§ 13. Mr. JOHN WILMOTasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he can give the House any information about the conversations at Rome between Italy, Hungary and Austria and, in particular, about their bearing on the undertaking given by Austria in the 1922 protocol not to alienate its independence and to abstain from any negotiations and from any engagement calculated directly or indirectly to compromise its indepedence?
§ 12. Mr. JOELasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he can now make any statement with regard to the attitude of His Majesty's Government to the negotiations in Southern Europe bearing on the future of Austria and Hungary; and whether there has been any practical result of the three-Power conference on the subject?
§ Sir J. SIMONA summary of the Protocols signed by Italy, Austria and Hungary at Rome on Saturday has appeared in the Press. I have not yet received the full text, but so far as I am at present aware it does not conflict with the undertaking given by Austria in the 1922 Protocol.
§ Mr. WILMOTWould the right hon. Gentleman consider whether it would be wise for the British Government to take the initiative in conversations designed to offer a guarantee of independence to Austria, conditional upon the re-establishment of free institutions in that country?
§ Sir J. SIMONI do not think I could answer a supplementary question on that subject.