10
Rule XII.
Special questions which have been already dealt with in the sessions of the Committees, cannot be discussed in pleno by a member of a Delegation in a speech of more than ten minutes, unless the Conference decides otherwise.
The President then proposed as members of the Editing Committee, Sir WILLIAM COLLINS, Dr. HAMILTON WRIGHT and Mr. VAN DEVENTER, all of whom had served on the same Committee at the previous Conference, and that His Exe. Baron FALLON should be invited to join them.
The proposal was unanimously accepted.
The President then proposed as members of the Press Committee, Dr. We LIES-TEH and Mr. DE JONGH, both of whom had served on the same Committee at the previous Conference, and that Dr. KOLLEN, who
of Dutch ancestry,
should be invited to join them.
The proposal was unanimously accepted.
The President expressed the belief that a Program Committee was not necessary. (General assent.)
The President: Article 23 of the Convention of January 28, 1912, provides that after all the Powers shall have signed the Convention or the Supplementary Protocol abovementioned, on behalf of their possessions, colonies, protectorates and territories as well as for themselves, the Government of the Netherlands shall invite all the Powers to ratify the Convention with this Protocol.
In case the signatures of all the Powers invited shall not be obtained by December 31, 1912, the Government of the Netherlands shall immediately request the Signatory Powers at that date to accredit Delegates to proceed to the Hague to examine the possibility of depositing their ratifications notwithstanding.
As you have already learned yesterday and as you have seen from the note distributed among the Delegates, some of the Powers who have been asked to signed have not yet done so. We find it necessary, therefore, to ascertain whether the Powers here present are nevertheless able to deposit their ratifications.
I will therefore ask the Secretary-General to ask the Delegations in alphabetical order whether they are disposed to deposit the ratification of their Government.
His Exe. Mr. von Müller made the following declaration:
The Powers represented at the Conference of 1911-1912 examined with care the existing state of international affairs in connection with the production of opium, morphine, cocaine, etc., and the general situation of international commerce in these products. They unanimously decided that they would first proceed to invite all the Powers of Europe and America who were not represented at the Conference to sign the Convention, and that ratification ought not to take place until all the Powers should have signed the Convention.
This decision was inspired by the consideration that an endeavor on the part of a more or less limited number of the Powers to regulate by an international agreement the production of and commerce in opium, morphine and cocaine would necessarily remain useless while these products could be manufactured by the subjects of the States who are not bound by a Convention, and placed upon the market without any restrictions whatever.
In order that the labors of the Conference should not be compromised by the mere fact that two or three Powers had not replied to the invitation, it was provided in Article 23 that a new Conference should meet in order to ascertain whether the ratifications of the Signatory Powers might nevertheless be deposited. Now nine Powers have not yet signed and Greece, Switzerland and Turkey have declined the invitation that was extended to them.
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As the ratification of the Convention by only a part of the Powers interested in the matter will not achieve the contemplated ends, the Imperial Government regrets that it is obliged to declare that it cannot at present ratify the Opium Convention.
Dr. Hamilton Wright declared that the United States of America is ready to proceed to ratification, it being clearly understood that without any further reservation whatever on the part of the American Delegation, this ratification must be submitted to the usual approval of the Senate.
His Exe. baron Fallon, for Belgium,
His Exe. Mr. Graça Aranha, for Brazil,
His Exc. Mr. Jorje Huneeus, for Chile,
declared that their Governments were disposed to ratify the Convention upon approval by their respective Parliaments.
His Exc. Mr. Yen: China, as you all know, is more deeply concerned with the Opium question than perhaps any other nation under the sun. The friendly and sympathetic spirit with which the Chinese resolutions were received by the Conference the last time has been highly appreciated. Encouraged by the united front of the Powers to suppress the opium and kindred evils, China has adopted the most vigorous of measures for the suppression of the growth and use of opium since the signing of the last Convention. President YUAN in his Presidential mandates and the National Assembly in confirming the anti-opium laws, as well as the provincial governors, have one and all endeavoured to translate into action the letter and spirit of the Opium Convention, and now we are here to confirm and ratify the labours of our predecessors. Unanimity characterised the last Conference and we hope that the same spirit will dominate the present Conference. In the instuctions which our Delegation has distinctly received from our Government, emphasis is placed on the importance of prompt, and, if possible, immediate ratification. Not only would such action largely strengthen the hands of our Government, but it would also convince the world that the lofty standard of morality and ethics maintained by the last Conference is to be supported and approved by the present one. Therefore, representing China, a nation vitally interested in the Opium and kindred drug questions, I appeal to you, my honoured colleagues, to devise measures whereby the Convention can be promptly and, if possible, immediately ratified.
(Applause).
His Exc. Mr. de Peralta declared that the Government of Costa Rica is ready to deposit the ratification of the Convention. He added that even before this Conference had considered the problem of the abuse of opium, the legislative body of his country had taken serious measures to limit the commerce in and the use of the drug.
Mr. de Grevenkop Castenskjold declared that the Danish Government is ready to deposit its ratification.
His Exc. Mr. Jorje Huneeus declared that the Government of Ecuador is ready to deposit its ratification.
Mr. Garcia de Acilu y Benito declared that the Spanish Government is ready to deposit the ratification of the Convention.
His Exc. Mr. Marcellin Pellet declared:
The Government of the French Republic regrets that, as regards French Indo- China, it is not as yet able to ratify the Convention of January 23, 1912.
On one hand, it is waiting until the intentions of certain States, who are not represented at the Conference and all of whom are great producers of opium
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