§ MR. M'CARTAN (Down, S.)asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether he is aware that the glebe tenants who purchased their holdings, and who are anxious to take advantage of the Land Act of 1887, with the view of having their arrears capitalized, have been informed by the Land Commission that they will be deprived of the benefit of the Act in default of payment before the 1st instant of the half-year's instalment required to be paid; whether application has been made on behalf of a number of tenants in the County of Down requesting extension of time to raise the amount of this instalment by sale of their crops; 573 whether the Commissioners have refused to extend the time, and have intimated that, in the event of non-payment, proceedings will be taken for the recovery of all the arrears due; and, whether, considering the high prices paid by these tenants for their holdings, and their inability to meet the required instalment at present, he will advise the Land Commission to grant such an extension of time as will enable them to dispose of their crops for the purpose of paying this instalment?
§ THE CHIEF SECRETARY (Mr. A. J. BALFOUR) (Manchester, E.)I am informed that it is the case that, as regards the class of glebe tenants referred to, the Treasury, pursuant to Sub-section 5 of Section 25 of the Act of 1887, ordered that a certain portion of the arrears due on the 1st of January, 1888, should be paid on or before the 1st of June, 1888, with a discretionary power to the Land Commission to extend the time to the 1st of July. Full notice of this order was sent to all mortgagors concerned. In the County Down there are 11 cases in which the conditions were not complied with, though the required payment on account was comparatively small, ranging from £2 10s. to £9, with the exception of one case of £25. The Commissioners state that legal proceedings have neither yet been taken nor threatened. They, however, point out that they have no power under the Statute to adopt the course suggested in the concluding portion of the Question.