§ MR. RITCHIEasked the Secretary to the Admiralty, Whether he can state to the House the object for which Professor Palmer, Captain Gill, and Lieutenant Charrington were sent upon the expedition which has ended so disastrously; whether they had with them a large sum of money in gold, and why they were not provided with an escort; upon what date news of the attack made on the party reached Suez, and when an expedition in search of them was despatched; and, whether there is any reason to believe they were alive as late as a month after their capture?
§ MR. O'DONNELLwished to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty specifically, Whether among the objects of the expedition were the collection of intelligence with regard to the enemy, the 369 cutting of the telegraphic communication, the purchase of the means of transport for the British Army, and the corruption of the fidelity of the tribes opposed to the British Expedition; also, whether Captain Gill was not specially charged with the task of cutting the telegraph wires between Egypt and Turkey; whether Professor Palmer was not the bearer of several thousand pounds in gold for the foregoing objects; and, whether the Government had informed Professor Palmer and his assistants that such a mission involved the penalty of death according to the Codes of the German and other European Armies; and, why the Government did not furnish an escort capable of protecting the mission from the fate which befell it?
§ MR. CAMPBELL-BANNERMANSir, in order to give a complete answer to the Questions, I fear it will be necessary to make a somewhat lengthy statement, for which I must ask the indulgence of the House. Towards the end of June last, when affairs in Egypt were becoming serious, and the Board of Admiralty were engaged in preparing to protect the Suez Canal, Professor Palmer, a distinguished Arabic scholar and well-known explorer of the Peninsula of Sinai, furnished some valuable information about the Bedouins of the Peninsula, and gallantly volunteered to travel from Gaza to Suez and ascertain the disposition of the Bedouins. He also undertook, on his arrival at Suez, to act as principal interpreter, if events should, in the meantime, have occurred to give occasion for his services. He left England on the 30th of June, successfully accomplished his journey, and arrived at Suez on the 1st of August. His report was that the Bedouins were favourably disposed, and that plenty of camels could be procured. He was engaged by Sir William Hewett as principal interpreter, as had been arranged, and he left Suez on the 8th of August with the intention of proceeding to Nakhl, in the Desert, to procure camels for the Indian Contingent, which was then on its way to Suez. He took with him £3,000 in gold. No danger seems to have been apprehended, as no mention was made of an escort in any of the communications which were sent home. Lieutenant Charrington, R.N., Flag Lieutenant to Sir William Hewett, accompanied Professor Palmer by his sug- 370 gestion—to use his own words—"in order to guarantee that he was acting on behalf of the British Government." Captain Gill, R.E., a high spirited and accomplished officer and distinguished traveller, had been engaged in collecting information about the Bedouins in communication with Professor Palmer; and when the military operations commenced he gladly accepted the offer of an appointment in the Intelligence Department under Admiral Hoskins, who had been sent out to the Suez Canal. Captain Gill accompanied the party, but intended to leave it, and, turning to the North, cut the telegraph wire between Kantara and El Arish, in pursuance of orders he had received to that effect. Soon after the expedition left Moses' Wells, opposite Suez, on the 9th of August, rumours reached Suez that their baggage had been plundered; and the telegraph wire not being cut, Admiral Hoskins felt some anxiety about Captain Gill, and sent Mr. Pickard, a telegraph engineer, in the Beacon to El Arish to make inquiries. He brought back the report that Captain Gill had been in the neighbourhood, and was expected to reach Suez by the end of the month. Sir William Hewett expected to hear from Professor Palmer on the 18th. Not doing so, he sent Captain Foote, R.N., an officer with considerable experience of Arabs, to Tor to obtain information, and, at the same time, telegraphed to the Consul at Jerusalem to do the same. On the 31st, Captain Foote returned without any intelligence of importance; and on the 6th of September Colonel Warren, E.E., a colleague of Professor Palmer on the Palestine Exploration, who had been sent out from England, proceeded again to Tor with Mr. West, Her Majesty's Consul at Suez, and an officer on the Staff of the Khedive. On the 11th of September, Colonel Warren reported that he had reason to believe the party were safe, and that he hoped to reach them in a fortnight or three weeks. Unfortunately, the information proved to be incorrect. More alarming reports were received, and eventually, on the 23rd of October, Colonel Warren discovered the place where the party were attacked; and on the 24th he reported the evidence of the deaths of Captain Gill and Lieutenant Charrington. There is every reason to believe that they were killed either at or imme- 371 diately after the attack, which probably occurred on the 18th of August. The evidence regarding the death of Professor Palmer cannot be said to be absolutely conclusive, and Consul Moore, at Gaza, is relaxing no efforts in the search. Captain Burton is on his way from Trieste to assist him. Colonel Warren is engaged in investigating the evidence respecting the attack, and until his Report is received we cannot say precisely who are the guilty parties; and, therefore, it is impossible to state yet what steps will be taken for their punishment. In the course of this statement I think I have answered most of the Questions which have been put to me.
§ MR. RITCHIEThe hon. Gentleman has not answered the Question I put to him, as to why the party, being in possession of such a large sum in gold, was not provided with an escort?
§ MR. CAMPBELL-BANNERMANI have stated that we heard nothing of any necessity for an escort. The arrangements were all made on the spot, without consultation with us as to details, by Sir William Hewett, in conjunction with Mr. West, Her Majesty's Consul at Suez, after receiving information brought by Professor Palmer himself from the very places to which he was going. Apparently there was no apprehension on the part of the authorities of any danger, and we heard nothing of the necessity for an escort.
§ MR. RITCHIEWill the hon. Gentleman inquire whether it is a fact—I have heard the rumour myself—that, before the expedition set out, the authorities were warned that these gentlemen were engaged in an undertaking that might possibly cost them their lives?
§ MR. CAMPBELL-BANNERMANThere is no such information in possession of the Admiralty.
MR. JOSEPH COWENI beg to give Notice that on Thursday next I will ask the Prime Minister whether he is prepared, on behalf of the Government, to propose a grant of compensation to the family of Professor Palmer?
§ SIR HENRY TYLERWas it supposed that Captain Gill, leaving his two comrades, should go by himself to cut the telegraph wires without any assistance or escort?
§ MR. CAMPBELL-BANNERMANI have already said that the arrangements were made entirely at Suez, under 372 the advice, not only of the authorities, but of Captain Gill himself and Professor Palmer; and I have no doubt that they made such arrangements as their experience thought necessary.
§ MR. O'DONNELLWas there any authority from the Turkish Government for cutting the telegraph wires between Turkey and Egypt?
§ [No reply was given.]
§ MR. RITCHIEWere the arrangements made at Suez reported to the Admiralty at the time?
§ MR. CAMPBELL-BANNERMANNot, I think, in any detail. If the hon. Member wishes it, all the documents connected with the matter shall be laid upon the Table.
§ MR. RITCHIEWill it be necessary for me to move for them?
§ MR. CAMPBELL-BANNERMANNo; I will lay them upon the Table as an unopposed Return.