MR. ASCEOFTI beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether it is the duty of a British Consul, stationed in a foreign country, in case of danger to the lives of British subjects under his jurisdiction and registered as such at his office, to give them notice of all arrangements made by him for their safety in case of a bombardment of the place in which they are residing; whether he has received information that the British Consul at Manila on the 29th May made 95 such arrangements, and on the 30th May gave notice of the same to the members of the Manila Club; whether he is aware that on the attention of the British Consul being called to the fact that there were large numbers of poor British subjects in Manila who were not members of the club, and would not know what had been done for their safety, he declined to give any notice to such individuals, and said they must call upon him; and whether, considering that the consulate office is only open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and that the Consul lives four miles away, he will wire out instructions that every step must be taken to inform all British subjects of the provisions made for their safety?
MR. CURZONIt is the duty of the Consul to take such steps as may be in his power to make the arrangements to which my honourable Friend alludes generally known to British residents. We have not heard of the incidents mentioned in the Question; but Her Majesty's Consul at Manila will be asked to furnish a Report on the subject. In the meantime telegraphic instructions have been sent to him to be careful to give full publicity to any notices which he may issue for the guidance of British subjects.