§ MR. EASTWICKasked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether he will state the number of ships of war which have been assembled by the Turkish Government in the 1754 Persian Gulf, and the purpose for which such a force has been collected there?
§ VISCOUNT ENFIELDSir, according to information sent by Her Majesty's chargé d'affaires at Constantinople last February, the number of Turkish war steamers actually employed on the Arabian coast was seven, of which several were undergoing repair. An expedition was sent last year to the Persian Gulf by the Turkish Government, with the intention of restoring tranquillity in the Arabian province of Nejd, and repeated assurances were given that the vessels employed were only intended to be used as transports.