§ 5. Mr. Manderasked the Prime Minister whether he has any statement to make with reference to the escape of two German armed vessels from the territory of our ally Portugal at Lobito?
§ Mr. ButlerAccording to the information in the possession of His Majesty's Government neither of the two German ships, the "Windhuk" and the "Adolf Woermann," which left Lobito Bay on r5th November, and to which the hon. Member presumably refers, was armed. The latter vessel, which had 162 passengers on board, scuttled herself when intercepted by one of His Majesty's Ships, while the "Windhuk" is known to have been searched ať one time by the Portuguese authorities while she was in port. It is no part of the duties of a neutral Power to prevent the departure of the unarmed merchant vessels of belligerents from their harbours, and His Majesťy's Government gratefully recognise that the Portuguese Government have scrupulously observed their obligations throughout the course of the present hostilities.