HC Deb 05 June 1885 vol 298 cc1343-4
MR. CHAPLIN

gave Notice that on Monday he would ask the Prime Minister, Whether his attention has been directed to the statement in The Times of June 5, purporting to be the report of a conversation between Sir Peter Lumsden and The Times Correspondent at Vienna, in which the following passage occurred:— Our reputation for good faith has suffered considerably among them (the Afghans), and we are still more deeply disgraced in India. What makes all this the harder to bear is the certainty I have that the Russians would never have urged their absurd demands if they had believed for a moment that our Government was in earnest about resisting them. They were not prepared for war, they did not mean war, but then they knew they were dealing with a Government who did mean to fight either, so they played a game of diplomacy and bluster, and won it; and, whether Her Majesty's Government have received any communication from Sir Peter Lumsden or otherwise which led them to the belief that the statement in question represented in any degree the opinions of that gallant and distinguished officer?

MR. GLADSTONE

Without prejudice to any other matter, I may say that no communication whatever of that kind has been received from Sir Peter Lumsden. I undertook yesterday to reply to a Question of the noble Lord opposite (Lord John Manners) with respect to the negotiations and communications with Russia, and likewise to a Question respecting Business. As regards the communications with Russia, my undertaking had reference to the Question put by the noble Lord whether I was in a position to give any information with respect to the point of arbitration. The state of the case is this:—The two Governments are agreed as to the reference to be made, and are likewise agreed as to the illustrious person to whose judgment they will propose to submit the matter. But the agreement is not yet in its final form, and the request has not yet been made on the part of the two Governments to that illustrious person. Consequently I cannot at present go further than to state that we are agreed upon the matter of reference, and upon the name, and to say that further information will be given at the earliest moment that it is in our power to do so.