§ MR. HENNIKER HEATON (Canterbury)asked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether it is true, as stated in The St. James's Gazette of the 4th instant, that a railway has been constructed by the Russian Government from the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea to Charjui, on the Oxus; that the line of the said railway approaches to within 20 miles of Sarakhs, on the Russian-Afghan Frontier; and that, at this point, a great massing of Russian troops has already taken place?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE (Sir JAMES FERGUSSON) (Manchester, N.E.)Her Majesty's Government are aware that a railway has been constructed, as stated, but it does not come within 60 miles of Sarakhs. They have no reason to believe that Russian troops have been massed in that region.