§ MR. WEIRI beg to ask the Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in view of the fact that the charges made on the Government of Egypt for the maintenance of British troops have recently been increased from £E84,825 to £E97,000 (£100,000), will he state whether the British force has been in any way increased, and its present composition.
§ THE UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Earl PERCY,) Kensington, S.The Answer to the first paragraph is in the negative. The contribution from the Egyptian Exchequer 1477 has been fixed by agreement between the two Governments on the basis of the amount by which the cost of the garrison in Egypt exceeds the cost of its maintenance at home. Its present strength is as follows:—1 Battery Royal Field Artillery, 1 Battery Mountain Artillery, 1 Company Royal Engineers, 3 Battalions Infantry.