§ MR. ASCROFT (Oldham)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the statement attributed to Count Muravieff, in Dis- 1377 patch No. 132, China Correspondence, that it was England alone that made difficulties and stood in the way of Russia, and that no other Government had questioned him officially on the subject, or seemed to resent in any degree the proposed action of Russia is correct; whether Her Majesty's Government had approached any other European Government; and, if so, whether there is any objection to the correspondence being placed upon the Table of this House?
MR. CURZONHer Majesty's Government are, of course, not in a position to know what communications have or have not passed between the Russian Government and other Governments. The attitude adopted by Her Majesty's Government is made sufficiently clear by the Papers which have been laid before Parliament. The answer to the second Question is in the negative.