§ MR. DILLONI beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the generals of the Allied forces in Peking have decided to erect an extensive fortress in the heart of that city for the protection of the foreign legations; whether His Majesty's Government has approved of this project; and whether there is any precedent in history for such a proceeding.
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Viscount CRANBORNE,) RochesterThe question of the measures to be taken for the protection of the legations is now under discussion by the foreign representatives at Peking, but no decision has yet been come to in the matter by His Majesty's Government. But I may add that we are fully conscious of the expediency of keeping such arrangements within reasonable bounds.