HL Deb 24 July 1924 vol 58 c950
THE EARL OF BESSBOROUGH

My Lords, I desire to ask the Lord President of the Council a question of which I have given, him private notice,—namely, whether he is in a position to give the House information with regard to the revolt in Brazil, whether the Government are able to contradict the rumours emanating from Buenos Aires and New Fork, and whether the Government have any information as to the safety of British subjects resident in Sao Paulo.

LORD PARMOOR

My Lords, on receiving the private notice of the noble Earl I at once communicated with the Foreign Office, and I will read the information that I have obtained. It is not much but, so far as it goes, I think it will be satisfactory to him. The statement is as follows: There is little to add to the statement made by the Prime Minister in another place on Monday on the subject of the insurrection in Brazil. As the Prime Minister then stated, the insurrection seems to be confined to the district of Sao Paulo, with the exception of the town of Aracaju between Pernambuco and Bahia, where there appears to have been an outbreak The Government troops were reported to be again in possession of the greater part of the town of Sao Paulo. The town was quiet, good order being preserved, and arrangements were being made for food supplies. The port of Santos was open, although it is understood to be almost impossible to load and discharge cargo.

The noble Earl has no doubt seen the official Brazilian communiqués which have appeared in the Press, in one of which a protest was made against the alarming and incorrect information which has been receiving currency outside Brazil. His Majesty's Consul at Sao Paulo was at Santos on July 20, and stated that no casualties were reported among British subjects and our latest information is that there has been no material damage to British property. The moratorium in the State of Sao Paulo has been extended to July 27. One of His Majesty's ships will be sent to a Brazilian port should this appear to be necessary The situation is being closely watched by His Majesty's Ambassador, and I have no doubt that he will report any developments without delay.