§ 1. Mr. HAILWOODasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he is aware of the great harm done to British interests in India and the Far East by the seditious efforts of German missionaries; and whether they are specially exempted from being deported along with other Germans?
§ The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Mr. Cecil Harmsworth)As far as India is concerned, I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Secretary of State for India to the hon. and gallant Member for Melton on the 1st July last. I am advised that the situation is not changed in any way since that date.
As regards the Far East, His Majesty's Government are aware of the political activities of certain of the German missionaries, though whether British interests have suffered great harm there from may be open to doubt. The exemption of enemy missionaries in China from repatriation is still under discussion at Peking, and His Majesty's Minister has been instructed to press for the expulsion of those who have rendered themselves obnoxious by their attitude during the War.