HC Deb 24 May 1875 vol 224 cc785-6
SIR CHARLES W. DILKE

asked the Under Secretary of State for India, Whether the Indian Government have any information as to the Chinese attack on the Dominions of the Amir of Kashgar other than that which has appeared in the newspapers; and, whether any instructions have been sent to the British Minister at Pekin upon the subject?

LORD GEORGE HAMILTON

Sir, we received two Despatches from India, dated the 5th of February and the 15th of March respectively, enclosing letters from Mr. Shaw, the officer on special duty at Kashgar. In the first letter, he states his belief that there appears to be no imminent apprehension of a Chinese invasion; and, in the second, he says that it is currently reported that certain Tungani chiefs have sent to the Amir asking for assistance against the Chinese. We have received no confirmation of these rumours. In reply to the second part of the Question, I find, upon inquiry at the Foreign Office, that no information relating to a Chinese attack upon the Amir's dominions has been received from Pekin, and no instructions have been sent to the British Minister there.