10th F EBRUARY. I 909

ON the Chair being taken by the President at lo.3o a.m., Mr. J. B. BRUNVATE rose to present a report on the opium and morphine question as it concerns India and Burma. Reviewing seriatim the various sections of the report, he elucidated, and occasionally amplified from personal knowledge, those points which he desired to bring more particularly to the notice of the Commission.

Dealing first with the question of morphine, Mr. Brunyate stated that the morphia habit was of comparatively- recent growth in India, and as soon as the attention of the Government had been attracted to the use of the drug for other than medicinal purposes steps were taken to hinder any further expansion. Its use was confined principally, to the large centres of population, and it did not seem to grow in favour with such rapidity as cocaine, against which, it might be mentioned, prohibitory action had also been taken. The quantity-of morphine which any. one individual might legally possess—and then only for medicinal purposes—was now limited in India to to, and in Burma to 5, grains. The possession of morphia by medical practitioners and druggists had also been regulated.

Turning to opium, Mr. Brunyate, after a preliminary reference to the activity of recent Opium Administration in India, began his analysis of the subject by an examination of the conditions of production, manufacture and trade. He distinguished between opium grown in territories under the direct control of the Government and that which is produced in those Native States which have continued to exercise the right of cultivating the poppy. In the former case, steps had been taken in the direction of reducing cultivation in anticipation of and during the currency of the expected Agreement with China, and a more than proportionate. diminution of area had already been effected. In the latter case, the action of the Government is confined to regulating exports within the permitted limits. He alluded to the difficulty of finding remunerative crops in substitution for poppy in the Malwa States and to the fact that the large stocks of opium in the hands of traders at the time that the Agreement became operative further enhanced the difficulty' in dealing with the question of cultivation in that area, the existing supply' being sufficient, without further production, to provide the exports for a large part of the ten-year period.

The purchase of the Bengal (i.e., Patna and Benares) drug from the licensed cultivator,. and its subsequent manufacture, were in the hands of the Government, and trading interests did not arise until 'the sale of the drug for export at Calcutta, or for consumption in India to licensed vendors. In the case of Malwa opium, a succession of important commercial interests was involved in the passage of drug from tile cultivator, until it reached the hands of the large export firms in Bombay, and was thence distributed to associated firms in the Far East.

In giving the recent figures for the quantity of opium exported from India to foreign countries, Mr. Brunyate pointed out that these were no longer an index to the future dimen-sions of the trade, as by the Agreement which became operative from the ist January, 1908 between His Majesty's Government and China, the total volume of exports was limited to-
61,900 chests in 1908.
56,800    1909.
51,700    1910.

It had further been agreed that, if during these three years the Chinese Government duly carried out their arrangements for diminishing the production and consumption in China itself,. His Majesty's Government undertook to continue this annual diminution in the .saine propor-tion after the period in question, the restriction of the imports of Turkish, Persian and other opium into China being separately, arranged for by the Chinese Government and carried out simultaneously. Thus, at the end of ten years, when the Agreement would have produced its full intended effect, the permissible export of India opium to countries other than China would stand at a fixed maximum of 16,000 chests a year.

This Agreement had been accepted by the Chinese Government in January 19°8, with an expression of deep gratitude to His Majesty's Government ; and the Waiwupu, after a year's experience had recently, communicated to His Majesty's Minister at Peking their con-tinued and entire satisfaction with the arrangement.

Mr. Brunyate next dealt with the questions of the Excise Administration and the Consumption of Opium in India, first sketching the rnain provisions of the Opiurn Act of 1878 by which, and the rules made thereunder, the use of the drug in India was 110W regulated. Summarising the general restrictions more or less uniformly applicable in all provinces, he mentioned that the sale of smoking- preparations was absolutely, prohibited (except in Burma),. as also the consumption of opium in any, form in a licensed opium-shop. The private possession of opiutn by' individuals was limited in the majority. of provinces to 54o grains, and in a few provinces to 9oo grains, while no person (except in Burma) was allowed to possess smoking- preparations of opium, even prepared by himself, in excess of 180 grains weight.

