§ SIR JOSEPH LEESE (Lancashire, Accrington)To ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether his attention has been drawn to the terms of Article IV. of the Convention alleged to have been granted to the Anatolian Railway Company by the Turkish Government, whereby the proposed Railway to Baghdad and Bâsra is to be finished within eight years, subject to any delays arising out of force majeure, such as a war between European Powers or a radical change in the financial situation of England, Germany or France; and whether he is able to explain the meaning of the reference to the financial situation of England in this said Article.
(Answered by Mr. A. J. Balfour.)—As I have already stated, His Majesty's Government are in possession of a copy of the Convention in question; but they are in no sense parties to it, and cannot therefore be called upon to explain its provisions.