§ MR. ROCHE (Galway, E.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he will state the amount expended in the construction of the Birr and Portumna line of railway; whether he is aware that the Great Southern and Western Company worked the line for ten years, and then declined to do so unless they got special terms; and that the Board of Trade then took charge of the line, and at length withdrew the caretakers whom they had employed to look after the line for several years; and can he state who is responsible for the fact that the rails, sleepers, and the station house were allowed to be carried off or stolen.
§ MR. WYNDHAMThe cost of construction of this line was about £80,000. The Great Southern and Western Company worked the line for ten years, and when their lease expired in 1878 they surrendered the line, which then fell into the hands of the Public Works Loans Commissioners as first mortgagees. The rails, etc., were carried away by irresponsible persons.