MALTA.

HC Deb 18 June 1930 vol 240 cc390-1

34. Mr. FOOT

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies if he can make any statement as to the present position in Malta?

Dr. SHIELS

I can at present add nothing to the answer given yesterday to my right hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Colonel Wedgwood).

Mr. FOOT

Will a report be made to the House consequent upon the Conference which has taken place between Lord Strickland and the Colonial Office?

Dr. SHIELS

I could not give an answer to that question off hand, but I have no doubt that anything relevant will be communicated to this House.

47. Mr. FOOT

asked the Prime Minister if an opportunity will be given to the House to discuss the position in Malta as set forth in the published correspondence with the Holy See relative to Maltese affairs?

The PRIME MINISTER (Mr. Ramsay MacDonald)

If it is desired to discuss the action of His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom in relation to the correspondence, the matter could most conveniently be raised on the Foreign Office Vote.

Mr. MACPHERSON

Is there not another side to the question, the constitutional side; is this not a matter affecting the Colonial Office more than the Foreign Office; and will the right hon. Gentleman publish any correspondence or statement made in that connection?

The PRIME MINISTER

The question put to me related to the correspondence with the Holy See, and that correspondence emanated exclusively from the Foreign Office.

Mr. MACPHERSON

If there is a debate, would it not be in the interests of all concerned if there were a publication of such correspondence and memoranda as there may be in connection with the constitutional side of the question?

The PRIME MINISTER

Obviously, my right hon. Friend ought to put that question on the Paper.

Mr. THURTLE

Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether the Government propose to take any action to mark its dissatisfaction with the action of the Vatican in this matter?

The PRIME MINISTER

The Government are perfectly prepared, so far as their relations with the Vatican are concerned, to leave the matter where it is.