§ 6. Mr. COCKSasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has received any communication from the Italian Government concerning the official position of the British Minister to Abyssinia; and whether he will inform Signor Mussolini that if, as a result of Italian action, Sir Sydney Barton is compelled to leave Abyssinia, then simultaneously the Italian Ambassador in London will be handed his passports and the British Ambassador in Rome will be withdrawn?
§ The SECRETARY of STATE for FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Mr. Eden)The only communication of which His Majesty's Government are aware is the note which Marshal Badoglio addressed to the Diplomatic Missions in Addis Ababa on 5th May, in regard to which a full statement was made in the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the hon. and gallant Member for Nuneaton (Lieut.-Commander Fletcher) on 13th May. The answer to the second part of the question is in the negative.
§ Captain Sir WILLIAM BRASSHow is that going to help the peace of the world?
§ 8. Mr. T. JOHNSTONasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in view of the advertisements in Regent Street, London, of the Italian state organisation C. I. T. offering British travellers a reduction of 70 per cent. in their railway fares if they will make holiday in Italy and spend British currency, and of the decision of the British Government to uphold the Covenant of the League of Nations and boycott any aggressor State, he will say what steps it is proposed to take to discourage the transfer of British currency to Italy during the forthcoming tourist season?
§ Mr. EDENNeither the Co-ordination Committee nor the Committee of Eighteen at Geneva have recommended any specific measures to restrict tourist traffic to Italy, and His Majesty's Government do not contemplate any individual initiative in the matter.
§ Mr. JOHNSTONWhy did the right hon. Gentleman not make, on behalf of the British Government, a proposal such as that suggested in the question, in order to make a success of the general effort which he was supposed to be furthering?
§ Mr. EDENIn point of fact, as was anticipated, there has been a very sharp falling off in tourist traffic.
§ Mr. JOHNSTONWith deference to the right hon. Gentleman, may I ask if he will answer the question which I put? Why did he not make proposals on behalf of the British Government to stop the flow of British currency into Italy, so as to give sanctions a chance?
§ Mr. EDENBecause I thought that the proposals that we did make would be infinitely more effective.
§ Mr. GEORGE GRIFFITHSAnd they were a failure.
§ 10. Sir CHARLES CAYZERasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in view of the allegations repeated by the Italian delegation at Geneva last week that dum-dum ammunition had been supplied to the Abyssinian army by British firms, he can make a further statement on the subject?
§ 13. Mr. MANDERasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has any statement to make with reference to recent Italian charges that the Abyssinian army has been supplied with dum-dum bullets from this country?
§ Mr. EDENI would ask my hon. Friends to be good enough to await the full statement which I propose, with the leave of the House, to make on this subject at the end of Questions to-day.
§ Sir W. BRASSCan the right hon. Gentleman say whether any apology has been sent to this country and—[HON. MEMBERS: "Wait and see."]
§ 15. Mr. A. HENDERSONasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether His Majesty's Government have made, or will make, any representation to the League of Nations in relation to the telegram sent by Prince Stahremburg, then Vice-Chancellor of Austria, congratulating Signor Mussolini on the Fascist triumph over barbarism and over democratic insincerity
§ Mr. EDENNo, Sir. I do not think that any useful purpose would be served by raising at Geneva the subject of this message, more especially in the altered circumstances obtaining in Austria since its despatch.
§ Mr. HENDERSONWas any representation made by the British Minister at Vienna to the Austrian Government?
§ 16. Miss WILKINSONasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is satisfied that the reports regarding the resources and resistance possibilities of the Abyssinians received from the British representatives at Addis Ababa immediately preceding the Italian invasion represented a reasonably accurate estimate of the condition then existing?
§ Mr. EDENEstimates of this nature are, of course, always exceedingly difficult to assess accurately, but I am satisfied that His Majesty's representative at Addis Ababa has throughout furnished to His Majesty's Government the best information available to him.
§ Miss WILKINSONIs the Foreign Secretary aware that the reports sent to the French Government were of a very different character?
§ 17. Commander LOCKER-LAMPSONasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in view of the inability of the League of Nations to stop the use of gas in Abyssinia, he will invite the League to appoint a committee to examine further into the question with a view to general co-operation of a more binding character?
§ Mr. EDENThe Poison Gas Protocol of 1925 does not contain any provisions dealing with the event of its violation, and I would remind my hon. and gallant Friend that His Majesty's Government put forward more comprehensive proposals for the prohibition of chemical, incendiary and bacteriological warfare in Part IV of the draft disarmament convention of 1933. I shall, however, bear my hon. Friend's suggestion in mind.
§ Mr. G. GRIFFITHSDoes the Foreign Secretary think he can ever have anything that will be binding on Mussolini?
§ 50. Lieut.-Commander FLETCHERasked the Prime Minister, with regard to the leakage of a copy of the Maffey report into Italian hands, whether the efforts have been successful which the Government were making to trace the indiscretion or breach of confidence; whether any inquiry has been held; whether the report of such inquiry has been seen by him personally; whether responsibility for the leakage has been fixed upon any particular individual; and whether any disciplinary action has been taken or are any proceedings under the Official Secrets Act contemplated.
§ The PRIME MINISTER (Mr. Baldwin)I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary to the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland (Mr. Dalton) on 24th February, to which I have nothing to add.
§ Lieut.-Commander FLETCHERIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that these completely evasive answers on this subject only confirm a widespread suspicion that some highly-placed individual is being shielded?
§ Mr. SPEAKERHon. Members seem to forget that they cannot ask supplementary questions in a form in which they would not be accepted as questions to be put on the Paper.