§ MR. HALDANE (Haddingtonshire)To ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether any steps have been taken to carry out the recommendations of the Miners Phthisis Commission appointed for the Transvaal in 1902.
(Answered, by Mr. Secretary Lyttelton.) Lord Milner informs me that a great deal has been and is being done to improve the sanitary condition of the mines generally, and to minimise specific danger in the dusty parts of the mines. The question if any, and, if so, what preventive measures could be legislatively enforced is still under consideration. Medical opinion is not agreed as to specific preventives, such as respirators, of which no completely satisfactory type has yet been discovered. The Chamber of Mines has offered a prize for invention of best means of preventing dust in mines, and it is hoped that competition may throw 965 further light on the subject. The medical officer of health reports that numbers of deaths from miners' phthisis among the whole population of Witwatersrand, both white and coloured, was eight last month.