MR. YKRBURGH (Chester)To ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the post of British Vice-Consul at Montreux has been given to a Swiss; whether an application for this post was received from any duly qualified 1362 British subject; and, if so, on what grounds the post was given to a Swiss; and whether he will state the number of British Consulates and Vice-Consulates in Switzerland held by Swiss and British respectively.
(Answer.) It is the ease that the post of British Vice-Consul at Montreux has been given to a Swiss citizen; applications were considered from more than one British subject, hut none were found to be duly qualified for the post; there are ten British Consulates and Vice-Consulates in Switzerland, of which four are held by British subjects, and six by Swiss citizens. The Secretary of State has every reason to lie satisfied with the manner in which the latter perform their duties. But inquiry is always made in these cases, and preference invariably given to British subjects, when duly qualified.—(Foreign Office.)