§ MR. ALDEN (Middlesex, Tottenham)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that King Leopold has offered opposition to any communication being made, on the part of the Congo Free State, to the Belgian Parliamentary Committee with reference to the budget of the Free State and the financial accounts of the past three years; whether the new Colonial Council will be, as a matter of fact, composed of officials and officers appointed by the king; and whether he can furnish the House with any information on these questions.
§ SIR EDWARD GREYI cannot make any statement on these points, which it is understood are under discussion by the Parliamentary Committee in Belgium. Pending that, it cannot be known what the result will be.