§ MR. VERNEY (Buckinghamshire, N.)To ask the Prime Minister whether he can give to the House of Commons any rule governing the cases in which the consent of the House should be given to treaties with foreign Powers before they are finally ratified, and especially with regard to those treaties dealing with the accession or cession of territory, and with regard to those which effect either the personal privileges, the status, or the property of British subjects, and with regard to those which involve some change in statute law.
(Answered by Mr. Asquith.) The rule is as stated in my Answer to the hon. Member for Donegal South on Thursday last, and in the supplementary Answer to my hon. friend, in which I stated that if a treaty involves any alteration of statute law the assent of Parliament is needed; 1239 but I may add that in the case of any treaty which would require a vote of the House to provide funds to carry it into effect it would, no doubt, be proper that the sum required should be submitted to the House before the treaty was ratified. There is no rule requiring that the other matters referred to in the Question should be brought before the House, nor has it been the practice to do so.