that the Chinaman is telling the truth there Q: That is a reasonable tale? A: Yes, it is a plausible story, a reasonable one; it is just what you would expect them to do. Those as No 3 are locked but as the shaft there is one that hangs there. Q: Is it a common thing [?] for miners to carry matches in their pockets, white men or Chinamen? A: No, I don't think [?] usual; I think [?] the exception. A few do it. Q: Have you found any white men do it? A: I never found one carrying matches. I dismissed one for opening a lamp, a man by the name of [?], about the middle of April this year. The foreman reported it to me and I went down in the mines and dismissed him [?]; send him home. Q: Do you know of any prosecutions for this kind of thing in this Province? A: Yes. They have prosecuted quite a number in Fernie Q: For opening lamps? A For carrying matches, tobacco and pipes. They will do it. Q: Do you know anything at all about the [?] [?]? A: No I don't know anything about him. By a Juror: Where was the lamp found marked "A"? A: In No6 near the face, very near the [?] of the explosion; I would say about nine or ten yards from the face. Q: The Chinaman a few minutes ago said that the lamp was handed to him unlocked by his boss. Was that boss a Chinaman? A: Yes. Q: Do you suppose a white miner would do the same thing? A: Yes Q: Hand a lamp to a Chinaman, unlocked? A: Yes, he would do the same thing. That man [?] may have handed the lamp to his helper unlocked after he opened it himself.

BC Archives GR-0431 Box 6 File 3 / BRITISH COLUMBIA. ATTORNEY GENERAL. Inquisitions/inquests conducted by coroners in British Columbia.