§ MR. STEVENSONI beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will lay upon the Table copies of the petitions addressed by the British Chamber of Commerce at Constantinople to His Majesty's Ambassador with regard to the non-payment of the claims of British merchants at Stamboul, Hasskeui, Galata, and Pera, who suffered pecuniary losses during the disturbances of August, 1896, and copies of the replies sent to those petitions; and whether his Majesty's Government are now in a position to state the nature of the joint action which the Powers interested in claims arising out of those disturbances have in contemplation with the object of arriving at a settlement.
§ *VISCOUNT CRANBORNEHis Majesty's Ambassador is continuing his endeavours to obtain a settlement of these claims. There, will be no objection to laying on the Table copies of the petitions received on the subject if a settlement is much longer delayed. I have no statement to make in answer to the last paragraph of the question.