§ MR. T. DAVIES (Fulham)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for India whether his attention has been drawn to the Report of the Textile Factory Labour Committee, and more particularly to that part which deals with child labour; is he aware that the present practice, according to the Report of that Committee, is to work children beyond their strength, resulting in their growth and development being stunted; will he bring all pressure possible to bear on the Government of India to pass such laws and to enforce regulations that are found necessary to put an end to the existing state of things in the textile and other factories in India; and will he specially direct the attention of the authorities to the urgency of definite suggestion 7 in the Report.
§ MR. MORLEYAs I have already explained in answer to previous Questions on the subject, the Government of India intend to appoint a representative Commission to deal comprehensively with the 759 question of factory labour and to propose remedies. The Report of the Committee was preliminary only. The Commission will be appointed with all despatch, and will be instructed to report with as little delay as possible. The question of child labour will, of course, receive special attention.