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aux établissements des Détroits, à Hong Kong et à Wei-hai Wei, sous tous les rapports, de la même façon qu'il s'appliqueront au Royaume-Uni de Grande-Bretagne et d'Irlande; mais le Gouvernement de Sa Majesté se réserve le droit de signer ou de dénoncer séparé- ment ladite convention ou nom de toute dominion, colonie, dépendance et protectorat de Sa Majesté outre que ceux qui ont été spécifiés.”*
This declaration was appended as a reserve when we signed the convention. 89. The Portuguese delegates also made the declaration that in signing the convention, they desired it to be understood--
(1.) That the stipulations of the convention would not affect those of existing treaties, conventions, or agreements to which Portugal was a party, or any advantages which she obtained by most-favoured-nation clauses.
(2.) That further action in regard to the limitation of the number of ports from which raw and prepared opium could be exported, with reference to acticles 2 and 8 (a), could not be undertaken by Portugal, since Macao was already the only Portuguese port of export in the Far East.
(3.) That as regard the provisions of articles 4 and 8 (d), in regard to marking exported packages of raw or prepared opium so as to indicate the nature of their contents, the Portuguese Government reserved to itself the right of placing special marks on such packages in addition to any uniform marks that might be adopted as of international application.
The convention and the final protocol were read for the last time this session. 90. At the twenty-sixth and last session (23rd January) M. Brenier (France) notified the conference that he would place against his signature the words -
“Sous réserve d'une ratification, ou d'une dénonciation, éventuellement séparée et spéciale, en ce qui concerne les protectorats français." (With the proviso that, in the case of the French protectorate, the ratification, or denunciation, may be a separate and special act.)
91. Some discussion had taken place at the two previous sessions in regard to the publication of the convention, and it was now indicated by the Netherlands delegation that his Excellency M. de Marees van Swinderen, as Dutch Foreign Minister and honorary president of the conference, was of opinion that it might be published imme- diately after signature--a course which was accordingly adopted.
92. After the minutes of previous sessions which had still to undergo this process had been ratified, M. Cremer (Netherlands) proposed a vote of thanks to Bishop Brent, as president of the conference, which was seconded by M. von Müller (Germany) and by M. Sanches de Miranda (Portugal); and after valedictory addresses by the president and honorary president (M. van Swinderen), the conference was declared closed, and the delegates plenipotentiaries proceded to sign the convention and the final protocol.
93. In signing the convention reservations were made, as already indicated, by our own delegation in regard to separate ratification or denunciation in respect of any portion of His Majesty's dominions, colonies, dependencies, or protectorates other than the United Kingdom, India, Ceylon, Straits Settlements, Hong Kong, and Wei-hai Wei; similarly by the French delegation in regard to French protectorates; by the delegates of Persia and Siam in regard to articles 15 to 19; and by the Persian delegate alone in regard to article 3 (a).
94. We may now fittingly consider how far, and with what extension, the recommendatious contained in the resolutions of the Shanghai Commission of 1909 have found place in the present convention.
The first of the Shanghai resolutions was as follows :—
"That the International Opium Commission recognises the unswerving sincerity of the Government of China in their efforts to eradicate the production and consumption of opium throughout the Empire; the increasing body of public opinion among their own subjects by which these efforts are being supported; and the real, though unequal, progress already made in a task which is one of the greatest magnitude."
* (TRANSLATION).--"We declare that the articles of the present convention, if ratified by His Britannic Majesty's Government, shall apply to the Government of Bitish India, Ceylon, the Straits Settlements, Hong Kong, and Wei-hai Wei in every respect in the same way as they shall apply to the United Kingdomi of Great Britain and Ireland; but His Britannic Majesty's Government reserve the right of siguing or denouncing separately the said convention in the name of any deminion, colony, dependency, or protectorate of His Majesty other than those which have been specified.”
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The good faith of the
There was no necessity for framing any article in this sense. Chinese Government was of course assumed by the conference.
95. The second of the Shanghai resolutions was as follows :- "That in view of the action taken by the Government of China in suppressing the practice of opium-smoking, and by other Governments to the same end, the International Opium Commission recommends that each delegation concerned move its own Government to take measures for the gradual suppression of the practice of opium-smoking in its own territories and possessions, with due regard to the varying circumstances of each country concerned."
This policy has found place in article 6 of the convention, which extends the policy of effective suppression to the production, internal distribution and use of prepared opium. It was recognised that such policy could, in the case of some countries, be only of gradual application, and that the repressive measures contemplated must be suitable to the varying circumstances of the countries concerned.
96. The third of the Shanghai resolutions was as follows :---
"That the International Opium Commission finds that the use of opium in any form otherwise than for medical purposes is held by almost every participating country to be a matter for prohibition or for careful regulation; and that each country in the administration of its system of regulation purports to be aiming, as opportunity offers, at progressively increasing stringency. In recording these conclusions, the International Opium Commission recognises the wide variations between the conditions prevailing in the different countries, but it would urge on the attention of the Governments concerned the desirability of a re-examination of their systems of regulation in the light of the experience of other countries dealing with the same problem."
Read with the resolution preceding it, this resolution was meant to apply mainly to raw opium primarily used for eating, and this matter is dealt with in article 1 of the
convention.
97. We may point out, with reference to resolutions 2 and 3 of the Shanghai Commission, that--
(1) Article 20 of the convention pledges the contracting Powers to investigate the possibility of making penal regulations against the illegal possession of opium and other drugs dealt with by the convention, if such measures have not already been taken.
(2) The first part of article 17, and article 18, impose upon the contracting Powers having treaties with China the obligation (a) of taking measures to restrict and control opium-smoking in their leased territories and settlements in China; and (b) of gradually restricting, pari passu with Chinese action in the territories adjoining, the number of shops for the sale of opium, which may still exist in such leased territories, &c. They are also to adopt such effective measures in these leased territories for the restriction and control of the retail trade in opium generally.
98. The fourth resolution of the Shanghai Commission was as follows :--- "That the International Opium Commission finds that each Government represented has strict laws which are aimed directly or indirectly to prevent the smuggling of opium, its alkaloids, derivatives, and preparations into their respective territories; in the judgment of the International Opium Commission it is also the duty of all countries to adopt reasonable measures to prevent at ports of departure the shipment of opium, its alkaloids, derivatives, and preparations, to any country which prohibits the entry of any opium, its alkaloids, derivatives, and preparations."
99. Putting aside for the moment alkaloids and derivatives of opium, as being more suitable for discussion in connection with the Commission's resolution 5, the policy here suggested in regard to raw and prepared opiumi has been carried into effect, with a far wider scope, in articles 2-5 and 7-8 of the convention. These articles lay down that---
(1.) The prohibition of exportation of raw or prepared opium to a country which prohibits the entry of such opium shall be of a general character, aud not merely confined to seaports. (Articles 3 (a) and 8 (b),)
(2) Where a country has not altogether prohibited the entry of such opium, but desires to place such entry under special restrictions, the exporting country shall co-operate in the enforcement of these restrictions, as, for instance, has been done by India in regard to China (Articles 3 (b) and 8′ (c).)-
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