§ LORD DAVIESI beg to ask the question standing in my name.
§ [The question was as follows:
§ To ask His Majesty's Government what is the present position with regard to the International Zone at Tangier; whether the members of the International Commission are in a position to discharge any of their legitimate functions; and, if not, whether it is proposed to take any steps in the near future to re-establish the position laid down in the Treaty of Algeciras.]
THE LORD PRIVY SEAL (VISCOUNT CRANBORNE) (Lord Cecil)My Lords, the Tangier International Zone is under a provisional Spanish military occupation; the greater part of the International Administration has been suspended, with the exception of the International Mixed Court, which continues to function. British rights in Tangier are covered by the modus vivendi reached with the Spanish Government early in 1941, about which a full statement was made in another place on February 26, 1941. Under the modus vivendi, British rights are fully safeguarded, pending a final settlement, which cannot at present be reached, since it is not possible, during the war, for the signatories of the relevant international instruments to enter into negotiation.
§ House adjourned.