§ 66. Mr. SAKLATVALAasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether any request for compensation for Chinese killed and wounded was included in the demands presented by the Peking Government; whether he will state the number of Chinese killed and wounded; and the total of the Boxer indemnity and the number of lives for which this compensation was obtained?
§ Mr. McNEILLThe answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative, although the version first received omitted any reference to such a request. As already stated in reply to the hon. Member for Leicester West on the 15th June last, the number of Chinese killed and wounded was 21 and 65, respectively. 1534 The total of the Boxer Indemnity was 450,000,000 taels (£67,500,000). This sum did not represent only compensation for lives lost, but repayment of the expenditure incurred by the Powers in restoring order, as well as an equitable indemnity for the companies and individuals, including Chinese in foreign employment, who suffered in consequence of the Boxer outbreak.
§ Mr. SAKLATVALAWould the British Government have paid the indemnity promptly if the Chinese Foreign Office had adopted the same method as the British Foreign Office adopted towards Egypt?
§ Mr. McNEILLI could not give that as an undertaking.