§ Captain SHEEHANasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the junction recently made between the Cork and Macroom Railway and the Cork and Bandon Railway at Cork is only allowed to be used for military and naval purposes and that general public traffic is not allowed to pass over it, with the result that cattle forwarded from the Macroom line have to be unloaded at Cork and driven through the city, and coal and other seaborne goods have to be carted to the terminus of the Macroom line at Cork instead of being loaded into railway wagons on the quays; whether application has been made to the Executive Committee of the Irish railways to permit general public traffic to be sent over the junction; and, if so, why the application has not been granted?
Sir A. STANLEYThe junction referred to was constructed at the expense of the Admiralty for the conveyance of naval and military traffic only, and the Board of Trade have no power to intervene. I may, however, say that I understand that the line could not be made available for general traffic unless considerable further expenditure were incurred on its equipment.