HC Deb 17 May 1901 vol 94 cc446-7
MR. GIBSON BOWLES (Lynn Regis)

I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware of any treaty or any other international document giving either to Great Britain or to any other foreign nation the right of maintaining its own post office in Turkey; if not, by virtue of what authority is the British post office maintained there; does the maintenance of foreign post offices in Turkey deprive the Turkish Government of any portion of the postal revenues which would otherwise accrue to it; is he aware that the mails consigned to these foreign post offices, and distributed by them, often convey packets of watches and other valuable articles, which thus evade the Turkish customs duties; and do His Majesty's Government propose themselves to continue to maintain in Turkey a system of foreign post offices which lends itself to an evasion of duties and a diminution of a portion of the securities pledged to foreign bondholders.

VISCOUNT CRANBORNE

In pursuance of the provisions of the treaty of 1783 the Russian mails have been distributed by a special Russian post office in the Consulate General for many years. French, British, and German post offices were subsequently established on the ground that those countries are entitled under their Treaties with the Porte to the same privileges as are enjoyed by others. These arrangements, therefore, are of long standing, and have been necessitated by the absence of any secu ty that the Turkish Government can efficiently replace the foreign post offices. No doubt the Turkish revenue suffers to some extent in consequence, but it is quite understood that articles which would otherwise be liable to Turkish Customs dues are not transmissible by letter post through our post office in Constantinople, and articles sent by parcel post are delivered through the Turkish Custom House. In accordance with what I have said above, His Majesty's Government are not prepared to admit that any portion of the securities pledged to the bondholders are infringed. With regard to the continued maintenance of the foreign post offices, I have nothing to add to my answers of the 9th and 13th instant, in which the attitude of His Majesty's Government was fully explained.†