§ SIR JOHN SIMON (Dewsbury)asked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether he had seen the telegrams in The Times of yesterday and today reporting an outrage upon a British subject in Morocoo, according to which the house of a Jewish woman—a widow and a British subject, residing in Tangiers—had been entered, herself and children ill-treated, and a boy of 15, the natural son of a brother, residing with her, forcibly taken away and baptized? He would ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he would carefully inquire into the statement that the British Consul had notice of the threatened outbreak, but took no steps to prevent it? He would further ask him whether the Government would take steps to inquire into the whole matter, and endeavour to obtain restitution of the boy and reparation for the outrage? He should also like to know whether there was any foundation for the statement that such outrages seemed likely to be of frequent occurrence?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE (Sir JAMES FERGUSSON) (Manchester, N.E.)The attention of the Marquess of Salisbury has been called to the case of the widow Athias. Her Majesty's Minister in Morocco has been instructed by telegraph to report upon the case, and to telegraph what action he has taken. I have no reason to believe that Sir William Kirby Green is at all backward in protecting British subjects. Everything that is proper will be done.