11. In Article 103 of the Principal Order the words "except the jurisdiction relative to dissolution or nullity or jactitation of marriage" are hereby repealed, and from and after the commencement of this Order the Supreme Court shall, as far as circumstances admit, have for and within the Ottoman Dominions with respect to British subjects all such jurisdiction in matrimonial causes as for the time being belongs to the High Court in England. 12. (1.) This Order shall take effect as soon as it is first exhibited in the public office of the Supreme Court, and that date is in this Order referred to as the commencement of the Order. (2.) For that purpose the Judge of the Supreme Court shall, on the receipt by him of a certified printed copy of the Order, cause the same to be affixed and exhibited conspicuously in that Office. He shall also keep the same so affixed and exhibited during one month from that first exhibition. (3.) Proof shall not in any proceeding or matter be required that the provisions of this article have been complied with, nor shall any act or proceeding be invalidated by any failure to comply with any such provisions. ALMERIC FITZROY. [This Order came into force on the 1st March, 1922.] SPEECH of the King on the Opening of the British Parliament. Westminster, February 7, 1922. My Lords and Members of the House of Commons, DURING the last three months the Washington Conference on the question of Disarmament and the Far East has continued its sessions. A Treaty designed to maintain peace in the Pacific has been signed by the representatives of the British Empire, the United States, France and Japan, and awaits ratification. While this Treaty replaces the AngloJapanese Alliance, I am happy to feel that the long-standing concord between the two countries will remain as cordial as ever under the arrangements thus concluded. At the same time our relations with the United States of America enter upon a new and even closer phase of friendship. Agreement has also been reached on the question of disarmament, and a Treaty has been signed providing a large measure of relief from the burden of armaments. In all these respects great results have been attained; and the success of the Conference, for which the world will owe a deep debt of gratitude to the initiative of the President of the United States of America, will be of the happiest augury for the future of international relations. The problem of securing the payment of reparations by Germany in the manner most conformable to the general interest engages the continuous consideration of my Ministers and of our Allies. The German Government, at the request of the Allies, have themselves submitted proposals, which are now under consideration. Discussions were recently initiated and are now proceeding between my Government and the Governments of France and Belgium with a view to the conclusion of agreements for common action in the event of unprovoked attack by Germany. The situation in the Near East continues to engage the anxious attention of my Government and it is my earnest hope that the forthcoming Allied discussions in Paris may result in an early solution, which will terminate the conflict in a manner honourable to all the parties concerned. Members of the House of Commons, The estimates for the services in the coming year will be laid before you in due course. Every effort has been made to reduce public expenditure to the lowest possible limit, regard being had alike to the security and efficiency of the State, to public obligations and to the necessity of relieving our citizens to the utmost extent from the burdens which now rest heavily upon them. Retrenchment upon so great a scale must necessarily involve hardship to individuals and postponement of public hopes. But in a time of great industrial depression such as that through which the world is at present passing it is a necessity of the situation that economy be practised by all and in every direction; and I look for your support in securing the economies which are essential. My Lords and Members of the House of Commons, The Articles of Agreement signed by my Ministers and the Irish Delegation, to which you have already signified your assent, have now been approved in Ireland, and the Provisional Government contemplated in that instrument is at the present moment engaged in taking over the administration of the country. The final establishment of the Irish Free State as a partner in the British Commonwealth is anxiously awaited throughout the world. You will therefore be invited at an early date to consider such measures as may be necessary to give effect to the Agreement. A Bill of Indemnity will also be submitted to you. The great and continued volume of unemployment among my people causes me the deepest concern, and will continue to receive the earnest attention of my Ministers. The only remedy for this distressing situation is to be found in the appeasement of international rivalries and suspicions, and in the improvement of the conditions under which trade is carried on all over the world. For these reasons I welcome the arrangements which are now being made for the meeting of an International Conference at Genoa, at which, I trust, it will be possible to establish peace on a fair basis in Europe and to reach a settlement of the many important questions arising out of the pressing need for financial and economic reconstruction. Proposals will be submitted to you for the reform of the House of Lords and for the adjustment of differences between the two Houses. Among the measures which will be