MR. GIBSON BOWLES (Lynn Regis)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether, in view of the Treaties of 13th March. 1871, and 30th March. 1856, where by the Great Powers of Europe affirmed and engaged to respect the prohibition for ships of war of Foreign Powers to enter the Straits of the Dardanelles or the Bosphorus, and of the fact that in December, 1902, and January, 1903, four Russian torpedo boats, flying the
† See (4) Debates, cxxxvii., 1366.1222 commercial flag and said to be carrying no cannon or war material, passed through those Straits, and that on 1st January, 1903, His Majesty's Ambassador addressed a Note to the Porte calling attention to this infraction of the treaties, he will now state whether any, and, if so, what, action has been taken by His Majesty's Government, since the presentation of that Note, to prevent further such infractions of the treaties; have further infractions in fact taken place, by the passage through the Straits of Russian armed vessels, then or subsequently claiming to be and to exercise the rights of duly-commissioned ships of war; and, do His Majesty's Government now propose to take any steps to prevent still further infractions of the treaties.
§ THE PRIME MINISTER AND FIRST LORD OF THE TREASURY (Mr. A. J. BALFOUR,) Manchester, E.Until the recent passage of the "Peterburg" and the "Smolensk" no action has been taken by His Majesty's Government since the presentation of the Note to which the hon. Member refers in his Question, and we have not heard of any infractions of the treaty.