§ THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNEI beg to ask the noble Lord the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs a Question of which I have given him private notice—;namely, whether the Chinese Government have given their adhesion to the Thibetan Agreement of September 7th, 1904, and, if so, whether he is able to inform your Lordships as to the terms upon which that adhesion has been given.
* The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Lord FITZ-MAURICE)My Lords, in reply to the question which has just been put to me, I am glad to be able to inform your Lordships that the negotiations which have been for some time proceeding, partly at Calcutta and partly at Pekin, in regard to the adhesion of China to the Convention between this country and Thibet have proved successful. The convention between Great Britain and China was signed at Pekin on April 27th, and it secures the adhesion of China to the Convention established with Thibet in 1904. The text of the Convention has not yet been received, but it will be laid before Parliament in due course. The Convention, however, does not alter the arrangements arrived at under the Convention of Thibet as confirmed by the Government of India. It contains an engagement on our part not to encroach on Thibetan territory nor to interfere in the government of Thibet, the Government of China undertaking on their part not to allow any foreign State to interfere in the government or internal administration of Thibet. It also states that we do not seek for ourselves any of the concessions mentioned in Article 9 of the Convention of Thibet which were denied by that Article to any other State or to the subjects of any other State. The convention with China does not alter the amount of the Thibetan indemnity in any way.