Duke of Cornwall and York opens the first Parliament of the Australian Commonwealth at Melbourne.

Winston Churchill makes his maiden speech in the House of Commons as MP for Oldham. Veteran political commentator Henry Lucy feels that he 'is not likely to eclipse the fame' of his father, Randolph. More on politics.

Explosion at the Universal Colliery Company pits near Caerphilly kills over 80 men. More on miners.

Attack on General Dixon's rearguard at Vlakfontein in the Transvaal leads to accusations in the Daily Mail of Boer atrocities against British wounded. These are at first denied and then admitted by the Secretary of State for War in Parliament. More on the war in South Africa.