§ MR. SAMUEL YOUNG (Cavan, E.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that in the Local Government Act for Ireland there is no provision to compel the users of traction engines to pay for excessive wear of public roads; and that the use of these engines has made the iron ore road, 650 perches in length, between Glenarm and Ballymena, almost impassable, and has increased the cost to the ratepayers by over £800 per annum for maintenance above the sum required before the mineral traffic began in 1870; and whether he will take steps to relieve the inhabitants of the districts of this tax by assimilating the law in this respect with that of England—namely, the Act of 1878—so that damages may be recovered in Ireland by the local authorities in regard to excessive wear on highways.
§ MR. WYNDHAMUnder Section 23 of the Highways and Locomotives Act, 1878, as amended by Section 12 of the Locomotives Act, 1898, damages can be recovered by the local authority in England in respect of excessive wear on high- 1038 ways by reason of extraordinary traffic. These enactments do not apply to Ireland but I will consider the question of assimilating the law in this respect in both countries. I may add that, without further inquiry than I have been able to give to the matter, I cannot say how far the words "extraordinary traffic" apply to traffic conducted otherwise than by traction engines.