§ 14. Sir AUSTEN CHAMBERLAINasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether His Majesty's Government, when giving a general assent to the amendments proposed by the League of Nations Committee on the Covenant and Pact of Paris, intended to reserve their right to reject or alter particular amendments?
Mr. A. HENDERSONHis Majesty's Government think it desirable that the Covenant of the League of Nations should be amended so as to bring it into harmony with the Pact of Paris. The Committee referred to in the question was appointed to propose amendments with this object, and His Majesty's Government are of opinion that, generally speaking, their proposals are satisfactory. But they reserve to themselves the right to make suggestions for modifying details.
§ Sir A. CHAMBERLAINAs the adoption of the Amendments will extend the obligations of His Majesty's Government, when does the right hon. Gentleman propose to take the judgment of the House upon it?
Mr. HENDERSONIt is a matter of debate as to whether they extend the obligations of His Majesty's Government. There may be a slight technical extension, but I think the Amendments as a whole have the effect of making much more remote any possibility of conflict.
§ Sir A. CHAMBERLAINThe right hon. Gentleman says that it is a matter of debate, and I agree. When does he propose to give the House an opportunity of debating it?
Mr. HENDERSONIf the right hon. Gentleman desires to proceed through the usual channels and ask the Leader of the House to give a date, I am quite prepared to agree.
§ Sir A. CHAMBERLAINThat is not what I proposed. I assumed that the Government were going to follow their often proclaimed course of not committing this country to any such obligations without first taking the judgment of the House?
Mr. HENDERSONIt all depends upon the obligations. In this case we are only putting into one document what the previous Government agreed to in a second document. We are only agreeing to try to put the Briand-Kellogg Pact of Paris into the Covenant of the League of Nations. If the right hon. Gentleman dissents, surely he knows that his Government accepted the Briand-Kellogg Pact, and all that we are doing is to try and harmonise the two documents.
§ Sir A. CHAMBERLAINDoes not the right hon. Gentleman see that the effect 376 of putting into the League Covenant what is novel in the Briand-Kellogg Pact is to extend the obligations of this country under Article 16, and does he propose to bring the matter, on a Motion of the Government, before the House?
Mr. HENDERSONI have already said that it is a question of debate as to whether it is really an extension, and I have also said that if right hon. Gentlemen on the Front Bench opposite desire a day they know the usual way to obtain it.
§ Captain EDENDoes the right hon. Gentleman propose to go to Geneva, where this matter is to be discussed in the autumn, before he has received the approval of this House?
Mr. HENDERSONI do; and, when the document is laid for ratification, the House will have an opportunity of debating it.