§ MR. PLUMMER (Newcastle-on-Tyne)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs a Question of which I have given private notice—namely whether his attention has been drawn to the report of the presence of Japanese battleships at Wei-hai-Wei previous to the attack on Port Arthur, and, if so, whether he is in a position to contradict the report.
§ * EARL PERCYWe have been informed by the Commander-in-Chief in Chinese waters that the Japanese men-of-war on their way to Port Arthur were not even sighted at Wei-hai-Wei, and no Japanese ships of war have visited that port since August, when two vessels went there on a complimentary visit for a few hours.