SIR THOMAS ESMONDS (Kerry, W.)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the Secretary of State for the Colonies has received from Dominica a letter, dated 17th April, 1893, signed by Messrs. Davies, Pemberton, Bellot, and others, giving a detailed statement of the occurences at that island when the peasantry were fired upon by a force of police from Antigua and seamen from H.M.S. Mohawk, in the presence of the Governor, Sir W. H. Smith, and four men killed and two women wounded; and whether steps will be taken to make a full and independent inquiry into the circumstances, and also into the present system of administration in the West Indies?
MR. BUXTOXThe Secretary of State has received a letter from the person named, and also a full Report from the Governor of the Colony respecting the lamentable occurrence in Dominica referred to in the question. The full Despatches have only just been received, and there has not been time to examine them sufficiently to enable a decision to be come to on the question of whether a furl her inquiry is necessary; but the matter will certainly receive the most anxious consideration.