asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in view of the official circulation of Prince Lichnowsky's Memorandum, which contains a statement of public interest with regard to the support to be accorded by the British Government to German enterprises associated with the Baghdad Railway, he will now publish the terms of the agreement relating to this matter which was on the point of being signed by the British Foreign Secretary when the crisis of 1914 arose?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply returned on the 15th March, 1915, to the hon. Member for Roxburghshire, and would add that the considerations on which that reply was based still retain their force.

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether the fact of the circulation of this Memorandum might be taken by the Government to signify that the statements made as regards the concessions to be made to Germany in connection with the Baghdad Treaty were correct?

I do not know, and the hon. Gentleman had better ask another Department as to the circulation of this document, to which I had nothing to add. But I am quite sure that no Government Department pledges itself as to the literal accuracy of every statement made in that document.

Why?

Why should it?

Arising out of that answer, inasmuch as this memorandum in pamphlet form of Prince Lichnowsky has been widely disseminated at the public expense, cannot it possibly be assumed that it did not contain radically false interpretations of our policy?

It is not suggested that it contains radical interpretations of policy. I do not know what the hon. Gentleman means.

If this is a question of the Memorandum containing concessions to Germany, is not that a radical matter as regards our foreign policy, and are not the public very possibly being misinformed?

The hon. Member is going a very long way from the question on the Paper.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether his attention has been called to the fact that Prince Sixte de Bourbon paid two visits to England in connection with the peace proposals made by the Emperor Karl to President Poincaré and that he was in communication with the Prime Minister on the subject; whether the Prime Minister informed him that proposals for peace had been made; and, if so, at what date?

I have already explained to the House that this subject cannot, in my opinion, be properly dealt with by question and answer. I gather that it will be raised on the Adjournment.

May I point out to the right hon. Gentleman—

The hon. Member will probably have an opportunity in the course of the Debate.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether it is intended to recognise the present de facto Governments of Finland, the Ukraine, and Russia, respectively?

The answer must be in the same terms as that which I gave to the question of the hon. Member for Hanley (Mr. Outhwaite).

I beg to give notice that I shall refer to this matter in the course of the Debate this afternoon.

asked the Home Secretary for what reason the May-Day labour demonstration proposed to be held in Finsbury Park on Sunday, 5th May, was proclaimed; whether he is aware that eight trades councils and over 100 trade union branches were to be represented at the demonstration; and who was responsible for the action taken?

This meeting was prohibited by an Order made by me under No. 9 A of the Defence of the Realm Regulations because I was satisfied from the information before me that if held it would give rise to grave disorder, and cause undue demands to be made on the police, and that the holding of certain processions which were being arranged in connection with the meeting would conduce to a breach of the peace.

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman if it is the policy of his Department, whenever any organisation, for its own purpose, publishes a scheme for a meeting, to say that it will create a disturbance?

The hon. Gentleman is asking a general question, of which he must give notice.

May I ask whether there was from any quarter any manifestations of hostility to this meeting, apart from one newspaper, owned by the Director of Information, and edited by a gentleman named Blumenfeld?

I acted on the reports from the police, and not on what appeared in any newspaper.