THE IRISH RAILWAYS

New Zealand Tablet, 22 September 1910, Page 1521

THE IRISH RAILWAYS

The Vice-regal Commission on Irish Railways, appointed on July 18, 1906, has issued its final report as a Blue Book. The Majority report, signed by Sir Charles Scotter (chairman), . Lord Pirrie, Colonel Hutcheson Poe, and Mr. Thomas Sexton, recommends: G) That an Irish authority be instituted to acquire the Irish railways, and work them as a single system. (2) That this authority be a Rail Board of 20 direc—four nominated and sixteen elected. (3) That the general terms of purchase be prescribed by the Regulation of Railways Act of 1844, with supplementary provisions as to redemption of guarantees and purchase of non-dividend paying or non-profit earning lines. (4) That the financial medium be a Railway Stock, and that such stock be charged upon the Consolidated Fund, the net revenues of the unified railway system, an annual grant from the Imperial Exchequer, and a general rate to be struck by the Irish Railway authority if and when required. Amongst the conclusions in the majority report are the following : ‘ The extent to which the companies have contributed or could have contributed by way of rates and facilities to assist in the development of a country such as Ireland—weak in trade and extremely undeveloped in general industries— been limited by the character of the companies themselves, established by private capital as business concerns to carry on the trade of conveyance at the best available profit. It cannot be doubted that so long as the Irish railways continue to exist as commercial undertakings it will be extremely difficult, if not quite impracticable, for the companies to make such reductions in rates as the economic conditions of the country require without jeopardising their capital by surrendering, in the hope of future profit and recoupment, a part of their revenue now required to furnish dividends on their ordinary shares, and in some cases to pay interest merely on their preferred ordinary securities. What essentially constitutes the Irish railway problem is the restriction of industry and trade in Ireland by reason of the fact that internal and export transit rates are on a higher scale than the rates charged for the conveyance of commodities which compete with Irish products in Irish and British markets, or with which Irish products might compete if the condition were rendered less disadvantageous to Ireland by lower scales of transit rates. The solution of such a problem is far outside the sphere of amicable effort by the Board of Trade, as it is beyond the jurisdiction of the Railway and Canal Commission Court. The question, and the only question, as to the future of Irish railways referred to us for an answer is this: —"By what methods can economic, efficient, and harmonious working be best assured?” _ The answer dictated by the evidence is that such working cannot be secured in any sense commensurate with the object set before namely, the full utilisation of the railway for the development of Irish resources, except by Making Them Public Property, consolidating them into a single system, and working that system under representative control for the benefit of the country. It follows that, in our judgment, fractional or superficial measures would leave the essential problem still unsolved and its economic evils to all practical intents and purposes unabated.’ The Commissioners recommend that the unified railway be controlled and administered by an Irish Railways Board, composed of 20 directorstwelve elected to represent the ratepayers of Ireland, two nominated by the Treasury, two nominated by the Lord Lieutenant, and, with a view to the direct representation of important interests and industries, one elected by the Irish port and harbor authorities, one by the Irish Chambers of Commerce, one by the Irish Industrial Development Associations, and one by the Associations of the Irish cattle trade; also that two" delegates be elected by each county council and one by each municipal corporation, and that the persons so elected by the county councils and municipal corporations in each of the four provinces of Ireland shall constitute a provincial delegation to meet and elect three directors to represent the ratepayers of that province on the Irish Railways Board. The Commissioners state: ‘Having regard to the exceptional circumstances of the country, its unsound economic condition, the almost total want of non-agricultural

industries, and the loss of more than half the population in little more than half a century, as well as the high ratio of imperial taxation to the very limited resources of the people, we are decidedly of opinion that the annual grant from the Exchequer, to be of appreciably practical utility, should be of a considerable amount, and certainly not less than a quarter of a million. We believe that such a grant, applied as Ave recommend, would not only secure the full utilisation of Irish railways for the development of resources, but would help to mitigate the pressure of poverty by encouraging rural employment, promoting general industries, and encouraging trade.’