§ MR. DILLONOn behalf of the hon. Member for South Donegal, I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the attention of the 1283 Secretary of State has been called to the unsatisfactory relations which for some time have existed between Mr. H. C. Cumber batch, Her Majesty's Consul at Smyrna, and the members of the British community in that city; whether he is aware that Mr. Cumber batch is Chairman of the Committee of the Seamen's Hospital, which has made grave charges against the personal character of the British medical officer of that city; can he state whether these charges have been disproved or withdrawn; and whether Mr. Cumberbatch still performs consular duties at Smyrna, and enjoys the confidence of Her Majesty's Government.
§ * MR. BRODRICKThe Secretary of State is not aware that unsatisfactory relations exist between Her Majesty's Consul at Smyrna and the members of the British community there. Charges against the personal character of the surgeon of the Seamen'sHospital were brought before the Hospital Committee, of which the Consul is the ex-officio chairman. The Judge of the Supreme Court at Constantinople eventually investigated these charges, and pronounced them to have been without any foundation. Mr. Cumberbatch still performs consular duties at Smyrna, and enjoys the confidence of Her Majesty's Government.