1. Major-General Sir R. HUTCHISONasked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether ordinances passed by the Rhineland High Commission with the object of furthering the French policy in the Ruhr and to which the British representative on the Commission has refused his consent, are applicable to the British area in Rhineland?
§ The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Mr. Ronald McNeill)I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the answer which I gave to the hon. and gallant Member for Caithness and Sutherland on the 5th instant.
17.Mr. CHARLES BUXTON asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in view of the fact that the Inter-Allied Rhineland High Commission is claiming to exercise jurisdiction over certain territories on the right bank of the Rhine, that His Majesty's Government are advised that this claim is not justified by any provision of the Treaty of Versailles or of the Rhineland Agreement, and that the attention of the French Government has been called to the matter, he can now state whether any reply has yet been received; if so, what is the nature of such reply; and what 456 steps His Majesty's Government propose to take to avoid responsibility for this action of the Commission?
§ Mr. McNEILLThe answer to the first part of the question is in the negative; the second therefore does not arise. As regards the last part of the question, the hon. Member has already been informed that His Majesty's High Commissioner has on behalf of His Majesty's Government disclaimed all responsibility for that decision in which he took no part.