MR. BARKER (Gravesend)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether any arrangement has been come to between England 187 and France to enlarge the powers of the Naval Commission appointed in 1888 for the protection of persons and property in the New, Hebrides; and whether this mixed Commission is to be supplemented by an authority appointed to adjudicate upon private ownership of land.
THE UNDER SECRETARY FOE FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Lord CRAN-BORNE, Rochester)The two Governments have each appointed a Resident Deputy Commissioner in the New Hebrides to watch over the interests of their nationals, and to maintain order and exercise jurisdiction over them. These Deputy Commissioners, however, will not have authority to determine disputes as to the ownership of land. For this purpose it is proposed to make other arrangements, which are still the subject of negotiation.