§ MR. WEIRI beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that the pilgrims who recently returned to Cairo from the pilgrimage to Mecca complain of the ill-treatment they received at the hands of the Bedouins, especially in the neighbourhood of Mecca; the caravans being attacked and the pilgrims, men, women, and children, maltreated and subjected to various indignities; and, having regard to the fact that the pilgrimage was made under arrangements sanctioned by the Egyptian Government, will he consider the expediency of making representations to that Government with a view to securing protection for the Mecca pilgrimage next year.
§ The UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE for FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Earl PERCY, Kensington, S.)The answer to the first paragraph is in the affirmative. The Egyptian Government are already considering what arrangement can be made for the better protection of the pilgrims next year.