§ SIR CHARLES DILKE (Gloucestershire, Forest of Dean)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has any official information showing that a vigilance committee of whites has been elected at Johannesburg and has already lynched a native in that city; whether, in the event of his having no information upon the subject, he will make inquiry as to the truth of the alleged facts, and will insist that steps shall be taken by the Government of the colony to prevent lawless interference with the course of justice.
§ MR. LYTTELTONLord Milner informs me that the report of lynching is absolutely unfounded, and is due to the discovery of the body of a native who was clearly proved at the inquest to have committed suicide. He is satisfied that the idea of the existence of a secret organisation to punish natives assaulting white people is pure imagination.