§ MR. J. TULLY (Leitrim, S.)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury (1) whether his attention has been directed to the numerous resolutions passed by the Strokestown Board of Guardians in favour of a railway from Dromod to Strokestown; (2) whether this project has received the sanction of the Roscommon Grand Jury; (3) whether he is aware that the promoters of the line stated that the amount to be spent on labour in a thickly populated district would be about £60,000; (4) whether he is aware that a great number of people in the locality are in favour of this line; and (5) whether, with the view of providing employment during the summer, he will recommend the Treasury to grant the comparatively trifling guarantee asked for?
§ SIR JOHN HIBBERTI cannot find that any Resolutions of the Strokestown Board of Guardians in favour of this Railway have reached the Treasury. I understand that the Roscommon Grand Jury sanctioned the project 10 years ago, but that it was not approved by the Privy Council at that time and has not since been revived. The Estimate for the line was reported by the Board of 724 Works' Inspecting Engineer in 1885 to be £75,000. I have no information as to the state of local feeling towards the project. As regards the last paragraph of the question, I can only say that the funds available for guarantees under the Light Railway Acts are already exhausted.