QUESTION. OBSERVATIONS. (Hansard, 11 July 1878)

§ THE EARL OF SHAFTESBURY
My Lords, I rise to ask the noble Duke the Lord President of the Council, Whether it is the intention of Her Majesty's Government, on assuming the occupation and administration of Cyprus, to maintain or suppress, as has been done in Her Majesty's Dominions in India, the system of slavery now existing in the Island? The Question is not, I think, inappropriate, for it refers to the subject of slavery, in which the people of this country have always taken the deepest interest. I may be told, generally, that the Governor of Cyprus has already been appointed, and that at this moment he is, in all probability, receiving instructions from Her Majesty's Ministers; but that would not, I conceive, be a sufficient answer to the Question. Nor do I think I can be asked to receive, and to be content with, a reply to the effect that the occupation and administration of the Island will be only temporary. That issue will depend upon the policy of Russia. I see by reference to Clause 6 in the "Annex" of the Convention between England and Turkey, that unless Kars and other towns be evacuated by Russia, Cyprus will not be restored to the possession of the Ottoman Porte. It is, therefore, clear that if the Russian Government persist in holding Kars and those other towns in perpetuity, England will hold Cyprus in perpetuity. That being the case, I beg to ask my noble Friend the Question which I have indicated.

§ LORD STANLEY OF ALDERLEY
said, he hoped the Lord President would say that the Question was premature, for we had not yet got Cyprus, and it depended on the Russians whether we had it or not. From the noble Earl's Question, it appeared that he thought slaves were employed to till the fields in Cyprus. This was not the case in Cyprus, nor in any part of the Ottoman Empire, and the family arrangements of the inhabitants ought not to be interfered 1225 with. He had the highest respect for the noble Earl, and for the services which he had rendered to the country, and he hoped that the noble Earl would not take anything he said as wanting in respect to him; but he thought that, on philanthropic grounds, the noble Earl should have asked the Government, and he would ask—though, as he had given no Notice of his Question, he did not expect an answer—he would ask Her Majesty's Government not to extend to Cyprus the Contagious Diseases (Women's) Act, with its concomitant establishments?

THE DUKE OF RICHMOND AND GORDON
I can have no possible objection to the course which the noble Earl (the Earl of Shaftesbury) has followed in putting a Question to Her Majesty's Government on this subject, considering the great interest which he has always taken in all matters connected with slavery. In reply to the noble Earl, I have to state that Sir Garnet Wolesley leaves this country tomorrow for Cyprus; and when he arrives there, it will be his duty to make full inquiry and investigation into all the institutions of the Island and everything connected with them. When that is done, he will make a Report to Her Majesty's Government as to the state of things which he has found in Cyprus; and, having received such a Report from him, Her Majesty's Government will then be in a position to state the course which they intend to take.

§ EARL GRANVILLE
May I ask my noble Friend a Question on another point, in regard to which there appears to be some doubt in the public mind? The point is one of importance; and I hope it has been carefully considered by Her Majesty's Government. My Question is—Can the noble Duke inform us whether or not there is any harbour at Cyprus?

THE EARL OF KIMBERLEY
I presume that before the noble Duke answers that Question it will not be out of Order to allude to the reply which he gave to my noble Friend on my right (the Earl of Shaftesbury). I regard that reply as in the last degree unsatisfactory. No doubt, it is perfectly natural and proper that the Government should suspend a determination as to the particular mode of action which they should follow until they are fully acquainted 1226 with the condition of Cyprus; but I cannot conceive why any British Government should hesitate for one moment to state generally that they do not intend to follow or to adopt any step in the direction of slavery in any territory which is to be under their administration. I confess that I heard the statement of the noble Duke the Lord President of the Council with regret; but I hope he will give us some re-assurance on the subject.

THE DUKE OF RICHMOND AND GORDON
The noble Earl opposite (Earl Granville) has asked me whether there is a harbour at Cyprus? I believe there is no harbour in the large or extended sense of the word; but there are excellent roadsteads. With regard to the question of slavery, I should have thought that the conduct of Her Majesty's Government since they have been in Office—looking to the action which they took with the Sultan of Zanzibar, and to the Convention which was signed in Egypt on this subject—has afforded sufficient indication that they are as much opposed to slavery as the noble Earl, or any other Member of your Lordships' House.