§ MR. STEVENSON (Suffolk, Eye)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is now able to give any information with regard to the orders stated to have been issued by the Porte instructing certain provincial governors to close some of the orphanages founded and maintained partly or wholly by British and American funds, and established with purely philanthropic motives for the benefit of the Armenian population; whether the Governors of Kharput, Diarbekir, and Mosul are among those to whom the orders have been sent; and whether any steps have been taken to procure the withdrawal of the orders?
§ MR. BRODRICKHer Majesty's Ambassador at Constantinople reports that the orphanages at Pallu and Chin Rush have been closed, and that the orphans in the similar establishment at Diarbekir have been sent out to private houses, where they are supported by the missionary funds. It is uncertain whether the orphanage at Zeitun is still open. It is not stated to what governors orders on the subject have been sent. His Excellency has made earnest representations to the Turkish Government to dissuade them from persisting in this course, and has warned them of the misery and bad effect which would be caused by such arbitrary and unjustifiable proceedings.