§ 12. Mr. MALCOLMasked the Under—Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has received any reply to his last proposal to the German Government on the question of the treatment of British civilian prisoners at Ruhleben; and whether he can add anything to his last public statement with reference to this matter?
§ Lord R. CECILThe substance of the German reply which we have received is as follows:
The German Government categorically repudiate the charge made by us, that they do not recognise their obligations as to the supply of food to British prisoners of war, as also the assertion that less food is supplied to civilian than to military prisoners, the rations furnished to all prisoners of war being identical. The Report recently made by Dr. Taylor will be carefully verified, and the result communicated in due course. In this latter connection it is remarked that on the occasion of his visits to the camp kitchen Dr. Taylor frequently ex-pressed to the officer in charge his appreciation of the' quality of the food.
The German Government state that they have, at our request, sanctioned the dispatch to the captain of the camp at Ruhleben of collective consignments of food for those prisoners who receive no direct parcels, on the condition that those consignments shall not contain a pre-dominance of such commodities as are only obtainable to a limited extent by the German people themselves in consequence of the British blockade.
If, on grounds of reprisal, we should in any way reduce the rations now supplied to German prisoners of war in this country, the German Government propose not only to withdraw the permission for collective parcels, but also to prohibit the receipt of individual parcels, the camp ration being then ordered so as to correspond with the measures taken by us.
The German Government declare them-selves as not averse to the proposal which we communicated to them for the release of all British civilian prisoners of war, but they consider that this could not take place on the basis of the release of a similar number of German prisoners by us, as such an exchange would encounter 513 insuperable difficulties in regard to the selection of those prisoners who are to benefit by it.
A further communication from us on the subject will now be awaited.
It is a little difficult to be quite sure what that last paragraph means. It appears to me that we should release all German prisoners in exchange for British civilian prisoners.
To this Note His Majesty's Government propose to reply that they cannot accept the proposal to repatriate all the Germans interned in this country in exchange for the British civilians interned in Germany, since that would be to send back some 26,000 Germans in exchange for only 4,000 British. They have already proposed to the German Government that all civilians on both sides over fifty should be repatriated, and also all those over forty-five who are unfit for service in the field with the exception of certain persons to be retained for military reasons. This proposal they will once more press upon the German Government, with the addition that persons so retained shall not exceed twenty on each side. They further propose that the remaining British civilians and an equal number of German civilians shall be interned in a neutral country.
§ Sir W. BYLESMay we take it that the policy of reprisals is abandoned?
§ Lord R. CECILNo, Sir; the House must not arrive at any such conclusion. The Government hold themselves perfectly free to retaliate if that proves to be the only way of obtaining justice for our prisoners.
§ Mr. BUTCHERWhat is the number of British civilian prisoners in Germany as compared with the number of interned Germans in this country?
§ Lord R. CECILThere are about 4,000 interned British civilians, and 26,000 interned Germans.
§ Mr. MALCOLMIs it not a fact that about 600 of the 4,000 interned in Germany are prepared to accept German nationality at the end of the War and that they would not be counted in the 4,000?
§ Lord R. CECILI cannot pledge myself to the absolute figures, but I think the hon.
514 Member is substantially right. There are a certain number of prisoners at Ruhleben who have intimated in some form or other that they would be prepared to accept German nationality.
§ Sir C. HENRYWhat is the number of Germans over military age among the 26,000 interned?
§ Lord R. CECILI am not able to give that figure; I must have notice.