§ MR. HEDDERWICK (Wick Burghs)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for India whether at Peshawar, in March of this year, Colonel Le Marchant, of the Hampshire Regiment, was assassinated, and in April three sentries of the Royal Scots Fusiliers cut off by Pathans; whether at Cherat, in May of this year, a sergeant was severely wounded by two Pathans and his rifle stolen, and a drummer of the Hampshire Regiment cut off, while strolling outside the camp, and stabbed; whether in respect of these crimes any reprisals or punishments have been inflicted upon the Pathans; and, what steps the Government are taking to put a stop to the constant attempts of the natives to murder and rob of their arms British soldiers on the Punjab frontier.
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIA (Lord G. HAMILTON,) Middlesex, EalingAlthough I have not received 14 detailed reports of each of the incidents mentioned in the first and second questions, I have no reason to doubt their accuracy. In the case of the murderers of Colonel Le Marchant and the bandsmen, the punishment of death has been inflicted on the guilty persons. I await information as to the punishments awarded in the other cases. In reply to the last part of the question, I may state that a partial disarmament in the districts of Peshawar, Hazara, and Kohat has been effected as an experimental measure, and if this proves to be ineffectual a total disarmament will be enforced.