I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the British delegates at The Hague Conference will have power to adopt, on behalf of the British Government, the principle of the exemption of private property at sea from capture.
I can make no statement on the subject, and would beg to refer the hon. Member to the Answer I gave him on the 20th of March last.
It is impossible to anticipate the discussions of the Conference by making public statements beforehand of the line which will be taken or the arguments used by the delegates of individual Powers?‡ See(4) Debates, clxxi, 818.
Is it equally impossible to assure this House that these matters will not be settled at the Conference?
I should think it is one of the matters which will be discussed.
I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the sittings of The Hague Conference will be held in public.
If the precedent of the Conference of 1899 is followed, the sittings will not be held in public. But the matter is one for the Conference itself to settle when it meets.