[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government
OPIUM.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[57230]
C. O.
[October 1.]
!3187
SECTION 1.
GE 11 APR 14 No. 1.
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Sir,
British Delegates to Second International Opium Conference to Sir Edward Grey.
Foreign Office, October 1, 1913. WE have the honour to transmit to you herewith the finai protocol, signed at The Hague on the 9th July by the delegates to the Second International Opium Conference, and also a volume containing the minutes of the sessions of the Conference. We desire, further, to take this opportunity of submitting a few remarks on the proceedings and results of the Conference.
The Conference was called together by the Netherland Government in accordance with the terms of the second paragraph of article 23 of the International Opium Convention,* signed at The Hague on the 23rd January, 1912, which runs: "In the event of the signature of all the lowers invited not having been obtained on the date of the 31st December, 1912, the Government of the Netherlands will immediately invite the Powers who have signed by that date to appoint delegates to examine at The Hague the possibility of depositing their ratifications notwithstanding."
The circumstances which led up to the summoning of the Conference, and the reasons which induced His Majesty's Government to accept with pleasure the invita- tion of the Netherland Government, are so clearly set out in the instructions which we had the honour to receive from you that it seems unnecessary for us to do more than refer to them.
The Conference was opened on the 1st July by his Excellency Jonkheer de Marees van Swinderen, Netherland Minister for Foreign Affairs, who delivered a short speech of welcome to the delegates, in which he pointed out that the very fact of the assembling of this second Conference indicated that the issue contemplated by the convention had not been completely attained, inasmuch as of the Powers invited to sign the supplementary protocol all had not replied in the affirmative.
As a matter of fact, at the date of the opening of the Conference twenty-two Powers out of the thirty-four invited had signed, namely, the Argentine Republic, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Republic of Cuba, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, the Republic of Ecuador, Guatemala, the Republic of Hayti, Honduras, Luxemburg, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Salvador, Spain, and the United States of Venezuela. These, with the twelve Powers who participated in the first Conference, made thirty-four Powers which had actually signed the conven- tion, leaving only twelve the signatures of which were still wanting, namely, Austria- Hungary, Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, Norway, Peru, Roumania, Servia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and Uruguay,
Of the original signatory Powers all except Persia were represented at the second Conference, while of the twenty-two Powers who had signed the supplementary protocol of signature nine only were not represented, viz., Bolivia, the Republic of Cuba, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Salvador, and the United States of Venezuela. The countries, therefore, which actually sent delegates to the second Conference, and which, through them, were parties to the final protocol of the 9th July, 1913, were as follows: Argentine Republic, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hayti, Italy, Japan, Luxemburg, Mexico, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Siam, Spain, and the United States of America, or exactly twice as many as were represented at the first Conference.
On
The proceedings at the first meeting of the Conference were purely formal. the proposal of the French and German delegates, as being the senior members of the Diplomatic Body at The Hague appointed to represent their Governments at the Conference, M. Cremer, the senior Netherland delegate, was unanimously elected president. M. Cremer pronounced a speech in which he pointed out that the task before the present Conference was far lighter than that with which the first Conference
"Miscellaneous, No. 2 (1912)."
[1903 a-1]
B
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