administration of the Congo region must upon society, and there has been an undoubtedly form an element in determining the policy of this country.

That was absolutely necessary, because was that the people of 1 the island Cyprus had just gone through a drought should benefit a great deal more, such as had not been experienced since and enjoy their own taxation. He the year 1873, five years before our would read a few words from a letter occupation of the island. It was abso- by Sir R. Hamilton Lang written from lutely necessary that this country should Cairo in 1896. If Sir R. Hamilton supply that £87,000. He would not Lang was worth quoting in the High say that a profit was made out of the Commissioner's Report he was worth island, but he would say that a saving quoting in the House of Commons conwas made. The French saving this year cerning the tribute. He wrotewas £40,000 to £41,000, but our loss this year was £47,000, or thereabouts. Since our occupation of the island the French saving had been somewhere not far off £1,000,000, whilst the English saving had only been about £170,000. It might be said that they could get this money from Turkey, if not out of the Cyprus tribute, but after Turkey repudiated its liability for the 1855 loan France paid her share, and so did England,

and it was not until the accumulated money of Cyprus had been seized that France was repaid her advance, and the English Treasury was also repaid. The figures did not appear to be very large, but they should remember that they were dealing with a very small island with a population of about 240,000 people. The revenue of Cyprus he would roughly call £180,000 a year, and the result was that the island had to pay £60,000 out of that total, which was spent elsewhere. He asked the Colonial Secretary what would happen if under some old treaty Canada were bound to pay one-third of her revenue to be spent elsewhere? In those circumstances, how long would Canada remain a part of the Empire? He noticed in the Cyprus Report for 1901-1902 a quotation from an article by Sir Robert Lang Hamilton. He would read to the House the extract

"An entirely independent observer, Sir Hamilton Lang, K.C.M.G., lately the head of the Imperial Ottoman Bank at Constantinople, who resided in Cyprus and knew it well, before the occupation, thus writes in a recent article in Blackwood's Magazine-In Cyprus an honest administration has supplanted a corrupt régime. Financial order has taken the place of oppressive exactions. Liberty of the subject has dispelled the miasma of fanatical suspicion. Civilly, financially and morally the position of the people has been raised.'" Broadly, he agreed with what Sir Robert Hamilton Lang had written on this matter. He had never denied that Cyprus had benefited from the present government of the island, but his desire VOL. CXXVII. [FOURTH SERIES.]

"Its enormity needs only one demonstration. It represents 10s. per head of the population, or £2 10s. per family. Fancy rich and fertile Egypt paying a tribute of £3,250,000 sterling to the Sultan, or rich England having to ins ribe £19,000,000 on her Budget, payable out of the country to a foreign afford couble these amounts than a poor Power, and yet both countries could better island like Cyprus its £92,000 of tribute. Robert Biddulph was said to have calculated that the surplus revenues of Cyprus amounted the calculation were never published, and there

Sir

to the last mentioned sum; but the details of

can be no doubt that he los himself in the maze of debased currencies in which the revenues of Cyprus were paid.”

In the same letter he wrote

"This explanation is necessary to remove a false impression in England that Cyprus has been a pecuniary loss. Its possession has save the Treasury from a bad debt which threatened to be £90,000 a year, but which, taking into account the grants-of-aid to Cyprus, has been reduced to £30,000 a year."

In another letter he wrote (1896) –

66

to encash more

than

which interests the British taxpayer, is that by
'What, however, is clearly evident, and
the possession of Cyprus the British Treasury
has been enabled
£1,000,000 sterling of a bad debt with Turkey."
Sir Thomas Brassey wrote in 1878 or
1879—

"It is impossible that the condition of Cyprus can materially improve so long as it remains subject to an annual tribute to the Ottoman Empire. England should pay the tribute, remit all injurious taxes, and make Cyprus a free port, and the Hong Kong and Singapore of the Eastern Mediterranean.

Sir Robert Biddulph wrote in 1880 to Lord Granville

"It is obvious that it is unrea onable to

suppose that the revenue will at present admit of such an enormous subsidy to Turkey, and it is hard on a country which has a revenue which is double its expenditure to be compelled to postpone necessary public works, or to continue a number of taxes which press heavily o the people."

He urged the right hon. Gentleman to consider whether anything could be done in regard to this tribute. They could not wonder at the people of Cyprus

2 B

being somewhat discontented when they had to pay such a very large sum of money, especially in view of the fact that they were far from being a very rich people. It was our desire when we took possession of the Island of Cyprus that it should be an object lesson to the peoples of the Eastern Mediterranean as to the beneficence and the benefits of the English Government. We had given them the benefits, but he wanted them to have the beneficence and justice of this country. This was a subject in which he took very great interest, and he should consider himself wanting in his duty if he did not avail himself of every opportunity that offered for bringing it before the House.

position, inasmuch as £40,000 or £47,000
was in the nature of a loan, which it was
expected would be repaid. The contribu-
tion this year had been raised owing to
the unfortunate fact that Cyprus had
been subject for two years to one of
those exceptional droughts against which
no science appeared to be of any avail.
He did not regard the fact that the
tribute as applied to the payment of the
loan had been a saving to this country or
to France, and he denied altogether that
if the tribute had not been so applied
either France or this country would have
wiped out the loan as a bad debt, because
they could have found other resources of
made a claim. He did not think, there-
Turkey, upon which they could have
fore, that this country stood in the
position of having benefited directly or
losers.
indirectly; on the contrary, we had been

further increased. He could not, however, hold out any hope of a change with regard to the tribute, unless by means of negotiations we were able to transpose the loan and to obtain money at a lower rate of interest. Ever since he had been in office he had been in conference with the Foreign Office, endeavouring by one

