– in the House of Commons at on 20 March 1929.
Sir Robert Thomas
, Anglesey
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the lives or property of any British nationals have been lost or endangered during the recent civil disturbances in Mexico; and, if so, will he give particulars?
Mr Austen Chamberlain
, Birmingham West
His Majesty's Minister at Mexico City reported on the 8th of March that he had no report of any loss of British life or property; no indication of any subsequent loss of life has been received. A report was, however, received on the 5th of March that the Vera Cruz representative of the Bank of Montreal had been obliged to give a forced loan of 50,000 pesos to the rebels. Vera Cruz was re-occupied by the Federal forces on the 6th of March, and it is not known whether the sum in question was actually paid over.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
