§ MR. ANDERSONasked the Under Secretary of State for India, If no result is to come from the Government inquiry into the factory system in India; if he is aware that the abuses are as bad as ever, that some mills work from daylight to dusk the week through, with little interval for meals, and that children under eight years of age are thus sometimes worked from seventy-six to eighty hours in the week; and, if the Indian Government will not now introduce factory legislation?
§ LORD GEORGE HAMILTON,in reply, said, that the question was at present in this position—As he informed the hon. Member last year, the Government received a Report of a Commission appointed by the Bombay Government to inquire into the condition of the factories, as well as that of the operatives who worked in those factories. Of the Commission, four were against and two were in favour of legislation. The Report was forwarded by the Bombay Government to the Indian Government for their consideration, and as yet no definite reply had been received from the Supreme Government. But the Secretary of State had recently addressed them on the subject, asking them to inform him as quickly as possible of the decision at which they might arrive. As regarded the second part of the question of the hon. Member, no information had been received subsequent to the Report of the Commission, and therefore he was unable either to confirm or impugn the accuracy of the statement referred to by the hon. Member, and which had appeared in certain public papers. But the Secretary of State had addressed the Bombay Government on the subject, and requested them to inquire specially into the points referred to in the Question of the hon. Member.
§ MR. ANDERSONasked if the Report of the Commission had been laid before the House?
§ LORD GEORGE HAMILTONsaid, if hon. Gentlemen wished it, there would be no objection to lay the Report upon the Table.