They

THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR We should have been richer if THE COLONIES (Mr. J. CHAMBERLAIN, we had never taken Cyprus, and there Birmingham, W.) said he felt inclined to were many persons who thought that it congratulate his hon. friend the Member would have been better on all grounds if for Warrington on the pertinacity, but he we had never taken possession of the would prefer to say the perseverance, island. But since we had taken it we with which he reverted to the question were bound to do our duty by it. Our of the Cyprus tribute. He thought rule had been of enormous advantage to that since he had held his present the people, and he hoped that the office the hon. Gentlemen had made advantages they enjoyed would be still the same speech every year, and he had made the same speech in reply to his hon. friend; but he was sorry to say that they had not got much further. His hon. friend was now re inforced by the hon. Member for South Islington, who put forward very much the same argument. He did not agree with either of his hon. friends as to the circumstances connected with this tribute, but he did agree in their opinion that it constituted a very heavy burden on the island. We took possession of Cyprus at a time when this mortgage on its resources was estimated at £80,000 or £90,000 a year. If we had not taken Cyprus the people would not only have been paying this sum now without enjoying the collateral advantages of our rule, but there would have been no reduction of the tribute. Since we had been the owners of the island Cyprus had received a reduction in the shape of a contribution voted annually by Parliament for the benefit of the people. This reduction averaged £30,000 a year, and this year. late season. That was the cause of the it had reached a sum of £87,000. But state of the finances. He hoped that that sum did not correctly represent the this exceptional state of affairs would Mr. Pierpoint.

means or another to secure a certain
alteration, but they had failed.
could not force their views on other
parties concerned, of whom, unfor-
tunately, there were many, and they
to come to a satisfactory arrangement.
had been unable up to the present time
If they could do so no
rejoice more than he should.

one would

He had been under the impression that the irrigation works were a great success. He still hoped that they would prove of much utility, but the drought had come upon the island inopportunely, with the result that the reservoirs contained an insufficient supply of water during the

soon pass away; for he believed that itself. He would find that we should be these works would not only be a great bound to offer it to Turkey. That was advantage to the island, but, inasmuch a matter of fact, and no Resolution could as they would pay their way, the fact alter it in the slightest degree. The subwould be a great encouragement to carry ject, however, was not one of the slightest out other works of the same description. practical interest. He knew nothing The other works of improvement, in- about the other Question raised by the cluding the harbour at Famagusta, and right hon. Baronet as to the native members the preparations for the railway, were of the Upper House not being invited to being pressed forward as fast as possible, attend Court since their swearing in. As and the only reason which might to steamship and postal communication, prevent the authorities from undertaking he said that he was under the impression works of further development was that that already arrangements existed by which a subsidy subsidy was given to the in the present state of the finances he did not feel disposed to make a larger Austrian Lloyd in order to improve the demand on the Treasury this year. If communication between Cyprus we had better resources the island would be able to carry on these internal improvements. The right hon. Member for the Forest of Dean had asked a question as to a Resolution about Turkish rule succeeding ours in Cyprus. He thought that the House need hardy trouble itself about a hypothetical statement like that.

*SIR CHARLES DILKE said that what was stated was that the Legislative Assembly of Cyprus had passed a Motion brought forward by a Mohammedan member, declaring that in the event of the retrocession of the island it should be retroceded to Turkish rule.

MR. J. CHAMBERLAIN said he did

of

Alexandria.

and

SIR ALBERT ROLLIT said that the arrangement was with another company. The Austrian Lloyd would be satisfactory if it could be employed for a small subsidy. The existing communication was highly unsatisfactory.

MR. J. CHAMBERLAIN said he personally preferred that the communication should be by a British line, if that were possible. At the same time, something was done by a subsidy to improve the communication. He understood that what his hon. friend suggested was that something more should be done.

SIR ALBERT ROLLIT: The results are

MR. J.

not know exactly how the case was not satisfactory, and I hope the right presented to the Legislature hon. Gentleman will give his attention Cyprus, nor was he aware that to the matter. it had been presented. He thought that the complaint arose through some statement of the Government, which said, as he believed correctly, that under the terms of the cession of Cyprus to this country it would not be in our power to transfer the island to any other country, but only to re-transfer it to Turkey. That was an entirely premature question. The Government had not the slightest intention to do so. At present he could not say what the scheme of the Legislative Council was, nor could he conceive of any Resolution which could have come forward as part of the business of the session. If the right hon. Gentleman wished to know what would happen in the extremely improbable event of the Government's deciding to give up Cyprus, he must go to the terms of the cession

CHAMBERLAIN said he would make inquiry as to what improvements had been made in the altered contract, and if he found it was capable of further improvement he would make it. It had been recognised by the islanders themselves, and by others, that a great deal had been done for the island. It was only one out of a great number of His Majesty's possessions, and we could not put on the Exchequer a disproportionate charge for it, but it could not be said that we had not done our part in endeavouring to improve the condition of the island since it came into our possession.

*SIR CHARLES DILKE said that as the reply of the Prime Minister in regard to

the Congo Free State had been satis- including factory, under the circumstances he viz. :would withdraw his Amendment.

MR. CROOKS (Woolwich) said he desired to call the attention of the House to the recent explosion at Woolwich, and to the absolute necessity of doing 646 something to make the recurrence of such accidents impossible. He supposed they would be told that adequate compensation would be given to the victims of this explosion, or their representatives; but no amount of compensation could, under any circumstances, take the place