London, May 23.
In the House of Commons to-day] Commander Kenworthy (Labour) asked whether the British naval authorities in China had been interfering against the use of railway trucks for the transport of General Chiang Kai-shek's troops in their Joperations against the "Northern Governments" and whether similar, prohibitions would be placed in the future against any attempt by the Northern generals to cross the Yangtze from the North, The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Sir Austen Chamber-Jain, atated that, in view of the fact Shanghai-Nanking oilway wes whole property of the
mortgaged to British interests as! security on the Railway Loan, re presentations had always been made When there had been a threat, or an attempt, to transfer rolling' stock for military purposes across the Yangtze.
'The Foreign Secretary cited representations to Marshal Chang Chung-chang on March 21. Similarly, he said, the G:0.C''s\ secretary, at' Shanghai had informed the Captain of H. M.S. Carlisle of the proposal to transfer rolling stock from Nanking to Pukow and was told that this could not be permitted, Sir Austen Chamberlain declared that these representations were founded on the Loan Agreement, while, as regards the Tientsin-Pukow oilway, there was no mortgage, and, therefore, there. would not be the' same legal grounds on which to base a protest, Ho added that the Captain of H. M. S. Carlisle had been directed not to object to Nationalist transhipment from Nanking to Pukow of trucks and armoured cars belonging to that
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.