HC Deb 03 August 1876 vol 231 cc423-4
COLONEL MURE

asked MR. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Whether the coupons and drawings of 1855 Turkish Guaranteed Loan, due on the 1st August, have been paid; if so, whether the funds out of which such payments have been made were deposited in the Bank of England or France on the Egyptain Tribute Account, under the Third Article of the Convention between England and the Sublime Porte, by which these payments form a special charge on the annual amount of the Tribute of Egypt "which, remains over and above the part thereof appropriated to the 1854 Loan;" or, whether the money has been paid or supplemented by the Governments of England and France, or from any other source?

THE CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER

The best answer I can give to the Question of the hon. and gallant Member will be to mention the facts. On Saturday, the 29th of July, the Bank of England wrote to the Treasury that the necessary funds had not been provided to meet the charge of the Imperial Ottoman Guaranteed Loan of 1855, falling due on the 1st of August. On the 31st of July, the Treasury communicated this information to the Foreign Office, in order that a proper representation of the circumstances might be made to the Turkish Government. On the same day the Treasury informed the Bank that Her Majesty's Government were prepared to fulfil the guarantee which they had given jointly with the French Government and severally; but they (the Treasury) asked the Bank to advance the amount of the dividend in the first instance. This was an act of courtesy to the Turkish Government in order to afford them the opportunity of acting on the representation which had been made to them. On the 1st of August the Bank paid the dividend as requested by the Treasury. On the 2nd of August the Foreign Office forwarded to the Treasury a copy of a letter from the Turkish Ambassador, saying that he was in communication with his Government. Up to the present time no further information has been received. The facts have been made known to Lord Lyons for communication to the French Government.