§ Mr. LLOYDasked whether, in the contemplated internationalisation of the last section of the Baghdad Railway, the 1693 Government will secure that the rights acquired in paragraph 1 of Article 23 of the Baghdad Railway Convention by the concessionaire shall be transferred to those participating in the construction of the last section?
§ Sir E. GREYThe Baghdad Railway Company, in renouncing its right to build the line beyond Baghdad, did not forego its right to construct a port at Baghdad, but merely at Bussorah and at the terminal point of the line on the Persian Gulf. His Majesty's Government have not, in their proposals to the Turkish Government, lost sight of the point indicated in the question.
§ Mr. LLOYDasked whether any negotiations are now proceeding between the Government and Germany or Turkey in regard to the Baghdad Railway; and whether any information can be given to the House on the subject?
§ Sir E. GREYNegotiations have been in progress between His Majesty's Government and the Ottoman Government for some time regarding the proposed railway between, Baghdad and the Persian Gulf and cognate matters. His Majesty's Government are now expecting the communication of important proposals from the Ottoman Government, but the negotiations are necessarily confidential at this stage.