§ SIR STAFFORD NORTHCOTEasked Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Whether his attention has been drawn to a reported interview between a correspondent of the "Daily Telegraph" (Thursday July 19th) and M. Charles de Lesseps, in which the writer states—
In reply to my inquiry as to how the Company had succeeded in obtaining from the British Government the explicit recognition of their exclusive powers, M. Charles De Lesseps assured me that neither before nor during the negotiations for an arrangement had they been discussed by the English Government;and, whether the statement thus attributed to M. C. de Lesseps is correct?
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER (Mr. CHILDERS)Sir, I have read the statement in yesterday's Daily Telegraph to which this Question refers. The question of the exclusive powers was never discussed with the MM. de Lesseps in the course of these negotiations.