§ SIR WILFRID LAWSON, who had given Notice that he would ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether he is in a position to contradict the statement to the effect that Her Majesty's Government are entering into an arrangement under which a body of Turkish troops will be sent to pacify the Soudan, said, that, in consequence of the noble Lord the Member for Woodstock being about to ask a similar Question, he should not put his.
§ LORD RANDOLPH CHURCHILLasked the First Lord of the Treasury, Whether, as in the case of negotiations with France, he will undertake to place before the House- any negotiations or communications which have passed or may be passing between Great Britain and Turkey with respect to the despatch of Turkish troops to Egypt or the Soudan, before any action can be taken by Turkey upon such negotiations or communications?
MR. GLADSTONESir, in answering the Question of the noble Lord, I must premise, as a general observation, that in the present disturbed condition of the Soudan, I cannot undertake, on all occasions with regard to measures which might appear to be necessary with respect to that condition, to communicate them previously to Parliament, which would, of course, be communicating them to the world, the effect of which might be injurious. But, in the present instance, that difficulty does not arise in a practical form, because this Question of the noble Lord appears to be based on a supposition, with reference to rumours which have gone abroad, that we have made a proposal to Turkey to send troops to Egypt, or into the Soudan, for the purposes indicated in the Notice of a Question put upon the Paper by the hon. Member for Carlisle (Sir Wilfrid Law-son). There is no foundation for that supposition. The fact simply is that there have been some communications on a subject that is mentioned in the Blue Book now before the House with regard to certain ports on the Red Sea; but they have not made any progress.