§ SIR CHARLES W. DILKEasked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether General Burriel has yet been brought to trial for the execu- 1668 tion at Santiago de Cuba in November 1873, of nineteen British subjects, and of thirty-four Americans, constituting part of the crew and passengers of the "Virginius;" and, whether he will lay upon the Table any Correspondence on the subject?
§ MR. BOURKESir the Virginius at the time of her capture having been under the American flag—and the promised investigation into the conduct of the Spanish authorities having formed one of the conditions of the Protocol signed by the Representatives of Spain and the United States on the 29th of November, 1873—the leading part in the endeavours to obtain a fulfilment of the promise has naturally been taken by the United States Government, but in pursuance of instructions from Her Majesty's Government Her Majesty's Representative at Madrid has used his utmost endeavours to support his United States Colleague. General Burriel was promoted and appointed Governor of Bilbao in August, 1875; but in February, 1876, he was recalled from Bilbao to Madrid, where his trial in now proceeding before the Supreme Council of War. Delay has occurred in the progress of the trial, which is attributed by the Spanish Government to the necessity of sending to Cuba for various documents, but there is now, according to the Spanish Government, reason to hope for a speedy conclusion. When the trial is concluded, there will be no objection to produce Papers on the whole subject; but as many communications have passed between Her Majesty's Government and that of the United States we shall have to consult that Government upon the matter. There will be no unnecessary delay in bringing them before Parliament.