§ Sir R. THOMASasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, having regard to the changed conditions and new outlook in Turkey, he will, in the interests of international scholarship, request the Turkish Government to allow Western scholars to have access to the manuscript treasures preserved in the Mosque of St. Sophia, Constantinople?
§ Sir A. CHAMBERLAINThe existence of ancient manuscripts at the Mosque of St. Sophia is very doubtful, but I will request His Majesty's Ambassador at Constantinople to make inquiries of the Turkish Government. The hon. Member is doubtless aware that there are, or were, Greek manuscripts in the Old Seraglio at Constantinople. These have been investigated by scholars, and a list of them is given in a pamphlet written by Mr.534W Gaselee, Librarian of the Foreign Office, and published by the Cambridge University Press in 1916.