§ MR. WISEsaid, he would beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury, Whether the regulations for admission into the Russian ports of the Black Sea have been framed in a spirit favourable to the development of commercial transactions, and to what ports in the Black Sea English Consuls have been sent by Her Majesty's Government?
§ VISCOUNT PALMERSTONSir, I cannot say that the arrangements which have been made by the Russian Government for promoting commercial intercourse on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, as at present framed, are in accordance with the letter or the spirit of the Treaty of Paris. We are told, however, that those arrangements are only temporary, and that, when the Russian Government have established custom-houses in the various ports, they will proceed to open them for commercial intercourse. At present there are but three ports, Souchum-Kaleh and two others, to which we could send Consuls.
§ MR. WISEsaid, that if the noble Lord would name the ports to which Consuls had been sent the information would be very grateful to the British merchants interested in that trade, who were at present in entire ignorance on the matter.
§ VISCOUNT PALMERSTONTheir ignorance is not at all inexcusable, seeing that no Consuls have been sent. My noble Friend at the head of the Foreign Office has been waiting to get information, which has only recently reached him, in order to enable him to determine which are the ports to which it would be advisable to send Consuls. I believe my noble Friend has pretty well made up his mind, but until the appointments are made I cannot state the ports to which the Consuls will be sent.