§ MR. E. H. BAYLEY (Camberwell, N.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether the new Governor of Gibraltar will be instructed to follow the course pursued towards the civilian population by General Sir John Adye, when he was Governor, and recommended 971 by him in the Blue Book presented to Parliament in May, 1892; and whether the policy of the War Office towards the Colony of Gibraltar might be modified so as to cause the least annoyance to civilians which may be compatible with purely defensive considerations? I will also ask the hon. Gentleman whether the Secretary of State for the Colonies will consider the propriety of now acceding to the requests of the ratepayers of Gibraltar and remove the disabilities imposed upon them at the instance of the late Governor; and whether the Secretary of State will modify existing arrangements so that the Sanitary Board should again be constituted with due regard to he claims of the ratepayers, such a Board to be composed of 12 members, of whom eight should be elected, and four nominated by the Governor?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (Mr. S. BUXTON, Tower Hamlets, Poplar)I may, perhaps, be allowed to answer these questions. The new Governor of Gibraltar will be instructed to maintain a conciliatory attitude towards the civil population of the fortress. With reference to the second question, the Secretary of State has been able, with the concurrence of the late Governor, to modify considerably, in accordance with the wishes of the ratepayers, the arrangements made by Her Majesty's late Government in regard to the Board of Sanitary Commissioners; but he is not prepared further to alter the constitution of the Board.