Major D. DAVIESasked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he has any information concerning the shipment of arms and munitions to Mustapha Kemal from European sources; and whether the Government propose to take any steps to carry out the provisions of Article 8 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, wherein it is laid down that the Council of the League shall advise how the evil effects of the manufacture and sale by private enterprise of munitions and implements of war can be prevented?
Mr. HARMSWORTHThe Turkish Nationalists are believed to receive from Bolsheviks supplies of arms and ammunition imported through Trebizond and other Turkish ports on the Black Sea, and measures for controlling this traffic are under consideration. As I stated in this House on the 29th July, a report that Mustapha Kemal had received similar supplies from Italy was brought unofficially to the attention of the Italian authorities. Article 8 of the Covenant1768W of the League of Nations provides for advice by the Council of the League and not for any initiative by His Majesty's Government, who have hitherto not been approached by the League on this point.