Drugs and Medicinal Plants. 



504 



[June, 1912. 



Servia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, 

 Uruguay and Venezuela. Of these the 

 abstentions of Turkey, Bolivia and Peru 

 are most important. The French re- 

 presentatives emphasised the necessity 

 of Turkey joining in, and also the con- 

 siderable quantity of coca produced in 

 Peru and Bolivia, the latter being 

 endorsed by Portugal and Russia. As 

 regards Turkey, the Persian represent- 

 ative said he was informally aware that 

 the conclusions of our humanitarian 

 work should decidedly appeal to Turkey, 

 and would not be rejected by her," 

 whilst, more particularly in reference 

 to the South American States, Dr. 

 Hamilton Wright, on behalf of the 

 United States, said his Government had 

 never any fear that the other countries 

 would not adhere to the recommen- 

 dations of the Conference. 



Government Monopolies Suggested. 



The extremes to which some of the 

 countries were prepared to go to coerce 

 others into line was indicated by Dr. 

 Wright's suggestion of an Article that 

 in the event of non-signatory countries 

 not adhering in two years their product 

 should be outlawed and beyond the pale 

 of legitimate commerce, but Mr. Max- 

 Miiller (Great Britain) pointed out that 

 this would be contrary to most favoured 

 nation treatment; if they admitted 

 morphine, &c, from one country they 

 could not refuse to admit it from 

 countries which enjoyed such treatment 

 without denouncing the treaty. Holland 

 wanted to be even more drastic— opium, 

 &c, to be withdrawn from international 

 commerce, such commerce to be reserved 

 for the Governments, Mr. Cremer, the 

 Dutch representative, actually presented 

 a draft convention providing for the 

 transfer of opium from one Govern- 

 ment to another. The consuming 

 countries would deliver annually in 

 advance to the producing countries the 

 quantities required, and the producing 

 country would determine the price 

 and communicate it to the consuming 

 countries seven months before the year 

 of consumption begins. This system 

 would necessarily involve the manufac- 



ture of morphine and other derivatives, 

 and the Government would have to feed 

 their industrials with supplies of raw 

 materials. Mr. Cremer found several 

 countries to support his plan, and vowed 

 that a future convention would find that 

 they would have to resolve upon it. 

 The United States, however, whilst in 

 sympathy with, could not accept it 

 because their Government is adverse to 

 a monopoly in any article. Portugal, 

 on the other hand, stood out for the 

 gradual suppression of the trade as being 

 more conducive to the support of other 

 countries, and this was the line on which 

 the Convention ultimately proceeded. 

 The Dutch idea was based on the prin- 

 ciple that smuggling was the greatest 

 enemy of the opium reformer, and it 

 certainly appears so, in view of the fol- 

 lowing statement included in a memo- 

 random presented by the Chinese dele- 

 gation :— 



Smuggling. 

 " It is generally agreed that large quan- 

 tities of morphine are yearly smuggled 

 into China, especially through the ports 

 of Swatow, Amony, Hongkong, Formosa, 

 Macao, Ningpo and Daley. The existing 

 laws place obstacles in the path of duly 

 qualified medical men and chemists, but 

 offer unlimited freedom to unscrupulous 

 dealers in procuring these harmful drugs. 

 Morphine is even more easily smuggled 

 into the country than opium. Its light- 

 ness, its white colour, and its strong 

 action all favour this. One doctor says 

 a local chemist promised large orders 

 to a drug firm if the latter would agree 

 to enclose 1 lb. of morphia in every 

 barrel of boric acid ordered by him. 

 Again Dr. Gray says it is mixed up with 

 wheat flour, from which it can be 

 separated by immersing in water and 

 then evaporating. Its export from 

 Japan and Europe through the post is 

 well known. 



" In the year 1910 when cocaine statis- 

 tics were first kept, the declared quan- 

 tity imported into China was 86,538 oz., 

 of which Amoy claimed 36,102. The 

 Cocaine Laws came into force the same 

 year and the importation (open, that is 



