§ MR. GOOCH (Bath)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he can describe the nature of the proposals to the Sultan and the Great Powers which His Majesty's Government have made for dealing effectually with the principal causes of disturbance in the Macedonian vilayets.
§ SIR EDWARD GREYHis Majesty's Government have proposed to the Great Powers that the task of restoring public security in Macedonia should be undertaken by mobile columns of a largely increased Gendarmerie force under the command of foreign officers with definite executive powers, and that in order to provide funds for the maintenance and adequate equipment of this force the numbers of the Turkish troops in Macedonia should be reduced. Proposals for an increase and extended use of the Gendarmerie were also made to the Sultan.