§ MR. SAMUEL SMITH (Flintshire)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1) whether his attention has been called to the increasing persecution of the native Protestants in Madagascar, at the instance of French Jesuits; (2) whether many churches and schools, built by Protestants for Protestant use, have been forcibly taken from them and given to Roman Catholics; (3) whether the Queen has recently been deported from Madagascar to the Isle of Bourbon because she would not abjure the Protestant faith; and (4) whether these acts are in contravention of the solemn assurances given to this country at the time the French occupation took place?
§ MR. MICHAEL DAVITT (Mayo, S.)said that, before the right hon. Gentleman answered the Question, he wished to ask whether the alleged persecutions were due to the fact that there had been a war in the island, and not to a spirit of religious animosity?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Mr. G. CURZON,) Lancashire, SouthportNo doubt there has been some excitement owing to the war in the island, but I should have thought that the war was at a sufficiently remote date to have allowed such feelings to have subsided. In answer to the Question on the Paper, I have to say that the attention of Her Majesty's Government has been called to the complaints made by the Protestants in Madagascar, though we have at present received no official confirmation of the statement contained in the second paragraph of the Question. The entire subject, which is one of much importance, is engaging the attention of Her Majesty's Government, who, as I have previously informed the House, have addressed representations to the French Government on the matter. The grounds upon which the Queen has been deported from Madagascar have not been reported to us, and if I may judge from the recent Debate in the French Senate, are not as yet known in France.