Letters and Papers Concerning the Trans-Persian Railway and Other Railways in Persia [‎167r] (333/442)

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Supply (Committee). 10 July 1912 Foreign Office.
the Opposition side supported his foreign
policy generally, it was due'to them that
some explanation should be given of what
the hon. Member described as the escapade
of sending Lord Haldane to Germany.
What do such words mean when trans
lated into plain English. They mean that
if the Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs is to rely upon the Opposition for
their approval of the general lines of his
policy it must be at the cost of not making
any direct approach to Germany for a per
manent and peaceful understanding.
Mr. LLOYD : I am sure the hon. Gentle
man would not wish to misinterpret what
I said. The remarks I made were I stated
definitely friendly to Germany, and not the
reverse. The only criticisms I made were
that I thought it was better, when such
missions were made, they should be
directly ma,de by the Secretary of State
for Foreign Affairs, or by an accredited
Ambassador, unless special reasons were
given.
Mr. WHITEHOUSE:! am obliged to the
hon. Member. I certainly do not wish to
misrepresent him. All I am trying to do
is to interpret the spirit of his remarks. It
will be in the recollection of the Committee
that the hon. Member did not show any
particular enthusiasm for any direct ap
proaches in this sense to Germany at all.
The object of my intervention is to express
the hope that the Secretary for Foreign
Affairs will not be influenced by remarks
of this kind, but will pursue the part of
attempting to arrive at a friendly under
standing with Germany. I was surprised
that the hon Gentleman condemned the
dispatch of Lord Haldane for this great
purpose. It would be impertinence on my
part to point out the obvious qualifications
Lord Haldane has for a mission of this
kind. If the mission is not immediately
successful, if the preliminary discussion
has not led to immediate results, I hope
the example which has properly been set
will be followed again and. again, until
success is achieved. I believe I am expres
sing the simple truth when I say that
throughout the length and breadth of this
land there is a warm desire that the pre
sent atmosphere of suspicion towards
Germany should be replaced by one of cor
dial friendship. There is a natural feeling,
I believe, that there are no causes of dif
ference between this nation and the
German nation which are not capable,
under wise statesmanship, of an ehtirely
happy solution, and I rejoice at the new
departure which the dispatch of Lord Hal
dane promises, and I trust that such depar
tures will be followed again and again until
success is achieved.
Sir GILBERT PARKER- I want to
raise very briefly a question which is of
very great importance not only to a special
section of interests in this country, but
also of very considerable importance to
our national safety. I shall not be able
to enter into the question very broadly,
but I can put it in such a way that 1 think
the Foreign Secretary will be able to give
a reply which I trust tvill satisfy a great
many people in this House, I refer to
Clause 19 of the Pilotage Bill, which re
stores the old position anterior to 1906,
when foreign pilots tvere permitted to
pilot those Avaters with certificates from
Trinity House. Since the Merchant Ship
ping Act of 1906 was passed representa
tions have been made, chiefly by one
foreign Power with whom we are on terms
of the closest amity, and as a result of
the representations made by France the
Government have determined to over
throw the policy established in 1906, and
reinstate the old position, which for a
great number of years was a source of
anxiety not only to the pilots ' of this
country, but also to those who ■ were re
sponsible for the naval welfare of this
countiy. When the Merchant Shipping
Act of 1903 was passed the Chancellor of
the Exchequer, who was then the Presi
dent of the Board of Trade, was in some
anxiety as to whether he could satisfy the
demands from both sides of the House
upon this point, and the thing that
troubled him was whether there w'ere facts
or treaties with foreign nations which
■ would prevent him applying this principle
to the exclusion of alien pilots from our
waters. The Debate was not reported in
the Parliamentary Debates, but I make
this extract from the Western new T spaper,
from a report in Committee in w r hich it
says:—
“ In reply to some criticisms made by a Member of
this House, the Chancellor of the Exchequer said he
had in his possession a report which he felt he ought to
read to the Committee, and which, to his mind, was
conclusive. It was as follows : ‘ The Director of Naval
Intelligence, in his recent report to the Admiralty, ex
pressed the opinion that the granting of these certifi
cates to aliens introduced a possible source of danger to
ourselves in war, and that the withdrawal of such a
privilege correspondingly diminished that danger.”
What I want to know is if there w^ere
dangers anterior to 1906 recognised by the
Admiralty, and by its expert advisers, and
by the then President of the Board of
Trade and by Members of the party wdiich