MR. GIBSON BOWLESI beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury, have His Majesty's Government received any request from the Turkish Government to agree to an increase of the Turkish import duties from 8 to 11 per cent. ad valorem; and, if so, what reply has been made thereto; and, in view of the fact that His Majesty's Government hold that, before applying any increase of the Turkish Customs to other purposes than the Turkish debt, it would be 1338 necessary previously to modify the terms of Article VIII. of this decree of December 8th, 1881, ceding to the service of the Turkish debt any surplus arising from a modification of the Customs tarift, and also to obtain the consent of the Council of the Ottoman Public Debt, representing the bondholders, can he inform the House whether any, and if so, what steps are proposed to be taken to obtain the consent of that Council before applying any surplus arising from an increase in the Turkish tariff either to reforms in Macedonia or to any other purpose than the service of the Turkish debt.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURThe Answer to the first Question is in the affirmative. No reply has yet been returned to the request. The decree of December 8th, 1881, has, in pursurance of an arrangement with the Turkish Government and the bondholders, been modified by the supplementary decree of September 1st, l903. Article 3 of this Later decree confirms the assignment to the creditors of any surplus which may arise in the Customs receipts from an increase in the Customs duties, either in consequence of a revision of the treaties of commerce or otherwise, and Article 8 of the same decree provides that, if the receipts of the Ottoman Public Debt exceed £12, 157, 375, 75 per cent. of the surplus shall be repaid to the Turkish Government and the remaining 25 per cent. shall be applied to redemption of the debt. I have no reason to suppose that any alteration of this arrangement is in contemplation.