CO129-396 - Public Offices - 1912 — Page 271

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57. Reference had been made in more than one of the earlier sessions of the conference to the difficulty in regard to dealing with "Indian hemp." As previously statel, the Italian Government had put this subject forward as one of the matters which the conference should consider, but it appeared that the Italian delegation was not to present any specific proposal in regard to hemp drugs, but rather to leave it to the conference as a whole to take such measures in regard to these as it might deem expedient.

58. The subject was therefore referred to the Programme Committee, but that body was of the unanimous opinion that no useful purpose would be served by entering on the discussion of such a question, in which many interests might be involved, without careful study and consideration. M. Cremer, its chairman, therefore announced to the conference that, having regard to these circumstances, and to the facts that-(a) the conference was not in possession of the statistics necessary for adequate treatment of the subject;* (b) it was difficult to obtain a scientific definition of the preparations that would have to be dealt with; (c) the delegates had no instructions in regard to the discussion of this matter; (d) it appeared sufficient for the countries threatened by the abuse of hemp drugs to take internal measures against them-the Programme Committee considered it sufficient to recommend the adoption of the following resolution in the form of a vou :--

"Il est à désirer que les Gouvernements participants étudient la question du chanere indien au point de vue statistique et scientifique, dans le but de régler éventuellement, par leur législation intérieure ou pour un accord international, les abus de son emploi.”

This resolution was accordingly introduced by the Netherlands delegation, and was carried, with an amendment proposed by us substituting for the word éventuellement the words si la nécessité s'en fait sentir.

59. The next matter for consideration was a resolution by the American delegation which had been brought forward and received some discussion at the twelfth session. This was to the effect that the participating Powers should communicate to one another, through the medium of the Netherlands Government, texts of existing and future laws and regulations bearing on matters dealt with in the convention; us also statistical information in regard to the trade in raw and prepared opium, morphine, and cocaine, and their respective salts, hemp drugs, and any other drugs or preparations dealt with in the convention.

The mention of hemp drugs was now deleted from the resolution, and, as regards the exchange of statistical information, an amendment, moved by our delegation and accepted by the Americans, to the effect that the statistics should be based, not only on Customs reports, but also on the registers of sale kept by persons licensed to carry on trade in the drugs concerned, was carried with a single negative vote. Our object, as we explained, was not in any way to divulge the statistics of individual firms, but, by grouping these together, to obtain information which would be very valuable as a supplement to the Customs returns. Later on, however (seventeenth session), when article 21 of the convention, which was based on this resolution, came up for final consideration, the German delegation pointed out that in some cases, as in regard to heroine, the trade was so largely in the hauds of a single firm that to give the statistics proposed would in effect amount to divulging private affairs; and, recognising the justice of this view, the conference brought back the article to the scope of the original resolution by merely prescribing in general terms the submission of statistical information in regard to trade in the drugs mentioned.

60. The conference adjourned after the fourteenth session (22nd December) for the Christmas recess.

61. We had now been sitting for about three weeks, and had, as it seemed, come to a final agreement in regard to most of the matters with which we had been called upon to deal. The resolutions covering the ground which forms the basis of the first five chapters of the final convention had been reduced to article form and passed, and although some further modifications might be necessary, there was no reason to suppose that these would involve any material change of substance. We had in fact, as one of the French delegates epigramatically remarked, painted in our picture, and what principally remained was to deal with the best manner of framing it--in other words, with the procedure to be laid down in regard to the ratification of the convention,

It may be noted in this connection that the suggestion for the inclusion of hemp drugs in the conference programme was not brought to the notice of His Majesty's Government till about a fortnight before the conference met,

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its coming into force, the adhesion of outside Powers, and the methods and effects of denunciation. These matters raised difficult points, in regard to which there were a number of proposals still to be considered; but as the Drafting Committee was to reassemble some days before the full conference in order to consider and report upon them, and was to be assisted by the eminent international jurist, M. Asser, whose valuable services had been procured by the kind offices of the Netherlands Foreign Minister, there was every reason to believe that the conference, on coming together again, would be able to terminate its labours very speedily.

62. When, however, we reassembled on the 8th January, we were confronted by a very different state of things. Owing to certain new proposals which had been put forward on behalf of the German delegation, the Drafting Committee had found itself confronted with questions of substance, which exceeded the limits even of its extended reference, in regard to what may be called the "effectuating" clauses of the con- vention, ie, the articles relating to adhesion, ratification, coming into force, &c. The committee had therefore of necessity confined itself to setting forth, and com- menting upon, the various proposals made, in a very full and lucid report which dealt with other matters also, and which was formally received at the fifteenth session (9th January).

63. In that report the committee put before us :-----

(1.) The original "effectuating" draft, as amended by the alterations made in that portion of it which the conference had considered at the twelfth session (vide paragraph 54.) Apart from some minor verbal modifications, the only point of difference between the draft as it then stood and that which the committee now submitted to us, was the omission of the condition, inserted at our suggestion, that ratification should take place within a year. This omission had been made at the instance of M. Asser, from whom the committee received most valuable assistance, on the ground that it was not expedient to tie down sovereign Statos to a fixed time condition as regards ratification, which circumstances might preclude some of them from fulfilling. It will be convenient hereafter to refer to this draft as the primary scheme. the committee justly remarked, this scheme was silent on the important points of the legislation required by the convention, and the date on which such legislation should come into force.

As

64.--(ii) (a.) The primary scheme as modified by the further British amendment referred to at the close of paragraph 55 above, which dealt with those matters, and which in its final form was as follows:

(1.) The convention would come into force, as regards matters which did not require legislation, as soon as possible, in any case within six months of its ratification by the participating Powers.

(2.) Laws necessary to give effect to the convention should be drawn up as soon as possible, but the date on which they would come into force was to be the subject of an agreement between the Powers, and to depend on the extent to which outside Powers materially interested had adhered.

The insertion of this last stipulation was rendered necessary by the fact that the participating Powers were so few in number, and in order to meet the objections raised as to particular Powers sacrificing their trade interests by embarking on legislation which other Powers might not adopt. We also desired to ensure that if the fresh conference, proposed by condition (5) of the primary scheme (paragraph 54) became necessary, it should be confined to this point only. Generally speaking also, we desired, as the committee observed, to give practical effect to the decisions of the conference with the least possible delay.

65.-(ii) (b.) Some further amendments to the project, as thus modified, suggested by the French delegation. That delegation pointed out that measures which in Western countries would require legislation would in some Eastern countries, as, for instance, in French Indo-China, be brought into effect by administrative enactment. Such enact- ments were consequently equivalent to the "laws" of Europe; but whereas the British scheme laid down that the coming into force of laws should be the subject of an agreement between the participating Powers, and should depend on the extent to which outside Powers uaterially interested might adbere, administrative regulations were to be put into effect without any such qualification. The French delegation therefore proposed that in the event of the agreement contemplated in regard to laws not being obtained, Governments which had ineanwhile proceeded by administrative enactments

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