CO129-394 - Governor Sir May & Public Offices - 1912 [12] — Page 483

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Exportation of morphine or compound of opium to French Indo-China, Japan, the United States of America, and the Philippine Islands is only permitted on the production of an official certificate that it is required for medical purposes (Government notification No. 93 of the 1st April, 1910).

Exportation of prepared opium or dross opium to any place or country to which exportation is lawful can only be carried out with the written permission of the Superintendent of Imports and Exports.

There are no precise restrictions on the importation of raw opium, but as the preparation and sale of opium is vested in the opium farmer, who is limited to a certain number of chests per annum, raw opium can only be imported for transhipment or for sale to the farmer.

4. In Wei-hai Wei exportation of opium (raw or prepared) is forbidden except under licence from the commissioner; importation of opium and its compounds is strictly confined to opium required for the use of the limited number of registered consumers or for medicinal purposes.

5. In the State of North Borneo the law does not restrict the exportation of prepared opium (chandu). No one but the farmer may import prepared opium.

[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]

472

OPIUM.

CONFIDENTIAL.

December 21.

SECTION 2.

2018

[51171]

(No. 2.) Sir,

No. 1.

Reat 20 JAN 12

Sir C. Clementi Smith to Sir Edward Grey.--(Received December 7-

The Hague, December 16, 1911. THE International Opium Conference assembled for its third plenary session on the 7th instant, when after some discussion by the delegates of Persia, France and Portugal on the fact that so few Powers were represented at the conference, M. Cremer, the first Netherlands delegate, in the name of the programme committee presented formally to the conference chapters 1 and 2 (raw and prepared opium) and the three These definitions, all of which I transmitted to you in my preceding despatch.

The

were adopted by the conference, and discussion was invited by the chairman on item (a) of chapter 1, which reads "effective national laws and regulations to control the production and distribution of raw opium." On this subject we submitted to the conference a resolution "that this conference is of opinion that effective national laws and regulations to control the production and distribution of raw opium should be adopted by each of the participating governments.' In speaking to this motion Sir William Meyer gave a clear and interesting account of the measures taken in India for the repressing the cultivation of the poppy and the use of opium, and his example was followed by the delegates of China, the Netherlands, France, Portugal and Persia, all of whom described the efforts made in their respective countries and colonies. discussion on this topic was continued at the fourth plenary session on the 8th instant, when the resolution was unanimously adopted by all the delegations. The conference then proceeded to discuss a resolution by the Persian delegate, which was the outcome of the discussion mentioned in the opening lines of this despatch, and which was worded as follows:-" that all the conclusions reached by the conference shall be presented to the other nations not hore represented, and that their co-operation be asked in the advancement of this noble cause.' The first delegate of the Netherlands asked, be willing to having expressed the opinion that his Government would, undertake the duties of notification indicated in these words, the resolution was adopted unanimously, and the conference after approving a modification of its rules of procedure and discussing one or two draft resolutions, which led to no result, proceded to the consideration of a resolution which the British delegation moved under item (b) of chapter I in the following words that every participating Government should strictly limit the number of places through which raw opiuni may be exported or imported." M. Delbrück of the German delegation in a short statement, the text of which will be found in the official French procès verbal of the session, explained that Germany would not be able to consent to this resolution. It was, however, put to the vote, when Germany alone voted against it, while the remaining ten Powers accepted At the following it, France, Persia and Portugal agreeing only ad referendum. session, however (the fifth plenary session of the 11th December), when the delegations had had the advantage of some informal discussion of the questions involved, the "that every following formula was accepted unanimously by the conference :- Government participating in the conference shall limit as far as is consistent with its own trade conditions, the number of places through which the exportation or importation of raw opium shall be allowed.""

At the fifth plenary session progress was also made with the remaining items of discussion under chapter 1 of the programme. This delegation had placed a resolution. on the paper dealing with item (c), and after considerable discussion this resolution, modified at the suggestion of the Portuguese delegation, by the insertion in the first sentence of the words "by special agreement or otherwise," was accepted unanimously, though three Powers, the United States, China and Persia attached reserves to their assent.

Over the resolution proposed under item (d) (reciprocal notification of consign- ments of raw opium) some divergence of opinion in the conference was disclosed, and after considerable discussion I withdrew the resolution, stipulating only for the right to introduce fresh proposals on this point should it be possible to find some form of words likely to meet with the approval of the various delegations. Up till

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