§ SIR R. TEMPLEOn behalf of the Member for the Ecclesall Division of Sheffield (Sir E. ASHMEAD-BARTLETT), I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether his attention has been called to a statement just made by M. de Brazza, Commissary General for the French Congo, to the following effect—
The recent Treaty between France and Belgium assures to France access to the Valley of the Nile; that access to the Valley of the Nile from the south is the only way in which France may be enabled one day to settle the Egyptian question in a manner consistent with her interests; and that it is easy for France to join the Congo Territory to that of the Soudan by drawing to France the population of Darfur.And whether Her Majesty's Government will clearly state that the whole of the Nile waterway, the security of which is essential for the prosperity of Egypt, is within the sphere of British influence, saving the suzerain rights of the Porte, and cannot be encroached upon by any other Power.
§ SIR E. GREYI cannot say whether M. de Brazza is correctly reported to have made such a statement. The British sphere of influence in the basin of the Upper Nile is defined in the Agreements with Germany and Italy. I cannot add to the definitions which are given there.