130 REPORT OF THE SCOTTISH COMMISSION 



accomplished thus far. Would that it were possible to have such a 

 Department in Scotland. More suitable vans are now put at the 

 disposal of the Irish farmers than formerly. Some Companies have 

 already put on refrigerator cars and other Companies are to put them 

 on. Delays in transit are less frequent than they were, and rates 

 have been considerably reduced. Will the Department, however, 

 be able to secure such reduction in rates as will put the Irish farmer 

 on a footing to compete favourably with the Scotch and English 

 farmer and particularly with the Continental farmer ? That will 

 depend upon the co-operation of the farmers and the amalgamation 

 of the Railway Companies. 



Co-operation 



If the farmers of Ireland continue to stand alone the Department 

 will be able to do very little more than it has done to reduce rates. 

 If rates are to be reduced the farmers must combine and send their 

 produce in bulk. It is scarcely necessary, that this point should be 

 laboured, for the success of Irish agriculture depends upon co- 

 operation among the farmers. Co-operation is a necessity apart 

 altogether from the question of transit. The question of transit only 

 emphasises the necessity. 



Amalgamation 



The amalgamation of the Railways is not less necessary than the 

 co-operation of the farmers if the Irish farmer is to be put in a position 

 to compete favourably with his home and foreign rivals. A passing 

 glance at the railway question in Ireland will leave one in no doubt 

 on this subject. Ireland stood at the beginning of the railway era 

 in a position by itself as it does now. There was never any question 

 raised as to whether the railways of Great Britain should be private 

 or State railways. There was no difl&culty in running them as 

 private concerns. It was otherwise in Ireland. The state of the 

 country was against the development of the railway system. About 

 1834, after the first railway in Ireland was opened, the railway from 

 Dublin to Kingstown, a Royal Commission was appointed to consider 

 the extension of the railway system in Ireland. The Commission 

 reported in favour of State assistance. A resolution was passed in 

 the House of Commons advocating State assistance and State control, 

 but the matter dropped, and the development of the system was left 

 to private individuals. Numerous small railways were brought into 

 existence. While trade increased in Great Britain generally from 

 the beginning of the railway era, it decreased in Ireland — a fact that 

 should never be forgotten in considering the Irish railway system. 

 Further, amalgamation has not taken place among the railways of 

 Ireland to the same extent as it has done in other parts of the 

 Kingdom. The result is, that to-day there are in Ireland twenty-five 

 ortwenty-six railway companies, each with a Directorate, a Secretary, 

 a Manager, and a staff of its own, running railways with a mileage 

 not greatly exceeding the mileage of the Caledonian, the North 



