§ Mr. SpeakerHon. Members will remember that on 20th April last I undertook, at the desire of the House, to send a message to the President of the Austrian Assembly conveying the congratulations of this House upon the tenth anniversary of the re-establishment of the Austrian Republic. I duly sent this message, and I have received a reply from the President of the Austrian Assembly. I will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT the text of my message and a translation of the reply which I have received from Dr. Felix Hurdes.
§ Following are the messages:
§ "DEAR MR. PRESIDENT,
§ On behalf of the House of Commons, I send warm messages to the joint meeting of the Austrian National and Federal Councils on this tenth anniversary of their rebirth. Members of the House of Commons have watched with admiration the rapid re-establishment of Parliamentary government in Austria since the end of the war. The way in which the freely elected Austrian Parliament has asserted and safeguarded its rights despite the circumstances of occupation is an inspiration to all democratic assemblies. The House of Commons wishes to pay tribute to this vigilance and to express the earnest hope that Austria's full freedom and independence will soon be restored by the conclusion of the State Treaty.
§ Yours very sincerely,
§ W. S. MORRISON,
§ Speaker."
§ 25th April, 1955.
§ "DEAR MR. SPEAKER,
§ I should like to thank you most cordially for the friendly greetings which you sent me on behalf of the House of Commons on the occasion of the Joint Meeting of the Austrian Assembly and Federal Council, held on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the restoration of the Austrian Republic. The Austrian Parliament has received with real pleasure the expression of the House of Commons' desire that Austria's full freedom and 1318 independence should be restored through a speedy conclusion of the State Treaty. This desire links up at the present juncture with the hopes of the Austrian people and of its Parliament that the full sovereignty of our democratic State and its organs may be regained in the near future.
§ It is a high honour to receive from the House of Commons—the historic model of all Parliamentary bodies—a warm expression of the appreciation of the Parliamentary work accomplished since 1945. May I send you on this occasion, in the name of the National Assembly of the Austrian Republic, the assurance that we shall continue in the future to contribute through our work to the well being of our people, and, at the same time, also to international understanding and the enhancement of the prestige of democratic and Parliamentary institutions.
§ Allow me, Mr. Speaker, to assure you of my very highest esteem.
§ F. HURDES."