§ MR. HUSSEY VIVIANasked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether it is a fact that on the 2nd of July 1871, James Roberts, a foreman in the employ of the Huelva Railway Company, and a British subject, was murdered in open day by a Spaniard at a village called San Juan, near the Port of Huelva, in Spain; whether the murderer, being perfectly well known, is still at large, although he has been frequently seen at San Juan, and although the Spanish authorities have intimated that they are in full possession of the evidence requisite for his prosecution; whether any and what steps are being taken by the British Government to cause the murderer to be brought to justice; and, whether it is a fact that the British Vice Consul at the important Port of Huelva is a Spaniard who is unable to speak English?
§ VISCOUNT ENFIELDI regret, Sir, to say that James Roberts, a British subject and a foreman in the employ of the Huelva Railway Company, was murdered on the 2nd of July, 1871, in the square of the town of San Juan del Puerto, in Spain. Information of this was sent to the Foreign Office by Mr. Reade, Her Majesty's Consul at Cadiz, who stated that the murderer was well known, and was the son of the second Alcalde of the place. Instructions wore at once sent to our Chargé d' Affaires at Madrid, urging him to press upon the Spanish Government the necessary investigations and the arrest of the supposed delinquent. Repeated applications have been made to the authorities for the apprehension and punishment of the assassin, and our Minister at Madrid has been empowered to incur any expense that may be necessary for the prosecution of the culprit. Mr. Reade has again proceeded from Cadiz to make further investigations; but I regret to say that the murderer is still at large, though the Spanish Government have promised to bring the man to justice. The British Vice Consul at Huelva is a Spaniard, but his reports, 1322 which I have seen, are written in very good English, which would lead to the belief that he is well acquainted with the English language.