HC Deb 13 May 1881 vol 261 c402
MR. W. H. JAMES

asked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether he has received any information from Her Majesty's Minister in Peru, concerning the massacres of Chinese, referred to in a letter published in the "Times" on April 27th; and, whether any steps are being taken to protect the lives of subjects of Her Majesty in the present disturbed state of that Country?

SIR CHARLES W. DILKE

Sir, Mr. St. John has reported to Her Majesty's Government that the Chinese shopkeepers of Lima were attacked by a cowardly Peruvian mob the night before the entry of the Chilian Forces, and that 70 or 80 of them were killed. Seven hundred persons were compelled to seek refuge in the British Legation, where the British Admiral and his Staff and five blue-jackets also were. At daylight the Foreign Representatives called out the Foreign Urban Guard, and the riots were quelled by them. Her Majesty's Government are informed that Chinese have been killed up the country; but Her Majesty's officers will, of course, continue to do all in their power to prevent these massacres and protect the lives of British subjects.