§ MR. J. PINKERTON (Galway)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether the Board of Trade have taken any steps to compel the proper working of the electric motor power of the Giant's Causeway, Portrush, and Bush Valley Railway and Tramway, in accordance with the Report and recommendations of Major P. Cardew, the Board of Trade inspector, dated the 3rd October 1895, and made by him after holding an exhaustive inquiry into the working of the Tramway; and if the Board of Trade have not taken any such steps, whether they intend to do so; whether it has come to the knowledge of the Board of Trade that the Giant's Causeway Tramway Company are working the line in a similar way to what they had been doing when it was so severely condemned by the Board of Trade's Inspector, and which was characterised in the Report as a danger to the public and an annoyance to ordinary traffic, and that although almost a year and a-half have now elapsed since the issue of the said Report they, the Company, have made no effort whatever to carry out any of the Board's inspector's recommendations; and whether it has come to the knowledge of the Board of Trade that no car of any description whatever was run on the 19th of January, and for some clay's previous to that date, and that the public were greatly inconvenienced thereby?
§ MR. RITCHIEThe Board of Trade are not in a position to compel the tramways company to adopt the recommendations of Major Cardew. They understand, however, that the Company are prepared to do so as soon as they are able to raise the necessary capital. The Board have repeatedly urged upon the Company the importance of ceasing to work the line by electricity until the alterations have been carried out. The Company have not, however, complied with this suggestion, but they have stated that during the winter the electric working would be restricted to two runs of one electric car each way and at a reduced pressure. I have received no information as to a recent stoppage of the traffic on this tramway.
§ MR. T. LOUGH (Islington, W.)asked if the right hon. Gentleman could say why the Board of Trade were not in a position to compel?
§ MR. RITCHIEI cannot say why Parliament has not intrusted the Board with that power; but, as a matter of fact, they are not so intrusted.