§ THE MARQUESS OF RIPONMy Lords, I rise to ask the Under Secretary of State for India a Question of which I have given him private Notice. It relates to certain statements which appeared in The Times yesterday from its Correspondent at Mandalay. Before proceeding to read the statements, I desire to say that, by asking this Question, I do not in the slightest degree imply any opinion on my part as to their correctness. They affect very seriously the character of a public officer, the Provost Marshal in Burmah. I do not know who this officer is; but the conduct attributed to him appears to me to be so unworthy of a British officer that I feel great confidence in expressing the sincere hope that these statements will ultimately turn out to be inaccurate. It is quite as much in the interests of the officer himself, as with a view of putting a stop to such proceedings, if unfortunately they are correctly reported, that I put this Question. I will read the statements as they appear in The Times of yesterday, and I am sorry to add that with respect to the first of them further confirmation appears to-day in other papers. The extract from The Times to which I refer is as follows:—
The Rev. Mr. Colbeck, the representative in Mandalay of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, has addressed a public protest to the Chief Commissioner against a recent attempt by the Provost Marshal to procure testimony against other persons from a Burman while he was covered by the presented rifles of a firing-party. Mr. Colbeck, who has long been resident in Burmah, declares that such proceedings cannot fail to bring shame and discredit upon our name, nation, and religion. The ghastly scenes which constantly recur in executions carried out by the Provost Marshal constitute grave public scandals. The Provost Marshal, who is an ardent amateur photographer, is desirous of securing views of the persons executed at the precise moment when they are struck by the bullets. To secure this result, after the orders 'Ready,' 'Present,' have been given to the firing party, the Provost Marshal fixes his 183 camera on the prisoners, who at times are kept waiting for some minutes in that position. The officer commanding the firing party is then directed by the Provost Marshal to give the order to fire at the moment when ho exposes his plate. So far no satisfactory negative has been obtained, and the experiments are likely to be continued. These proceedings take place before a crowd of mixed nationalities, and cannot fail to have a demoralizing effect on both soldiers and spectators.I am quite sure that the noble Lord opposite, and all your Lordships who have heard or read these statements, will agree with me that the proceedings attributed to the Provost Marshal are very outrageous, and deserve serious reprobation. Although I think it very unlikely that the noble Lord will be able to give me any positive information on the subject just now, I earnestly trust that my j noble Friend will make inquiry without delay into the truth of these allegations, so that if they are inaccurate, the character of this officer may be cleared, as I trust it will; but if, unhappily, they turn out to be correct, that measures may be taken not only to put a stop to those proceedings, but to mark in a most signal manner the sentiments of Her Majesty's Government with regard to them. There is one other matter to which I wish to refer. One would gather from those statements that a considerable number of persons are, at the present time, being tried by court martial and executed in Burmah. I will venture to suggest to the noble Lord opposite that he should very seriously consider to what extent there is legal warrant for trying persons within Her Majesty's Dominions who are not under the Mutiny Acts. Burmah has now been annexed, and is a part of Her Majesty's Dominions. I do not wish to express a positive opinion on that subject at present; but it is, I think, worthy of the careful consideration of Her Majesty's Government.
THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE (Lord HARRIS)My Lords, in reply to the noble Marquess opposite (the Marquess of Ripon), I have to say that Her Majesty's Government have read with the greatest concern the account of The Times Correspondent at Mandalay with respect to these executions, and the manner in which they have been conducted. We have no information, however, at the present 184 moment, which will enable us to say whether these accounts are varnished or not. The noble Lord the Secretary of State for India, recognizing the concern which no doubt the public feel alike with the Government on this question, has despatched telegrams to Lord Dufferin and Mr. Bernard requesting information upon the matter, and asking that a strict and searching inquiry be made into the matter. As soon as this information is obtained, I shall have great pleasure in informing the noble Marquess. With respect to what he has stated as to court martials being held in Burmah, I would deprecate any discussion at the present moment, and until wo have further information about them.
THE EARL OF KIMBERLEYsuggested that, as Papers were about to be presented on the subject of Burmah, it would be as well that they should be accompanied with a map of the country.