§ MR. JUSTIN M'CARTHYasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether it is a fact that evictions upon a large scale have been and still are taking place on the Rathcline Estate of Lord Annaly in the county of Longford; whether these tenants suffered severely during the late seasons of distress; whether it is a fact that the house of one of the evicted tenants, Mrs. M'Dermott, of Gurteen, was burnt down by those acting on behalf of Lord Annaly; and, whether Mrs. M'Dermott is now an inmate of the Mullingar Lunatic Asylum?
§ MR. TOTTENHAMwished, before the right hon and learned Gentleman answered the Question, to ask whether the agent on the estate of Lord Annaly had not repudiated all knowledge of the house of Mrs. M'Dermott having been burned down; whether she had not been several times in a lunatic asylum, and discharged each time as cured; whether the eviction was not undertaken in the interests of the poor woman herself, who was being ill-treated by her family; and, whether she was not now in the enjoyment of a pension from Lord Annaly?
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR IRELAND (Mr. LAW)It is not a fact that evictions on a large scale have been, and still are, taking place on the Rathcline estate of Lord Annaly, in the county of Longford. From the beginning of 1880 up to the present time—that is to say, during the last 18 months—there have been only four cases in which those evicted were not re-admitted as tenants; and in two of these the evictions were from farms held by tenants who held also and lived on other farms which they still retain. At present there are but two evictions pending. In one of these cases, the father of a tenant, evicted last July, has hitherto been allowed to occupy the holding pending redemption by the son. Now, both are to be turned out, as the farm has not been redeemed. In the other case the tenant has two farms; from one of these, on which there is no dwelling-house, he is to be evicted, and I understand he is quite satisfied to give it up. The tenants on this estate no doubt suffered some distress during the bad season of 1879–80, in common with many others in the county of Longford; but not more than the tenants on the surrounding estates, and not so much as some of them. The Mrs. M'Dermott referred to is not an evicted tenant. The farm had been let to her son, Michael, for six months, pending redemption by the original tenant, and she lived with him. Michael M'Dermott was ultimately evicted in March, 1880, with a view to having the farm divided between himself and his elder brother, John; but he would not agree to this arrangement, and thus, while John got and holds the part given to him, the part intended for Michael remains still vacant. Lord Annaly's agent states that he knows nothing of the dwelling-house being 119 burnt, and that he does not believe anything of the kind took place. Mrs. M'Dermott had become insane long before the eviction. In fact, the poor woman had been several times deranged. She was placed in the Mullingar Asylum at the commencement of the present year, and I understand was there treated so successfully that she was discharged, cured, on the 6th instant. Lord Annaly has settled a pension of £10 a-year upon her, and provided her with free lodgings for her life.