§ SIR JAMES FERGUSSONsaid, he would beg to ask the noble Lord the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether it is true that the Members of the International Commission appointed to settle the affairs of Syria have since their arrival at Constantinople agreed to the appointment of a Maronite Governor for the Lebanon, who should be independent of the provincial Government of Syria; and if so, whether Her Majesty's Commissioner has been a consenting party to that agreement?
§ LORD JOHN RUSSELLSir, the representatives of the great Powers at Constantinople have had two meetings, the second with the assistance of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Porte, but they have not agreed to the arrangement which the hon. Baronet has mentioned. The whole matter has been discussed, but we have not yet heard that any proposition has been agreed to, and certainly Her Majesty's Ambassador is not empowered to consent, that there should be a Maronite Governor in the Lebanon. I hope that before the end of the week I shall be able to state at what decision the representatives have arrived.