§ MR. F. S. STEVENSON (Suffolk, Eye)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the sentences passed on the murderers of Yusaf Yunan have been carried out; whether any compensation will be paid to his wife and family; and whether Her Majesty's Ambassador at Constantinople will be instructed to demand from the Porte the full restitution of the stolen relief money, in view of the statement contained in the letter addressed by the Foreign Office to the Secretary of the Armenian Relief Fund, to the effect that only £20 have as yet been recovered?
MR. CURZONOur latest information is contained in a Dispatch from Her Majesty's Ambassador at Constantinople, dated the 13th instant, in which he states that the sentence of death passed on the murderers had been referred to the Court of Cassation at Constantinople for confirmation, and that he had instructed; the legal adviser of Her Majesty's Embassy to watch the proceedings when the case came on for trial. The question of claiming compensation to the wife and family of the murdered man must depend on whether there is substantial proof of negligence or complicity on the part of the Ottoman authorities. As to the relief money said to have been in the possession of Yusaf Yunan at the time of his death, it appeared that in spite of the efforts of Her Majesty's Vice Consul at Bitlis the whole sum till then recovered amounted but to £20 odd. His Excellency added that he was addressing a Note to the Porte on the subject of the relief money, as distinct from that of the murder.
§ MR. STEVENSONI beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether a Report has been received at Her Majesty's Embassy at Constantinople from the American Mission Superintendent at Mardin, stating that 1618 evidence has been produced at a local inquiry made with a view of ascertaining the cause of the murder of Yusaf Yunan, to the effect that the Mutesarif of Sert and a subordinate official procured a forced loan of relief money?
MR. CURZONHer Majesty's Ambassador at Constantinople forwarded last month a memorandum by Mr. Andrus, of Mardin, giving details respecting the murder of Yusaf Yunan, but there is nothing in that report to the effect that the Mutesarif of Sert and a subordinate official procured a forced loan of relief money.