§ SIR SAVILE CROSSLEY (Suffolk, Lowestoft)asked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, What steps have been taken by Her Majesty's Government to carry out the recommendations of the Board of Trade Committee, appointed to inquire into the depredations committed by foreign fishermen in the North Sea; and, whether those recommendations can be carried out before the commencement of the autumn fishing season, in order to prevent a recurrence of the outrages which have been so disastrous in past years?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE (Sir JAMES FERGUSSON) (Manchester, N.E.)As far as the Foreign Office is concerned, the Report of the Committee was sent on April 13 to Her Majesty's Representatives in the countries which are parties to the North Sea Convention of 1882. Belgium is the only country much concerned; and a reply has been received from Her Majesty's Minister at Brussels that the Belgian Government are seriously considering the Report, and are fully alive to the existing evils and to the occasion for remedies. The Governments of France and of the Netherlands have thanked Her Majesty's Government for transmitting the Report. No replies have been received from Germany and Denmark; but those countries are hardly at all concerned.