§ 30. Captain Viscount CURZONasked the Prime Minister whether British naval and military officers are attached to the Greek forces; whether ships loaded with munitions proceeding from Soviet Russia to the Turks were recently sunk by Greek warships at Batum; and whether he can state that no assistance whatever in men, money, or material will be afforded to the Greek forces?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINApart from the British Naval Mission to Greece, there are no British naval officers attached to the Greek forces. Three or four British military officers are sent as liaison officers from Constantinople to the Greek, army in Anatolia whenever the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Constantinople considers such attachment desirable. At the present time the British military attaché from Athens is visiting the front at the invitation of the Greek Government. No British officers are serving with the Greek army. No information 594 has been received as to any sinking of munition ships by the Greeks at Batum. In answer to the last part of the question, as has been repeatedly stated, no such assistance is being given to the Greek forces. But equally no Government could be expected to give such a categorical, though indefinite, undertaking as that suggested in the concluding sentence of the question on the Paper.
§ Viscount CURZONDo, I understand the right hon. Gentleman to say we have no naval representative with the Greek naval forces in the Black Sea, and have no direct information as to what exactly is being done?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINI do not quite know where members of the British Naval Mission in Greece may be at this moment. Apart from them, there are no other naval officers there.
§ Mr. A. HERBERTHow is it there are any Greek naval forces at all in the Black Sea, when the Dardanelles has been neutralised?
§ Mr. ORMSBY-GOREWill the right hon. Gentleman consider the advisability of sending instructions to the British Commander-in-Chief at Constantinople, urging that a certain number of British officers should be sent to the theatre of war to see exactly what is taking place?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINI have stated that officers are sent by the General Officer Commanding in Constantinople as he considers desirable. I think we may trust this matter to his discretion.
§ Lord R. CECILWill the right hon. Gentleman consider the desirability, quite apart from military considerations, of satisfying the great anxiety which exists in this country as to what is really going on?
§ Mr. ORMSBY-GOREWill the right hon. Gentleman also consider sending instructions, and not leaving it to one officer to deal with the Imperial aspect of this matter?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINThis is not a matter primarily within my immediate sphere, but I am quite certain that my Noble Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and the British military and naval authorities will get whatever information is open to them if they think 595 it material for the purposes of His Majesty's Government. If they have left it to the discretion of the local officer it is doubtless because they are satisfied with the way in which he is exercising that discretion.
§ Viscount CURZONCould the Leader of the House assure us that before any assistance is given in men, money, or materials to the Greek Army the House of Commons will have a chance to say "Yes" or "No"?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINNo. I cannot give assurances of that kind, which would mean limiting the discretionary power of the Executive in a way in which it has never been limited and might greatly hamper the prosecution of British interests.
§ 37. Mr. A. HERBERTasked the Prime Minister if he is aware that Greek troops under General Leonardopoulos, of the 10th Division, have massacred 5,500 out of a population of 7,000 defenceless Turkish men, women, and children in the district of Yalova, which district is on the Sea of Marmora, three hours distant from Constantinople; and if His Majesty's Government has any information upon this question?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINAs the hon. and gallant Member for Hull (Lieut.-Commander Kenworthy) was informed on 8th June, the information furnished to His Majesty's Government by the Allied Commission appointed to report was to the effect that grave excesses had occurred in the district referred to, but we have received no confirmation of the actual figures quoted by my hon. Friend.
§ Mr. HERBERTIf His Majesty's Government was really and sincerely anxious to obtain information, could it not be easily obtained either from our military or naval authorities or from the Embassy; and is it not very damaging indeed to our reputation that these allegations of the massacre of 5,000 unarmed people in a non-combatant zone by a Government that was lately an ally of ours should be made in this way?
§ Mr. SPEAKERThat does not arise out of the question on the Paper.
§ 43. Sir H. BRITTAINasked the Prime Minister whether, in the event of its being found impossible to bring to a peaceful 596 conclusion the present dispute between Turkey and Greece, he can assure the House that there is no intention of allowing British forces to take part on either side?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINHis Majesty's Government, who desire only the early re-establishment of peace, are of course anxious to avoid all military intervention; but it is impossible for them or for any Government to fetter their future discretion by making categorical declarations with regard to hypothetical conditions.