HC Deb 01 April 1898 vol 55 cc1666-7
MR. J. O'KELLY (Roscommon, N.)

I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether Her Majesty's Government has received information of the arrest by the Spanish authorities in Havana of Mr. Musgrave, the special correspondent of the Daily Chronicle in Cuba, and a British subject, and of his deportation on the steamer Buenos Ayres; whether Mr. Musgrave was permitted an appeal to the British Consul, and for what offence he was arrested; and whether Her Majesty's Government will press for his release?

MR. T. P. O'CONNOR (Liverpool, Scotland)

I beg at the same time to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if it be true that Mr. George Clark Musgrave, correspondent in Cuba of an American and of an English journal, has been arrested; whether he was arrested without a warrant, and whether he has been deported from Cuba; and whether the British Consul at Porto Rico, where Mr. Musgrave will touch on his way to Spain, can be instructed to demand the release of Mr. Musgrave on the ground of the illegality of his arrest, and because his arrival in Spain at a moment of excitement may be attended with serious danger to his personal safety?

MR. CURZON

A telegram has been received from Her Majesty's Consul General at Havana stating that Mr. Musgrave has been expelled from Cuba by the order of the Governor General, and that he left for Spain on the 30th of March. There is nothing in the telegram to show that Mr. Musgrave is still under arrest or even under detention, and accordingly the steps suggested by the hon. Members do not seem to be called for. The Consul General is reporting fully on the matter by post, and I shall be happy to give the hon. Members what information I can at a later date.

MR. T. P. O'CONNOR

Is it not a fact that Mr. Musgrave has been sent away, and is in custody?

MR. CURZON

That is not the conclusion I draw from the words of the telegram. The Consul General reported that Mr. Musgrave had been arrested and expelled, and had left for Spain; but I do not gather from the words of the telegram that he left under arrest.