§ 5. Mr. ALDENasked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether 1839 he will consider the possibility, in negotiations with Germany through the American Ambassador, of suggesting that the interned Germans should be sent to some neutral country like Sweden in exchange for a similar number of British interned prisoners in Germany who might be sent to Switzerland?
§ Lord R. CECILI would refer the hon. Member to the reply given yesterday to a question on this subject by the hon. Member for Gainsborough.
§ 9. Mr. PETOasked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether any and, if so, what progress has been made with the negotiations for the exchange of interned civilian prisoners in this country and Germany?
§ Lord R. CECILThe present position is that on the 18th instant we addressed a Note to the United States Ambassador in which we renewed the proposal which we had previously made to the German Government that all British and German civilian prisoners of war over fifty years should be repatriated, as also those over forty-five years who are unfit for service in the field. We further proposed that the remaining British civilian prisoners of war, including merchant seamen of all classes who are not embodied in His Majesty's Naval Forces and the retired British officers detained in Germany, and an equal number of German civilians should be interned in a neutral country. No reply to that Note has yet reached us. The recent correspondence will shortly be published as a White Paper.
§ Mr. MALCOLMHow long does the Noble Lord think it is proper to wait for an answer to that question addressed to the German Government?
§ Lord R. CECILWe shall certainly not delay the matter from our side. We have no desire to delay it. We are anxious to get on with it as quickly as we can. It is fair to observe that the letter.was sent only five or six days or a week ago, and I do not think there is any ground for charging the German Government with undue delay at present.