§ Mr. JOYCEasked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) whether his attention has been called to the complaints made by Irish traders against the Irish railway companies owing to the manner in which they meet the 196 traders on the question of owner's risk and the conditions laid down by them when dealing with those matters; whether he is aware that the English and Scotch railway companies have amended their owner's risk conditions so that in case of damage the onus of disproving negligence or misconduct on the part of the railway companies rests now with such companies instead of, as hitherto, on the senders proving it, while the Irish companies decline to grant those concessions; and, as this entails hardships on the Irish traders, will the Department take the matter up with the view of compelling the Irish companies to assimilate their rules in this respect to those of the English and Scotch companies and so give Irish traders a fair chance of competition?
§ The CHIEF SECRETARY for IRELAND (Mr. Birrell)The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The Department of Agriculture have already made representations on this subject to the Irish railway companies, who, however, have declined to alter the owner's risk conditions in force on their lines. They have also been in communication with the Board of Trade on the subject. In the absence of individual cases in which consignors have suffered through discrepancy of treatment the Department are not in a position to determine whether further action is open to them.