§ MR. WEIRTo ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether be is aware that the barriers which were erected by the Chinese Government on the Canton River some years ago not only impede the traffic but cause a constantly increasing accumulation of silt, which renders the navigation of the river daily more difficult, will he consider the expediency of communicating with the Chinese Government on the subject with a view to the adoption of such steps as may be necessary to facilitate the navigation of the river.
(Answer.) A clause has been agreed to for insertion in the Treaty now under negotiation by His Majesty's Special 234 Commissioner in China by which the Chinese Government undertake to remove within the next two years the artificial obstructions to navigation in the Canton River.—(Foreign Office.)