§ MR. BOLAND (Kerry, S.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland can he state whether any agreement was entered into between the Clyde Shipping Company, the Russell Steamer Company, and the Great Southern and Western Railway, or between any two of them, previous to the withdrawal of the Clyde Shipping Company from the south-west coast service; if so, was the Congested Districts Board aware of the nature of this agreement; is he aware that all the new rates quoted for Sneem by the railway company are in excess of those previously quoted by the Clyde Shipping Company, and in the case of some classes of goods show an increase of from 20 to 50 per cent., as, for example, in the case of timber, petroleum, and cement; whether his attention has been called to the inadequacy of the proposed service of carts from Kenmare, seeing that the Clyde Shipping Company used to carry fifteen tons per week on an average to Sneem; and whether he proposes to secure that the railway rates will be reduced in such a way that no additional 321 charge will fall on the people of the Sneem district in consequence of the withdrawal of the Clyde Shipping Company.
§ MR. WALTER LONGA reply to this Question cannot conveniently be given within the compass of an oral Answer, and, with the hon. Member's permission, I will circulate my reply to it with to-night's Votes.