THE OPIUM HABIT

Evening Star, Issue 18998, 21 July 1925, Page 5

THE OPIUM HABIT

ERADICATION EFFORTS. HONOLULU, July 8. “ Chinese efforts to eradicate the opium evil will he futile as long as the principle of extra-territoriality permits the foreign domination of the ports through which quantities of opium are smuggled,” declared Dr Koo (China), at the recent Honolulu Pacific Relations Conference. Ho described the opposition of powerful foreign interests to the Chinese National Anti-opium League, but predicted the latter’s growth, despite stumbling-blocks. Mr C. C. Bachelor, former American Trade Commissioner to India, in presenting the British point of view, as stated at Geneva, said that Britain believed that America’s proposal to curb opium at its source was impossible ol fulfilment. “Britain.” ho said, “feels that America has made a complete lailuro of enforcing the Volstead law, and that the American plan for suppressing the drug evil is much worse. Britain is opposed to the principle of trying to make people good by law.” Dr 'Sawnyangi, a member of the Japanese House of Peers, speaking at the Pacific Relations Conference, announced two important changes in Japanese law. One grants foreigners the right to own laud on the same footing as Japanese, without racial discrimination, but reserves the right to withhold this privilege from those whose homo countries deny the same right to Japanese. By the second alteration Japanese children who are horn in other countries automatically lose their Japanese nationality unless their parents declare the intention ■ of retaining such within a fortnight after the birth.