§ MR. ATKINSON (Boston)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury if he is aware that there is remaining in the hands of the Government of the United States of America a large sum out of the so-called Alabama indemnity, paid by this country to meet claims then to be made upon the Treasury of the United States; and if any request has been made on behalf of this country for the return of the sum thus admittedly ascertained to have been overpaid; if not, whether Her Majesty's Government will communicate with the Government of the United States on the subject?
§ MR. W. H. SMITHIt is believed, from accounts which have been published in the United States, that a certain portion of the sum paid by Great Britain to the United States under the award of the Tribunal of Arbitration at Geneva still remains in the hands of the United States Government. It would be contrary to the engagements taken by this country in the Treaty of Washington of 1871 that Her Majesty's Government should request the return of this sum.