1St FEBRUARY, 1909

THE PROCEEDINGS commenced at ir.4o a.m. On the proposal of one of the Chinese delegates, the Hon. Lew Yuk-lin, which was seconded by the Right Hon. Sir Cecil Clementi Smith, Chief Commissioner of the British Delegation, the Right Reverend Bishop Brent, Chief Commissioner of the Delegation representing the United States of America, was unanimously elected President of the Commission.

Taking the Chair at 11.45 a.m., the PRESIDENT addressed the House as follows:—

Fellow Members of the International Opium Commission :—In electing me your Chairman, you have conferred an extraordinary honour on the Government which I represent. In behalf of the United States of America and also in behalf of my esteemed colleagues, I beg- to thank you for this distinction. I cannot ignore the personal aspect of your action. Permit me, therefore, to express my appreciation of your willingness to select me as your Chairman. I am conscious of the fact that I am the junior in experience of many here present and I shall depend upon your counsel and aid to fulfil the functions of my office. As I interpret the position of Chairman, he is a momentary leader, and a leader is but the foremost companion. As far as in me lies, I shall strive to deal impartially and wisely with the various questions that shall arise, but I am well aware of my limitations. I recognize, however, that in any deliberative assembly there must exist between the Chair and the assembly the heartiest co-operation and desire to afford mutual help, so I shall constantly look to this honourable assemblage for that support and aid which the Chair will need. The hig-h privilege of such a position as that in which I have just been inducted entails heavy responsibility. I dare assume only with the support of your aid the duties involved in the privileg,e that N'OU have conferred upon me.

The question that brings us together--the opium question—is an extremely difficult one and I think the very first thing that all of us should do is frankly to recognize the fact and openly to admit it. It is a great problem and we can hope to reach a successful solution of it only by facing facts and facing them squarely. We must have courage, and it seems to me that two principal features of courage are sincerity and thoroughness. All g-reat problems go throug-h two distinct stages. The first stage is what might be termed the emotional stage; it is based largely upon sentiment and ideals that are conceived in the inner self, sometimes more independent of facts than is warranted. In the problem before us, for a long period we have been passing through this preliminary stage—what I have termed the emotional stag-e. The emotional stage finds expression in agitation. We have had agitation. Now I believe we are at least midway in the second or scientific stage, when men deal with ascertained fact, and on the basis of ascertained fact reach certain conclusions of a practical character that will enable those upon whom the responsibility rests to arrive at some final conclusion.

The first steps towards this International Commission were taken some time since by the Government which I have the honour of representing. The negotiations for the establishment of the Commission have covered a considerable period of time. At first it seemed wise to restrict the nations that would take part in this investigation, or Commission of Inquiry, to those which through territorial possessions, agriculture, or commerce, were actively interested in the opium question in the Far East. Since that time the scope has been considerably widened. Countries that have not the problem in its more acute form, as in the case of my own country and that of other countries similarly situated, were by mutual consent included by the Powers already interested, so that now I think we may say we are in a very real sense an International Commission. Almost at the last moment—indeed at the very last moment—two countries without a serious opium problem of their own were included by their expressed desire, and by the ready acquiescence of all other countries that up to date had notified their willingness to take part in the inquiry. Last summer it was decided by the American Commission—and notification was sent to all other Governments concerned—to study every phase of the opium question in their own territory, including the homeland. Sc, that, presumably, in this International Commission, as we are desirous to ascertain all facts that will enable us to come to some satisfactory conclusion, we shall agree in the desire to receive such information as is presented regarding the various aspects of the question in all the countries represented on the Commission.

It devolves upon me to pronounce with emphasis that this is a Commission, and as those who are informed—as all of you must be in matters that pertain to International affairs of this kind—a Commission is not a Conference. The idea of a Conference was suggested, but it seemed wise to choose this particular form of action rather than a Conference, because, for the present at any rate, we are not sufficiently well informed, and not sufficiently unanimous in our attitude, to have a Conference with any, great hope of immediate success. Further, this Commission is a temporary Commission as distinguished from some of the permanent Commissions already in existence, and if we were to look for the source of our origin, I think we would find it in the articles of the Second Hague Conference, which provides for such International Commissions of Inquiry where points of difference on matters kindred to that which is before us arise between the Powers. So that in all our deliberations and in all our committee work, we must bear in mind that we are to confine ourselves to facts that will enable us to reach, I trust, certain unanimous resolutions and, perhaps, some recommendations of a practical, broad and wise character in connection with those resolutions. But, if I may be permitted to make a suggestion to this assembly, it seems to me that it would be extremely wise if we were to rule out of our deliberations what might be termed useless historical questions beneath which a great deal of controversy lies hidden, and which would only tend to fog the issue. The one way to reach a satisfactory solution of a grave problem is to simplify, as far as possible, the elements of that problem, and I believe that history bears me out when I say that no great question has ever been satisfactorily settled until men have come to a realization of the fact that purely side issues, and controversial matters which do not touch the main question, must be set aside and ignored. They may be of interest, but they are of no practical importance and, indeed, are impediments in the actual working out of the main question.

