5© The Viagraph 



use in settling the constantly occurring disputes with contractors 

 for road maintenance. Mr. Brown rhowed the usual Irish 

 modesty in attributing the indifferent quality of Irish roads to 

 want of knowledge, but the real want was money. Too Utile 

 was allowed fi^r supervision in Ireland, for example, in County 

 Down, about _^"6o,ooo per annum was spent on roads, bridges, 

 &c., and only about Xi'5°o "" ^^e surveyor's staff, including 

 all travelling expenses. The deficiencies in the County Down 

 roads were serious on account of very imperfect construction 

 and long periods of insufficient maintenance, and he did not 

 see how the roads could be made much better without a very 

 large expenditure of money. He had lately reported to the 

 Grand Jury of County Down tiiat to put the 2,500 miles of 

 roads in the county into really good order, to a not unieason- 

 able standard, would require an immediate outlay of about 

 ;^3,ooo,ooo, which, even if the money were borrowed on the 

 most favourable terms, would raise the county rate to four 

 times its present figure for a generation. However, such a 

 sweeping policy was not necessary, and the fact was that most 

 of the County Down farmers did not seem to want much bettei 

 roads, and considered any improvement, especially at increased 

 cost, unnecessary. '1 imes had not been prosperous with the 

 farmers for many years, and he thought unless some of the 

 millions said to be due by England to Ireland could be obtained 

 for the expenditure on Irish roads, only a very slow rate of 

 improvement was possible. However, a liking for good roads 

 was apparently spreading in Ireland, and now that the burden 

 of road maintenance was partly taken off the landholders by 

 the new Local Government Act, more money might be granted 

 for road maintenance. The only way in which Irish roads 

 might be improved without a greater expenditure would be by 

 the use of wider tyres on cart wheels, and by regular cutting 

 down of high hedges. At present the narrow farm cart wheels 

 cut the weak roads like knives, and it is most difficult to induce 

 the farmers to keep their hedges low. 



Dr. Cecil Shaw spoke of the importance of the road question 



