THE EARL OF AIRLIEwished to put a Question to the noble Earl the Foreign Secretary, of which he had given him private Notice—namely, Whether he could give any information to the House as to the number of British subjects now imprisoned in Paris in consequence of the late disturbances?
§ EARL GRANVILLEI am quite willing to answer my noble Friend's Question as to a matter of fact. A statement having been made that several thousand Englishmen were engaged in the late melancholy occurrences at Paris, Lord Lyons made it his duty to inquire in every possible way how many had really been concerned in them, and he could not find that more than one Englishman had entered the National Guard. At all events, the number, instead of thousands or hundreds, could more easily be counted by tens. With respect to the particular Question put to him by the noble Earl—although innumerable prisoners were taken by the Versailles troops, not more than 15 or 20 English- 1746 men were among them, and as against two-thirds of these there was no case whatever; and at this moment the British Embassy have ascertained that there is only a single British subject in prison, and that one an unfortunate boy, who, having been taken fighting behind the barricades, may possibly be severely dealt with. Though it is not perfectly regular, I may take the opportunity of reading a despatch I have received from Mr. Malet as to the conduct of a gentleman who has behaved with admirable judgment and ability at a very trying period, and in a post of great danger. He says—
On Wednesday morning, the 24th inst., news was brought to the Embassy that two English officers of Engineers, Mr. Noel and Mr. Churmside, had been arrested and taken to the barracks of the Louvre. I wrote a letter to General Douai, commanding in the Place Vendôme, asking for their release, and Mr. Saumarez volunteered to undertake the matter himself. He thought it advisable to endeavour to find the officers first, in order to be able to state positively to General Douai where they were, and to prevent their immediate execution at a time when prisoners, especially foreigners, are being shot indiscriminately. On reaching the Rue do Rivoli, Mr. Saumarez found it deserted, and going on under the arcades was summoned across the street by a soldier, and then saw that he had been under the Ministry of Finance, which was blazing. It was also clear that the whole of the street was under fire from the Hôtel de Ville, still defended by the insurgents. Mr. Saumarez reached the Tuileries, which was burning, and inquired of an officer whether there were any prisoners at the barracks of the Louvre; the officer replied that if there were any they must be burnt or shot by that time, and not till then did Mr. Saumarez give up his pursuit in this direction. He again crossed the Rue do Rivoli, while the shells were bursting among the arcades, and succeeded in reaching the Place Vendôme, where he found the arrested officers, who had indeed been started for the barracks of the Louvre and brought back as it was impossible to reach them. I should have brought Mr. Saumarez' conduct to your Lordship's notice sooner, but I have only learnt by degrees the details which I have the honour to give. On my inquiring at the time whether he had been successful he merely replied that both the officers were out.I think your Lordships will be glad to have been made acquainted with the contents of this despatch.