§ 7. Mr. Gallacherasked the Prime Minister whether any agreement has been entered into between His Majesty's Government and the Government of Italy regarding the use of the waters of Lake Tsana for the irrigation of the Sudan; if so, for what period the agreement runs; and what are the financial commitments entered into by the British Government thereby?
§ Mr. ButlerNo agreements of any kind have been entered into between His Majesty's Government and the Italian Government with regard to Lake Tsana other than the Treaty of 13th December, 1906, between the United Kingdom, France and Italy (Cmd. 3298), the notes exchanged on 14th–20th December, 1925, between His Majesty's Government and the Italian Government (Cmd. 2680), and Annex 5 to the Protocol signed at Rome on 16th April, 1938 (Cmd. 5726). The second and third parts of the question do not, therefore, arise.
§ Mr. GallacherArising out of the many manoeuvres of the Government—
§ Mr. SpeakerThe hon. Member must not put supplementary questions in that form.
§ Mr. GallacherI want to know whether we can have an assurance that any discussions which take place on the question of Lake Tsana will not be used for the purpose of supplying the Italians with finances for other purposes?
§ Mr. ButlerI can only refer the hon. Member to the provisions of Annex 5, to which I have referred, that the Italian Government are fully conscious of their obligations towards the Government of the United Kingdom in the matter of Lake Tsana, and have no intention of overlooking or repudiating them.
§ Mr. BennWhat is the status of the older agreement of 1906 and other agreements? Are they still valid after the conquest of Abyssinia?
§ Mr. ButlerI must refer the right hon. Gentleman to the terms of my answer.