§ MR. ALEXANDER M'ARTHURasked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether there is any truth in the statement, made on Portuguese authority, to the effect that the President of the French Republic has decided against the claim of Great Britain to the southern part of Delagoa Bay—whether the ownership of Inyack Island has been kept distinct from the question of sovereignty on the mainland; and, when the Papers on this subject will be laid upon the Table?
§ MR. BOURKE, in reply, said, that the whole question of the claim of Great Britain to the southern part of Delagoa Bay had been referred to the President of the French Republic for arbitration. The question of the ownership of Inyack Island had been included in that arbitration. It would probably be a month or six weeks before the President of the French Republic delivered his award; but whenever the Government received it, no time would be lost in communicating it to the House.