– in the House of Commons at on 18 June 1924.
Sir Harry Brittain
, Acton
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has received any official information as to present conditions on the Bessarabian border; and whether he is able to give the House any particulars in connection therewith?
Mr Arthur Ponsonby
, Sheffield, Brightside
I regret that I am unable to give the House any information on this subject.
Sir Harry Brittain
, Acton
In view of the insistent rumours on this point, would the hon. Gentleman make inquiries from the nearest. British official source?
Mr Arthur Ponsonby
, Sheffield, Brightside
Yes, I will do that.
Sir Harry Brittain
, Acton
asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in view of the fact that, with the exception of the period of the Russian occupation, Bessarabia has been for centuries Rumanian territory, that the Majority of the population is of Rumanian stock speaking the Rumanian tongue, and seeing that any suggestion of a plébiscite at this date would be both useless and dangerous, he will urge that no step in this direction will be taken without the approval of the League of Nations?
Mr Arthur Ponsonby
, Sheffield, Brightside
No, Sir. His Majesty's Government are not directly concerned in this question, and could not properly take the action suggested by the hon. Member.
Sir Harry Brittain
, Acton
Will they agree not to remain supine if the question develops, because it will have a most serious effect on the whole of the Balkans?
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.
