§ MR. KNOXI beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been called to the difficulties of applying Section 14 of the Factories and Workshops Act, 1895, to the shirt industry of Londonderry and its neighbourhood; and whether, before deciding to apply the section to this district, he will consider representations from those concerned in the manufacture?
§ SIR M. W. RIDLEYThe section will come into force on the 1st January next, and I have no power to suspend or modify its application. This could only be done by an Amending Act. After the careful consideration given to this question by the Grand Committee in the last Parliament, I cannot think that it would be right to propose any amendment of the section, at any rate until fair trial has been given to its operation both in Londonderry and elsewhere.