SIR GEORGE CAMPBELL&c.) (Kirkcaldy,On the same subject I would ask, If the hon. Gentleman can now state who is the Acting Consul at New Caledonia who made the report; and, whether he will also say whether he still considers the matter one of great gravity, notwithstanding the positive and explicit assurances of the French Government?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE (Mr. BRYCE) (Aberdeen, S.)Mr. Leopold Layard is Acting British Consul in New Caledonia, in the absence on leave of his father, Mr. Edgar Layard, Her Majesty's Consul. Mr. Leopold Layard has already had experience in acting for his father, and is unpaid Vice Consul. He is not prohibited from trading, although there is reason to believe that he does not do so.