§ MR. BOURKEI wish, Sir, with the permission of the House, to give a short explanation of the answer I gave three days ago to my hon. Friend the Member for Chatham (Mr. Otway). My hon. Friend asked me—
Whether Her Majesty's Government adhere to the statements of Lord Salisbury in his despatch enclosing copy of the Treaty of Berlin—viz., 'That it results from these declarations, that Turkey is not internationally hound, and cannot be compelled to pay any portion of the indemnity until the claims of all the creditors of loans anterior to the war have been paid in full.'I thought the most satisfactory answer I could give my hon. Friend was to refer him to the 11th Protocol of the Congress of Berlin, which contained a declaration of Prince Gortchakoff, which was one of those upon which Lord Salisbury's statement was founded. My hon. Friend has, however, communicated with me privately on the subject, and he thinks it would be more satisfactory if I gave a definite answer to the exact words of his Question; therefore, I have no difficulty whatever in stating that Her Majesty's Government adhere to the statements of Lord Salisbury in his despatch inclosing a copy of the Treaty of Berlin, and then follows the copy of the quotation, referred to by my hon. Friend.