§ 17. Captain BURGOYNEasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affiairs whether the three-mile limit is accepted by the Norwegian Government as defining territorial waters on the Norwegian coast; whether now or at any time since the beginning of the War a limit of four miles has been claimed by Norway and such claim admitted by His Majesty's Government; whether, as a matter of fact, ships seized on the coast of Norway by British patrols outside the three-mile limit have been released on the ground that they were in territorial waters; and what is the general principle observed by His Majesty's Government in relation to the territorial waters of neutral countries?
Mr. BALFOURThe Norwegian Government have always claimed, but His Majesty's Government have never admitted, that the territorial waters of Norway extend four miles from its coast. No ships seized on the coast of Norway by British patrols outside the three-mile limit have been released on the ground that they were within territorial waters.