§ VISCOUNT CECIL OF CHELWOODasked whether the proposal with regard to traffic in arms recently made by Earl Stanhope at Geneva can be communicated to this House; and whether the noble Lord has received instructions to act in close accord with the American delegation on this question?
§ THE UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (EARL STANHOPE)The Draft Articles for the regulation and control of the manufacture of and trade in arms and the establishment of a Permanent Disarmament Commission submitted by the United States delegation have been accepted by the Committee on manufacture of and trade in arms as a basis of discussion. The proposals made by the United Kingdom delegate take the form of amendments to the United States proposals, which, in common with the amendments of other152WA delegations, will be introduced and discussed in Sub-Committees, the proceedings of which are private. The preliminary observations of the United Kingdom delegate on the United States proposals were given in the course of the general discussion in plenary meetings of the Committee, and I shall be glad to make the procès verbaux of these meetings of the Committee available to the noble Viscount as soon as they have been received in their final form.
As regards the last part of the Question, the United Kingdom delegation, having accepted the United States draft proposals as a basis of discussion, are in full agreement with their main purpose. The United States and United Kingdom delegations are in close and friendly consultation with a view to reaching agreement on the methods by which this purpose can be attained.
House adjourned at a quarter past six o'clock.