§ MR. PAULTON (Durham, Bishop Auckland)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether there is any prospect of a settlement of the Delagoa Bay Railway question; and whether, in view of more than a year having elapsed since the seizure of the line by the Portuguese Government, Her Majesty's Government see their way to compel the Portuguese Government to settle equitably the claims of English investors thus illegally deprived of their rights and property?
§ *THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOE FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Sir J. FERGUSSON, Manchester, N. E.)The Portuguese Government have accepted in principle the proposals of Her Majesty's Government and the United States Government for the settlement by international arbitration of the amount of 921 compensation to be paid to the English and American claimants. Further proposals have been made by the two Powers as to the choice of the Power which will be asked to appoint arbitrators, and we are waiting for the reply of the Portuguese Government on that point. A telegram was sent on Friday to Lisbon pressing for an answer.