§ MR. W. H. JAMES (Gateshead)asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies, If he can state the name of the Commissioner appointed by Her Majesty's Government to report upon the recent disturbances in Tonga; whether Mr. Thurston, the existing Deputy Commissioner, will take part in the inquiry; and, what steps in the meantime Her Majesty's Government propose to take for the protection of those natives who have resisted persecution at the hands of Mr. Shirley Baker?
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE (Sir HENRY HOLLAND) (Hampstead)The High Commissioner for the Western Pacific, Sir Charles Mitchell, who is an able and judicious officer, has been directed to go to Tonga. Mr. Thurston will not go thither at present, unless Sir Charles Mitchell should be unable to leave Fiji. The High Commissioner, with the assistance of Her Majesty's ship, will, no doubt, take any measures that he may deem necessary for the protection of natives and others, pending the consideration of his Report.