§ MR. ADDISON (Ashton-under-Lyne)asked the Under Secretary of State for 1191 India, Whether any further intelligence has been received respecting the inundation of Mandalay; how many lives have been lost; and, what steps have been taken to relieve the destitution occasioned by the accident amongst the native population, and to ascertain the causes of the disaster?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE (Sir JOHN GORST) (Chatham)The Viceroy telegraphed on the 27th August that the floods had fallen six feet. Only 12 bodies have been found, and the District Officer reports that he does not think that more than this number have perished, search having been continued for 10 days. As regards the relief of the destitute, a pound of rice and half-an-anna is given daily to all applicants, who average about 300 a day. There is a great deal of work now going on in the neighbourhood of Mandalay and in other districts, on roads. A Committee has been appointed to investigate the circumstances of the bursting of the embankment. A similar accident occurred in 1877, when the flood was three feet less than on the present occasion.