§ 3. Mr. YEOasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he proposes to lay upon the Table any Papers in connection with the recent developments in China, so that Members may have an opportunity of studying all the facts of the case?
§ Sir E. GREYIt is for the Governments of China and Japan to make public the important features of the agreement between them or of their negotiations. I cannot do that, but I should welcome any publicity that the Governments of Japan and China feel able to give.
§ 5. Mr. OUTHWAITEasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether his recent inability to give the House of Commons information regarding the nature of the demands that had been made by the Japanese Government upon China is to be taken as signifying that it is the policy of the Government to give pledges of secrecy to foreign Government in connection with matters vitally affecting British interests?
§ Sir E. GREYThere is no question of policy involved. It is one solely of fact. I am unable to publish information given me confidentially by another Government. I could, of course, refuse in future to receive any information from any foreign Government except on condition that I publish it at once, but I do not think it would be for the public advantage that I should do that, and as long as that is so I must sometimes be placed in the invidious position of being in the possession of information that I am unable to give to the House.
§ Mr. OUTHWAITEWill not this procedure prevent the right hon. Gentleman from informing the House of the representations made by the representatives of the Government in foreign countries?
§ Sir E. GREYI do not quite understand the hon. Member's question. Does he ask whether it will prevent me from informing the House of representations made by the British Government?
§ Mr. OUTHWAITEYes.
§ Sir E. GREYI did not understand that to be the hon. Member's question. He asked me whether I could state the nature of the demands made, not by British representatives, but by the Japanese Government.
§ Mr. OUTHWAITECannot the right hon. Gentleman see that if all information is refused because the information has been received from a foreign Government in secrecy, it puts him in the position of not being able to make public information received from the representatives of this country in foreign countries?
§ Sir E. GREYOf course, I may be placed in that position when information is given to me confidentially. That is exactly the invidious position in which I must sometimes be placed unless I refuse to receive the information, in which case I should be able to say that I could not tell the House anything, because I did not know it.
§ 6. Mr. OUTHWAITEasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the fact that the Chinese Government opposed the demands made by the Japanese Government, and only came to terms after the delivery of an ultimatum and threat of enforcement by arms, indicates that the action of the Japanese Government has been in violation of the Anglo-Japanese Treaty for the maintenance 1826 of the independence of China and of equality of economic opportunity in that country; and can he state whether any assurance has been given to the Chinese Government that His Majesty's Government adheres to these principles?
§ Sir E. GREYThe answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. In reply to the second part, no such assurance was asked for or required. No breach of the Anglo-Japanese Treaty has occurred.
§ 2. Mr. JOWETTasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has received from His Majesty's representative at Peking an official copy of the text of the Japanese final Note; and, if not, whether he will endeavour to obtain one?
§ Sir E. GREYHis Majesty's Government have received a telegraphic summary of the Japanese Note referred to, both through the Japanese Ambassador and from His Majesty's Minister at Peking, and an official copy of the text will no doubt follow by post.