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contemplated that they should guarantee to purchase up to the full amount of their F^W S -V accept re i tn, l tlons as to the source of supply of the opium they required, further, it was considered inevitable that some method of regulating the price of 'Th/Si JT V® C ™, si<i r e ? so , as t0 c ™ e a fair retam to pXU Ihe position from the point of view of producing countries is more difficult. There The irohl P r?rf o T er r- dl l etion , in th " past and lar S e stocks have accumulated, elSit i I' 18 the to i al .° f the world ' s requirements of opium could reDrramtativM of Si een ! the P roducm g countries, and it was suggested that representatives o± the principal producmg-exportmg countries meet in conference and endeavour to come to an agreement. The delegate of Iran mentioned the differences of opinion which had come to light 7' of th ® discussions m the Advisory Committee, and he felt that the results mrnotls n C not tory as they have been in the campaign against narcotics. He suggested that an attempt be made to replace cultivation of the opiumpoppy by other crops which could prosper in the Asiatic climate. The opium trade in his country had a strictly legal and regular character; there was no drug-factory m the country. Iran was prepared to co-operate with other States with a view to a limitation by common agreement. The Chinese delegate said that his Government considered that the purpose of the uture convention should be to supplement the Hague Convention, under which the signatory countries had undertaken gradually to suppress the use of prepared opium, and achieve the total abolition of opium for smoking and of the use of opium for non-medical purposes. Speaking of the proposed meeting of producing-exporting countries, he considered that_ such a Conference might be useful, but, from the League's point of view, this meeting should not be transformed into a cartel of producers for fixing the pnce of °Pium Production in China had been greatly reduced, and it was expected , '. 01 ' the latest it would have been abolished at least in the territories under Chinese control. The Seventh Committee expresed its satisfaction at the progress achieved in the preparatory work, and hoped that the Governments would lose no time in submitting their observations on the main principles put forward by the Opium Advisory Committee as a basis for a draft convention. Opium Conventions. The total number of sovereign States parties to the Hague Opium Convention +■ ioo! r t m «f S f slxt L and tl J e number of States parties to the Geneva Convention iooi ' t a "ity-four. The number of States parties to the Limitation Convention of IJ3I has increased from sixty-one to sixty-four as a result of its ratification by Latvia, Albania, and the Union of South Africa. * + P nl nv Slx Gov e rn ments have as yet ratified the convention of 1936 for the repression ?u * 31 • tr , C m dan & erous d ™gs, but it is expected from information available that ratification by seven other countries will be made at an early date The Seventh Committee expressed its satisfaction at the results achieved by the eague of Nations in dealing with the problems of dangerous drugs by means of International Opium Conventions. During the last fifteen years much progress has been made, although it was generally agreed that there is still great room for improvement. It was shown from the documents before the Committee the extent * to which b-overnments are co-operating with the League. Most countries have now brought their national laws into conformity with the Opium Conventions and made the necessary adjustments m their administration; and the delegate of Iran described the new legislation which had just been brought into force in his country. re P ol jt of the Seventh Committee was duly adopted by the Assembly, together with its conclusions and resolution (Document A. 66, 1938, XI). Intellectual Co-operation. No particular comment is occasioned by the yearly report on the work of the Institute o± Intellectual Co-operation or by the proceedings of the International Committee on intellectual Co-operation, adequately covered by Document C. 253, M. 150 1938 XII The closing of the International Educational Cinematographic Institute at' Rome (an incident of Italy s withdrawal from the League) made it necessary to make other arrangements for executing the Convention for Facilitating the International Circulation of li ilms of an Educational Character. In particular, the certifying of such films for Customs duty purposes required attention. At the instance of the United Kingdom delegation this responsibility was transferred to the Institute of Intellectual Co-operation Ways and means of making better known the work of the League were discussed Already some preliminary attention had been given to the possible use of the cinematographic film in this connection, and the Assembly in 1937 authorized a competition with a prize for the best scenario. Twenty-four authors responded, with twenty-six scenarios which were duly examined by an expert jury. The report, before us in 1938 appreciated the promise in the entries and confirmed that the film is a medium that should be used; but it also admitted the " failure of the competitive system "to achieve

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