§ MR. SEAVERNS (Lambeth, Brixton)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, when the next meeting of the Sugar Convention is to take place; whether an opportunity will then be afforded for His Majesty's Government to withdraw from the Convention in 1908; 838 and, if so, whether the Government will consider the desirability of adopting this course.
§ SIR EDWARD GREYThe Permanent Commission under the Sugar Convention will meet to-day. His Majesty's Government have intimated to the contracting States, through the Belgian Government, that they consider that the limitation of the sources from which sugar may enter the United Kingdom, whether by prohibition or by the imposition of countervailing duties, is inconsistent with their declared policy and incompatible with the interests of British consumers and sugar using manufacturers, and that consequently it will be impossible for them to continue to give effect to the provisions of the Convention requiring them to penalize sugars declared by the Permanent Commission to be bounty-fed. At the same time we have pointed out that we have no desire to give sugar bounties or to see a revival of such bounties, or to differentiate against beet or foreign sugars. Should the Governments of the contracting States consider that our views can only be met by the complete withdrawal of this country from the Convention, we would be prepared to give the necessary notice on the first possible date. We have, however, intimated that if the other contracting States prefer to exempt the United Kingdom by supplementary protocol from the obligation to enforce the penal provisions of the Convention, this would render it unnecessary for us to give notice of withdrawal.
§ MR. R. DUNCAN (Lanark, Govan)Are we right in understanding that the view of the Government is they disapprove of bounties, but will do nothing whatever to get rid of them?
§ SIR EDWARD GREYIf the hon. Member will study the Answer I have just given, I must leave him to draw his own inference.
§ LORD BALCARRES (Lancashire, Chorley)asked when the despatch would be laid on the Table of the House.
§ SIR EDWARD GREYsaid that he could not say when the despatch would be laid on the Table. The future action of the Government would depend on the 839 view taken by other States of the dispatch; but it would be convenient that the despatch should be laid on the Table after some conclusion was arrived at.
§ LORD BALCARRESasked whether it was not probable that no decision could be arrived at before the end of next year, and whether, in view of the uncertainty created by the right hon. Gentleman's answer, it was not desirable that the views of the Government should be made public promptly?
§ SIR EDWARD GREYsaid that the whole gist of the despatch was contained in the Answer he had given to the Question. If hon. Members wished to receive fuller information after studying the Answer additional questions might be asked.