§ SIR WILLIAM HOULDSWORTH (Manchester, N.W.)asked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether Her Majesty's Government can communicate any information relative to the Protectorate, which it is reported the French Governor of Senegal has established, and also relative to the rule which he is endeavouring to administer over a part of the Gambia Territories, which for many years have formed part of the British Dependencies on the West Coast of Africa; and, what steps Her Majesty's Government is taking to obtain the withdrawal of French troops and the restoration of British influence in these territories?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY of STATE (Sir JAMES FERGUSSON) (Manchester, N.E.)The French have not formally declared any Protectorate in the manner stated in the Question, but have lately advanced into territories bordering on the River Gambia. They have, however, checked their progress in deference 38 to representations from Her Majesty's Government, with a view to friendly discussion of the question of boundaries and of spheres of influence.