§ COLONEL HOWARD VINCENT (Sheffield, Central)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he is aware that most of the news reaching this country from South America is cabled via New York; and if he is in a position to state the number of British ships entering and clearing Rio de Janeiro since the outbreak of the Brazilian civil war on the 6th September, and the number which have been injured by the frequent cannonade in the bay between the 24 insurgent vessels and the Government forts of Santa Cruz and Lage, or the Republican shore batteries at Nictheroy?
§ SIR E. GREYThe answer to the first question is in the affirmative. With reference to the second question, the annual Shipping Returns have not yet been received from Rio, and even these would not give the number of ships for any particular month. A few instances only of injury to British vessels have been reported to the Foreign Office, and 1134 those not of a serious nature; but one British seaman was killed by a shell when taking refuge in a shed on shore, where a Brazilian soldier was killed by the same shell; and another British sailor, when in a boat in the harbour, was wounded in the leg by a rifle bullet.