§ MR. REES (Montgomery Boroughs)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has any 932 information, which may be made public regarding the survey or commencement of the Tashkent-Tomsk Railway.
§ MR. RUNCIMANMy attention has been called to a paragraph in the Russian Press to the effect that the question of constructing a line from Tashkent to Tomsk via Vierni and Semipalatinsk had been decided in the affirmative, and that a sum of 711,000 roubles had been allotted for preliminary surveys. I have no further information on the subject which can be given.