§ COLONEL HILL (Bristol, S.)asked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in reference to a Parliamentary Return, dated the 9th of September, 1887, respecting compulsory fees for hospitals in Constantinople and Smyrna, Whether the average number of patients, in respect of whom a sum of £4,789 15s. 5d. was levied in Constantinople, and a sum of £1,451 10s. 4½d. at Smyrna, is about 858 and 50 respectively, one-half being in-patients; what was the amount of surplus which, after defraying all expenses in connection with the hospitals, has been received by Her Majesty's Government in diminution of the Vote for Consular Service in 1886 and in 1887, and what is the total amount received during the last seven years; whether Her Majesty's Government are prepared to devote this sum, together with any other sum that may be found to have been previously received, or the interest thereof, to the purpose for which they were collected—namely, the maintenance of hospitals at Constantinople and Smyrna for British seamen; and, whether Her Majesty's Government will at once cause the tax levied upon British ships to be reduced, so that, with the assistance of the before-referred to surpluses, it may yield the sum needful for the efficient maintenance of the hospitals, and no more?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE (Sir JAMES FERGUSSON) (Manchester, N.E.)The total number of patients treated at Constantinople during the period covered by the Return was 739—namely, 230 indoor and 509 outdoor. At Smyrna, 224—namely, 35 indoor and 189 outdoor. The gross surplus for 1886, at Constantinople, was £3,023 16s. 8d.; that at Smyrna, £833 12s.; for 1887, at Constantinople, £4,310 3s. 1d.; at Smyrna, £577 7s. 6d. The Foreign Office is in communication with the Treasury and the Office of Works with respect to the remainder of my hon. Friend's Question; and until accurate information has been received in regard to the charges on account of building and maintenance I cannot properly reply to it.