§ MR. DAVITT (Mayo, S.)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has been informed that the Egyptian political exiles in Ceylon are complaining of enfeebled health, and pray to be allowed to return in their old age to their native country; that Arabi Pasha cannot walk without support; that Yakoob Sand Pasha is suffering from heart disease, and is unable to take exercise; that Mahmond Sami Pasha is fast losing his eyesight; and that Ali Fehmi Pasha has to subsist entirely on milk diet owing to general debility; and whether, in view of the injurious effects produced on their health by their long banishment, and in consideration of their age and the present condition of Egypt, Her Majesty's Government will follow the course pursued in the case of Toulba Pasha in the cases of these four remaining political exiles.
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WAR (Mr. BRODRICK,) Surrey, GuildfordThe accounts received from Ceylon do not altogether bear out the statements made in the first paragraph. The reports on the health of the exiles have been forwarded to Her Majesty's Agent and Consul-General in Egypt. But so long as the Egyptian Government have reason to believe that the return of the remaining exiles will be dangerous to public order, Her Majesty's Government cannot press for the concession.