§ * LORD PIRBRIGHTI beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that a French Yellow-book, containing all the diplomatic documents relating to the Sugar Conferences of 1898 and 1901–2, together with full reports of all the meetings of the two Conferences, has been published in Paris by the French Minister for Foreign Affairs; and whether he will now lay on the Table of the House the corresponding documents in English.
§ * THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (the Marquess of LANSDOWNE)My Lords, we have received a copy of the French Yellow-book containing documents relating to the Conference of 1898, and also to the recent Conference of 1901–2. The Papers relating to the first of those two Conferences were presented in 1898, and I shall be glad to obtain a copy of them for the noble Lord if he desires it. With regard to the Papers relating to the recent Conference, we are at the present moment preparing a Blue-book, and I hope to lay it on the Table of the House early next week, probably on Tuesday. 459 I do not propose to include in the Blue-book the whole of the procès-verbaux of the recent Conference. They cover over 400 pages of printed matter, and I believe that the information which they contain is sufficiently summarised in the Papers which we intend to present. The procès-verbaux are, moreover, in French, and I think that it would involve needless time and trouble to prepare an English version of them, which I gather is suggested in the noble Lord's Question. I shall be glad to put a copy of the French Yellow-book in the library for reference if the noble Lord desires it.
§ * LORD PIRBRIGHTI should like to ask whether it is not the case that in respect of the Conference of 1887–8, the procès-verbaux, were printed in French, and afterwards translated and printed in English?
§ * THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNEI believe that to be the case, but obviously the task of translating a great mass of documents of that kind is a very serious one, and I do not think we should be justified in undertaking it, unless it was absolutely necessary for the purpose of giving public information.