92. Mr. TREVELYAN THOMSONasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, seeing that the date for notifying adherence to the new Anti-Slavery Convention was 1st April, he can state how many States had adhered by the stipulated day; and whether signature or adherence carries with it a ratification of the Convention in question?
§ The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Mr. Godfrey Locker-Lampson)The Convention was open for signature until 1st April, and for accession after that date. The hon. Member will see that no State could acceed before 1st April. According to my most recent information, 33 States 2257 had signed previous to that date. The signatures of the Convention are subject to ratification, but the accessions are immediately operative and do not require ratification.