§ MR. BOURKESir, I have to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the Question which stands on the Paper in my name—namely, when the further Papers on Egypt will be produced; and perhaps the hon. Baronet will take this opportunity of answering two or three other Questions of which I have given him private Notice. I wish to know whether he is able to inform the House as to the state of Alexandria at the present moment; whether any of the occurrences which are reported in the newspapers as having taken place there yesterday have really taken place; whether a British officer has been killed, and the British Consul has been wounded; also, whether the British Consulate is in the possession of the captain of a man-of-war? I should like also to ask upon whom does the responsibility rest now for the peace of Alexandria; further, what are the instructions issued by the Porte to Dervish Pasha; whether they have been communicated to England, France, or the other Powers; and, whether the condition into which Egypt has lapsed is to be allowed to continue?
§ LORD EUSTACE CECILBefore the Under Secretary answers the Questions of my right hon. Friend, I should like to repeat the Question which I put on Friday last—namely,Whether, since the occurrences that have taken place, Her Majesty's Government have come to the conclusion that there is any apprehension as to the personal security of the Khedive; and whether, should there be the slightest doubt in the mind of the Government on the subject, any effective measures are likely to be taken to prevent any personal discourtesy being shown towards His Highness?
§ SIR CHARLES W. DILKESir, I hope that the further Papers with regard to the affairs of Egypt will be ready for distribution before the close of next week.
§ MR. BOURKENext week?
§ SIR CHARLES W. DILKEYes. The Papers have been referred by telegraph to Sir Edward Malet, and pro- 819 bably his first answer will not be conclusive.
§ SIR CHARLES W. DILKEI do not know that we shall be able to issue the whole to the end of May at once; but if not they will be divided into two sections, the first section coming down to the 17th of May, and the other to the end of May. The most important Papers are those about the middle of May, which will be included in the first section. With regard to the further Questions put to me by my right hon. Friend, Her Majesty's Government have received a telegram from Vice Consul Calvert, at Alexandria, dated 10.40 last night, which states that a serious riot had taken place in the afternoon between Europeans and Arabs, and that Mr. Pibworth, an engineer of Her Majesty's ship Superb, had been killed and many wounded, among whom were, I regret to state, Mr. Cookson, Her Majesty's Consul, and three constables of the Consulate. A further telegram from Mr. Calvert of this morning states that the women and children who sought refuge in the Consulate have been transferred to the ships, and that the military are maintaining order. Mr. Calvert adds that Mr. Cookson's injuries are not serious, and that he is convalescent. The latest telegram received this morning from Mr. Calvert is of a re-assuring nature. Sir Edward Malet has telegraphed that the Khedive has sent an aide-de-camp to Alexandria. The Native and the English authorities concur in advising that sailors or marines should not be landed. Sir Beauchamp Seymour has power to land them should he think it necessary; but he has telegraphed that the disturbance, though serious, was of a non-political character, and was suppressed by the Egyptian troops. Telegraphing at 2 o'clock, Mr. Calvert states that the town was then very quiet, and that everybody in the streets was being searched and disarmed. The person in the first instance responsible for order is the Governor of Alexandria, who appears to be a man of some capacity and energy. He is receiving in this curious and anomalous state of things instructions both from the Khedive directly, and also from Dervish Pasha; but as these concur completely, he has been under no practical inconve- 820 nience from that cause. It is also asked me whether anarchy will be allowed to continue? I think I must answer simply that it is, of course, impossible that such a state of things could be allowed to continue. The noble Lord (Lord Eustace Cecil) repeats a Question he put a day or two ago with regard to the personal safety of the Khedive. We have no reason to modify the answer which was then given. The telegrams from Constantinople and from Sir Edward Malet with reference to the safety of the Khedive are of a re-assuring nature.
§ MR. BOURKEThe Consulate?
§ SIR CHARLES W. DILKEThe Consulate is in the hands of Mr. Calvert, the Vice Consul.
§ MR. BOURKEWhat are the instructions of the Porte to Dervish Pasha?
§ SIR CHARLES W. DILKEThe instructions of the Porte to Dervish Pasha were communicated to us in general terms, and in general terms they may be said to resemble very closely indeed the bases proposed to the Conference. They are almost the same.
