§ MR. SWIFT MACNEILLI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether a subsidy has boon granted by the Congested Districts Board to Mr. John Herdman, of Sion Mills, Strabane, who is the owner of steamers trading from Derry to the northwest ports of Donegal, with a view to a reduction in the rate of freight; and if he will state what has been the amount of the subsidy and the proportionate reduction in the rate of freight.
§ MR. G. W. BALFOURA subsidy of £600 per annum for three years from the 1st July, 1898, has been granted to Mr. Herdman, trading as the Donegal Steamship Company. The object of the Congested Districts Board in granting the subsidy was to secure an efficient service on the Donegal coast at reasonable freights, and not to effect a reduction in freights.