HC Deb 10 July 1900 vol 85 c1109
*SIR J. COLOMB

I bog to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether the British Legation at Peking has any guard furnished by the naval forces on the China station; if so, what is the strength and composition of the guard detached for that service; and whether it was composed of supernumeraries to the complements of ships on the station.

THE FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY (Mr. G. J. GOSCHEN,) St. George's, Hanover Square

Yes. So far as is known there are throe officers and seventy-five men of the Royal Marines at Peking. In all probability this guard was drawn from the Wei-hai-wei detachment, and not from ships' complements. Fuller information will doubtless be received later.