HC Deb 20 July 1896 vol 43 c138
MR. JAMES TUITE (Westmeath, N.)

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury is he aware that, under sections 33 to 35 of 58 Geo. 3, c. 35, a sum of £15,000 was deposited with the Irish Government by the old Royal Canal Company for the purposes of the obligations of the Company; can he state whether that fund is still available; and, if so, will the Irish Board of Works, to whom the powers of the Directors of Inland Navigation in Ireland were transferred by 1 and 2 Will. 4, c. 33, now apply that sum, as authorised by Section 38 of the said Act of Geo. 3, to the carrying out of whatever works may be necessary to put the canal in a proper navigable condition, the present owners, the Midland Great Western Railway Company of Ireland, as successors of the Royal Canal Company, having failed to do so, as proved by the reports of the inspectors of the Board of Trade; can he state the purport of the quarterly reports of the Midland Railway Company to the Lord Lieutenant as to the condition of the canal immediately before the inspections by Major General Hutchinson and Major Marindin; and, whether the representations of the company were found to agree with the reports of the inspectors?

MR. HANBURY

I have not yet received a report from the Board of Works on this subject, so perhaps the hon. Member will kindly defer his Question for a few days.