SECOND READING. (Hansard, 27 March 1878)

§ MR. COLLINS
, in moving that the Bill be now read a second time, said, that at that late hour he would not occupy the attention of the House, although he would have desired to go into the merits of the measure. With regard to Tramways in Ireland, there were three Acts bearing upon the subject—one passed in 1860, another in 1861; while the remaining Act, which was introduced by the present Lord Chancellor (Lord Cairns) in 1871, adopted the provisions of the preceding Acts, amending them to the extent of enabling mechanical power to be used in connection with the Tramways in Ireland. No new principle had been introduced into the Bill; but a prominent feature in it was that it would enable Grand Juries and other local authorities in Ireland to grant baronial guarantees, by means of a public Act, to Tramways in the same manner as they granted them to Railways under the guarantee clauses of Private Railway Bills. It was a singular fact that these three measures, of such great importance, which had been considered after great deliberation and care, were at the present time inoperative, and they desired to make them operative. Under the operation of the Bill, the guarantees granted by Grand Juries and other local authorities must be submitted to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in Council for approval, and, in case of an appeal against them, the subject would have to be referred to Parliament for its decision. A defect, 99 which it was proposed to remedy, in the existing Acts was the tolls in one class of goods, which, by inadvertence in preparation of the schedules, were charged at too low a rate—1d. instead of 2d. It was also proposed, in consideration of the great improvements which had been made in recent years in the construction of locomotives, to urge that a greater speed than was now allowed should be adopted, and that, instead of three miles an hour in town, it should be extended to five, and that, instead of six miles an hour in the country, it should be extended to eight as the rate of speed. The Bill was regarded favourably by those who took an interest in Tramways in Ireland, as it gave an opportunity to utilize existing Acts which had the support of both sides of each House when going through Parliament. He would not trouble the House with any further observations, as he understood that it was the intention of the Government not to oppose the Bill. As the measure was one of very great importance, and one with respect to which there would probably be a great deal of discussion in Committee, he would only say that its supporters would be ready to accept any reasonable suggestion which might be made for its amendment.

§ MR. BIGGAR
said, he was not inclined to discuss the merits of the Bill at that advanced hour, especially as it contained 11 pages, and he proposed that the discussion should be adjourned to a future day. It was a measure which was promoted for objects which might or might not be meritorious, but it had not been brought forward by the Home Rule Party. Consequently, he was in a position to speak of it in a most impartial manner. He had had an opportunity of looking over the Bill, and, upon the whole, he had not formed a very favourable opinion of it. One of the points in it was the giving of authority to Grand Juries in Ireland to guarantee a dividend of 5 per cent on the estimate value of Railway Companies which chose to promote Tramways. Upon the face of it, that would seem rather a plausible proposition; but, unfortunately, these Grand Juries were not a body that even 100 the Conservative Government would defend, being men of small means, liable to influences, and not persons of the honestest nature. They knew that in Ireland there were promoters of Companies who were gentlemen of rather a shadowy nature. Upon the whole, he thought that this measure should be discussed at some future day.

THE MARQUESS OF HAMILTON
said, that while he was prepared to give the Bill his warmest support, he would reserve any observations which he had to make upon it until a future occasion.