§ 19. Mr. LUMLEYasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he can give the House the latest information available with regard to the missionaries in China who were recently captured by bandits or were in danger at Kueilin; and whether there are any other missionaries or British subjects in China for whose safety there is cause for apprehension?
§ The PRIME MINISTERIn the latest telegram received on the subject His Majesty's Minister at Peking reported that only one missionary, Mr. Carne, a British subject, remained in the hands of the brigands, and that every effort was being made by the local authorities to secure his release. According to reliable information from Kueilin, although one American missionary has been killed by a stray bullet, the remaining foreigners there are all well and some of them have succeeded in escaping into the adjacent province of Hunan. In reply to the last part of the question, I fear that residence in the interior of China, particularly under the present disturbed conditions, must, involve a certain amount of risk, but, so far as I am aware, there is no special reason for apprehension on account of the safety of any other missionaries or British subjects.