§ Mr. LANSBURYasked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether the Government will institute a court of inquiry into the circumstances under which two American citizens, McWilliams and Sheey, escaped from India while on bail; whether he is aware of the fact that Rai Sahib Basheshar Nath, the victim of their assault, claims to have spent Rs. 4,000 in bringing them to justice; and whether the Government will consider the question of reimbursing him for his loss?
§ Earl WINTERTONThese two Americans were convicted by a magistrate of a brutal assault on a respectable Indian gentleman, appealed against the conviction to the Sessions Judge, who admitted them to bail pending the hearing of the appeal, and broke their bail, leaving Bombay surreptitiously on an Italian ship. They had United States passports. They were traced to Egypt and Italy. Every effort was made to intercept them, but they could not be arrested in either country because their offence was not extraditable. My Noble Friend has called for a report on the circumstances in which these men succeeded in escaping unobserved, and, pending its receipt, does not propose to take any further action. I have no information on the latter part of the question.