A.—2

3

containing a statement of action taken by the British Government with regard to the International Opium Convention, 1912. I have, &c, DEVONSHIRE. Governor-General His Excellency the Right Hon. Viscount Jellicoe, G.C.8., 0.M., G.C.V.0., &c.

Enclosure. International Opium Convention, 1912. —Statement of Action taken by British Government. (Note.' —The action taken by the Indian Government is dealt with in full in a pamphlet issued by the India Office and entitled " Tho Truth about Indian Opium," and is accordingly not referred to in this pamphlet.) Part I. — Before the War. The International Opium Conference, at which Great Britain was represented, met at The Hague in 1911-12, and the International Opium Convention, 1912, which was tho result of tho Conference, and which provided for control over the production, manufacture, distribution, &c, of opium, prepared opium, medicinal opium, morphine, diamorphino (heroin), cocaine, and their salts and preparations, was ratified by tho British Government on the 15th July, 1914, on behalf of the whole British Empire. Unfortunately, before any further steps could be taken to bring the Convention into force the European War supervened, and the whole question remained in abeyance till the end of the war. Up to this time the only restrictions in force in the United Kingdom on the traffic in these drugs were the general restrictions relating to the sale of poisons which were contained in tho Poisons and Pharmacy Acts. There was no control over the import, export, or manufacture of the drugs. Part II. — During the War. As a part of the general war measures, the export of a large number of articles, including the drugs to which, the Convention applies, was prohibited except under license, and was controlled during the whole period of the war. Further, in 1916, in view of the spread of the cocaine habit among the troops, British and others, in this country, and also of difficulties caused by attempts to smuggle* opium out to China, it became necessary for the Government to take measures to control the traffic in these two drugs. A Proclamation was accordingly issued prohibiting the import of those drugs except under license, and a regulation was made under the Defence of the Realm Act restricting the right to obtain or be in possession of the drugs to authorized persons, and only allowing the supply of cocaine for medical purposes for persons for whom it had been prescribed by a medical practitioner. The sale of raw opium to the public and the manufacture, sale, or use of propared opium were prohibited. Conditions as to the keeping of records of transactions and other matters were also imposed. For the purpose of the regulation an authorized person meant a duly qualified medical practitioner, a registered dentist, a registered veterinary surgeon, a person, firm, or body corporate carrying on the retail business of a chemist and druggist under the Pharmacy Acts, or a person holding a general or special permit to purchase or be in possession, of the drug. These two measures for the first time placed the cocaine and opium traffic in the United Kingdom under effective control, and put great difficulties in the way of their being smuggled into other countries. Towards the end of the war a difficult situation arose in connection with the export of morphine. As a result of the war, largely increased quantities of morphine were required by the Allies, while at the same time the German.supplies of morphine, which before the war were very large, were cut off. Further, the supplies of the Turkish and Persian opium, which in normal times are the raw material from which morphine is manufactured, were either cut off in the case of Turkey or endangered in the case of Persia. It became necessary, therefore, to take stops to ensure an adequate supply of opium, and arrangements were made with the Indian Government to send large quantities of Indian opium to England, to be used in tho manufacture of morphine. (Indian opium is not normally used for the manufacture of morphine on account of its lower morphine content.) Very largo quantities of this morphine were supplied, to our: Allies. In 1916-17 the attention of the Government was drawn to the fact that large quantities of morphia were being exported to Japan, and that there were grounds for believing that much of this British-made morphia was being smuggled from Japan into China. Accordingly, in 1917, it was decided that no licenses should be granted for the export either of morphine or of cocaine to Japan, except when a certificate was produced from the Japanese authorities that the consignment applied for was for actual consumption in Japan (or in Dairen and vicinity) and would be used for medicinal purposes only. A notice to this effect was published in the Times of 10th October, 1917. As a result of this system exports of morphia to Japan rapidly decreased, falling from 550,000 oz. in 1917 to 36,500 oz. in 1918; and 5,686 oz. in 1919.t The figures for 1920 and 1921 were 6|oz. and 320 oz. respectively. Exports of cocaine fell to practically nil.

* It may be mentioned here that special efforts are made by British shipping companies to prevent the smuggling of opium on board their vessels by sailors and others. As great ingenuity is displayed in concealing opium, extremely careful searches have to be carried out. 'Sol instance, one steamship line requires a general search to take place at intervals, especially before arrival at China, United States, &c, ports, and the head of each Department is required to certify, in detail, that every part of the ship under his charge has been thoroughly searched. Special watchmen are also employed with a view to detecting any attempts to smuggle opium on board. f These are the amounts licensed for export and include exports through the post. In comparing the figures with tho Customs returns it must be remembered that the latter do not include exports through the post.