§ Sir WILLIAM BULLasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has received information that Egyptian nationalist pressure has been exerted to obtain a decision to the effect that Ibrahim el Wardani, the accused in the case of the murder of Boutros Ghali Pasha in Egypt, was insane when he committed the murder?
§ Sir WILLIAM BULLasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has received information that in consequence of the refusal of the General Assembly in Egypt to assent to the ratifi- 2279W cation of the proposed extension of the Suez Canal concession on terms financially favourable to the Egyptian Government, funds which would otherwise have been available for the advancement of works of public utility, such as railways, land reclamation, schools, etc., will not now be forthcoming, and that the only way in which these can now be raised is by sales of Government lands, by means of loans or increased taxation, or both, whereas the granting of this extended concession, whilst adding largely to the Egyptian revenues, would have cost the Egyptian taxpayer nothing; whether he has received information that the proceedings of the General Assembly, when this question was laid before them, constituted a burlesque of Parliamentary procedure; whether he has received information that Saad Zaghlool Pasha, representing the Ministry, and Morcos Semeika Bey, an independent Member of the Assembly were denied the rights of free discussion, and were prevented from making any statement in support of the proposed prolongation of the concession or in rebutting various allegations made by the opponents of the Bill; and whether he will state what are the intentions of the Government in regard to the future, namely, whether it is proposed that the Organic Law should be allowed to become a dead letter or whether the provisions laid down in the Organic Law are to be adhered to?
Mr. McKINNON WOODI have not received any report from Sir Eldon Gorst confirming the statements mentioned by the hon. Member as to the first three points. It was especially stated by the Prime Minister of Egypt to the General Assembly that the decision of the Egyptian Government was without prejudice to the Organic Law.