ADMIRAL FIELD (Sussex, Eastbourne)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether there are six British missionaries resident in Cuzco, the capital of the ancient Inca Empire of Peru; and that these persons, who have committed no breach of Peruvian law, have nevertheless been refused Governmental protection in the event of their lives being endangered through religious fanaticism; whether the Peruvian Govern 230 ment have communicated this decision to the British Attaché at Lima, who, without expostulation, forwarded the correspondence to the Foreign Office; and whether, under these circumstances, the Foreign Office will at once instruct the British Attaché at Lima to secure that constitutional protection to which these British subjects have every right under international law.
§ MR. BRODRICKHer Majesty's Government are aware that there are some members of a missionary society resident at Cuzco, and that they were desirous of establishing a school there. It was alleged that their object was to give religious instruction. The Peruvian Government intimated that this could not be permitted, and that persistence would lead to their removal from Cuzco. It is not the case that this communication was received without expostulation, as Her Majesty's Chargéd'Affaires, in acknowledging it, pointed out that while the opening of a school was a matter within the discretion of the local authorities, who were at liberty to grant or to withhold the necessary licence, the right of British subjects to reside in Peru on the same footing as native citizens was a matter of treaty right. No further complaints have been received, and Her Majesty's Minister may be confidently trusted to do all that is necessary for the protection of British subjects.