CO129-416 - Public Offices - 1914 — Page 365

CONFIDENTIAL.

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JECE I APRI

AN Interdepartmental Committee met to-day at the Foreign Office to consider the instructions to the British delegates at the forthcoming International Opium Conference at The Hague.

There were present :-

Sir William Collins, K.C.V.O.

Mr. M. Delevingne, C.B., representing the Home

Office.

Mr. F. Drake, representing the India Office.

Mr. H. Fountain, C.M.G., representing the Board

of Trade.

Mr. J. D. Gregory, representing the Foreign Office. Mr. R. H. Griffin, representing the Colonial Office.

The existing situation was reviewed.

The Powers that have not yet signed the Inter- national Opium Convention of 1912 are Austria- Hungary, Turkey, Servia, Bulgaria, Greece, and Uruguay. (Greece has attached reservations to her adhesion with regard to her newly-acquired territories.) The Austro-Hungarian Minister for Foreign Affairs informed His Majesty's Ambassador orally on the 20th January that the Austro-Hungarian Government had definitely decided to sign, the delay being due only to differences between the Austrian and Hungarian Governments as to the form of signature.

In the British Empire, Bermuda, Barbados, and Mauritius are the only colonies outstanding, but the two last have passed the necessary ordinance and the first will pass it. The South African Protectorates and Zanzibar are ready to adhere but have not actually signed.

Egypt has not yet signed, as Lord Kitchener wished to deal with opium and hashish together. He is, how- ever, to be instructed to dissociate them and to obtain* Egypt's adhesion to the Opium Convention.

The Powers that have ratified the Convention are the United States, Denmark, Portugal, Siam, Venezuela, Honduras, and Guatemala.

The Committee were of opinion that the delay in the signature of the Convention by Austria-Hungary was the principal obstacle to ratification by Great Britain, but that the latter would be justified nevertheless in ratifying if the Austro-Hungarian Government would make a definite statement in writing of their intention to sign.

It was accordingly proposed that His Majesty's Ambassador at Vienna should be instructed to endeavour to elicit a written statement in this sense from the Austro-Hungarian Government.

The purpose of the forthcoming Conference at The Hague was then considered.

The invitation of the Netherlands Government states that the Conference " aura pour but d'instituer une enquête concernant la possibilité de faire entrer la

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