THE EARL OF JERSEYrose to ask the noble Earl the Under Secretary of State for War a Question of which he had given him private Notice. It was, Whether Her Majesty's Government estimate that the annual cost of the Army of Occupation in Egypt will not exceed £200,000; and, if so, on what basis such calculation rests; also, whether it is proposed that any extra cost shall fall solely on the English Exchequer; and, if so, why? Their Lordships were aware that under the International Agreement just laid before Parliament the annual cost of the Army of Occupation was put down at £200,000; but in the Reports of Sir Evelyn Baring and his Colleagues, presented last June, the cost was estimated at £293,000. In the Conference which followed that estimate was accepted without demur; and in all 3 the French and English proposals it was never suggested that there should be any diminution of the sum of £293,000. He wished to know what had induced Her Majesty's Government to agree to such a large diminution of what must be the obvious cost of the Army of Occupation, as the extra charge would be thrown entirely on the English Exchequer? They had now about 16,000 men in Egypt, and bad spent in the last two months £200,000 extra, and there was a prospect of our spending a great deal more.
THE EARL OF MORLEYI must certainly object to the course pursued by the noble Earl opposite (the Earl of Jersey) in bringing forward a subject of this kind without public, instead of private, Notice. The answer I have to give to the Question is this—When the Force which was to form the garrison of Egypt—and which is entirely distinct from the Expeditionary Forces in the Soudan— was first sent to that country it was found that the extra cost—that is to say, the difference between the cost of maintaining the troops in Egypt and at home—was, as nearly as the Government could ascertain it, at the rate of £4 per man per month, or £48 a-year. Taking the garrison at a strength of 4,000 men, which was the number anticipated to be necessary, at that rate £200,000 would cover the extra yearly cost to this country. Whether the garrison be reduced to this strength or not, the Government has agreed to charge no more to the Egyptian Government. This is the part of the bargain under which £200,000 a-year is to be deducted from the interest on the bonds. The extra sums asked for are for the Expeditionary Forces in the Soudan and at Suakin, which have nothing to do with the garrisons in Egypt.