§ MR. WATKIN WILLIAMSasked Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Whether he can, without inconvenience, inform the House what British ships of war are at present in the Straits of the Dardanelles and in the Sea of Marmora; whether it is true that their passage through the Straits was made under protest from the Porte; and, whether, in view of the ratification of a Treaty of Peace between Russia and Turkey, Her Majesty's Ministers propose to retain the British ships of war in the Sea of Marmora?
§ LORD ELCHOBefore the right hon. Gentleman answers the Question of the hon. and learned Member, I wish to put to him another. I should like to ask, Whether the right hon. Gentleman con- 1755 siders that the cause of peace and our interests in the East are likely to be promoted at the present time by Questions such as that just put by the hon. and learned Gentleman?
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUERIt certainly is the case, Sir, that at the present moment, -while negotiations are going on with a view to the meeting of the Congress, it is desirable that unnecessary Questions should not be put to Members of Her Majesty's Government. It is quite clear that an incautious word, or even, at times, a request that a Question should not be put, might produce an effect which would be inconvenient and embarrassing. With respect to the Questions of the hon. and learned Gentleman, as to two of them there can be no particular inconvenience in answering, because they have long since been answered. With regard to the number of British ships within the Straits of the Dardanelles and the Sea of Marmora, that is a matter which is perfectly well known to the public and has been mentioned in this House more than once. There are four iron-clads now in the Gulf of Ismid and two at Gallipoli; and, besides, there are seven smaller vessels in different parts of the Sea of Marmora and the Black Sea. [General Sir GEORGE BALFOUR: The Black Sea?] Well, cruising at the Sulina mouth of the Danube. With respect to the Question—"Whether it is true that their passage through the Straits was made under protest from the Porte," I stated in this House on the 14th of February last the circumstances under which the ships went up, and I mentioned the nature of the protest made at the same time, and I do not exactly understand why the Question should be repeated. With regard to the last Question, I stated the other day that Her Majesty's Government did not see any reason against retaining the ships of war in the Sea of Marmora. If there is no advantage to be derived from putting Questions of this sort, and unless there is some special reason for doing so, I trust that hon. Gentlemen will abstain from putting them. I wish to make one observation in respect of a Question on the Paper, of which the hon. Member for Gloucester (Mr. Monk) gave Notice, as to—
Whether any of the Great Powers besides Great Britain have demanded that all the points 1756 of the Treaty of Peace should be submitted by Russia to the Congress for discussion and revision?I have to say that the arrangements under which the Congress is to meet are now the subject of discussion among the various Governments, and that it would really be very inconvenient to enter upon that matter now.
§ MR. MONKSir, after the appeal just made by the right hon. Gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer, I will not put the Question which stood in my name.