§ SIR ROBERT FOWLER (London)asked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether the French Government have given any decision upon the case of James Clarke Clinton, a British subject, expelled from Assinee, on the West Coast of Africa, by the 643 French Resident there, so long ago as May, 1887; whether the same Resident subsequently expelled the said James Clarke Clinton from British territory adjoining the French settlement of Assinee; and, what steps are being taken to enforce the rights of Mr. James Clarke Clinton as a lawful subject of Her Majesty?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE (Sir JAMES FERGUSSON) (Manchester, N.E.)The French Government have not yet given a final decision upon this case, though, upon the representations of the British Ambassador, they have permitted the re-opening of a place of business which had been closed. There is much conflict as to the circumstances under which Mr. Clinton was expelled from Assinee. It is certainly not the case that he has been expelled by the French Resident from British territory, where the Resident would be absolutely powerless. Mr. Clinton's claims have received all the attention to which, as a subject of Her Majesty, he is entitled.