Lord Plymouth, replying on behalf of the Government, said that the dimeulty in approaching this question was to give some practical effect to any desires or feelings they might have.
'Although he agreed with much of what Lord Strabolgi hod said, he doubted whether Lord Strabolgi' had iven much serious thought to the Actual practibility of some of his suggestions.
Aiter giving the House information regarding recent events in Chino, Lord Plymouth referred to the action which the British Government was taking to protect British interests. China, particularly in Hongkong.
He said that the Pearl River was The opening of this Fiver to British trade was provided for in the Anglo-Chinese Treaty of 1002, Tt was first closed to navigation by the Chinese authorities on October 13, and a protest was made to them by the British Consul-General at Canton (Mr, A. P. Blunt), Since their occupation of the Canton area, the Japanese had maintained the closure of the Pearl River, and the British Government has been actively engaged in endeavouring to secure its Fe-opening.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.