§ MR. ONSLOWasked Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Whether his attention 489 has been drawn to a letter in the "Daily Telegraph" of June 26th, signed "E. Ashmead Bartlett," a gentleman sent out by the Baroness Burdett Coutts to Constantinople to superintend the administration of the Turkish Compassionate Fund, giving a statement of the deplorable condition of the Mohammedan population in the districts of Bulgaria now occupied by the Russian Army; and whether he is aware if there is any foundation for those statements; and, if not, whether he will cause official inquiries to be made, so as to ascertain the real facts of the case?
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUERSir, my attention has been drawn to the letter referred to by my hon. Friend, and I am sorry to say that the statements are only too much in accordance with what we have heard from other quarters. I fear there can be no doubt that the Mohammedan population in those districts has suffered very considerably, and, perhaps, is still suffering. Her Majesty's Government have called the attention of the Russian Government to the matter; we are still in communication with them in regard to it, and I earnestly hope that the effect of the representations we make may be beneficial, and that the Congress now sitting will bring the agitation to a speedy close. With reference to the last part of the Question of my hon. Friend, the publication of the Reports may, perhaps, tend rather to aggravate the mischief, and to render the position of our Consuls more difficult; but I will look over the Papers, and see if there are any which can, without inconvenience, be produced.