§ Bill considered in Committee.
§ (In the Committee.)
§ Clause 2 (Holdings in Ulster to be subject to the Ulster Tenant Right Custom at the expirations of leases in certain cases).
§ LORD EDWIN HILL-TREVOR moved, in page 1, line 14, after "first," to insert ''and second section of the principal Act."
§ Amendment agreed to.
§ LORD EDWIN HILL-TREVORnext moved, in page 1, line 15, to leave out "in the Province of Ulster."
§ Amendment agreed to.
§ MR. CHARLEY (for Sir ANDREW LUSK) moved, in page 1, line 21, after 1326 "lease," to insert "granted after the passing of this Act." The Act was retrospective in its operation, and applied to leases—the parties to which had not the present measure in contemplation when they made them. It would be unfair, he said, to lessors, unless it were limited to leases granted after the passing of the Act.
§ LORD EDWIN HILL-TREVORcould not assent to the Amendment, the effect of which would be to nullify the provisions of the Bill.
§ Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
§
MR. CHARLEY (for Sir SYDNEY WATERLOW) moved, in page 1, line 24, after "custom," to insert—
The Court, in determining the amount of compensation to be paid to any person making any such claim, shall take into consideration the terms of the lease, the rent at which the premises were held, and any stipulation, proviso, covenant, or agreement therein contained or referred to for the erection of buildings or the making any improvements by the lessee.
In the Amendment, as it stood on the Paper, he would substitute for the words "shall make all reasonable deductions in respect of,"
"shall take into consideration the terms of." He understood that the noble Lord did not object to the Amendment as so altered.
§ LORD EDWIN HILL-TREVORaccepted the Amendment as so altered.
§ Amendment agreed to.
§ Clause, as amended, agreed to.
MR. MACARTNEYhad a Notice on the Paper to move the following clauses:—
''That whenever in any district of the Province of Ulster in which the Ulster tenant-right custom prevails, a land claim affecting an agricultural or pastoral holding, or a holding partly agricultural and partly pastoral, situate within such district, shall be brought before the Court appointed to hear and determine land claims, the Court shall assume that the estate of which such holding forms a part has been and still continues to be subject to the Ulster tenant-right custom, unless the owner or owners there of shall prove that such estate has not, at any time with in 40 years next previous to the enactment of the 'Landlord and Tenant (Ireland) Act, 1870,' been subject to said Ulster tenant-right custom, or unless the said owner or owners shall prove that the tenant-right of such holding has been purchased or acquired by said owner or owners, or his or their predecessor or predecessors in title.1327That whenever on the hearing of any such land claim, it shall have been either proved or admitted that the Ulster tenant-right custom prevails upon any particular estate situate in the Province of Ulster, and that such custom has been subjected on said estate to any so-called 'estate office rule,' fixing an arbitrary price per acre, or a certain determined number of years' purchase, to be paid to an out-going tenant on such estate for the tenant-right of his holding, such so-called 'estate office rule' shall not debar any outgoing tenant or occupier of any holding on such estate from receiving, on the termination of his occupancy of such holding, the full amount which his tenant-right would be worth if no such. 'estate office rule' were in existence on such estate.
THE CHAIRMANI see there is an Amendment standing in the name of the hon. Member for Tyrone. I think it right to state to the Committee that it is not in Order for him to move it.
§ Bill reported; as amended, to be considered To-morrow, at Two of the clock.