June 26, Three years ago the Ratepayers of the International Settlement! supported in special meeting the assumption by the Council of power to licence factories within the area of its jurisdiction and authorized the amendment of the relevant! bye-law accordingly. There is admittedly a general desire that! the growth of Shanghai's industrial system shall be regulated by! attention ito decent principles of conduct. The Chinese Govern-' ment's promulgation of a Factory' Act had its inspiration from the same enlightened desire to ensure conditions favourable to the health and safety of workers in factories and workshops. Startling evidence of the need for such solicitude has been—forthcoming from time to time when serious accidents have occurred. Acceptance of this view did not imply capacity immediately to enforce it. The Shanghai Municipal Council.and the Chinese Government, as represented by the authorities] of the City Government of Shang hai, each had certain special administrative and constitutional issues to consider. This brought them into conference. Negotiations extending over a period of several years have been proceeding, and the issue of the text of the, draft agreement approved by the Council represents the penultimate stage in the solution of the problem, for now the Consular Body will be invited to give its approval to the draft so that it may carry the authority of all parties concerned. Considering the delicacy of the Sssues at stake, the achievement is to be commended. It reflects the greatest credit on the spirit of ce-operation displayed by the City Government and the Council. shows that, when goodwill is ready to exert its benign influence, even the most formidable obstacles, will yield. Sensing the strong express sion of public opinion that industrial workers in China must be accorded the minimum protection available to them in other paris of the world, the two authorities, each its own peculiar difficulties: find requirements, have been big enough to work for a compromise which may safeguard essential rights and. yet facilitate the adoption of mulch-needed measures Of social reform. Goodwill triumphs and Shanghai is to be congratulated.
Those who have preferred to wait for the authorized text of the draft agreement rather than to comment on certain versions prematurely released will be glad of their discretion. The apprehensions aroused by the imperfect versions are now seen to have been unfounded. The agreement recognizes the International Settlement, part of the territory of China, is administered by the Shanghai Municipal Council. Thus the Council is taken to operate on an authority delegated to it by the Chinese Government under treaties with the foreign powers concerned. Thereby the Chinese authorities' interest in the application of social legislation of which the Factory Act is the first important law, is recognized and by establishing' an
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.