 Subsequently the Liberal Government enacted the Housing of the Working Classes Act 1909 which resulted in systematic inspection of the condition of working class housing and the provision of council housing in many places, particularly in rural areas in the period up to the start of the First World War.While in Parliament he took up the cause of Chinese Labour in South Africa and campaigned on behalf of native Indians and their civil rights.In 1910, in his role as chairman of the executive of the India Civil Rights Committee, he published a pamphlet entitled "Methods of the Indian Police in the 20th Century" in which he showed, by quoting official reports, that untried prisoners were tortured to extort evidence.