§ COLONEL KING-HARMANasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant 1181 of Ireland, Whether it is true that the estate of Mr. Arthur Costello, of Ed-mundstown, county Mayo, was offered for sale to the tenants under the terms of the Land Act; whether the Land Court, or any official acting for it, either advised the tenants that 16 years' purchase was too much to offer for their holdings, or informed them that the Court would not advance the two-thirds of the purchase-money authorised by the Act for more than 12½ years' purchase; whether he is aware that 14 years' purchase has been given, not far from that locality, for the interest in holdings, and that even larger prices have lately been given in other parts of Ireland for the simple tenant's interest; and, whether Her Majesty's Government will take steps to prevent the Purchase Clauses of the Land Act being rendered nugatory by the action of officials of the Land Act?
§ MR. TREVELYANThe Land Commissioners inform me that when the estate referred to was offered for sale, their agent, acting according to his duty, informed the tenants of the amount which, in his opinion, the Commissioners would advance to assist them in purchasing, having regard to the nature of the security. I have nothing before me to show that any official of the Court exceeded his duty. The Land Commissioners know nothing of the sums paid for the interests in tenants' holdings on neighbouring estates.