DR. RUTHERFORD (Middlesex, Brentford)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for India, whether his attention has been called to the fact that several deaths have occurred in the village of Madhupur, Orissa, from starvation; and whether he will urge upon the Government of India the necessity of making further and sufficient provision to relieve the famine-stricken people.
§ MR. MORLEYThe distress caused by heavy floods in part of Orissa, where the Madhupur estate is situated, has been the subject of careful inquiry. The Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, after visiting the locality, satisfied himself that the accounts which had appeared in the newspapers were exaggerated, and that the relief measures taken by the local authorities were adequate. I do not propose to interfere.