HC Deb 23 November 1909 vol 13 cc122-6

(1) As between the Land Commission and the proprietor for the time being of any holding for the purchase of which the Land Commission have, after the passing of this Act, made any advance under the Land Purchase Acts, the following conditions shall be imposed in addition to the conditions mentioned in Section fifty-four of the Act of 1903, namely:—

  1. (a) The proprietor shall not without the consent of the Land Commission acquire by purchase any other holding for the purchase of which an advance has been made under the Land Purchase Acts if the amount of that advance then outstanding, when added to the amount of the advance or advances made in respect of the holding or holdings then held by the proprietor, would exceed the sum of five thousand pounds, and if any proprietor acquires any holding in violation of this condition the Land Commission may cause that holding to be sold:
  2. (b) The proprietor shall not, without the consent in writing in the prescribed 123 form of the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland, cut down or uproot, or permit to be cut down or uprooted, any tree (other than a fruit tree or osier) upon the holding which is necessary for the ornament or shelter of the holding; and if any such tree is cut down or uprooted in violation of this condition, the proprietor shall be guilty of an offence under this Act, and shall be liable on summary conviction to a penalty not exceeding five pounds for each tree so cut down or uprooted, unless he satisfies the court that he received the prescribed consent.

Lords Amendment: In paragraph (a) leave out "five" ["the sum of five thousand pounds"] and insert "seven."

Mr. BIRRELL moved, "That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment."

The House of Lords originally omitted the entire paragraph, which was designed

to prevent a tenant purchaser acquiring a number of holdings whose aggregate value would exceed £5,000. There was a good deal of difference of opinion, I dare say, in many quarters of the House with regard to this matter as to what the limit should be upon acquisitions under the provisions of the Act of 1903. As a compromise the £5,000 was increased to £7,000.

Mr. JOHN REDMOND

I personally cannot agree with this Amendment. My colleagues and I are of opinion that the limit ought to remain as it is. Five thousand is quite enough for one man to have, and under these circumstances. I suppose it is useless at this stage to urge the right hon. Gentleman to reconsider his decision, but we must register our opinion strongly on the other side and divide against it.

Question put, "That this House doth I agree with the Lords in the said Amendment."

The House divided: Ayes, 159; Noes, 80.

