§ Sir J. Mellorasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can give any information indicating when and in what quantity shipment of iron ore from Bilbao and neighbouring ports to the United Kingdom is expected to be resumed?
§ Mr. R. S. HudsonI have at present nothing to add to the answer given to my hon. Friend on 15th July.
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§ Lieut.-Commander Fletcherasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether the Cabinet have had under consideration the position of a British ship inside Spanish territorial waters in danger of being sunk by gunfire from a Spanish rebel ship outside territorial waters; and if in such case the British ship is entitled to protection from His Majesty's Navy?
Mr. CooperI have nothing to add to the answer given to the hon. and gallant Member by the Prime Minister on Monday, and my reply to the hon. Member for Barnstaple (Mr. Acland) this afternoon.
§ Mr. Cocksasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether any attempt has been made by the control officials to ascertain the nature of the cargoes carried by the Italian vessel "Liguria" on its frequent passages between Italy and Spain?
§ Mr. EdenI am informed that the "Liguria" is a fleet auxiliary. As such, this vessel, like the naval units of other Powers, is not subject to the provisions of the international scheme of observation.
§ Mr. Cocksasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether His Majesty's Government or the Non-Intervention Committee are considering any plans to prevent vessels evading the observation system by flying a foreign flag outside the control waters and a Spanish flag when they reach the zone of control, and to deal with the question of foreign vessels temporarily transferred to Spanish ownership for the same purpose?
§ Mr. EdenThe hon. Member will have observed that in the proposals submitted by His Majesty's Government under Part B further measures for meeting the present situation and for filling certain gaps, such as those to which he refers, in the existing scheme of supervision have been put forward.
§ Lieut.-Commander Fletcherasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has any statement to make on the progress of consideration of the British plan by the Non-Intervention Committee?
§ Mr. EdenYes, Sir. The British proposals were considered by the Chairman's Sub-Committee yesterday, and it will have 2223W been seen from the communiqué issued at the close of the meeting that the representatives unanimously agreed in principle that a provision for the establishment of international officers in Spanish ports should be incorporated in the general plan to be submitted eventually to the two parties in Spain. The Sub-Committee was, however, unable to reach agreement with regard to the order in which the other parts of the British proposals should be discussed, and the meeting was therefore adjourned in order to enable this question to be further considered by the various Governments.