After mentioning that the common method of using opium in India Ivas by, swallowing the crude drug, Mr. Brunyate stated the broad facts connected with the distribution of the• habit in India, and the purposes for which opium was employed in addition to its use as an indulgence. He next subjected the statistics of recorded consumption of opium in each province for a series of years to analysis, and pointed out that a large part of the increase• which had occurred in the last two or three years could be definitely accounted for by the smuggling of opium into Burma, where a policy of prohibition is in force in regard to the Burman population. The total recorded annual consumption of British India, excluding Burma, now stood at the equivalent of about eight thousand chests of export opium.

Mr. Brunyate then proceeded to describe more fully the stages through which the policy of prohibition adopted by, the Government in Burma had passed, and its results. The• experiment, which seemed to him an exceedingly, interesting one, had now extended over fifteen years and its results, as exhibited in the statistics of recorded consumption, had been an immediate and heavy fall in consumption at the outset followed by a large and rapid increase up to a few years ago. Since then the figures had shown a definite tendency to progressive decline. Smuggling, it was explained, had existed with little check in the beginning, but revised arrangements, including strict supervision over sales, and the creation of a strong preventive establishment, had subsequently, led to an increased resort to licit modes of supplv.

These measures, however, had still left it possible for opiurn to be purchased by those con-sumers to whom the prohibitive policy does not apply (i.e., Indians and Chinese), and to be illegally retailed by them to the excluded Burman. During the last.few years this question had been seriously taken up. Measures had been adopted to ascertain the true consumption of individual consumers, and to limit their supplies to their own personal requirements. The effect of this was traceable in the decline of consumption since 1904-5. Reviewing the whole experiment, he believed that in Upper I3urma the opium habit had been kept well in hand. In Lower Burma success appeared to be in sight. It remained, however, to be seen whether the further steps now being taken in the two Beng-als, as well as in Burma, would effectively meet the difficulty arising from smuggling. It was necessarily difficult to produce precise statistical evidence as to the proportion of Burmans who were actually, though illegally, consumers of opium, but the jail statistics would serve to throw some light on the point. In the ten years preceding the introduction of the policy of prohibition, the average percentage of consumers among the jail population had been 20.39. In the first eight years of prohibition the average percentag-e fell to 16.69, the general tendency being downward though there was a slig-ht rise in the middle of the period. In the four years which followed the improvement of the original arrangements early in 1902, the average fell to 12.8 per cent, and in 1905, the latest year for which he was able to produce the figures, it stood at 12.12.

Continuing, Mr. Brunyate referred to the important revenue derived from the use and export of opium by the Native States in Central India and Rajputana, and by the Indian Government. The bulk of the revenue derived by Native States from opium was due to the assessment. at relatively high rates, of land capable of producing the poppy. There was also a large number of miscellaneous taxes, some of which, however, yielded only small amounts. The Indian Government derived a revenue of nearly -I,000,000 a year from the use of opium within India itself, from which there must be deducted such share of the cost of the general excise establishments as might be considered attributable to the administration of opium. The total revenue derived from exports during the last two or three years, before reductions began to be effected in co-operation with China, had been about 33/1. millions sterling annually, of which a little under three millions might be regarded as due to the exports to China. The latter figure would be somevvhat lower were a longer period taken in calculating the average.

Mr. Brunyate concluded hi.s explanatory- statement by quoting the words in which His Excellency the Earl of Minto, Viceroy and Governor General of India, had publicly referred to the intended co-operation with China, on its announcement in connection with the discussion of the Budget Statement of the Indian Government in March 1 907

" At first sight I grant that China's proposals are very alarming as to their possible effects on the Indian revenues. But I am afraid I am unable to follow the" . . . . "sweeping assumption that India is about to be sacrificed for the pleasure of a few faddists. Neither do I think we are entitled to doubt the good faith of the Chinese Government as to the objects of their proposals. Papers which I have had recently before me indicate every intention on the part of China to reduce with a strong hand the consumption of opium and the growth of the poppy, in her own territory. I am no opium faddist. I quite admit the hardship a proscription of opium would entail on those who use it in moderation, as many in this country do, and I am well aware of the difficulties surrounding any attempt to reduce its production. But there is no doubt throughout the whole civilized world a feeling of disgust at the demoralizing effect of the opium habit in excess. It is a feeling in which we cannot but share. We could not with any self respect refuse to assist China on the grounds of loss of revenue to India". . . . " I admit that the task China has set herself may be greater than she can accomplish, and that we have a perfect right to require that in agreeing to the reduction of imports from India we should be satisfied of the results of China's efforts to reduce her own internal opium production. But, notwithstanding the prospect of a heavy loss in revenue, I hope we may accept". . the . . . "view that, provided the transition state through which we must pass is spread over a sufficient number of years, we need apprehend no financial disaster."

