MR. CURZONI beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whet her ho can now lay upon the Table the promised Papers relating to Siam?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Sir E. GREY,) Northumberland, BerwickIt is not desirable to present these Papers while negotiations between France and Siam, with reference to the carrying out of the stipulations of the Convention, are still proceeding.
MR. CURZONThe Papers to which I allude relate to the whole of the negotiations between France and Siam, and the bulk of them have already been published in the French Yellow Book. Are the French people to have the Papers, while we, who are at least equally interested, are to be denied the Papers here, thoughthey were promised some time ago?
§ SIR E. GREYIt is quite true that the Papers were promised, though no date was fixed. There is, I can assure my hon. Friend, no reluctance on the part of the Government to present the Papers, but it is, in the public interest, considered desirable to wait—I hope the time will not be long—until the negotiations are finally concluded.
MR. GIBSON BOWLES (Lynn Regis)Why does it take longer to present Papers in England than it does in France?
§ [No answer was given.]