§ MR. DRAGE (Derby)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he can conveniently state to the House whether any exclusive concessions have been granted to Russian subjects in Northern Persia for the construction of railways, or for any other commercial object; and whether any attempt has been made by Her Majesty's Government to obtain the demarcation of an English sphere of interest in Southern Persia.
* MR. GIBSON BOWLESMay I also ask my right hon. friend whether these railways are not only not confined to Northern Persia, but extend to Bunder Abbas, at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, and close to Baluchistan.
§ * MR. BRODRICKI think my answer to the question on the Paper will cover the supplementary question. The only concessions granted to Russian subjects in Northern Persia of which Her Majesty's Government are aware are:—A concession for the construction of a road from Enzell to Kasvin. A concession for working copper and other mineral deposits in the mountainous districts of Azerhjan, known as the Karadagh Range. Her Majesty's Government are fully alive to the desirability of maintaining British interests in Persia, but the Persian Government has not hitherto deemed it advisable to recognise spheres of interest of any foreign Powers in that country.