Mr. MacCALLUM SCOTTasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he was now able to communicate to the House any further intelligence, received from His Majesty's Minister at Cettinje or from other sources, respecting the condition of the Albanian shepherds and their families now penned within the marshes south of Scutari; whether he was aware that the report that the sufferers had received permission to return to their homes in the mountains was not borne out by the testimony of the Austro-Hungarian Chargé d'Affaires at Cettinje in his report to the Vienna Foreign Office; and whether His Majesty's Government had received any information as to the arrival in Montenegro and at San Giovanni di Medua of Red Cross League representatives commissioned by branches in Europe to distribute food and clothing and medical aid to the women and children who had been driven from their homes by the Turkish troops; and, if not, whether he would state what steps the Foreign Office was taking to make itself acquainted with the state of affairs in these regions?
§ Sir E. GREYI have received no information on these points. In any case, the only remedy is the restoration of a happier condition of affairs in Albania. The latest news I have received is that the refugees are returning to Albania, which points to an improvement in the situation.
§ Mr. JAMES HOPEAre the people of the marshes included in the general pacification?
§ Sir E. GREYI assume they are, but I will ask the Vice-Consul at Scutari, the nearest Vice-Consul, to deal with these points in a report of the situation.