asked the President of the Executive Council whether in view of the Railway Bill and with the object of amalgamating and centralising transport he will take steps to ascertain the approximate number of ton miles of traffic carried (a) by rail, (b) on main roads, (c) on canals, and the approximate cost per ton mile on each kind of route, and if he will state how far the cost of construction and upkeep of such route enters into the cost of transit for ton mile.
CEISTEANNA—QUESTIONS. ORAL ANSWERS. - COST OF TRANSIT.
Statistics in respect of the railways are at present obtained monthly which show the total number of ton miles and the receipts per ton mile. Similar statistics are not available in respect of traffic on main roads or canals, and the cost of organising and collecting such statistics, in sufficient detail, to be of value for comparative purposes, would, under present circumstances, be prohibitive. Sufficient material for a reply to the last part of the question does not, therefore, exist; it would not be possible, for instance, to determine the relation between the cost of the construction and upkeep of main roads, and the charges made by road carriers without prolonged inquiry and abstruse calculations.