London, Mar. 8.
A "special section of the Shanghai Municipal Council" to be established under the control of the Japanese, was questioned in the House of Commons today by Mr. Henry Graham White, Labour member for East Birkenhead.
Mr. White invited Mr. R. A. Butler, the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, to make a statement regarding the "purpose and scope" of this section.
Mr. Butler replied that he had no information regarding actual details of the proposed functions of the special section, but he assured the House that the working.understanding reached with the Japanese authorities was not of such a nature to impair the authority of the Council Mr. Richard Porritt, National Conservative member for the Heywood and Radeliffe Divisions of Lancashire, asked the reasons for the Japanese refusal to evacuate British-owned mills in Shanghai Representations over Mills Mr. Butler replied that the Japanese authorities, despite explanations made by the British Consul-General in Shanghai (Sir Herbert Phillips) still professed doubt regarding the British ownership of three of the mills concerned.
A fourth British mill Mr. Butler added, was situated on Point Islend. which was under Japanese military occupation, and served as headquarters for the transport unit of the Japanese forces.
Further British representations, Mr. Butler declared, had recently been made in Tokyo. The Government would continue to do its utmost to secure the speedy evacuation of the mills, he stated.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.