§ MR. NORMANI beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is able to afford the House any information concerning the proposed French railway from Haiphong to Yunnan-fu, particularly with regard to its possible prolongation to the Yangtsze, and the conditions governing its protection by French troops.
§ *VISCOUNT CRANBORNEThe French Government obtained from China in 1898 1203 a concession for a railway from the Tonking frontier to Yunnan-fu. Its construction has not yet commenced, though surveys were carried out previous to the recent troubles. We have no further information, and we are not aware of any agreement authorising the employment of French troops for the protection of the line.