THE EARL OF CARNARVONasked the noble Earl the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether he could affirm the authenticity of a telegram from Shanghai which had appeared in the public Press, according to which the Chinese Government had demanded that female schools should be abolished, that teaching contrary to the doctrines of Confucius should be prohibited, and that all missionaries, except those at Treaty Ports, should be regarded as Chinese subjects; a declaration being added that in the event of another massacre compensation would not be granted, and that only the actual murderer would be punished. This announcement had already caused considerable anxiety, and if the noble Earl was in possession of such a despatch from the Chinese Government he should be glad to know whether he would object to lay it on the Table?
§ EARL GRANVILLEsaid, that the Government had not received a telegram of such a purport, and that he could not confirm the accuracy of the statements referred to by the noble Earl.