§ 43. Mr. LANSBURYasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that, after the Russo-British diplomatic conflict in 1923, the British Government of the day gave a pledge to the Government of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics that His Majesty's Government will be quite willing, in the event of any future infringement of the pledge thus again recorded, that the case should be brought immediately to the attention of the Government concerned rather than that such incidents, if they are found to occur, should be allowed to accumulate before complaint is made, and that under this agreement several incidents which were the subject of complaint on both sides were satisfactorily disposed of, and why, under the circumstances, His Majesty's Government; decided to abrogate the above agreement; and whether at any time His Majesty's Government informed the Government of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics that the former did not intend in future to abide by this agreement?
§ Sir A. CHAMBERLAINYes, Sir. I am aware that His Majesty's Government stated that they were willing to follow the procedure described by the hon. Member, and several incidents have been liquidated by means of it. The Agreement has not been abrogated, but I have not thought that any good purpose would be served by a constant stream of complaints in the present state of relations between the two Governments.
§ Mr. LANSBURYWould it not be better for the Government to state in a diplomatic manner causes of complaint against the Soviet Government, rather than allow members of the Government to make incendiary speeches up and clown the country.
§ Sir A. CHAMBERLAINPerhaps I may be permitted to disregard the latter part of this question, and to state that, while I have not thought it would serve any useful purpose to make a continuous stream of complaints, I have left the Soviet chargé d'affaires, when I saw him, under no misapprehension as to the general causes of complaint of His Majesty's Government.
§ Mr. TAYLORWill the right hon. Gentleman give a concrete instance where these representations have been made?
§ Sir A. CHAMBERLAINNo, Sir, they have not been made in my time except in so far as the House is already aware.
§ Mr. CLYNESIs the right hon. Gentleman's disregard of the latter part of my hon. Friend's question caused by a disregard of collective responsibility on the part of the Government?
§ Sir A. CHAMBERLAINNo, Sir; but that part was only intended to be offensive.
§ Mr. LANSBURYWill the right hon. Gentleman toll the House why the course pursued with the representative of the Soviet Government is different, from that which he would take with the representative of any other Government with which an agreement had been made?
§ Sir A. CHAMBERLAINBecause no other Government that I know would behave in the some manner as the Soviet Government.
§ Mr. LANSBURYIn what particular has the Sovict Government behaved differently from other Governments?
§ Mr. SPEAKERWe cannot discuss that at Question Time.