§ MR. GOURLEYasked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, If he has ascertained the opinion of the Law Officers of the Crown relative to the seizure and destruction by the Turks of a British corn-laden lighter on the Upper Danube, which was there prior to the Proclamation of the Turkish authorities on the 1st May; and, whether he has received official notification of an extension of the time allowed for the departure of British vessels from Russian Black Sea ports?
§ MR. BOURKEThe opinion of the Law Officers of the Crown, with regard to the destruction of a British lighter 621 on the Upper Danube, has not yet been received by Her Majesty's Government. In reply to the second Question, I have to state that the Porte has consented, at the request of Her Majesty's Government, to grant seven additional days of grace, which would enable neutral vessels to enter Russian ports in the Black Sea up to the 15th and leave them up to the 17th. Her Majesty's Ambassador at Constantinople has been instructed to inquire whether some additional extension of the time can be allowed, so that the days of grace might count from the date on which a vessel entered the Black Sea.