§ 4 and 5. Mr. PENNEFATHERasked (1) what relationship, if any, exists between the Mr. G. A. Holzapfel, recently appointed to our Consular Service in Holland, and the enemy shareholders in Holzapfels, Limited, the sale of whose shares under the Trading With the Enemy Act is being considered by the Board of Trade; and (2) if the father and uncle of Mr. Holzapfel, recently appointed to the British Consular Service, left this country shortly after the outbreak of war and have not since returned?
§ Lord R. CECILWith regard to these questions I have no official information, though I have heard it said that the facts 2455 are as stated in the second of them. Perhaps the House will allow me to say that I have reason to believe that Mr. Holzapfel has resigned his position. It does not seem to be everywhere understood that Mr. Holzapfel had only the honorary rank of Vice-Consul, received no pay, and consequently did not become a member of the salaried Consular Service, to which there was never any question of appointing him. As there appears to be some misaprehension with regard to British Consular representation at Rotterdam, I might add that there are three British salaried Consular officials there, namely, Mr. Masse, the Consul-General, and two Vice-Consuls —Mr. Tom, who has the local rank of Consul, and Mr. Maclean. The appointment of Mr. Holzapfel may now be regarded as at an end, and my Noble Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs has given directions that for the future no person who is of foreign nationality or is a naturalised British subject or whose father was a naturalised British subject shall be appointed to any post, even of an honorary nature, in the Foreign Office or in the Diplomatic or Consular Services until such appointment has been considered and approved by himself or the Parliamentary Under-Secretary.
Sir H. DALZIELCan the right hon. Gentleman say whether this gentleman resigned on his own initiative?
§ Lord R. CECILI do not think that my right hon. Friend should press that.
§ Sir C. HENRYIs it the intention of the Foreign Office to confine Consular appointments to paid officers and not to honorary appointments?
§ Lord R. CECILThe Royal Commission, which sat on this question before the War, dintinctly said that they thought the unpaid Service was a valuable thing to keep going.
Mr. HAZLETONDoes this new system apply to Consuls-who are to be appointed in the future, or does it apply to existing Consuls?
§ Lord R. CECILMy answer will apply to future appointments.
§ 6. Major HUNTasked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, as there are about 158 Acting-Consuls, 2456 Consuls, Vice-Consuls, and Consular Agents, and one Consul-General, with foreign names, he can say how many of these are British-born with British parents, how many naturalised of foreign extraction, and how many unnaturalised?
§ Lord R. CECILI do not know which are the 158 Consular officials who are regarded by my hon. and gallant Friend as having foreign names, and I am, therefore, quite unable to answer his question as it stands. Perhaps it will be sufficient to say that all salaried Consular officials are British-born subjects. It is true that a considerable number of the unsalaried Consuls and Vice-Consuls are foreigners, but this is, I fear, to some extent inevitable if we are to have representatives-in towns where there are few or no suitable British residents. It is entirely misleading to discuss salaried and unsalaried posts together. Unsalaried Consuls of foreign nationality? are, as a rule, appointed where it is a choice of having an unsalaried foreign Consular officer or none at all, and not where there is a possibility of having an efficient British Consular officer.
§ Major HUNTIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that the names are taken from Whittaker, and in view of the enormous amount of damage done to us and our Allies by people under enemy influence or in enemy pay, would it not be possible to have our Consular Service manned by British-born and British-bred subjects with no interest in enemy trade?
§ Lord R. CECILI have already told my hon. and gallant Friend that so far as salaried officers are concerned they are all British-born subjects. So far as unsalaried officers are concerned, I am sure that if he will look into the matter he will agree with me that it is quite impossible that we can have an unsalaried Consular officer in every place where we have them now if we are debarred from appointing anyone of foreign nationality.
§ Major HUNTWould it not be better to do without them?
§ Lord R. CECILThat question was very exhaustively examined by the Commission. As the matter has been raised, perhaps the House will allow me to read an extract from the Commissioners' Report on the subject of unsalaried officers. They say:
Upon a full consideration of all the evidence we have no criticism to make of the policy now pursued by the Foreign Office in respect to this question. We 2457 think that the appointment of whole-time salaried officers to unimportant posts is not only unnecessary and extravagant hut that it would prove actually prejudicial to the efficiency of the officers in question. On the other hand we have received a considerable body of evidence testifying to the value of the services which unpaid Consuls of foreign nationality can render to British trade.
§ Mr. HOUSTONWhat is the date of that?
§ Lord R. CECILJust before the War.
§ Mr. PENNEFATHERIs it not the case that the Report was compiled before the War, and that the War has changed that as well as many other things?
§ Lord R. CECILOf course the War Las made enormous changes, and, as the hon. Member knows, the whole question of the Consular Service after the War is being very carefully considered.