§ 60. Mr. PETHICK-LAWRENCEasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has any information to give relating to the recent strike at Shanghai; and whether there is any prospect of procuring the passage of the factory regulations recommended by the Child Labour Commission in that city which have hitherto been held up owing to the failure to obtain a quorum of the ratepayers?
Mr. LOCKER-LAMPSONAccording to official information there was unrest in Japanese mills at Shanghai at the beginning of this month, but the Press reports that this has now subsided. It is highly improbable that this unrest had 1907 anything to do with the child labour question. His Majesty's Consul-General at Shanghai has been instructed to watch the child labour question carefully, with a view to assisting in any reform movememt, but the position is a delicate one, since there are signs that the introduction of municipal legislation restricting the employment of child workers might be utilised for further agitation against foreign interference with Chinese rights.