HC Deb 15 December 1927 vol 211 cc2523-4W
Colonel WEDGWOOD

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has any information as to the anti- Semitic riots at Oradea Mare, in Transylvania, during which an American citizen, Captain Keller, attempted to protect from insult at the hands of the rioters a Union Jack which had been hoisted by a Jew in a vain attempt to protect his premises; whether he is aware that Captain Keller was beaten and stabbed; what is now his condition; and does he propose to take any action in the matter?

Mr. LOCKER-LAMPSON

I have received telegraphic reports on the riots at Oradea Mare from His Majesty's Ministers at Budapest and Bucharest. The official Rumanian account states that some students removed the Union Jack from the premises on which it was flying and paraded it, together with the Rumanian flag, in procession acclaiming Great Britain as a friendly country. An American citizen named Keller was wounded apparently while endeavouring to prevent the rioters from entering the Y.M.C.A. premises, and I understand that the United States Minister at Bucharest is making representations to the Rumanian Government on the matter. The incident is, however, being thoroughly investigated both by His Majesty's Minister at Bucharest and the Rumanian Government, and I propose to await further reports