§ MR. PROVAND (Glasgow, Blackfriars)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the Viceroy of Nanking having recently prohibited the export of rice, the British Consul at Shanghai subsequently applied for permission to ship some to Wei-hai-Wei for the use of the garrison, but was refused; whether subsequently the Russian Consul peremptorily demanded permission to ship rice to Port Arthur, which demand was granted; and whether the request of the British Consul was then complied with.
§ *MR. BRODRICKWe have no information confirmatory of the reports referred to by the hon. Member. At the instance of a British firm, who complained of the hardship entailed by the prohibition of the export of rice from Wuhu without sufficient notice, representations were made to the Chinese Government by Her Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires, in con-sequence of which instructions were sent 1066 to the Viceroy of Nanking to allow the export of all rice purchased prior to the date of the proclamation.