§ MR. D. DAVIES (Montgomeryshire)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what steps he proposes to take for the reorganisation of the administration of Shanghai: whether in view of the refusal on the part of the Chinese authorities to come to an agreement with the representatives of England, Germany, and the United States as to the procedure of the Mixed Court, he will inform the House if the assessors are exclusively bound by the Regulations of 1869; and whether practice and precedent settled since that date are to be entirely ignored.
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Sir EDWARD GREY,) Northumberland BerwickNo steps for the reorganisation of the administration of the International Settlement at Shanghai are in contemplation. It would not be correct to say that the Chinese Authorities have refused to come to an agreement as to the procedure of the Mixed Court. Negotiations are proceeding as to the proposed amendments to the Court rules, and although no final result has been attained, we understand that considerable progress has been made. Meanwhile, I am informed that the Mixed Court is being administered as hitherto in accordance with practice and precedent.