§ * SIR CHARLES DILKE (Gloucestershire, Forest of Dean)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the Department of Native Affairs in the Transvaal is now being reduced; whether the services of three out of six Native Commissioners have been dispensed with; and whether the functions of the Native Commissioners are being entrusted to the resident magistrates; and, if so, will he state what steps His Majesty's Government took before sanctioning these arrangements to satisfy itself that they are not prejudical to the interests of the native population in the Transvaal.
§ MR. LYTTELTONOwing to the necessity of dealing with a large native population scattered and unsettled by war, a larger establishment was created at first than will be required in normal conditions, and, to avoid overlapping, some reductions are taking place. The necessity of sympathetic administration by magistrates fully 1478 qualified by experience is. I am aware, fully appreciated by Lord Milner.