Page 522
Appendix No. 7.
AUSTRALIA.
Page 522
Sir,
494
Inclosure 4 in No. 1.
Foreign Office to Colonial Office.
Foreign Office, February 17, 1882. I AM directed by Her Majesty's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to transmit to you, to be laid before the Earl of Kimberley, copy of a despatch from Her Majesty's Minister at Lima, on the subject of a rumoured intention to make a raid upon the Australian Colonies.
Inclosure 5 in No. 1.
Sir S. St. John to Earl Granville.
I am, &c.
(Signed)
TENTERDEN.
My Lord,
Lima, January 4, 1882.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Lordship's despatch of the 8th November, 1881, inclosing the copy of a letter from a Mr. Burton on the subject of an intended raid on the Australian Colonies.
No Peruvian or Chilean ship of war has been sold, and the only faint groundwork of the story may arise from certain officers of the Peruvian army and navy having purchased a sailing-vessel, laden it with sugar, and sailed for New Zealand in the hopes of opening a new and profitable trade. One of these gentlemen, Mr. Peget, grandson of a resident of Peru, called on me before leaving, to explain their scheme.
I have, &c. (Signed)
SPENSER ST. JOHN.
Inclosure 6 in No. 1.
Admiralty to Colonial Office.
(Confidential.) Sir,
Admiralty, November 17, 1881.
I AM commanded by my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated the 15th instant, with its inclosure, relative to an alleged scheme for a hostile descent upon one of the Australian Colonies by a party of pirates or filibusters, who are stated to have obtained possession of a vessel of war, and I am to request that you will state to the Earl of Kimberley that my Lords having received a similar communication from the Foreign Office, they have forwarded copies to the Commodore on the Australian station.
Inclosure 7 in No. 1.
Foreign Office to Colonial Office.
I am, &c.
(Signed)
ROBERT HALL.
Sir,
Foreign Office, November 8, 1881.
I AM directed by Earl Granville to transmit to you, to be laid before Her Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonies, the accompanying copy of a communication from a Mr. Burton, relative to an alleged scheme for a hostile descent upon one of the Australian Colonies by a party of pirates or filibusters, who are stated to have obtained possession of a vessel of war,
I am to add that Her Majesty's Representatives at Lima and Santiago have been directed to report any information they may be able to furnish with regard to this rumour.
Inclosure 8 in No. 1.
Mr. Burton to Earl Granville.
I am, &c.
(Signed)
T. V. LISTER.
My Lord,
Whitehaven, October 12, 1881.
I MET Mr. Jefferson here yesterday, when I told him of the story I saw in the papers of certain pirates in South America having a project of making an excursion upon the Queen's territory in Australia, namely, against a place called Freemantle; the pirates or filibusters inhabiting about Chile or Peru; the said parties having acquired one of the war vessels used in the war lately prevailing in that part; when Mr. Jefferson advised me to write to your Lordship to inform you of the intended excursion, lest your Lordship might by chance have missed having any information of the intended adventure.
Your Lordship will please inform the Earl of Kimberley and the Secretaries of the Admiralty, for their information; your Lordship might possibly put a stop to the project through your Lordship's Agents in the Pacific ports; otherwise steps require to be taken in Australia to prevent any mischief being done on that coast.
I have, &c. (Signed)
W. BURTON.
Page 522
Page 522
Page 522