§ Mr. DAYasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the present position in China; whether any reports have recently been received with regard to 818W cases of piracy on the Whangpoo or other rivers; and whether any British subjects have been killed or wounded?
Mr. A. HENDERSONI have little to add to the reply which I gave to the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Woolwich, West (Sir K. Wood) on 18th June. Changsha, which fell into the hands of the rebels on 4th June, has been re-occupied by Government troops. According to my latest information, the Customs House at Tientsin, where a person named Simpson has taken charge on behalf of the Shansi authorities, was closed by instructions from the National Government on 20th June. His Majesty's Consul-General at Shanghai reports that two British employés of the Whangpoo Conservancy Board were attacked and robbed by bandits on 31st May. Both were seriously injured, and one has subsequently died. The Chinese military and police authorities are taking vigorous action in order to secure the arrest of those responsible for the murder.