§ SIR CHARLES DILKE (Gloucester, Forest of Dean.)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, on whose advice flogging by the British cat-o'-nine-tails was introduced into the Egyptian Army and the Egyptian Police during the British occupation, and the re-organisation of those forces for which credit has been claimed in Reports laid before Parliament; and whether such flogging has now ceased?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Mr. GEORGE CURZON,) Lancashire, SouthportFlogging was not introduced into the Egyptian Army and Police during the British occupation. It already existed in those forces without any restriction. In 1883, however, when the Egyptian army was re-organised, flogging was no longer permitted, except by sentence of a court-martial. It may be inflicted in the case of first offences, in punishment of a few crimes of a disgraceful nature, and in that of other offences, for continuous misconduct and a series of convictions by court-martial. The number of cases has, however, been diminishing every year. The police are under the same regulations, except that the power of a summary court-martial to inflict corporal punishment was recently cancelled. Cases of flogging in the police are even more rare than in the army. The military authorities are careful to make a very sparing use of this punishment.
§ SIR C. DILKEThe right hon. Gentleman has not answered my question, and I shall have to put it down again.