§ Mr. LAMONTasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will now lay upon the Table of the House Papers giving particulars of the capture in June last of the British trawler "Arcadia," of Grimsby, found fishing in German territorial waters off Nordeny, by the German fisheries patrol torpedo-boat S 42; of the arrest of the master of the "Arcadia"; and of the consequent legal proceedings before the court at Cuxhaven; and whether he can state how far within the territorial waters the "Arcadia" was at the time of her capture, and also how far from the shore?
§ The UNDER-SECRETARY Of STATE for FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Mr. McKinnon Wood)The only Papers which I have are three despatches from His Majesty's Consul-General at Hamburg, which briefly 705 report the arrest of the trawler and the proceedings taken against the master, who did not appear for trial. I do not think there would be any advantage in laying these Papers, but the hon. Member may see them if he wishes. I understand that the "Arcadia" is charged with fishing at a spot which is only two and a third miles from the nearest sand-bank drying at low water, and the sand-bank being one mile from the high-water line of the coast. If the facts are as stated, the "Arcadia" was therefore within German exclusive fishery limits as defined in Article 2 of the North Sea Fisheries Convention.