CO885-(13-15) — Page 345

20564.

MY LORD,

No. 47A.

(CYPRUS.)

LAW OFFICERS to FOREIGN OFFICE.

Royal Courts of Justice, November 22, 1893. WE wore honoured with your Lordship's commands signified in Sir Edward Grey's letter of the 10th instant, atating that he was directed by your Lordship to transmit to us the papers noted in the accompanying list relative to a claim preferred by the Italian Government for compensation in respect of certain quarantine restric- tions alleged to have been wrongfully imposed on three Italian vessels in Cyprus in October 1892.

That we should observe from the papers that, upon receipt of the Colonial Office letter of the 28th September last, a draft of a note to the Italian Ambassador was pre- pared in the Foreign Office, and submitted to the Colonial Office in a letter dated the 12th ultimo, to the terms of which it was desirable that Sir Edward Grey should also direct our particular attention. That the aim of that draft was, while endeavouring to embody the opinion expressed by us in our Report to the Colonial Office of the 18th September last, to make it clear to the Italian Government-in the event of their being dissatisfied with the decision of Her Majesty's Government-that the Courts of Cyprus were alone competent to declare the actual law upon the matter.

That the Colonial Office, in their letter of the 1st November, submitted an alternative draft note to Count Tornielli, in which it would be seen that the latter part of the draft prepared in the Foreign Office was omitted on the grounds stated in the covering letter from the Colonial Office.

That Sir Edward Grey was to ask us, in the first instance, provisionally to adopt whichever of the two drafts most correctly embodied the views of the case expressed in our Report to the Colonial Office above mentioned, and then to be good enough to make such alterations in, or additions (if any) to, its terms as we might still consider requisite, in order to bring it into more complete harmony with our views of the situation from a legal point of view.

We have taken the papers into our consideration, and, in obedience to your Lord- ship's commands, have the honour to

Report

That, with the alterations which we have made therein, the draft despatch of the Colonial Office embodies our views, and we suggest that, as altered, it may properly be addressed to the Representative of the Italian Government.

The Right Hon. The Earl of Rosebery, K.G.,

&c. &c.

We have, &c. (Signed)

C. RUSSELL. JOHN RIGBY.,

&c.

List of Papers.

March March July

22, 1893. 29,

5,

July 21,

-

September 28,

Count Tornielli

To Colonial Office

Colonial Office

To ditto

Colonial Office

To ditto Colonial Office

o 74772.-35. 25.-12'93.

·

-

12,

October November 1,

39

"

PUBLIC RECURI

C.O. 885

14 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE

BE REPRODUCED PROTOGRAFTINGS

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