§ MR. M'COANasked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether Her Majesty's present Government has taken, or intend to take, any steps to induce the Porte to carry out the reforms in Armenia which were made obligatory upon it by Article 61 of the Treaty of Berlin; and, whether, since the conclusion of that Treaty, the Powers have, as stipulated, received any communication from the Porte respecting the application of those reforms; and, if not, whether any instruction on the subject will be given to the Right honourable Member for Portsmouth on the occasion of his intended mission to Constantinople and Cairo?
§ MR. BRYCEasked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether Her Majesty's Government have taken, or propose shortly to take, any steps to recall the attention of the Ottoman Porte to the engagements it contracted by the sixty-first article of the Treaty of Berlin, to introduce various reforms into the condition of Armenia, and to press upon it the importance of fulfilling those engagements; and, when further Papers relating to Armenia and Asiatic Turkey, in continuation of Turkey, No. 6, 1881, will be presented to the House?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE (Mr. BOURKE)In reply to the Question of the hon. Member for Wicklow (Mr. M'Coan), I have to say that Her Majesty's Government have not had time to examine the position of this question sufficiently to enable them to take any action in the matter at present. Correspondence has taken place between the British Government and Her Majesty's Ambassador at Constantinople as regards the latter part of the Question of the hon. Member. The matter is one which will not be lost sight of by Her Majesty's Government; but it is not in the interests of the Public Service to state now whether the right hon. Member for Portsmouth (Sir H. Drummond Wolff) will receive instructions upon the subject or not. In answer to the Question of the hon. Member for the Tower Hamlets (Mr. Bryce), I have to say that Her Majesty's Government have had no favourable opportunity since their accession to Office of bringing the question before the Porte; and it must be borne in mind that there are other Articles in the Treaty of Berlin, besides the 61st, securing benefits to Turkey which have remained in abeyance. With respect to further Papers, Her Majesty's Government have not had an opportunity of examining the Correspondence with sufficient care to enable them to state whether or not they will be presented at present.