§ MR. G. DOUGHTY (Great Grimsby)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, whether he has been informed of the acts of trespass and intimidation which are almost daily practised by the Danish gunboat off the coast of Iceland on British fishing vessels; whether he is aware that British fishermen are so incensed at the injustice done them that there is reason to believe that damage to property or loss of life may occur if proper protection is not given; whether, considering what has recently occured, Her Majesty's Government will station a cruiser off the coast of Iceland during the summer months, in order that British fishermen may have some protection and a British authority to whom to appeal in cases of injustice; whether he has been informed that on 1st June the steam trawler Hibernia, fishing off Horn Reef, fully six miles from the coast line, was seized by the Danish gunboat, an officer and two armed men placed on board, and taken to Egsberg; that Captain Waldie was there fined 200 kroners, and his gear confiscated; and that, when the captain protested, the only evidence offered was that the officer stated that he had seen the steam trawler's smoke within the three miles' limit; whether he has received sworn statements from Captain Halversen, of the steamship Fitzroy, and Captain Whitworth, of the steamship Perseus, who state they were fishing with the Hibernia, and saw him arrested; that Captain Halversen further alleges that he took the bearings, and that the Hibernia was six miles from the land; whether he has been informed that the 1556 steam codman Undine, on 6th June, when about five miles from the Western Isles, homeward bound, was boarded by armed officers, who demanded to examine the fish, and detained them until the gunboat went to the islands to ask the natives if they had seen the vessel fishing; and that, after considerable delay, Captain Hillyer was threatened and then allowed to proceed on his voyage; and, whether Her Majesty's Government will appoint a Committee of Inquiry into these outrages, and also into the general working of the new Icelandic law?
* MR. CURZONWe have received information of several seizures and detentions of British fishing vessels off the coasts of Iceland and Denmark, among them being the cases of the Hebernia and Undine, which are mentioned by the hon. Member. Her Majesty's Government are keenly alive to the importance of the question, and to the desirability of composing a state of affairs that appears to be fraught with so much friction, and even danger; and Her Majesty's representative at Copenhagen has been instructed to bring the cases at once to the attention of the Danish Government, and to ask for a full investigation. It does not appear to them, however, that a Committee of Inquiry here is at present necessary. The training squadron, consisting of four British vessels, is expected to visit Iceland and the Danish coast in the course of a few days.