§ DR. CLARK (Caithness)asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies, If his attention has been called to a statement in The Fall Mall Gazette of l4th March, that Dr. Karl Peters is about to start from Berlin in command of an expedition to take possession of a portion of Pondoland;and if there is any Treaty by which Germany has acquired possession of territory in South Africa, between 21 and 32 degrees south and 29 and 30 degrees east?
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE (Sir HENRY HOLLAND) (Hampstead)My attention has been called to the paragraph mentioned by the hon. Member. We have no knowledge of the alleged Karl Peters' Expedition. No such Treaty as that referred to exists between this country and Germany, nor have we ever heard of such Treaty between Germany and the Pondo Chief. I may add that in August, 1885, certain proposals, apparently arising out of an. agreement made by Herr Nagel with the Chief of Pondoland, were made with a view of placing Pondoland under the protection of the German Empire;but the German Government replied that they were not in a position to entertain the Petition in question, as they had already been informed that Her Majesty's Government exercises a protectorate over the whole coast of Pondoland, in pursuance of Sir Bartle Frere's Proclamation of September 4, 1878, and Sir Peregrine Maitland's Treaty of October 7, 1844.