§ 7. Sir J. Wardlaw-Milneasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that complaint is made by British property owners in Shanghai that the order of the Ministry of Justice in China of February, 1936, to the effect that creditors applying for the sale of property on which they hold a mortgage need not obtain a definite judgment in order to realise their intentions and may proceed with the sale, is not being carried out; and whether he will make further inquiries in the matter?
§ Mr. EdenI have no information to this effect, but I will certainly make inquiries, and I should be glad if my hon. Friend would supply me with particulars of specific cases.
§ 11 and 12. Mr. Moreingasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1) whether he will cause inquiry to be made into the case of a mortgage debt of $400,000 clue to a British subject secured on property in the international settlement in Shanghai, in which, although judgment for the plaintiff was given on 16th April, 1936, execution of the judgment by sale of the property by auction has been postponed as the result of a decision of the Chinese court until July, 1937; arid whether he will indicate to the Chinese Government that confidence in the security of loans to Chinese merchants in Shanghai cannot be restored until then is a reasonable prosspect of prompt repayment without the delay and expense of protracted litigation;
653 (2) whether he will cause inquiries to be made into three suits recently brought by a British owner of property in the Shanghai special district court against a Chinese tenant relating to rents accrued due between June, 1935, and March, 1937, in which, as a result of appeals to a higher court, no rent was paid for the period to November, 1935, until September, 1936, and even then subject to a reducton of 15 per cent., together with an appeal by the tenant to the Nanking supreme court for a further reduction of 20 per cent., which is still pending, while in the two further actions for rent due to September, 1936, and March, 1937, respectively, the landlord has been unable to obtain judgment in full owing to the fact that the appeal to the Nanking supreme court is still outstanding; and whether he will make representations to the Chinese Government that the inability of property owners to obtain promptly a fair return on their investments is necessarily impeding the recovery of financial stability in Shanghai?