§ 16. Mr. GILBERTasked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether his Department has yet received any reply from the Portuguese Government as regards the increased charges made on British ships entering Portuguese ports; can he state the purport of the reply; and, if no reply has been received, will he press for a reply and try to stop these charges on British shipping?
Mr. HARMSWORTHThe reply of the Portuguese Government is still awaited, and His Majesty's Minister at Lisbon will continue to press for it. Meanwhile, a Bill has been introduced into the Portuguese Chamber of Deputies for the purpose of exempting the Archipelago of Madeira from the effects of the recent legislation.
§ Colonel WEDGWOODHave we not recently given credit for £3,000,000 to the Portuguese Government, and could not that credit have been associated in some way with redress of this grievance?