§ *SIR E. ASHMEAD-BARTLETT (Sheffield, Ecclesall)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs who is to command the allied force for the relief of Peking, and if he can inform the House what is its composition.
§ MR. BRODRICKOwing to the defects in telegraphic communication in China we do not yet know precisely what troops have arrived, and I am not in a position to make any statement as to the command.
§ *SIR E. ASHMEAD-BARTLETTMay I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he is in a position to say that her Majesty's Government have asked, or that a demand has been made by them to the Powers, that the command in chief should be in the hands of a British officer?
§ *MR. SPEAKEROrder, order! That does not arise out of the question.