§ MR. H. GOOCH (Camberwell, Peckham)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware of the cancellation by the Venezuelan Government of certain concessions held by British subjects; and, if so, what steps he has taken or proposes to take in the matter.
§ SIR EDWARD GREYI am aware that the Venezuelan Government have cancelled two concessions, the one for the manufacture and the sale of matches, originally granted to a Venezuelan citizen and subsequently transferred to a Venezuelan company, and the other for working the salt deposits of Venezuela, originally granted to a British subject and subsequently transferred to a Venezuelan company, the shares of both enterprises being now, it is understood, controlled by two British companies respectively. The matter is at present 1229 under consideration; it presents many difficulties owing to local peculiarities which operate adversely to the interests of all countries.