§ Mr. BYLESasked the Prime Minister whether any treaty or naval or military convention of which this House is yet uninformed exists between this country and France, by which the French Navy is to maintain absolutely free and secured against all danger the English commerce which passes down the Mediterranean to use the Suez Canal, and by which there is assured to the French and English flags in case of conflict the absolute mastery of the Mediterranean; and, if so, can he now make any statement regarding it, and especially will he say if it accounts in any degree for the unprecedented increase in the Naval Estimates of the year?
§ The PRIME MINISTERNo treaty or convention of the nature specified by my hon. Friend exists between this country and France.