§ MR. LUPTON (Lincolnshire, Sleaford)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he has any official information showing that the Turkish troops had been at Tabah for two months before the advancing Egyptian troops discovered them, and that Tabah, which is a brackish well in a desert, was previous to that time in the effective occupation of the Egyptian Government; will ho state the distance of Tabah from the line which the Egyptian Government now claims to be the boundary, and from the Suez Canal; whether the Egyptian troops are now in occupation of the island of Geziretel-Faraoun; and whether the Turkish Government claims this island as its own territory; will he also say whether each of the contending parties is now occupying territory claimed by the other, and near to an ill-defined border line; and 1472 whether he will consider the advisability of submitting the matter in dispute to international arbitration.
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Sir EDWARD GREY,) Northumberland, BerwickThe claims put forward by Turkey in the course of the negotiations have raised issues going far beyond Tabah and other points referred to in the Question. We cannot refer the safety of the Canal and of Egypt to arbitration, and the best method of defining the frontier is by a Joint Commission, which is what we have proposed.
§ MR. LUPTONWill the right hon. Gentleman kindly answer my Question?
§ SIR EDWARD GREYI have answered it.
§ MR. LUPTONHow many miles is it from Suez to Tabah?
§ SIR EDWARD GREYIt is a good many miles from Suez to Tabah. I understood the point of the hon. Gentleman's Question to be whether we would not refer the question as to Tabah to arbitration. I would point out that, while it is a good many miles from Tabah to Suez, the claims put forward by Turkey during the course of these negotiations have raised issues that go far beyond Tabah and the other places referred to in the hon. Gentleman's Question.
§ MR. LUPTONWill the right hon. Baronet kindly say whether it is 130 miles from Tabah to Suez?
§ SIR EDWARD GREYI do not say that it is not 130 miles; but in view of the much larger claims put forward by Turkey in the course of the negotiations, it is a matter of considerable indifference what the exact number of miles is.
§ MR. LUPTONWill the right hon. Baronet kindly say how many miles from the Egyptain boundary line Tabah is? Is it more than two?
§ SIR EDWARD GREYIf the hon. Member will give me notice of the Question I will reply.
§ MR. LUPTONIt is part of the Question.