§ MR. RICHARDasked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, What steps have been taken by Her Majesty's Government to bring under the notice of the Spanish Government the claims of the English residents at Carthagena for losses sustained by them during the insurrection and siege of that city; and, whether there is any prospect of a speedy settlement of those claims?
§ MR. BOURKESir, correspondence respecting these claims passed last year between Mr. Layard and the Spanish Government. Since the accession of the present King he had again called attention to the matter, and inquiry into these claims has been promised; and Mr. Layard was informed on the 11th of March last, that they had been referred to the Ministers of the Interior and Marine. The position taken up by Her Majesty's Government has been that the British claims should be dealt with on the same principle as the German claims, for which compensation has been rendered.