2. Mr. SHIRLEY BENNasked the Secretary for Foreign Affairs whether the Commercial Bank of Milan have obtained a concession to build a railway from Adalia to the English railway of Smyrna, to Aidin; whether this concession violates the treaty made with the British company of 1856, which should permit the British company to construct a line between Eyerdir and Adalia; and, if so, what steps will be taken to safeguard British interests?
§ Sir E. GREYThe answer to the first two questions is in the negative; in reply to the third, discussions are proceeding between the Smyrna-Aidin Company and the representative of an Italian syndicate. It has been agreed that those discussions shall, pending a final conclusion, be treated as confidential, but one of their objects is to safeguard the interests of the Smyrna-Aidin Company.