§ LORD LAMINGTON rose to ask His Majesty's Government for information as to the number and condition of refugees from the Spanish and French zones in Morocco who have come into Tangier for safety; whether relief will be given if required; and to move for Papers. The noble Lord said: My Lords, your Lordships will have noticed from time to time reports of the distressing conditions of Arab and other refugees in the international zone of Tangier, and on the 22nd of this month in The Times newspaper allusion was made to the work which has been carried on by the British Red Crescent Society, a society with which I have worked for a considerable time. It was stated in the The Times that the funds of this society were running low, and in a very short time they would have to discontinue giving relief. It also mentioned the fact that a Quaker missionary was 498 setting out to see what ought and could be done in the way of supplementing relief given by the British Red Crescent Society.
§ All the reports that we have had show that there has been an enormous amount of serious distress. The association have been relieving from one thousand to two thousand people every day. The money which was at their disposal is now almost at an end and numbers of people clamouring for relief have had to be turned away. It is no wonder that refugees coming into the international zone at Tangier occupied a very uncomfortable position in their own country in Morocco. In the districts taken over by Spain or France these people, more or less accepted the rule of whichever Power was in occupation. Those civilian people would be termed "rebels" if they did anything against, or showed any hostile feeling towards, those two great European Powers. On the other hand, if Spain or France had to retire from any of the occupied districts the probability is that these wretched Moroccan civilians would be regarded as traitors by their fellow tribesmen. Consequently, they desire to get into a secure district—the international zone at Tangier. I imagine that is the reason why so many have taken refuge in that international zone. The head of the British Red Crescent Society, to whose heroic endeavours to alleviate the distress great credit should be given, wrote a letter to the Foreign Office at the end of June, I think, asking whether further relief could be given. The Foreign Office replied that under the new régime at Tangier the Assembly, under the ægis of the Sultan, were responsible and they could not interfere, and that any money which was given had to be given as an act of grace entirely.
§ I would make this point—that I do not think we can get rid of all responsibility so easily as that. It must be remembered that when Morocco was divided up, some twenty years ago, we joined with France and Spain in the partition. The unhappy condition of affairs which now prevails in that country, and the continued fighting there, are due to the fact that there was no League of Nations in those days to carry out a Mandate and consequently the partition of Morocco was undertaken by the three great Powers without any consultation of the 499 people living in Morocco. Hence, all the subsequent trouble and the trouble which now obtains. It is to be hoped that in consequence of the appeal made to the Riff Leader, Abdel Krim, he will be moderate in his views and that some arrangement will be made between him and France and Spain. That, however, will not relieve the prevailing distress in that part of the world. If it is the case that great distress prevails there—I can only imagine that this is the case from the reports I receive; no doubt, the Government have better information at their command—if it is the fact that there are numbers of refugees there who are daily increasing and are almost starving, I ask whether His Majesty's Government cannot see their way to give some relief. I beg to move.
§ THE LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL (THE EARL OF BALFOUR)My Lords, I am sure that every one of your Lordships will agree with my noble friend Lord Lamington that nothing seems more desirable than that the present troubles in Morocco should come to a speedy and peaceful end. But I do not think your Lordships will go the length my noble friend went of attributing all the misfortunes which are now happening in Morocco, and in particular the distress of these refugees, to the arrangement that was come to twenty years ago and more with regard to European intervention in Morocco. Does my noble friend really think that the state of Morocco would have been better had that arrangement not been reached? Has he any ground for supposing that the evils from which these refugees suffer is in any sense a direct consequence of the diplomatic arrangements come to at the period to which he refers?
It is, unfortunately, true that there are a good many refugees, not I believe from the French zone but from the Spanish zone, now seeking refuge from the disorders which prevail in their country, in the international zone at Tangier. I am told that the number is approximately 6,000, of which 2,000 are men. Where my noble friend seemed to me rather to have failed in his statement of the case was in showing that His Majesty's Government had in any sense a responsibility for what has occurred or had thrown upon them any responsibility for providing 500 relief for these unhappy persons. Tangier, under the International Government, is after all, more peaceable and is better governed than the part from which these refugees have fled. So far, that international area has been a clear advantage to these refugees; but the Government of that international area is quite independent in its administration of His Majesty's Government. We neither have a responsibility nor have we the least intention of accepting a responsibility for what has occurred in a Government over which we have no control and I do not think that my noble friend has shown the smallest reason for thinking that the British taxpayer ought to come to the assistance of this particular class of unfortunate refugees.
He said that the world is full of unsatisfactory conditions. Among the "unsatisfactory conditions" which are to be discovered by even the most careless eye at this moment are refugees in many parts of the world, who have been driven by the unfortunate conditions prevailing there from their homes where they were brought up and the places where they live and which have compelled them to be refugees in other and often in distant areas. We cannot be responsible for misfortunes of which we are not the authors in districts which we do not govern, and I am sure, if my noble friend would consider the matter, he would see that we should be carrying out in a very unfortunate fashion our own responsibilities to our own people if we were to ask the British taxpayer to come to the assistance of these refugees. Any information which the Government have at their disposal they will be very glad to communicate to my noble friend: but they cannot accept the responsibility which, if I understood his speech aright, he would desire to throw upon them.
§ LORD LAMINGTONMy Lords, I am somewhat disappointed at my noble friend's unsatisfactory reply, in the course of which he questioned whether the condition of things in Morocco would have been any better had the agreement of some twenty years ago never been made. That is the sort of question which it is beyond the power of mortal man to answer; but I maintain that there is this responsibility, that it is in consequence of that agreement that there is this number of refugees in Tangier to-day, and if 501 we were a party to that agreement being made I do not see why we have not some responsibility. Whoever were concerned in that agreement has, it seems to me, a burden of responsibility now thrown upon them for these 6,000 refugees who are in an international zone. It seems to me that the great Powers of Europe are responsible for what takes place in that international zone. The National Assembly, which has just been formed, has hardly felt its way yet, and it is impossible to conceive that it can be in a position to grapple with the task of feeding and maintaining against absolute starvation this large number of 6,000 people. I still hope that at some future day His Majesty's Government will see their way to do something more than has been indicated in the answer that has 502 been given to me. In the meantime I beg to withdraw my Motion.
§ Motion, by leave, withdrawn.