§ *SIR CHARLES DILKE (Gloucestershire, Forest of Dean)On behalf of the hon. Member for the Chesterfield Division of Derbyshire, I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been called to the accident at the Robinson Deep Mine on 26th April last, in which, through the rope breaking and the cage falling 2,000 feet, forty-three men were killed; and, if so, will he lay upon the Table of the House the verdict of the jury at the Coroner's inquest, and say whether, under the law of the Transvaal as at present administered, the dependents of those killed have any claim to compensation similar to what they would have under the law in this country.
§ *THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (Mr. LYTTELTON, Warwick and Leamington)I am expecting a report from the Governor on the accident at the Robinson Deep Mine, but I am at present without definite information. I am informed that, under the common law of the Transvaal, the employer is liable for any injury sustained by his workmen, due to his own personal negligence or the negligence of any servant employed by him.