MR. FIELDI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that the proprietors of the land between Cahirciveen and Waterville have promised the necessary ground for railway extension to be given free, and whether the Government will make further inquiries regarding this extension?
§ MR. JAMES ROCHE (Kerry, E.)At the same time may I ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been called to a statement made to his Mansion House Committee by the Lord Mayor of Dublin with reference to his recent visit to the distressed portions of the counties of Kerry and Cork, in which he declared that the works of public utility executed in Waterville and other places were a revelation as to the amount of permanent good which could be effected by the judicious expenditure of comparatively small sums of money; whether he strongly recommended the short extension of the railway from Cahirciveen to Waterville; and whether this latter project will receive the Chief Secretary's attention during the Recess, with a view to ascertaining if the small amount of public money required to supplement private assistance in carrying out this work can be obtained from the Treasury?
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR IRELAND (Mr. ATKINSON,) Londonderry, N.I am not aware that the fact is as stated in the first paragraph of the Question of the honourable Member for the St. Patrick Division of Dublin. The Lord Mayor of Dublin is reported to have made a statement to the effect mentioned in the Question of the honourable Member for East Kerry. The Government have already contributed the sum of £85,000 towards the construction of the railway to Valencia, and have also agreed to a contribution in aid of a baronial guarantee on the same railway in respect of a capital of £70,000. My right honourable Friend has more than once stated that there are no funds available for further railway construction, and it is not proposed to make the inquiries suggested.