§ MR. BURT (Morpeth)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if his attention has been called to the accident at Roachburn Colliery, on 28th January, by which three lives were lost through an inflow of water and moss into the workings of the mine; and whether, as the bodies have not been recovered and as no coroner's inquest has been held, and having regard to the exceptional nature of the accident and to the need for a searching inquiry, he will authorise a formal investigation into the whole circumstances, under Section 45 of the Coal Mines Regulation Act, 1887.
§ MR. GLADSTONEYes, Sir. In view of the exceptional nature of the accident and of the fact that an inquest may very likely never be held, I think it is desirable that a special inquiry should take place under Section 45 of the Act of 1887, and I am taking the necessary steps for that purpose.