CO129-406 - Public Offices - 1913 — Page 278

SUBLIME PORTE.

MINISTRY FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS.

Bureau of Consulates and

Commercial Affairs.

Division of Commerce.

4

November 30, 1912.

OPENING SESSION.

Tuesday, July 1, 1913.

Mr. MINISTER:

I have had the honor to receive the two notes of March 4 and October 4, 1912, No. 400 and 1445/41 in which Your Excellency expressed the hope that the Ottoman Government would adhere to the International Opium Conference of January 23, 1912.

I regret to have to inform Your Excellency that the economic reasons which prevented the Imperial Government from participating in the Conference held at the Hague for this purpose render it also unable to adhere to the Convention which was concluded there and in which it has in no way collaborated.

Accept, etc.

His Excellency

Jhr. VAN DER DOES DE WILLEBOIS.

E. E. & M. P. of Her Majesty the Queen

of the Netherlands.

GABRIEL NORADOUNGHIAN,

His Excellency Jonkheer de Marees van Swinderen, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Her Majesty, the Queen of the Netherlands, opened the session with the following address;

GENTLEMEN,

While extending to you all, in the name of the Government of the Queen, a cordial welcome to this place and expressing its special satisfaction at seeing the number of participants so considerably increased since our last meeting, cannot allow it to pass unnoticed that the very fact of our meeting shows that the success contemplated by the Convention, which we signed here a year and a half ago, has not been achieved.

This meeting, prescribed by article 23 of that Convention, is due to the fact that the Powers who have been invited to sign, have not all replied in the affirmative. and consequently it will be necessary for us now to proceed to examine the possibility of depositing our ratifications, notwithstanding these abstentions. From the documents which have been distributed among you, you notice, Gentlemen, that the Royal Government, in accordance with Article 23 above mentioned, has extended to thirty four Powers an invitation to sign the additional protocol; of these thirty four, twenty two have signed, while we still lack the signatures of twelve Powers of whom three have positively declared that they are not able to sign at all. The Convention has consequently been signed in full by thirty four Powers and of these thirty four we have the honor to see twenty repre- sented here.

Gentlemen, while wishing in no way to anticipate the wise measures which the eminent and competent assemblage may deem it necessary to take, in order to assure, as far as possible, the result of the Convention, elaborated and prepared with so much care, I feel impelled to express the sincere hope that the lofty and humanitarian goal of the Convention may be achieved by your efforts to turn aside the difficulties and obstacles which threaten to arise.

In the name of the Netherlands Government, I have the honor to open the meetings of this assemblage prescribed for by the International Opium Conference and I now recognize the Minister of France, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps here present, who has so requested".

His Excellency Marcellin Pellet:

Gentlemen, In the absence of the Right Rev. Bishop CHARLES H. BRENT Who presided with such distinction at the sessions of the First International Opium Conference, I have the honor, as Dean of the members of the Diplomatic Corps present at this meeting, to propose that the Presidency of this second Conference be accorded to the very distinguished Mr. CREMER, First Delegate of The Netherlands.

(Unanimous applause.)

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