§ VISCOUNT SIDMOUTHMy Lords, I beg to ask Her Majesty's Government if all correspondence referring to a memorial from Mr. G. Apap Testaferrata, between August, 1888, and the present time, can be laid on the Table of the House. I do not wish to enter into a discussion upon this subject, but as I have had the honour of being appointed hon. president of the Maltese Council of Nobility, I desire to ask whether the Papers relating to this case and the correspondence which has taken place can be laid upon the Table.
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (The Earl of SELBORNE)My Lords, the claim of Mr. G. Apap Testaferrata to be recognised as one of the Maltese nobility, to which the noble Lord refers, was twice rejected by the Committee of Privileges of the Maltese Nobility. On a third occasion, in 1892, the Committee advised the allowance of the claim, but no fresh reasons were given for the change of view, which was not accepted by the Secretary of State. It does not appear to the Secretary of State that the matter is one of sufficient general interest to justify the publication of the correspondence on the subject.