§ SIR E. ASHMEAD-BARTLETT (Sheffield, Ecclesall)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that the tenders of an English firm for the repair and re armament of the Turkish fleet are 627 below those of the German firm of Krupp and Co.; whether the contract is likely to be given to the German firm in consequence of political pressure; and whether Her Majesty's Ambassador at Constantinople will be instructed to give support to the desire of the Turkish Government to decide this question on its financial and technical merits.
*THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Mr. BROD-RICK,) Surrey, GuildfordHer Majesty's Government have no information to confirm the statement in the first paragraph. They are informed that a contract has been signed for the repair of eight Turkish ironclads by a firm at Genoa. It is stated that the armament is to be supplied by Messrs. Krupp. Her Majesty's Ambassador at Constantinople has already brought the claim of a British firm to the notice of the Sultan, and His Excellency has since been authorised to express the hope that British firms may receive a fair share in the orders for war material given by the Turkish Government.