d
been aided out of moneys provided by Parliament, the Board of Works
might, at any time, appoint "a fit person to inspect and report upon the
condition of the undertaking and the working, maintenance and development
of the same," and if such "fit person" reported that the undertaking was
"not efficiently worked, maintained and developed" the Privy Council
might then make an Order appointing a manager or receiver of the
undertaking, with such powers as should be specified in the Order. The
powers thus given are, it will be observed, certainly drastic.

In April, 1917, Sir George Stevenson, K.C.B., the Chairman of the Board
of Works, asked me would I make such an inquiry for them into the
Burtonport line, and, considering myself a "fit person," I gladly
answered _Yes_. Sir George Stevenson was Tom Robertson's successor,
though not his immediate successor, as another George (Sir George Holmes)
came between. He (the reigning Chairman) was, in 1892, appointed a
Commissioner of the Board of Works; and in 1913 he attained the position
of Chairman; and the chair it is generally conceded has never been better
filled. He has the advantage of continuous experience of Treasury
business since 1886, and possesses an exceptional knowledge of all
matters, local and otherwise, affecting the development of State Railways
in Ireland.

My inquiry I may, I am sure, without immodesty, say was thorough and
complete. On the 7th of May I presented my report. The facts which I
found were such that only one conclusion was possible--the line was not
in good condition; was not and had not been efficiently worked,
maintained or developed. I will not harrow my readers with a description
of its condition. One little quotation from the summing up in my report
will suffice to indicate the state of affairs, and, to the imaginative
mind, present a picture of the whole. "Everything has for years past
been allowed to run down; the direction and management have been
characterised by extreme parsimony; and the disabled condition of the
engines is undoubtedly due to lack of proper upkeep, which must have been
going on for years. The state of the permanent way shows a want of
proper maintenance; and the condition of the stations, buildings and of
the carriages speaks of neglect."

In fairness, I ought to say that the direction and management responsible
for these things are not the direction and management that exist to-day.

Mr. Henry Hunt, the