The Commission adjourned for the mid-day recess at 12.45 p.m.

On the members re-assembling at 2.15 p.m., Monsieur RATARD placed on the table a report relating to the use of opium and its derivatives in France. He quoted some figures showing the net importation of the drug into that country and the average individual consumption, and pointed out that these were not of a nature to give the least cause of anxiety to his Government. Continuing-, Monsieur Ratard described the steps taken by the French Municipal Council, since the issue of the prohibitory Edicts, to reduce opium smoking in the French Concession at Shanghai. The closing of the divans, all of which are registered and under police supervision, was deemed impracticable as long as the sale of opium continued to be permitted. To mention one of several reasons—it was considered that the danger of conflagrations in the Concession would increase in proportion to the number of individual smokers who would be driven to use opium lamps in their own homes. Consequently, the plan adopted was to increase the Municipal taxes payable by each divan (according to the number of couches on the premises) up to the point when—no profit being possible—these establishments would close of their own accord. The amount of the tax had already been doubled twice during- the past two years, the result being a decrease of 5 per cent in the number of licensed establishments, and of 28 per cent in the number of couches in actual use.

Monsieur RATARD spoke in French, and his remarks were rendered into English by Monsieur BRENIER, who then proceeded to summarize briefly the data contained in a report presented by his Delegation on the opium question in French Indo-China. He said that the traffic in opium was a Government monopoly, and the importation, manufacture and sale of the drug were strictly controlled. Practically no opium was grown in French Indo-China except in those districts bordering on the Chinese frontier, and even there the production was sporadic and insignificant. Generally speaking, the soil and climatic conditions of the colony were unfavourable to poppy cultivation. Monsieur Brenier stated that the opium habit was confined almost entirely to the richer classes among both the Chinese and Annamese, and concluded his remarks by mentioning that the revenue derived from opium constituted about one-sixth of the Colonial budget.

The French report, having been laid on the table, Senhor O. G. POTIER, the senior representative for Portugal, addressed the Chair as follows :—

" Mr. President.—I have the honour to present my Memorandum concerning the opium question. I regret that this Memorandum is not quite complete : it covers mainly the opium trade of Macao. Up to the present, I have not received from my Government any information and data concerning Portugal and her Colonies. As soon as they reach me, I shall have pleasure in presenting them in an additional Memorandum.

" Beyond what is contained in the Memorandum, the Portuguese Delegation has no other remarks and important points to offer for the consideration of their honourable colleagues.

" I beg leave to hand you a resume of our Memorandum, which is in the hands of the printer and will soon be circulated."

The PRESIDENT expressed the hope that those reports not yet before the Commission would soon be forthcoming.

The Delegations for Austria-Hungary, Persia, and Portugal respectively informed the Chair that their reports would be ready for presentation on Friday.

Mr. DE JONGH moved the following resolution :—    to 5.3o p.m.'

" l'hat in Article 16 of the Rules regulating procedure the words '2.3o be substituted for the words 2.00 10 5.00 P.M.' "    read 2.3o to

As an amendment, Monsieur RATARD proposed that the alteration should 5.o0 p.m. Mr. de Jongh withdrew his resolution in favour of Monsieur Ratard's which on being put to the vote was accepted by the Commission.    amendment,

The Delegations for China, Japan and the Netherlands promised to prepare replies to questions handed to them by Mr. R. Laidlaw, M.P.

(N.B.—All questions and anszvers will be found at the end of the report of the country they concern.)

At 3.30 p.m., the Right Hon. Sir CECIL CLEMEN ri SMITH suggested an adjournment until Friday morning- (12th February) in order that delegates might have time to study the reports already in their possession. This proposal meeting with approval, the Commission adjourned.