HC Deb 06 June 1877 vol 234 cc1361-2
THE MARQUESS OF HARTINGTON

I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Whether he will lay upon the Table a Copy of any Despatch containing the terms of the intimation stated in the Papers, Egypt No. 1, to have been made to the Russian Ambassador, to the effect that an attempt to blockade or otherwise interfere with the Canal or its approaches would be regarded as a menace to India, and as a grave injury to the commerce of the world; and whether, if Her Majesty's Government have received any reply from the Russian Government, he will lay it upon the Table?

THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER

Sir, I have not had an opportunity of seeing Lord Derby since the noble Lord gave Notice of his Question; but I think I may say that there are no Papers beyond those already published relating to this subject, which it would at the present moment be convenient to lay upon the Table. I may state that the reason why the Papers which were presented yesterday were laid upon the Table was this—We understood that there would be a meeting of the directors of the Suez Canal Company in Paris this week, and we had information that it was probable that a statement would be made at the meeting with regard to what had passed in the communications between M. de Lesseps and Lord Derby, and it was therefore thought desirable that an authentic copy of that despatch should be published, in order that there might be no mistake upon the subject. In regard to the other communications, I cannot at the present moment say that there are any which it would be convenient to produce.

SIR WILLIAM HARCOURT

Sir, in consequence of the answer of the right hon. Gentleman, I beg to give Notice that to-morrow I shall ask him, Whether Her Majesty's Government whilst declaring to the Government of Russia their resolve to resist the exercise of the ordinary belligerent rights which Russia might be entitled to employ against Egypt as a part of the Ottoman Empire, have taken any measures to restrain the Porte and the Government of Egypt to the same extent in respect of the Suez Canal from the exercise of belligerent rights against Russia; and, whether the statement in Lord Derby's Despatch to Mr. Layard of May 16th, "that Her Majesty's Government will expect that the Porte and the Khedive will on their side abstain from impeding the navigation of the Canal," is intended to apply to the free use of the Canal by the public and private ships of Russia for the purposes of "innocent passage" in like manner as to the ships of other States?