§ MR. ONSLOWI wish to ask whether, after what has happened in Alexandria, any precautions have been taken by the Government to preserve the lives and property of Her Majesty's subjects in Cairo; and, also, whether any precautions have been taken to provide against any molestation taking place with regard to the Peninsular and Oriental steamships and other ships in their passage through the Suez Canal?
§ SIR GEORGE CAMPBELLI beg to ask whether Her Majesty's Government have any information, with reference to this unfortunate collision between the Europeans and the Arabs, as to who were the aggressors in the first instance; and whether, as one of the daily papers says, the disturbance commenced by a Maltese attacking an Arab?
§ SIR CHARLES W. DILKEI have seen the statement; but we have no information on the subject. With reference to the question regarding the safety of the Europeans in Cairo, I have already read some words of Sir Edward Malet, to the effect that Dervish Pasha and the Khedive concur in advising that the sailors and marines should not be landed. That applies to the safety of the people in Cairo as well as in Alex- 821 andria. Dervish. Pasha states he is perfectly able to maintain order in Cairo. With reference to the Suez Canal, I may tell the hon. Member that we have gunboats at each end of the Canal, we are in telegraphic communication with Sir Beauchamp Seymour, and no reports of an alarming nature about the Canal have reached us.
§ MR. O'DONNELLI should like to ask the Government if they would make inquiry as to whether it is the case that the mob of Arabs assembled in the streets of Alexandria were only armed with clubs and sticks, while the Europeans fired upon them from their windows, and that there is a large party among the Europeans resident in Alexandria desirous of provoking intervention; whether a very large portion of European residents in Egypt, or a considerable portion, is composed of the most desperate elements in the Levant; and whether Her Majesty's Government will use their influence to supervise the action of the European residents and prevent them from provoking the Arab population, as well as in protecting British subjects against the possibility of outbreak on the part of the Arabs?
§ SIR CHARLES W. DILKEI may point out to the hon. Member that the majority of wounds inflicted were caused by clubs and knives, and, in addition to this, the number of Arabs reported killed is only three; I gather, also, that there were more Europeans hurt, including Greeks and Maltese subjects, than Arabs. The British Consul was wounded by a pistol shot; and, therefore, under the circumstances, I cannot draw the inference suggested by the hon. Member.
§ MR. ASHMEAD-BARTLETTI wish to ask whether the Porte had been invited by the Government to send troops to Alexandria to quell the disturbances; and, also, whether the hon. Baronet can state how many British subjects have been wounded?
§ SIR CHARLES W. DILKEWe have not received any news of the nationality of the persons wounded. The telegrams speak of Europeans in general terms, without specifying nationalities. In regard to sending Turkish troops to maintain order, I must ask the hon. Member to wait until the Papers come, and he will see.
§ SIR HENRY TYLERDoes the Government propose to adopt the advice of Dervish Pasha and leave the Europeans to their fate?
§ SIR CHARLES W. DILKEI can add nothing to what I have already stated. Sir Beauchamp Seymour has power to land seamen and marines if he thinks it advisable to do so.
MR. NORTHCOTEI wish to ask whether the substance of the conversation with Musurus Pasha and the conversation of Lord Dufferin will be included in the Papers to be presented to the House?
§ SIR CHARLES W. DILKEI see no objection to include the conversation between Musurus Pasha and Lord Granville in the Papers, or Lord Dufferin's conversation with the Turkish Minister at Constantinople on the same subject, though as to the latter I am not so sure.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOUREvents march so rapidly now that it is extremely desirable that the Papers should be brought down to a later date than the 1st of June.
§ SIR CHARLES W. DILKEThe Papers are being printed as they come in, in the usual way, and nothing more can be done in the way of hurrying the later Papers, because the whole staff is at work on the earlier ones. Still, there is no sort of objection to getting them out as rapidly as possible.
§ SIR STAFFORD NORTHCOTEDo I understand that the consent of the French Government has been obtained to the publication of the later Papers?
§ SIR CHARLES W. DILKEYes, Sir; the French Government has given its consent, not indeed to the publication of everything, but to enough to enable us to put our case before the House.