HL Deb 12 February 1880 vol 250 cc506-7

THE EARL OF CORK AND ORRERYmoved for— A Return of the rate of charges authorized by law, and those actually levied by the different railway companies, in the following countries: France, United States of America, Russia, Italy, Germany, Austria, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Portugal.

THE EARL OF BEACONSFIELD

To give this Return at the present moment is impossible; but, if by a stretch of imagination I could assume its possibility, I am sure it would be quite useless. The Return the noble Earl requires refers to the railway charges authorized and actually levied in foreign countries. Now, I will take one instance alone to show the difficulty, not to say the impossibility, of giving that Return. In the United States of America every State has a railway law of its own, and it has unlimited discretion of altering its rates without any legislative alteration on every route, and, indeed, on every article; and the consequence of that is that under certain circumstances of exigency—as in the recent extraordinary competition—the alterations are voluminous. It has been calculated that the United States alone, if this Return were made, would afford a small library. I cannot agree to the Motion. The fact is it would be fruitless, even if it were possible; because before these Returns could be printed the charges would have been, in all probability, altered and even greatly changed. Under these circumstances, I trust the noble Earl will not press his Motion.

THE EARL OF CORK AND ORRERY

After what the noble Earl has said, as my library is only a small one, I will not press the Motion.

Motion (by leave of the House)withdrawn.

House adjourned at Seven o'clock, till To-morrow, half past Ten o'clock.