§ MR. ELLIS (Nottinghamshire, Rushcliffe)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the Government has received a proposal from the United States Government for the appointment of a Commission or Conference respecting the opium traffic in the East of Asia; if so, whether he can give particulars of the proposal; what has been the response of His Majesty's Government thereto; and how the matter now stands.
§ MR. RUNCIMANIn reply to inquiries, the United States Government are willing to take part in a Joint International Commission of Investigation, if certain other Powers are likewise willing, and if the inquiry extends to the production of opium in China as well as to the import of foreign opium. The United States Government have also been told that His Majesty's Government consider that procedure by way of a Commission would seem better adapted than a Conference for an investigation of the facts of the opium trade, and of the consequences of the opium habit in the Far East. A Conference, if convened now, might find that the materials before it were insufficient for arriving at a definite recommendation. If, however, the other Powers Consulted prefer procedure by way of a Conference, His Majesty's Government do not desire to press this view.
§ MR. AUSTIN TAYLOR (Liverpool, East Toxteth)Will this preclude the Government from continuing their negotiations with China?
§ MR. RUNCIMANI should like notice of that Question.