presented for your consideration the following Bills will be submitted: A Bill relating to the establishment of an International Trade Corporation; a Bill to enable the Government to give effect to the policy of co-operation in Empire settlement and migration; a Bill to amend "The Criminal Law Amendment Acts, 1885 to 1912"; and a Bill relating to Allotments. There will also be laid before you a Bill substituting yearly audit for half-yearly audit in the case of Rural District Councils and Boards of Guardians-and other measures framed to give effect to the policy of retrenchment to which I have referred. Proposals which were submitted to you last year will again be laid before you for the amendment of the law relating to real property and to the methods of land transfer And I pray that the blessing of Almighty God may rest upon your deliberations. BRITISH NOTIFICATION of the Denunciation by Great Britain of the Anglo-Portuguese Opium Agreement, signed at London, June 14, 1913.-London, March 1, 1922.* Foreign Office, March 1, 1922. NOTICE of the denunciation by His Majesty's Government of the Agreement between the United Kingdom and Portugal for the regulation of the opium monopolies in the Colonies of Hong Kong and Macao, signed at London on the 14th June, 1913, was given to the Portuguese Government by His Majesty's Minister at Lisbon on the 4th ultimo. This action has been taken in order that, upon the expiration of the Agreement, the annual amount of opium allowed by the Government of India to Macao may be reduced. In accordance with the terms of the Notice, the Agreement will cease to have effect on the 4th February, 1923. 66 BRITISH ORDER IN COUNCIL amending "The Treaty of Peace Order, 1919," and The Treaties of Peace (Austria, Bulgaria and Hungary) Orders, 1920 and 1921." -London, March 3, 1922.* At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 3rd day of March, 1922. PRESENT THE KING'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY IN COUNCIL. WHEREAS in pursuance of the powers conferred on him by "The Treaty of Peace Act, 1919," and "The Treaties of Peace (Austria and Bulgaria) Act, 1920," and "The Treaty of Peace (Hungary) Act, 1921," His Majesty in Council was pleased to make "The Treaty of Peace Order, 1919," "The Treaty of Peace (Austria) Order, 1920," "The Treaty of Peace (Bulgaria) Order, 1920,"§ and "The Treaty of Peace (Hungary) Order, 1921," and various Orders amending the aforesaid Orders; And whereas it is expedient that the aforesaid Orders as amended should be further amended in manner hereinafter appearing: Now, therefore, His Majesty, by and with the advice of his Privy Council, is pleased to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows: 1. The Orders made under the said Acts shall have effect and shall be deemed always to have had effect as if the words "shall be the period ending the 9th day of February, 1923," were substituted (a.) In Article 1 (xviii) of The Treaty of Peace Order, 1919" (as amended), for the words "shall be nineteen months from the coming into force of the Treaty "; (b.) In Article 1 (xxiv) of " The Treaty of Peace (Austria) Order, 1920" (as amended), for the words "shall be eighteen months from the coming into force of the Treaty"; (c.) In Article 1 (xvii) of "The Treaty of Peace (Bulgaria) + "London Gazette," March 10, 1922. + Vol. CXII, page 616. § Vol. CXIII, page 165. Vol. CXIII, page 155. Vol. CXIV, Order, 1920" (as amended), for the words "shall be eighteen months from the coming into force of the Treaty "'; and (d.) In Article 1 (xxiv) of "The Treaty of Peace (Hungary) Order, 1921," for the words "shall be ten months from the coming into force of the Treaty." 2. This Order may be cited as The Treaties of Peace Orders (Amendment) Order, 1922," and "The Treaty of Peace Orders, 1919 to 1921," and this Order, "The Treaty of Peace (Austria) Orders, 1920 to 1921," and this Order, "The Treaty of Peace (Bulgaria) Orders, 1920 to 1921," and this Order, and "The Treaty of Peace (Hungary) Order, 1921," and this Order, may respectively be cited together as "The Treaty of Peace Orders, 1919 to 1922, The Treaty of Peace (Austria) Orders, 1920 to 1922, The Treaty of Peace (Bulgaria) Orders, 1920 to 1922, and The Treaty of Peace (Hungary) Orders, 1921 to 1922," ALMERIC FITZROY. CIRCULAR DESPATCH to His Majesty's Representatives at Paris, Berlin, Washington, Rome, Madrid, Tokyo, Brussels, Rio de Janeiro, Christiania, Stockholm, The Hague, Copenhagen, Athens, Lisbon, Belgrade, Berne, Buenos Aires, Vienna, La Paz, Sofia, Santiago, Peking, Bogotá, Panamá, Havana, Prague, Lima, Riga, Helsingfors, Guatemala, Budapest, Mexico City, Tehran, Warsaw, Bangkok, Monte Video, the Vatican and Caracas, stating the decision of His Majesty's Government to terminate the Protectorate and to recognise Egypt as an independent sovereign State.-London, March 15, 1922.* Sir, Foreign Office, March 15, 1922. His Majesty's Government, with the approval of Parliament, have decided to terminate the Protectorate declared over Egypt on the 18th December, 1914, and to recognise her as an independent sovereign State. In informing the Government to which you are accredited of this decision, you should communicate the following notification : — "When the peace and prosperity of Egypt were menaced in December 1914 by the intervention of Turkey in the Great War in alliance with the Central Powers, His Majesty's Government terminated the suzerainty of Turkey over Egypt, took the country under their protection, and declared it to be a British Protectorate. * Parliamentary Paper, "Egypt No. 2 (1922)." |