HC Deb 10 August 1882 vol 273 cc1360-1
MR. HEALY

asked the President of the Board of Trade, Whether his attention has been called to the fact that, although for thirty years a fine lighthouse has been built at Rock Angus, at the entrance to Strangford Lough, it has never been lighted, so that on stormy nights fishing boats have had to remain at sea for hours in imminent danger; and, whether he is aware that, as there are upwards of two hundred boats belonging to the Lough, the fishermen complain bitterly of the want of a light; and, if he will state why one is not provided?

MR. CHAMBERLAIN

The lighthouse on Rock Angus was erected before the passing of the Merchant Shipping Acts, and before the present mode of managing lighthouses was in existence. At that time the Irish Light Board were in the habit of paying for Irish local lights out of the dues on the passing trade, a practice much complained of, which was put an end to by Mr. Cardwell's arrangements and the Merchant Shipping Acts of 1853 and 1854. A light at the entrance of Lough Strangford would be almost, if not quite, entirely for the benefit of the local trade, and ought not to be provided without a large and substantial contribution from local funds. In the absence of sufficient funds from the locality, the Board of Trade have not felt themselves justified in sanctioning the appropriation for this purpose of the Mercantile Marine Fund, to which fishing boats do not contribute, and which is composed of light dues paid by the passing trade.