§ Lieut.-Colonel WINDSOR-CLIVEasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if His Majesty's Government is satisfied that all the ex-enemy countries have now complied with the requirements of the Peace Treaties as regards disarmament: and, if not, in what respects those requirements have not been complied with?
§ Sir A. CHAMBERLAINThe Inter-Allied Commissions of Control which, in virtue of the Peace Treaties, were set up in Germany, Austria, Hungary and Bulgaria respectively, to supervise the execution of disarmament Clauses in those Treaties, have now all been withdrawn because they have accomplished their task to an extent which the ex-Allied Governments considered on the whole satisfactory and adequate. In the case of all these countries except Austria the final detailed reports which the Commissions of Control drew up on the termination of their mission have been communicated to the League Council, who, on the withdrawal of the Commissions of Control, became, as laid down in the Peace Treaties, responsible for investigating any subsequent breaches of the disarmament Clauses.
As regards Austria, the Commission's final report has not yet been presented 2638W to the League Council, because there are certain outstanding points regarding the conversion of munition factories to industrial uses which are still the subject of negotiations between the ex-Allied Governments and the Austrian Government.
As regards Hungary, in communicating the Commission's final report to the League Council, the ex-Allied Governments draw its attention to certain reservations expressed by the Commission of Control regarding the application of the recruiting laws in Hungary.
As regards Bulgaria, in communicating the Commission's final report to the League Council, the ex-Allied Governments drew its attention to the frequency of non-execution or transgression of the new military laws regarding recruiting and army organisation, although the laws themselves, if loyally observed, were such as to assure the satisfactory application of the Treaty stipulations. The attention of the Council was also drawn to the fact that the Bulgarian Government had not yet fulfilled its undertaking to revise Article 71 of the Constitution which asserts the principle of universal military service, which is incompatible with the stipulations of the Peace Treaties.
Lastly, as regards Germany, an agreement was reached at Geneva on 12th December, 1926, between the ex-Allied Governments and the German Government, whereby after the withdrawal of the Commission of Control certain experts were attached to the diplomatic missions of the ex-Allied Governments at Berlin with a view to reach agreement with the German authorities as to the final execution of certain points which, at the date of the withdrawal of the Commission of Control, could not yet be regarded as having been completely carried out. Considerable progress has been mad; in the settlement of these outstanding points which concern, among other things, the reorganisation of the police and the alienation of military establishments.