Geneva, Nov. 5.
At the meeting of the Opium Con ference to-day, the Japanese delegate said that' the suppression opium-smoking in Japan was absolute.
Prince Charoon (Siam), the Vice-President, outlined the restrictive measures in Siam and expressed the hope tha: neighbouring countries would assist in the gradual suppress. sion of opium-smoking.
Sir Malcolm Delevigne (Britain) drew attention to the smuggling lich in the past three years had forse in the Far East, partiularly in Hongkong, where as much opium was imported illicitly legally. He declared that the Malayan Peninsula was not 0 bad, but asserted that there was con. siderable smuggling between the} rar East and the Straits Settlements.
This afternoon's sitting was occupied exclusively statement by Dr. Sze, which led to} 4 friendly passage of arms between the Chinese delegation and Sir J. Campbell (India).
The Chinese statement declared that China was suffering from the acts of individuals over whom she had no control owing to the gbligation imposed on her to concede extra territorial rights to nationals of certain Powers, The Need for Ca-operation Opium, Dr. Sze continued, was' jot indigenous to China, but had been introduced from abroad.
China's attempt to curtail smug-fling had not met with ce-operation from those Powers those nationals engaged in the traffic, The production of opium in China had practically ceased in 1917 when Britain agreed that Indian opium was not to be exported to China.
No Power was more concerned than China in regard to the total suppression of the use of prepared opium. This result, the speaker affirmed, could not be hoped for: without the whole-hearted ce-opera~ tion of all Powers possessing: tort torial interests in the The statement admitted, and kretted, the recrudescence of cultivation of poppy and the production and" ase of prepared opiam view of the temporary disturbed political cond China. The: Chinese people were suffering owing to foreign grown opium bein smuggled into China and also the large amount of foreign manufac. tured nares legally introduced and sold in Chin Dr. Sze concluded by suzgestin that the smoking of prepared opi should be declared harmful therefore illegitimate; that the i portation of opium except for medi or scientific purposes. should be mediately forbidden; that the! export likewise should be prohibited;. that these undertakings should be applied to colonies and dependencies of agreeing Powers; and that the uri Of prepared opium should be terbic den excepting for addicts requiring special treatment.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.