§ MR. ROCHE (Galway, E.)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware of the Memorial of the clergy, gentry, traders, and farmers of Kilconnell and surrounding districts, presented to the Directors of the Midland Great Western Railway of Ireland in February last, requesting them to erect a station at Carromana, County Galway, which the Directors have refused, on the ground that their Manager believed the additional traffic would not warrant the outlay; is he aware that the memorialists intimated their assurance that the additional traffic would pay, and offered to indemnify the Railway Company against loss by giving a baronial guarantee; and whether, considering that there are seven fairs held every year in Kilconnell, and that the convenience and accommodation of the people require a station there, he will communicate with the Directors with the view of having a station erected at Carromana?
§ MR. MUNDELLAI have communicated with the Railway Company on the subject of the hon. Member's question, and the Directors are of opinion that the traffic which would result from the opening of such a station would not repay them for the outlay. It appears from the statement of the company that the number of inhabitants of Kilconnell, the largest town in the district, was, according to the last Census, only 131, and that the surrounding country is sparsely populated. The secretary to the company adds—
Should the parties interested be prepared to pay the necessary outlay for station, signals, &c, the Directors would be prepared to re-consider the matter.