The Viagraph. 49 



could not help remarking on the enormous '* ruts" or indeed 

 chasms which appeared on the Lisburn road, but if Mr. Brown 

 were to take his apparatus to the Antrim road it might be 

 almost swamped in rome of the " ruts " there. They should 

 give Mr. Brown their heartiest thanks for his excellent lecture. 



Mr. William Armstrong, speaking as a cyclist, believed the 

 viagraph would be most valuable in the future. The whole 

 success of tramway traction was entirely owing to the fact that 

 the cars had a beautiful level surface to ^o upon. Cyclists were 

 an increasing community and had a right to be considered. 

 In Ireland the roads were tremendously behind what they were 

 in England and on the Continent, and it would take a con- 

 siderable time to bring the Irish roads up to what they should 

 be. He believed that expenditure upon the proper maintenance 

 of roads was bound to be remunerative. A scientific appliance 

 like the viagraph would soon speak for itself. He hoped it 

 would be extensively adopted. 



Mr. Stewart C. Khlly thought the County Antrim roads 

 had been a glaring eye-sore to a great number of people for a 

 length of time past, and they seemed to be getting worse 

 instead of better. It used to be said they were better than 

 the County Down roads, but now it was the reverse. That he 

 believed was owing to the amount of scientific knowledge 

 brought to bear upon the roads in Down by Mr. Cowan. 

 County Surveyor. (The speaker here produced stones of large 

 size which he had picked up on some of the County Antrim 

 roads — the Crumlin, Anirim, and Lisburn Roads). It was 

 largely owing to the size of the metal used that the roa Is were 

 getting into such bad form. The County Down roads had 

 immensely improved during the last few years, and that was to 

 be attributed to the class of metal Mr. Cowan had been using. 

 In Antrim an inferior class of metal was used in the city as 

 well as in the county. 



Mr. P. C. Cowan, M. Inst., C.E., Chief Engineering 

 Inspector to the Local Government Board, Ireland (lately 

 County Surveyor of Down), said the viagraph must be of great 

 4 



