THE EARL OF JERSEY,in rising to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Whether it is true, as reported in The Times of 27th May, that the Boers in Zululand have issued a proclamation, dated 30th April, protesting against the action of Lieutenant Moore in taking possession of St. Lucia Bay, denying any British rights there, and asserting the rights of the new Republic over St. Lucia Bay and the whole country; and, whether Her Majesty's Government is prepared to acquiesce in the assertion of any rights inconsistent with those already acquired by England in Zululand? said, he thought it was hardly possible that Her Majesty's Government could have allowed those proceedings to pass unnoticed, and he hoped that the noble Earl would be able to state that whatever rights we had in Zululand and in St. Lucia Bay would be maintained by the Government. Perhaps the noble Earl would also inform the House whether all questions relating to the German claim to St. Lucia Bay had been settled or not?
§ THE EARL OF DERBY,in reply, said, he had no difficulty in answering the noble Earl's Question. It was a fact that some Boers had settled in Zululand, had set up a Government of their own, and had put forward a Proclamation in the sense to which the noble Earl had referred he ought, perhaps, to explain that he had no reason to suppose that either the Government or the people of the Transvaal were in any way connected with that movement. That Proclamation, as he understood, was really issued by a party of Boers who had effected settlement in Zululand. The matter was brought to the notice of Sir Henry Bulwer, the Governor of Natal, who lost no time in repudiating, on the part of the British Government, those pretensions of the Boer settlers. Sir Henry Bulwer's action in so doing had been approved by Her Majesty's Government, and he (the Earl of Derby) was, therefore, in a position to say that Her Majesty's Government had not in any way acquiesced in the pretensions so put forward, nor had they waived any of the rights which they possessed in that country. With regard to the claim of the German Go- 1396 vernment to St. Lucia Bay, he was now in a position to say, with some confidence, that the matter had been disposed of by diplomatic action, and that no further claims were likely to be advanced by Germany. But perhaps it would be more satisfactory to the noble Earl if he said generally that he should, in a few days, be prepared to lay Papers on the subject upon the Table, and that they would be in the hands of noble Lords shortly afterwards.
§ House adjourned at a quarter before Nine o'clock, till Tomorrow, a quarter past Ten o'clock.