§ 35. Miss LAWRENCEasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will communicate to the House the terms of the draft Ordinances for the regulation of the labour of women and children in Palestine before they are confirmed by the Colonial Office?
§ Mr. ORMSBY-GOREI have already authorised the High Commissioner to proceed at once with the enactment of the draft Ordinance in question.
§ Miss LAWRENCEWill the draft Order be laid on the Table of the House and accessible to hon. Members?
§ Mr. ORMSBY-GOREIt is a pretty long document to have specially reprinted It is unusual to lay documents of this kind, especially as this will be the subject of close scrutiny by the International Labour Office and the Permanent Mandates Committee at Geneva, and I do not think I can make an exception in the case of this Ordinance, which has been the subject of very careful correspondence between the Government of Palestine and the home Government.
§ Miss LAWRENCEIn view of the importance of the question of child labour, will the Under-Secretary reconsider the matter if I put down another question?
§ Mr. ORMSBY-GOREI shall be happy to discuss the matter with the hon. Member. There has been a prolonged corre- 618 spondence as to the actual Clauses and draft of this Measure, and, quite frankly, I hope there will be no further delay.
§ Miss LAWRENCEMay I ask whether the Colonial Secretary will reconsider the matter if I put down another question? He stated in the House that he would do so; and in view of the statement that such an Order was in contemplation,, and in view of the concern with which many regard the question of child labour, I would ask him to reconsider it.
§ Mr. ORMSBY-GOREI should like to press upon the hon. Member that I am as much concerned about the question of child labour as she is herself.
§ Miss LAWRENCErose—
§ Mr. SPEAKERI must point out to the hon. Member that there are more than 100 questions on the Order Paper to-day.