VISCOUNT POWEESCOUETwished to offer a few remarks upon a subject very nearly related to that they had been discussing. Some 12 years ago he travelled in Russia, and he had gone along the whole of the Southern coast of the Black Sea. In some senses, Batoum might be said to be unimportant, still he could understand the desire of the Russians to possess it; because Poti was a most wretched place, and could boast of few advantages except those that a very shallow river could give. The anchorages along the Southern coast of the Black Sea were very bad, and before she got Batoum, Russia had no harbour there except Poti. Batoum, though not a large place, was the best harbour there, and, relatively, a very important one.