§ MR. CREMER (Shoreditch, Haggerston)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for India if he can now state whether an attempt was made, or intended to be made, by the Chief Commissioner to capture the Jubraj at Manipur in case he attended the Durbar to which he had been invited; and whether such attempt was the cause of the massacre which followed; whether the Chief Commissioner ordered the attempt on his own authority, or if he received his authority from the Indian Government; whether any record has been kept of the exact orders which the Chief Commissioner received; and when the Government will lay before Parliament a complete copy of such orders?
SIR J. GORSTI have been directed by my noble Friend the Secretary of State to answer the question as follows: — "The best answer I can give to the question is to say that I have just laid on the Table all the Despatches relating to Manipur, and they will be printed and circulated as speedily as possible." The Secretary of State has been waiting for a further Despatch which arrived this afternoon.
§ MR. CREMERDo I understand the right hon. Gentleman to state to the House that he is not in a position to express any opinion upon, or to give any answer to, the questions which I have put upon the Paper?
SIR J. GORSTI have given the reply to the question of the hon. Member which I was directed by the Secretary of State to give; and I can add nothing to that reply.
§ MR. CREMERThen I will repeat the question to-morrow and every day until I get a distinct answer.