I feel that I am speaking not merely for myself and my colleagues on the American Commission, but for this entire distinguished assembly, when I say that we are here to do such work as will bring the utmost credit to our respective countries and the utmost benefit possible to mankind. We must study this question in its every aspect—moral, economical, and commercial, diplomatic also, if you will—and we must study it, as I have already said, with those two phases of courage vvhich will bring us to a happy conclusion of our labours—with sincerity and thoroughness.

Nothing more remains for me to say, gentlemen, except to announce that this Inter-national Opium Commission is now organized and ready for business.

With the consent of the Commission the Chair appointed

Mr. F. W. CAREN' (Associate-Delegate for China)
to be Secretary of the Commission, and

Monsieur L. De GIETER
to be Assistant Secretary of the Commission.

The names of the members of the several delegations were read out by the Chair as follows:—

AMERICA, U. S. OF
The Right Reverend Bishop BRENT, D.D. Dr. HAMILTON WRIGHT.
Dr. C. D. TENNEY.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY.

Dr. KARL BERNAUER.

CHINA.
H.E. TUAN FANG, High Commissioner His Honour LEW YUK-LIN.
Mr. TANG KUO-AN.
Dr. HStr HUA-CHING.

FRANCE.
Monsieur J. RATARD.
H. BRENIER. J. CORNILLON.

GERMANY.
Dr. RbSSLER.
Dr. G. -PERNITZSCH.

GREAT BRITA IN.
The Right Hon. Sir CECIL CLEMENTI SMITH, G.C.M.G. Sir ALEXANDER HOSIE.
Mr. MACKENZIE KING, C.M.G.
Mr. JAMES BENNETT BRUNYATE.
Mr. R. LAIDLAW, M.P.

ITALY.

Signor R. FARAONE.

JAPAN.
H.E. TSUNEJIRO MIYAOKA. Dr. Y. TAHARA.
Dr. T. TAKAKI.

THE NETHERLANDS.
Mr. A. A. DE JONGH. Mr. W. G. VAN WETTUNI

PERSIA. Mr. M. D. RIZAEFF.

PORTUGAL.
Senhor O. G. POTIER.
Commendador C. A. R. D'ASSUMPÇAO.

RUSSIA.
H.E. Monsieur C. KLEIMENOW.

SIAM.
The Right Hon. PHYA SAKDISINIE. His Honour LUANG VISUTR KOSA. His Honour PHRA MANAS MANIT.

M. RATARD moved, and M. Kleimenow seconded, that the Commission should meet for deliberation in the afternoons only. But it was eventually agreed that a Committee on Rules and Order should be nominated, to discuss the question of hours of meeting, procedure, etc.

Sir CECIL CLEMENTI SMITH proposed that, the said Committee being an important one, each delegation should nominate one member, and that the Committee should elect its own Chairman. This was carried nem con. The Committee on Rules and Order was then nominated as follows:—

America, U. S. of:

Dr. HAMILTON WRIGHT.

Austria-Hungary :

Dr. KARL BERNAUER

China:

Mr. T'ANG KUO-AN

France :

Monsieur BRENIER.

Germany :

Dr. W. RiiSSLER.

Great Britain :

Mr. R. LAIDLAW

Italy :

M.P. Signor FARAON

Japan :

H.E. Monsieur MIYAOKA

Netherlands:

Mr. A. A. DE JONGH

Portugal :

Senhor O. G. POTIER

Russia:

Monsieur KLEIMENOW.

Siam :

The Right Hon. PHYA SAKDISINIE.

On the proposal of Senhor Potier, seconded by Dr. Hamilton Wright, Mr. R. Laidlaw M.P., was elected Chairman of the Committee.

The Commission adjourned at 12.4.5 p.m.