§ 16. Mr. SAMUEL SAMUELasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs why 1,000 tons of copra shipped by the Compania General de Tabacos de Filipinas from the Philippine Islands on board the steamship "Harbury," and consigned to the Oleifici Nazionali of Genoa, for discharge at Savona, has been ordered by the Government to proceed to Marseilles instead, seeing that the representatives of the company in London have furnished certificates, attested before the British Consul, and necessary documents to prove that neither the copra nor the oil will be re-exported from Italy; whether these documents were sent on the 24th March to the Foreign Office and have never been acknowledged or returned; is it the intention of His Majesty's Government to stop all international trade; and will he state why 2,000 tons of copra by the steamship "Ben-lawers," consigned to Hull, on arrival in Marseilles was allowed to proceed to Savona to discharge instead of Hull?
§ Sir E. GREYThe answer to the first question is that the copra specified by the hon. Member was not the only, or indeed the principal, part of the vessel's cargo; that it was consigned "to order" and liable, therefore, to seizure under the Order in Council of 29th October, 1914; and that it was not, as suggested in the question, accompanied by the necessary documents to prove that neither the copra nor the oil would be re-exported from Italy. The answer to the second question is that certain documents were sent to the Foreign Office on 24th March and that, 160 although the company referred to has addressed repeated subsequent communications to the Department, it was not till 15th April that full particulars respecting the cargo were obtained; immediately on the receipt of the documents forwarded on 24th March, His Majesty's Government, observing that the shippers had not paid due regard to the Order in Council of 29th October, placed themselves in communication with the Italian Government with a view to the introduction of an effective prohibition of export of copra and its products from Italy, and, as a result of the successful issue of these negotiations, all objection on the part of the British authorities to the discharge of the Italian cargo is removed and the shipowners have been so informed. The answer to the third question is in the negative; it is the intention of His Majesty's Government to check all contraband and enemy trade, but, subject to this paramount necessity, to interfere as little as possible with neutral commerce; that the negotiations above referred to with the Italian Government are a concrete evidence of their desire to assist such trade, and the omission of the shippers and shipowners in this case is a typical example of the delays caused by failure to pay due regard to official published statements. The answer to the last question is that the authorisation to allow the steamship "Benlawers" to proceed from Marseilles to Savona did not proceed from His Majesty's Government, who are unaware of the circumstances.