§ MR. O'DONNELLasked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether he is aware that the cession to Montenegro, under the Treaty of Berlin, of certain Albanian districts inhabited by Mahomedan tribes has been found hitherto impracticable owing to the objections of the population to be transferred to the Government of Prince Nikita, which they declared to be hostile to their race and religion; whether he is aware that in place of these Mahomedan districts it is now proposed to compensate the Montenegrin Prince by the cession of territories inhabited by various tribes of Catholic Albanians and others, who equally declare the Government of the Slave-Greek, Prince Nikita, to be hostile to their race and religion; whether Her Majesty's Government is not pledged to secure equal respect for the nationality and religion of all the inhabitants of the 238 Balkan Peninsula; and, whether he will assure the House that no cession or transfer of territory will be permitted to Montenegro which would do violence to the national and religious convictions of any section of the Albanian population—equally with Mahomedans and others?
§ SIR CHARLES W. DILKE, in reply, said, the subject was one of extreme importance, and was, at the present moment, the subject of repeated telegraphic communications between all the Powers. It would, therefore, be difficult for him to go into any details on the Questions asked by the hon. Member, and he must ask the hon. Member to excuse him from doing so. It was proposed to hand over some Catholic Albanians to Montenegro. At the same time, there were already a considerable number of Montenegrin subjects who were Catholics of the same race, and who were living on friendly terms with the other Montenegrin subjects. The reported compromise was agreed to by all the Powers of Europe before the present Government came into Office, and it had become equally binding on all the Powers that signed the Treaty of Berlin. The present Government, therefore, found themselves under the same obligations in regard to that point as they were under in regard to the other portions of that Treaty. In view of the difficulties which had arisen, Her Majesty's Government felt that they could only act in this matter in strict concert with the other Powers; and, at the present time, they were in concert with those Powers.