§ MR. STEVENSON (Suffolk, Eye)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is able to give any information with regard to the fighting on the Montenegrin frontier?
MR. CURZONI will give the House the substance of the information that we possess on this matter. It seems that in consequence of a local vendetta a number of Christian villages near Berane, on the frontier between Montenegro and Albania have been destroyed, and that the inhabitants have sought refuge in Montenegro. It is believed that the country between the Montenegrin frontier and the river Lim is held by Albanian Mussulmans. Irregular fighting is said to have taken place for six hours on the 17th on the left bank of the Lim, but we have not heard that Ottoman 772 troops have been engaged. A special commissioner, Saadedin Pasha, has been despatched by the Sultan to arrange for the reinstatement of fugitives. He has strict orders to avoid bloodshed and conflict unless actually attacked. On the Montenegrin side the Prime Minister, Bojo Petrovitch, has been sent to the frontier to keep order. The Sultan has assured the Prince of Montenegro that the local authorities will be punished, and that all Christian "insurgents" will be amnestied and compensation paid for injuries. The Prince has contradicted an accusation made in the Montenegrin official news that the Imperial troops had co-operated with the Albanians, and has thanked the Turkish Minister for the prompt action taken by the Sultan.