clxxxvi 
Monthly Council, December 12, 1894. 
fer in private, with a view to avoid 
all possible friction or overlapping in 
the conduct of the general business 
confided to the several Committees.” 
Conference on Light Railways. 
The Secretary read a letter from 
the Board of Trade, received since 
the last Council meeting, inviting the 
Society to send three representatives 
to the Conference on Light Railways 
which had been convened for De- 
cember 6. 
The President said that as it 
appeared desirable that the Society 
should be represented at this Confer- 
ence, and as it was necessary for 
action to be taken without waiting 
for the meeting of the Council, he 
bad nominated as the Society’s dele- 
gates to the Conference Earl Cath- 
cart, Mr. Frankish, and the Secretary, 
and he trusted that these nomina- 
tions had the Council’s approval. 
Earl Cathcart said he might per- 
haps mention that he had been elected 
a member of the Committee appointed 
at the Conference to go into the 
matter, and to bring up a report for 
consideration at a further meeting 
of the Conference to be held before 
the reassembling of Parliament. The 
functions of the Committee were to 
consider: — (1) How far the usual 
requirements of the Board of Trade 
as to constructing and working 
New Railways may fairly be re- 
laxed, especially in the case of lines 
built through sparsely populated and 
agricultural districts. (2) Whether 
additional legal facilities for obtain- 
ing powers to construct Tramroads 
and Light Railways are necessary or 
desirable. It was understood that the 
Government did not, as at present 
advised, propose to afford any pecu- 
niary aid by way of loan or otherwise. 
The assistance of the State would only 
be in the direction of cheapening 
initial procedure and in lessening de- 
partmental requirements and restric- 
tions. It ought to be borne in mind 
that any Light Railway intended to 
benefit agriculture should probably — 
without burdening Local Rates — be 
made ultimately to pay its own way. 
A “ Light Railway ’’ had been defined 
as any Railway of any gauge of 
inferior construction to existing re- 
quirements, and worked in an un- 
wonted manner with the view to pro- 
mote the utmost economy. 
It being desirable that the agri- 
cultural aspects of the question should 
be fully considered, the Journal Com- 
mittee thought it would be well to 
invite suggestions from Members of 
the Society as to the agricultural 
Light-Railway requirements of any 
particular district in which they might 
be interested. It would facilitate a 
general statement if such suggestions 
were given in the form of answers to 
the following schedule of questions : 
(a). District to be agriculturally 
developed, naming terminal towns, 
places, or stations ; (b) Description of 
Light Railway considered most suit- 
able ; (c) The main line of Railway', 
if any, with which a suggested Light 
Railway should have connexions ; 
(el) How funds for construction and 
equipment might possibly be provided 
— by local subscription, by rates, or 
advances on the security of rates, or 
by a combination of these sources, or 
otherwise ; (e) Any other observations 
likely to prove useful for the purposes 
of the inquiry. To be of use, it was 
essential that any replies to the 
circular which the Journal Committee 
suggested should be enclosed with the 
new Journal should be forwarded to 
the Secretary as early as possible in 
the month of January. 
Date of next Meeting. 
Authority having been given for 
the Society’s seal to be affixed to a 
new certificate to transferees of the 
Harewood House Debenture Stock, 
and the Report to the General Meet- 
ing of members having been prepared, 
the Council adjourned over the Christ- 
mas recess until Wednesday, February 
6, 1895. 
