§ MR. J. M. ROBERTSONI beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether his announcements that the addition made to the annual cost of the British Army of Occupation in Egypt in 1906 was in consequence of events that happened early in that year have reference to the relations then subsisting between this country and Turkey; whether these relations are still such as to call for the expenditure in question; and whether he will state to the House the grounds upon which that expenditure is still maintained.
§ SIR EDWARD GREYThe annual cost of the British Army of Occupation in Egypt depends upon the numbers of the force. In 1904 a considerable reduction was made in the numbers; it was done from motives of economy and from a desire to reduce as far as possible any burdens upon the Egyptian budget; but it was felt at the time that the reduction brought the numbers to a very low point, and must be subject to future reconsideration. The conditions which originated with the European naval demonstration against Turkish islands in 1905, and which were intensified by the Sinai boundary difficulties in 1906, led to a review of the situation in consultation with the authorities at home, and it was decided in the earlier part of 1906 to restore the numbers substantially to what they had been before the reduction in 1904. If the point referred to in the Question were the only one to be taken into account, the matter might no doubt be reconsidered, and the situation is as a matter of fact reviewed from time to time. But, having regard to the various contingencies that may arise and to the fact that the needs of the Soudan as well as of Egypt must be taken into account, the military authorities are not of opinion that any change in the nature of a reduction should be made.