§ MR. DOUGHTY (Great Grimsby)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that the Dutch gunboat "Zeehond" arrested and boarded on the high seas the British steam trawler "Sete," and ordered him to haul his gear and follow him to New Dieppe; that the captain of the trawler protested, and proved that he was fishing between eight and nine miles from the land; that after being arrested and following the gunboat for several hours, the commander released 1173 him, stating that he had made a mistake, interpreting the regulation limit line to be twelve miles instead of three miles; and whether, in view of the loss to the owners, the captain, and crew in this case, and of the interference with British fishermen by the gunboats on the Dutch and German coasts, he will cause a full inquiry to be made.
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Lord CRANBORNE,) RochesterThe matter has already been brought to the notice of the Foreign Office by the owners; and His Majesty's Minister at the Hague, under instructions from the Secretary of State, has already called the attention of the Dutch Government to the case, and has asked to be furnished with the results of the official inquiry into the matter.