§ MR. W. E. FORSTERasked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether there be any Favoured Nation Clause in respect to tariffs in any of our Treaties with Spain? The right hon. Gentleman explained that the reason he repeated the Question was, that the Spanish Government had lately admitted goods from other foreign countries, including Germany, upon better terms than those upon which English goods were admitted. The Foreign Office had, he understood, made representations; but there was a great doubt in the minds of those who were acquainted with the matter in this country, as to whether there was any Favoured Nation Clause in our Treaties with Spain. He understood the Under Secretary on a former occasion to state his belief that there was such a clause; but he had promised to again look into the matter.
§ MR. BOURKE, in reply, said, the right hon. Gentleman was quite right in stating what he had said the other day in connection with the subject. He (Mr. Bourke) was quite correct in what he then stated. In our ancient Treaties with Spain there were very many clauses which contained the most Favoured Nation provisions. All those ancient Treaties were confirmed in the year 1814, when it was contended that all those Treaties, and especially those clauses, retained their full force. In 1845 a correspondence took place upon the subject between Lord Aberdeen and the Spanish Minister who was then in England, M. Sotomayer, and in that correspondence Lord Aberdeen modified to a great extent the scope of the clauses which were then in existence with regard to the most Favoured Nation Treaty. That correspondence was laid upon the Table of the House of Commons, and an important debate took place upon the subject, in the course of which there was a very memorable speech made by the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Greenwich (Mr. Gladstone), who repre- 678 sented Lord Aberdeen's views on the matter. At that period Lord Aberdeen disputed that the most Favoured Nation clause in our ancient Treaties referred to property in commerce as well as to persons. The then Spanish Minister contended that it referred to both; but Lord Aberdeen maintained that it only referred to persons. A correspondence had quite lately taken place in which the subject had come up again, and it was still under discussion between Her Majesty's Government and the Spanish Government. Her Majesty's Government, as he stated the other day, instructed our Chargé d' affaires at Madrid to urge the Spanish Government to grant a most Favoured Nation Treaty to this country; but the reply had not yet been received.
§ MR. W. E. FORSTERwished to ask, Whether the Government, in addition to urging upon the Spanish Government the existence of a Favoured Nation Clause, were thus also taking steps to protect our manufacturers against these differential duties?
§ MR. BOURKEsaid, the whole question was before the Chargé d' affaires at Madrid, and the only thing the Government could do was to instruct him to impress upon the Spanish Government the views of Her Majesty's Government, about which, of course, there could be no doubt, as their only object must be to obtain most Favoured Nation rights. About British commerce there was a doubt raised by Lord Aberdeen, which had been more or less in dispute ever since; but about British subjects there was no doubt.