§ 11. Mr. JOYNSON-HICKSasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if Goldstein Bey, the Assistant-Postmaster-General at Cairo, is an. Austrian by birth who was for some years in the Egyptian service; whether, when the War broke out, he became naturalised as a Russian; whether his brother is interned; and why some English officer cannot be found to replace this enemy alien?
§ The SECRETARY of STATE for FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Mr. Balfour)Goldstein Bey was an Alexandrian Jew, of Hungarian nationality, and was born in Egypt, where he has resided since his birth. He had been in the employment of the Egyptian Postal Administration for thirty-two years, when, upon the outbreak of war, he was, together with other enemy subjects, dismissed from the service of the Egyptian Government. He became a Russian protected subject on 28th November, 1914, and was then reinstated in his post. I have no information as to the third part of the question; and, as regards the last part, his case formed the subject of careful inquiry by the Aliens Registration Committee in Egypt, and he was, with the concurrence of the British General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, allowed to retain his functions. He acted as Postmaster-General during the absence of Borton Pasha, but I understand that that officer has now returned to his duties.
§ Mr. JOYNSON-HICKSWill the right hon. Gentleman suggest why, if this man is so apparently loyal to Great Britain, he should not have applied for British nationality, instead of Russian, after being in our service all these years?
§ Mr. BALFOURI understand this curious alteration of nationality in Egypt by persons of Egyptian birth and Egyptian bringing-up, and whose whole activities have been confined to Egypt, entirely arises out of the old system of the Capitulations.