§ MR. CARBUTTasked the Secretary to the Treasury, Whether the Government have definitely decided that the new Railways which are to be constructed in Ireland under the Local Loans Act are to be constructed on the metre gauge, thus inflicting on Ireland the inconvenience of a break of gauge, which has been found so disadvantageous in India; whether he is aware that Light Railways of the Irish gauge can be constructed at a cost of only ten per cent. increase above the cost of a metre gauge Railway; and, whether he has considered how far the greater wear and tear of the toy locomotive may in the end neutralise the saving from the smaller original first outlay?
§ MR. TREVELYANPerhaps my hon. Friend the Secretary to the Treasury would permit me to answer this Question. I assume that my hon. Friend intends his Question to refer to projected lines under the Tramways and Public Companies Act of last Session. The Lord Lieutenant, after careful consideration, decided upon the 3-feet gauge as the most suitable. That is the gauge of all existing steam tramways and narrow-gauge railways in Ireland, and is found to be adequate for ordinary traffic. In the case of branch lines intended to de- 342 velop the traffic on existing railways of the ordinary gauge, the Privy Council has power to sanction the wider gauge under special conditions as to the guarantee. I am not prepared to admit the accuracy of my hon. Friend's views as to the relative cost of construction and maintenance of broad and narrow gauge railways. But while I would hesitate to dispute his opinion on a professional point, I may say that His Excellency was not without eminent professional advice; and, further, that considerations such as these would form only a part of the case upon which the Government had to decide; and they came, after careful inquiry, to the conclusion which they considered most likely to promote the favourable working of the Act.