§ MR. JAMES O'KELLYI beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether His Majesty's Government is aware that an agreement has been come to between the Governments of France and Italy recognising Tripoli as a sphere of Italian influence with a view to its annexation at the first convenient moment, and also that Signor Prinetti, the Italian Foreign Minister, has recently declared in the Italian Chamber that the Italian Government was making military preparation with a view to operations in Tripoli; whether it is the policy of His Majesty's Government to maintain the status quo in the Mediterranean, and whether orders will be issued to the British Fleet to prevent any occupation of the territory of Tripoli by the forces of any other Power; and whether His Majesty's Ambassador at Rome will be instructed to furnish His Majesty's Government with a translation of Signor Prinetti's speech delivered within the last few days on the question of Tripoli.
§ LORD CRANBORNEHis Majesty's Government are aware of no such agreement and no such declaration has been made in the Italian Chamber. The policy of His Majesty's Government is correctly described as having for its object the maintenance of the status quo in the Mediterranean, and it appears from a translation of Signor Prinetti's speech, forwarded by His Majesty's Ambassador at Rome, that the action of the Italian Government will be also directed against any change in the present circumstances of Tripoli.