§ Order of the Day for the Second Reading read.
THE EARL OF ONSLOWMy Lords, the Bill to which I ask your Lordships to give a Second Reading this afternoon is designea to give effect to the International Opiam Convention which was signed at The Hague in January, 1912. The purpose of the Convention was to bring under effective control throughout the world the traffic in opium and cocaine and preparations derived therefrom, and to restrict their use to medical and legitimate purposes. The Convention was signed by 42 Powers, but some important ones failed to ratify before the outbreak of the war and the Convention never actually came into force. In view of the importance of the question the Allied Powers decided to make the ratification of the Convention one of the conditions of peace, and Article 295 of the Treaty binds the High Contracting Powers to bring the Convention into force without delay. The Bill is introduced to carry out this undertaking. It has received careful consideration in another place, and the Pharmaceutical Society agree with it. The Bill does not interfere with the discretion of medical men in prescribing the use of these drugs; it only takes power to regulate the methods of prescription.
§ Moved, That the Bill he now read 2a. —(The Earl of Onslow.)
§ On Question, Bill read 2a, and committed to a Committee of the Whole House.