§ MR. HENDERSONasked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, What steps have been taken by Her Majesty's Government with reference to the following melancholy occurrence at Malaga in December last:—
On the evening of the 10th December 1881, Thomas Mitchell, third engineer of the Anchor Line S.S. "Tyrian," in company with the second mate, the second engineer, and the chief steward of that vessel, all of them being respectable young men, and perfectly sober, were taking a stroll through the town. In the course of their walk, the locality being quite unknown to them, they approached the public gaol: the night was dark and cold; they heard a man, who was wrapped up in a rug, shout out several times, in a loud voice, but being ignorant of the language, they supposed the man was addressing somebody else, and they walked on, conversing with each other in a friendly way, when a shot was fired at them, which struck and mortally wounded Mitchell in the left groin. It was only then that they became aware that the place was the public prison and that the man in the rug was one of the sentries. Mitchell was carried to the hospital, when he died of his wound the next morning. The deceased was a very promising young man and a great help to his parents, who are not without need;and, whether, under the circumstances, it is the intention of the Spanish Government to make compensation to Mitchell's parents; and, if not, what steps Her Majesty's Government propose to take in the matter?
§ SIR CHARLES W. DILKESir, Lord Granville has been informed that the Spanish Government will contribute a moderate sum to a subscription which it is proposed to raise on behalf of Mitchell's family.