§ MR. JOHN E. ELLIS (Notts, Rusheliffe)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether it is correct that two correspondents of English newspapers who recently proceeded to Constantinople to obtain information on the Armenian question, with passports from Lord Kimberley, on presenting them at the Turkish Embassy for official endorsement, were by Rustem Pasha informed that this would be given by the Ottoman Consul-General, and that the necessary visé was refused by him after such assurance; and what steps Lord Kimberley has taken in the matter?
§ SIR E. GREYNo such incident is known to have taken place with regard to the correspondents of English newspapers. It has, however, been stated to me that some such circumstance has occurred in the case of two other gentlemen, but no complaint has been made to the Secretary of State by the owners of the passports, and no action has therefore been taken in the matter.
§ *MR. F. S. STEVENSONasked whether English Press correspondents had been prohibited from visiting the Sassoun district, and whether the prohibition extended merely to the Vilayet of Bitlis, or extended to other Armenian provinces?
§ SIR E. GREYreplied, that he could not give the exact terms of the prohibition without notice. But some prohibition existed.