VISCOUNT STANSGATEasked Her Majesty's Government:
To what extent the Fishery Convention failed to be accepted in some quarters for reason of defence.
§ THE JOINT PARLIAMENTARY UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (THE MARQUESS of LANSDOWNE)I assume that the noble Viscount is referring to the United States-Canadian proposal which so narrowly failed to secure a two-thirds majority at the recent Law of the Sea Conference in Geneva.
A number of the States present at the Conference considered defence to be of importance in determining the breadth of territorial waters. The extent to which their views contributed to the failure of the joint proposal cannot be judged because the only proposal which specifically covered defence questions was withdrawn without being voted upon.
House adjourned at twenty-nine minutes past eight o'clock.