§ MR. BRYCE (Aberdeen, S.)To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that it is proposed to construct a railway from Dunfermline to Kincardine, which will pass along the; foreshore of the Firth of Forth in the vicinity of Culross, and which will seriously injure the amenities of the neighbourhood; and whether, having 221 regard to the facts that, since the construction of such a line was authorised by Parliament, it has been decided to form a naval base at St. Margaret's Hope, which may be expected to increase largely the population of the district, and that a large sum of money has recently been devoted by Mr. Andrew Carnegie to the enhancement of the amenities of Dunfermline and its environs, the Board will exercise the power reserved to the Crown by Section 9 of The North British Railway (General Powers) Act, 1898, and induce the railway company to adopt a slightly different route which would be less harmful to the beauty of the coast.
(Answered by Mr. Gerald Balfour.) My attention was called to this matter last December by the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, but as the works had been authorised by Act of Parliament I was obliged to inform the council that the Department regretted that they were unable to assist them. The Board are advised that the section referred to would not authorise them either to veto the scheme or to require the railway company to adopt a route outside the limits of deviation as fixed by the Act. These limits for the greater part of the distance do not extend on the land side above high water mark. I have drawn the attention of the railway company to the right hon. Gentleman's Question.