§ SIR EDMUND COMMERELL (Southampton)asked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, taking into consideration the circumstances of the extradition of King Ja-Ja of Opobo, as set forth in the Correspondence now before the House, Will he hold out any hopes that when matters are more settled in Opobo, Ja-Ja will be allowed to return?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE (Sir JAMES FERGUSSON) (Manchester, N.E.)Only the conviction that the presence of Ja-Ja at Opobo, or on the neighbouring coasts, would prevent the quiet settlement of affairs in that region would have induced Her Majesty's Government to consent to the extreme course of deporting him, and they have no desire that his exile should continue longer than is necessary. He will be treated with all possible consideration and courtesy; and when, under the measures which are contemplated, the delta of the Niger has been brought under a settled government, and it is ascertained that his presence will no longer be injurious, Her Majesty's Government will gladly consider the propriety of sanctioning his return to his native land.