HC Deb 27 May 1892 vol 5 cc50-1
MR. KELLY

I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the "Provisional Regulations" of the Suez Canal Company in regard to bulk transit in the Suez Canal, under which new systems of anchorage and compulsory convoyage are required, constitute an infringement or modification of the pledge which was given by the Delegate of Turkey at the International Tonnage Convention held at Constantinople, in which it is stated that— No modification for the future of the conditions for the passage through the Canal shall be permitted, whether in regard to the navigation toll or the dues for towage, anchorage, pilotage, &c, except with the consent of the Sublime Porte, which will not take any decision on this subject without previously coming to an understanding with the principal Powers interested therein"?

MR. J. W. LOWTHER

In the opinion of Her Majesty's Government the Provisional Regulations do not constitute any infringement of the Declarations of the International Tonnage Convention, as the navigation tolls, towage, anchorage, and pilotage dues are not raised or altered. The question of the legality of the Provisional Regulations is one rather for the consideration of the Suez Canal Company than for Her Majesty's Government.