Drugs and Medicinal Plants. 



502 



[June, i912. 



verted into Indian currency — to practic- 

 ally R. 4. (5s. 4d.) per lb. of sulphate of 

 quinine. Adding to this Rs. 1-15, the 

 result comes out at Rs. 5-15 (7s, lid.) per 

 lb., or practically 6d. per oz., as the 

 total cost of the quinine manufactured 

 from the plantation bark. 



The question thus arises, why should 

 the Indian Government buy Java Bark 

 to manufacture quinine costing 8d. per 

 oz. when they can buy their require- 

 ments of the alkaloid in the open market 

 or direct from the Java factory at round 

 about 6sd. per oz. ? As regards the issue 

 of quinine sulphate, there was a decline 

 of 1,005 lb., to 22,893 lb., part of this being 

 due to the lessened demand from the 

 Inspector-General of Prisons, Bengal, for 

 quinine for pice-packets, only 5,200 lb. 

 being indented for, as against 9,280 lb. 

 during 1909-10. There was a considerable 

 increase in the quantity sold to Govern- 

 ment officers, dispensaries, and medical 

 missions, the total rising from 1,992 lb. to 

 2,806 lb. in the year under review. The 

 stock account shows that on March 31, 

 1911, there was in store 48,664 lb. of qui- 

 nine, which reserve the Director states 

 is now practically equal to a two years' 

 supply at the present demand for quinine. 

 This looks as if the factory maintains a 

 very much heavier stock than is neces- 

 sary, and when it is remembered that 

 there are always large unsold supplies of 

 quinine and febrifuge in the hands of 

 postmasters and others, it looks as if a 

 great deal of money is locked up use- 

 lessly. Cinchona febrifuge is not now 

 manufactured, as the demand is insigni- 

 ficant, The profit and loss account 

 shows that after deducting non-recurring 

 charges (amounting to Rs. 1,007) there is 

 a balance of Rs. 20,796 (,£1,386.) profit on 

 the year's working. The moral to be 

 drawn from the report is that India is 

 overstocked with quinine, and yet the 

 Government absorbs several millions of 

 quinine tablets bought in the European 

 market. 



THE OPIUM CONFERENCE. 



(From the British and Colonial Druggist, 

 Vol. LXI, No. 16, April 19th, 1912.) 



The Course of its Proceedings Lea- 

 ding to the Signing op the 

 Hague Convention. 



The issue of the B. & C. D., January 

 26th, contained a precis of the Interna- 

 tional Opium Convention, which had 

 been signed at the Hague on the previous 

 Tuesday. It was exclusive to our pages, 

 and was the first intimation to the trade 

 of the general trend of the important 

 decisions arrived at by the contracting 

 parties. We have now leceived a full 

 printed report of the proceedings issued 

 by the Netherlands Minister of Foreign 

 Affairs, and comprising an official ac- 

 count in French of the discussions and 

 resolutions, together with a volume of 

 documents, also a summary of the 

 minutes in English. 



The Objects and Conclusions. 

 These throw considerable additional 

 light on the motives and aspirations of 

 the various participants, and give some 

 idea of the prospects of the decisions 

 being translated into reciprocal laws- 

 With the humanitarian principle under- 

 lying this co-operative effort in the refor- 

 mation of peoples addicted to the drug 

 habit, we, of course, concur ; besides ten- 

 ding to the emancipation of fellow hu- 

 mans, it has the material advantage of 

 improving the morale of those Eastern 

 people who are brought in contact with 

 Western nations, and also ultimately of 

 improving the countries of the former 

 for commercial exploitation by the latter, 

 the economic loss, notably of China, 

 through the baneful effects of opium, 

 affecting not only the Celestial Empire, 

 but all the leading nations. The difficul- 

 ties, however, of securing a world linking 

 of nations in the regulation of the trade 

 are considerable, although they have 

 undoubtedly been advanced by the con- 

 vention agreed to by 12 countries on 

 January 23rd. This convention dealt 

 with the matter sectionally, prescribing 

 general regulations for the regulation of 

 (1) raw opium, (2) prepared opium, (3) 



