market or the manufacture of dangerous drugs for the illicit market. This is a grave danger as po real improvement appears to have taken place as yet in either the Turkish or Persian situation. In accordance with my Instructions when the subject of limitation of pro- duction came up at the Bangkok Conference, I stated that His Majesty's Government viewed the proposal with sympathy and would be prepared to co-operate in any way that may be open to them.

It does not seem impossible, though it would no doubt be a lengthy and difficult matter, to bring about (a) between the countries requiring opium for smoking purposes and the producing countries, and (b) between the countries requiring opium for drug- manufacture and the producing countries, arrangements which would on the one hand give the producing countries certain guarantees and would, on the other hand, as a condition of such guarantees, stabilize and limit the annual production of opium and keep its distribution to legitimate channels.

The subject of limitation has been referred by the Council of the League to the Opium Advisory Committee, and the possibility of action on the lines suggested above can be further investigated there.

(2) Establishment in the Far East of smoking Matters.-This proposal of the League Commission (Volume I, page 145) was a League of Nations Bureau for Opium- not favourably received by the Conference. It was not easy to see, from the descrip- tion of the functions proposed to be given to the Bureau, what useful purposes it could serve which are not or will not be served by the Opium Advisory Committee of the League and the Opium Section of the League Secretariat at Geneva, and by the arrange- ments, developed and extended as proposed by the Conference, for co-operation and exchange of views and experience between the opium administrations in the Far Eastern Territories. Such a Bureau would not be in direct touch with the Opium Advisory Committee and with the representatives of the Governments on that Committee, as the Opium Section of the Secretariat is, and there would be a danger of its working independently and possibly at cross-purposes with the Committee. Moreover, if, as proposed by the League Commission, it were given the function of arranging meetings of representatives of the local Governments for the purpose of "reaching agreements on further control measures, serious embarrassment might be caused to the Home Governments who might find themselves more or less committed to proposals on which they had not been consulted and which they might not be able to approve. Inevitably also, there would be overlapping between the work of the Bureau and the work of the Opium Section at Geneva. On these grounds, and apart from any considerations of the expense that would be involved, the Conference decided not to recommend the adoption of this proposal.

Two of the most important objects which the Commission had in view in proposing the creation of the Bureau, namely, fuller information as regards opium-smoking questions and wider co-operation between the local opium administrations should be secured by the adoption of recommendations which the Conference included in its Final Act (Nos. VIII and XI). The first of these proposes that the arrangements for the exchange of information and views between the local administrations should extend to all matters of common interest in connexion with the suppression of the practice of opium smoking and that conferences should take place from time to time between the representatives of the services concerned to discuss the measures to be taken. The second recommendation (XI) proposes that a special report, in a form to be pared by the Opium Advisory Committee, should be made annually by each of the local administrations on the situation in its territory.

pre-

(3) Treatment of Addicts.-There was little for the Conference to do in respect of this question. The results of the provision made by the various Governments have not so far been encouraging. Cure of addiction, that is, the remova of the craving, is not difficult; but in the majority of cases relapse occurs on the return of the addict to his ordinary surroundings. The need of arrangements for after-care, if relapse is to be prevented, was recognized and some interesting information was given by the Netherlands Delegation as to the steps taken for this purpose in the Netherlands East Indies. In that territory, the Conference was informed by the Dutch Delegation, the movement among addicts towards cure is increasing, long journeys are being under- taken by addicts for the purpose. In our own Possessions it has often been found that the addict applying for treatment had no genuine desire to be cured of his addic- tion, but was merely thing advantage of the free treatment in hospital provided by

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the Government to obtain lodging and maintenance without expense. The Conference could not do more than urge the importance of each Government making adequate provision for all persons genuinely seeking a cure, of its taking active steps to encourage addicts to seek a cure, and of its promoting, or encouraging through voluntary effort, the after-care of addicts after cure. The measure to be taken for the purpose might, the Conference thought, usefully be discussed at the periodical meetings of the repre- sentatives of the local administrations (Recommendations IX and VIII).

See League Commission's Report, Volume I, pages 143-4.

(4) Research. The League Commission had made (Volume I, pages 137-8) a wide and rather vague proposal that "scientific research in regard to the opium problem in all its phases should be undertaken in all territories with the support of Governments and on an international basis. Some of the matters mentioned by the Commission

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in its report as instances of problems requiring investigation did not appear to have much, if any, practical bearing on the suppression of the practice of opium smoking,

the relative harmfulness of smoking and eating," or of some of the secondary effects of opium smoking.

"the question of heredity there are certain questions on which research would be desirable. There is, for It was agreed, however, that instance, much difference of opinion still in the Far East as to the harmfulness of opium smoking when practised in moderation"; and that is no doubt one reason why public opinion in our own Possessions, for example, takes little interest in the suppres- sion of the practice. This want of interest, which may develop into active opposition when measures affecting the pockets of the taxpayers are under consideration, can hardly fail to react on the local administrations, and has in fact done so in the past It would be of assistance to the Governments to obtain an authorative pronouncement as to the effects of opium smoking, based on a systematic investigation conducted on scientific lines, which would settle this vexed question once for all. Again, nothing is definitely known as to the way in which these effects are produced and the con stituents of opium which produce them. Analysis of the smoke from an opium pipe has appeared to show that only a very small proportion of morphine is absorbed by the smoker in the smoke. It has been suggested that the actual constituents of opium which produce the effects might conceivably be replaced by some harmless substance, or otherwise rendered harmless. This idea may be far-fetched, but a determination

of the way in which, and constituents by which, the harmful effects of opium smoking are produced would undoubtedly be useful.

The Conference decided to recommend that research into these questions should be undertaken, but was not prepared to support the wide programme indicated in the Commission's report. A resolution on limited lines was accordingly adopted and is embodied in the Final Act (No. X).

Opium Smuggling from the Shan States.

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In the course of the discussion on the illicit traffic, the Siamese Delegation referred to the smuggling of opium from the Shan States into Siam. In the "unadministered " Shan States on the east side of the Salween River, the cultivation of the poppy is not at present prohibited, and a considerable quantity of opium is produced. The disposai of this opium is nominally subject to the control of the but the nature of the country renders an effective control difficult. The hill tribes Sawbwas" of the States, who grow the opium live on both sides of the frontier, and the Siamese authorities are confronted with the double task of suppressing the cultivation of the poppy on their own side of the frontier where the cultivation is prohibited and preventing the entry of opium from the British side where it is permitted. The opium preventive officers and the gendarmerie are active, but a considerable amount of opium gets through and finds its way into the central and southern provinces of the country. Some of this opium is believed to be Chinese opium which is readily and regularly smuggled from Yunnan into Burma. Encounters with the hill tribes and the smugglers are not in- frequent, with loss of life on both sides. The Siamese Delegates refrained from press- ing the subject at the Conference, but in the course of a journey which I made with them to the north of Siam, they, and the local officials, discussed it with me, and the Siamese Government would undoubtedly be glad if some means could be found of remedying a situation which causes them a great deal of trouble and expense, keeps up a state of petty warfare with the hill tribes and hampers their control of the use of opium in Siam. I offered the suggestion that it might be possible to come to some arrangement with the hill tribes, so far as the cultivation of the poppy on the Siamese side of the frontier was concerned, by which the Siamese Government would allow a limited cultivation of the poppy and agree to purchase at a fair price for the Monopoly

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