§ MR. HANBURY-TRACYasked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether the promise, which appears from Colonel Stokes' letter to Lord Derby of 23rd February 1876, and the protocol of 22nd (Parliamentary Papers, Egypt, No. 9, 1876) to have been made by M. de Lesseps, namely, that the practice of re-measuring ships having Suez Canal Certificates issued by the Board of Trade should at once be discontinued, has been carried into effect; and, if not, what steps have been taken by Her Majesty's Government to obtain the performance of this undertaking?
§ MR. BOURKEYes, Sir. We believe that the promise has been carried into effect; and we are informed, upon the authority of M. de Lesseps himself, that the most stringent orders have been given to the officers of the Company not to measure vessels bearing the special certificate.