§ MR. JOICEY (Durham, Chester-le-Street)asked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether there is any truth in the statement made in The Daily News of the 21st instant, to the effect that William John Robinson, 1628 a British subject, has been detained in prison by the Russian Government for 11 months for infringing its passport regulations, seven months of such detention having elapsed before he was brought to trial, although he offered to find adequate bail for his appearance before the Kieff tribunal; and, if true, whether the Government will request the British Representative at St. Petersburg to endeavour to obtain the immediate release of Mr. Robinson?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE (Sir JAMES FERGUSSON) (Manchester, N.E.)As I stated on March 17, Robinson was arrested for travelling from Kieff to Odessa without a proper passport. He was detained in prison eight months before being sentenced on the 2nd of January last to four months' imprisonment. Her Majesty's Consul General at Odessa has notified the case to Her Majesty's Ambassador at St. Petersburg, who received instructions to inquire and report on the matter, and has now been reminded of it.