GREAT SOUTHERN AND WESTERN AND WATERFORD AND CENTRAL IRELAND RAILWAY COMPANIES AMALGAMATION BILL [H.L.] (Hansard, 27 July 1900)

§ * LORD GREVILLE

In rising to move that the Bill be read a third time this day three months it is very difficult for me in a few words to explain to your Lordships what took the Committee twenty-nine days to inquire into. But the Committee did not hear many points of interest in connection with the subject. A line was authorised in 1896 from Mountmellick to Mullingar, through the very centre of Ireland. The people of Mullingar and that region, whom I represent, wished the Committee to give them an extension of the power to build that line. Lord de Vesci and myself appeared before the noble Earl's Committee, but the Committee did not think it necessary to hear other witnesses who could have been produced, including two Irish Members of Parliament. I can quite understand that the Committee were weary and sick of the whole thing, but I cannot see why they would not consider the Mullingar grievance. It is an Irish grievance, and therefore, perhaps, not much thought of over here. The Mullingar line did not suit the octopus, the Great Southern and Western, which now has the whole of the south in its greedy tentacles, as it might be antagonistic to the Midland Great Western. The Committee have done an injustice to the centre of Ireland in not imposing the construction of this line on the promoters; and those who, with myself, originally obtained the powers in 1896 have lost much money over the project. It is all thrown away because the Joint Committee were too weary to go into the question. I have had many letters on the subject. A gentleman of great influence in Ireland writes— I do not know how the committees are formed in Parliament, but this one must have been formed to give everything to the Great Southern. No one on it understood the wants or wishes of Ireland in regard to this matter. No wonder we want Home Rule. 1455 I would ask whether a clause could not be inserted which would give the people of the centre of Ireland the power to revive the Act of 1896 which at present is virtually dead. I am glad that the Committee have not accepted the demand of the Midland that they should be pro-vented from ever making the line, but I would suggest that the Great Southern be put under an obligation to introduce a Bill in the next session of Parliament to obtain an extension of time for the construction of the line from Mountmellick to Mullingar authorised by the Waterford and Central (Ireland) Act, 1896, and to use their best endeavours to obtain such powers, and on such powers being obtained, to proceed forthwith to construct such railway.

§ EARL SPENCER

My Lords, with regard to what my noble friend has said as to the Committee being so exhausted by the length of the inquiry and the weather that they would not inquire fully into this matter, I must give an entire and complete denial to the assertion. I confess that I was not very well when the inquiry began, but I came out of it much better in health. We were not deterred by the hot weather, or by anything else, from doing what we considered best in the interests of the people of Ireland. I sympathise with my noble friend in the original desire to extend the line from Mountmellick to Mullingar; but what has happened? The Act of 1896 was obtained, but the company were unable to raise money outside their own capital to carry the line to Mountmellick. The public would not support the rest of the extension, and the powers under the Bill have expired. The compulsory powers for the acquisition of land expired on 21st May last year. No doubt the power of making the line goes on till the 21st May next, but it will disappear then. That alone is, I think, a condemnation of the line. I am very sorry for my noble friend, and particularly for the friends whom he encouraged to subscribe to this line; but I am afraid they have made a very bad commercial speculation. They were not supported by the public, and the line has been practically killed not by this Bill, 1456 but under the Act of 1896. I, as chairman, may have been responsible in Committee for stopping counsel when they desired to go into irrelevant matters and into matters which the Committee had heard over and over again, but I entirely deny that I stopped counsel when they wanted to make a case. I entirely deny that I stopped the free discussion or the free speech of counsel. The Central of Ireland is an impecunious, almost a bankrupt concern —it was so poor that it could not run passenger trains without cattle—and it would have been a strong order to compel the company taking it over to construct a line with which the public had already refused to have anything to do.