§ LORD EVERSLEYMy Lords, I rise to ask the Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs whether the Government will lay before Parliament a report showing the proposal made at the Hague Conference for the abolition of the right of capture of private property at sea in time of war, and the discussion which took place upon it; and also a copy of the Paper referred to in Sir Edward Grey's letter of instructions to His Majesty's plenipotentiaries at the Congress, in which the arguments for and against the proposals were fully set out.
THE UNDER - SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Lord FITZMAURICE)My Lords, in reply to my noble friend I have to say that Papers will shortly be laid before Parliament which will contain the minutes of the plenary meetings of the Confer- 786 ence, and the reports of the committees laid before the Conference at these meetings. These Papers will be found to contain all the information which his Majesty's Government can properly make public now. They are not at present in a position to say whether the discussions held at the various subsidiary meetings of committees and sub committees will be published eventually in whole or in part. This question, they understand, is under consideration at the Hague. Anything that is published there will, however, be placed in the library of both Houses of Parliament here. With regard to the particular question of the exemption of private property from capture, there were a large number of reports and memoranda placed at the disposal of the British plenipotentiaries which, in keeping with, the usual practice in such matters, being of a confidential character, cannot be published.
LORD FITZMAURICEI cannot give the exact date, as the Papers are very lengthy and contain matters in regard to which we naturally have to communicate with foreign Powers, but they will be laid as soon as possible.
§ House adjourned at ten minutes past Five o'clock, till Tomorrow, half-past Ten o'clock.