§ 71. Mr. MANDERasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in view of the attitude of His Majesty's Government towards maintaining the Washington Naval Treaty intact, as stated by the Foreign Minister in his speech to the Disarmament Conference on 8th February, it is intended to revise the policy proposed by Vice-Admiral Pound at the Naval sub-committee of the Conference on 14th March?
§ The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Mr. Eden)No, Sir. Vice-Admiral Pound repeated at the meeting of the Naval Commission on the 15th of March that His Majesty's Government desired that the Washington and London Naval Treaties should be maintained intact until the end of 1936, and that nothing should be done to prejudice what had already been achieved by them. The object of the proposal made by the Admiral on the previous day was to provide that the obligations undertaken under Article 17 of the Washington Naval Treaty should not be perpetuated in the Disarmament Convention after the expiration of the Washington Naval Treaty on the 31st December, 1936. There was therefore no inconsistency between my right hon. Friend's statement on the 8th of February and Vice-Admiral Pound's proposal on the 14th of March.
§ Mr. MANDERHas this proposal in effect been withdrawn?