§ SIR WILLIAM FRASERasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Whether any communication has been made to Her Majesty's Government by the Government of His Majesty the King of Italy relating to a projected settlement of Italian subjects in the island of New Guinea; and, if so, whether the territory settled will be considered by Her Majesty's Government as part of the dominions of the King of Italy?
§ SIR MICHAEL HICKS-BEACHOf course, any such communication as that to which the hon. Baronet refers would have been addressed to the Foreign Office; and, therefore, the Question would, perhaps, have been better replied to by my hon. Friend the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs than by me. But, having made inquiry, I am informed that the Foreign Office have received no communication on the subject beyond a newspaper extract transmitted by Her Majesty's Minister at Rome. Whether, in the event of any such settlement, the country occupied would be Italian territory would depend, I presume, on the action of the two Governments.