Division No. 904.] AYES. [9.50 p.m.
Abraham, William (Rhondda) Crosfield, A. H. Lamont, Norman
Acland, Francis Dyke Dalziel, Sir James Henry Layland-Barratt, Sir Francis
Ainsworth, John Stirling Davies, Sir W. Howell (Bristol, S.) Lever, A. Levy (Essex, Harwich)
Allen, A. Acland (Christchurch) Dobson, Thomas W. Levy, Sir Maurice
Allen, Charles P. (Stroud) Doughty, Sir George Lewis, John Herbert
Astbury, John Meir Douglas, Rt. Hon. A. Akers- Lloyd-George, Rt. Hon. David
Atherley-Jones, L. Duncan, J. Hastings (York, Otley) Long, Rt. Hon. Walter (Dublin, S.)
Baker, Joseph A. Dunn, A. Edward (Camborne) Lough, Rt. Hon. Thomas
Balcarres, Lord Edwards, A. Clement (Denbigh) Lupton, Arnold
Balfour, Robert (Lanark) Elibank, Master of Macdonald, J. M. (Falkirk Burghs)
Barker, Sir John Esslemont, George Birnie M'Callum, John M.
Barlow, Percy (Bedford) Evans, Sir S. T. Maddison, Frederick
Barry, Redmond J. (Tyrone, N.) Everett, R. Lacey Magnus, Sir Philip
Beale, W. P. Falconer, James Marnham, F. J.
Bennett, E. N. Fell, Arthur Massie, J.
Berridge, T. H. D. Fenwick, Charles Middlebrook, William
Bethell, T. R. (Essex, Maldon) Gibb, James (Harrow) Molteno, Percy Alport
Bignold, Sir Arthur Gooch, George Peabody (Bath) Moore, William
Brigg, John Greenwood, G. (Peterborough) Morgan, G. Hay (Cornwall)
Bright, J. A. Gretton, John Morrell, Philip
Brunner, J. F. L. (Lancs., Leigh) Guinness, Hon. R. (Haggerston) Morse, L. L.
Brunner, Rt. Hon. Sir J. T (Cheshire) Harcourt, Robert V. (Montrose) Murray, Capt. Hon. A. C. (Kincard.)
Burns, Rt. Hon. John Harmsworth, Cecil B. (Worcester) Myer, Horatio
Butcher, Samuel Henry Harmsworth, R. L. (Caithness-shire) Newnes, F. (Notts, Bassetlaw)
Buxton, Rt. Hon. Sydney Charles Harvey, A. G. C. (Rochdale) Nussey, Sir Willans
Byles, William Pollard Haworth, Arthur A. Nuttall, Harry
Cameron, Robert Hazel, Dr. A. E. W. Pearce, William (Llmehouse)
Campbell, Rt. Hon. J. H. M. Healy, Maurice (Cork) Pearson, Sir W. D. (Colchester)
Carlile, E. Hildred Helme, Norval Watson Pickersgill, Edward Hare
Cave, George Henderson, J. McD. (Aberdeen, W.) Pirie, Duncan V.
Cawley, Sir Frederick Herbert, Col. Sir Ivor (Mon. S.) Price, Sir Robert J. (Norfolk, E.)
Charming. Sir Francis Allston Higham, John Sharp Radford, G. H.
Cheetham, John Frederick Hobhouse, Rt. Hon. Charles E. H. Rea, Rt. Hon. Russell (Gloucester)
Cherry, Rt. Hon. R. R. Holt, Richard Durning Rendall, Athelstan
Clark, George Smith Hooper, A. G. Roberts, Charles H. (Lincoln)
Clough, William Horniman, Emslie John Roberts, Sir J. H. (Denbighs)
Cochrane, Hon. Thomas H. A. E. Hyde, Clarendon G. Roberts, S. (Sheffield, Ecclesall)
Collins, Stephen (Lambeth) Idris, T. H. W. Robertson, J. M. (Tyneside)
Collins, Sir Wm. J. (St. Pancras, W.) Illingworth, Percy H. Roch, Walter F. (Pembroke)
Compton-Rickett, Sir J. Isaacs, Rufus Daniel Roe, Sir Thomas
Corbett, C. H. (Sussex, E. Grinstead) Jackson, R. S. Rogers, F. E. Newman
Corbett, T. L. (Down, North) Johnson, W. (Nuneaton) Rowlands, J.
Cornwall, Sir Edwin A. Kimber, Sir Henry Rutherford, V. H. (Brentford)
Cotton, Sir H. J. S. King, Alfred John (Knutsford) Rutherford, Watson (Liverpool)
Cowan, W. H. Laidlaw, Robert Seaverns, J. H.
Craig, Charles Curtis (Antrim, S.) Lamb, Ernest H. (Rochester) Seely, Colonel
Sherwell, Arthur James Toulmin, George Williamson, Sir A.
Stewart-Smith, D. (Kendal) Verney, F. W. Wills, Arthur Walters
Straus, B. S. (Mile End) Vivian, Henry Wilson, P. W. (St. Pancras, S.)
Sutherland, J. E. Warner, Thomas Courtenay T. Winfrey, R.
Talbot, Lord E. (Chichester) Waterlow, D. S. Wood, T. M'Kinnon
Tennant, H. J. (Berwickshire) White, Sir George (Norfolk)
Thomas, David Alfred (Merthyr) White, Sir Luke (York, E. R.) TELLERS FOR THE AYES.—Mr. Fuller and Mr. Gulland.
Thompson, J. W. H. (Somerset, E.) Wiles, Thomas
NOES.
Abraham, W. (Cork, N.E.) Jenkins, J. O'Kelly, James (Roscommon, N.)
Ambrose, Robert Jordan, Jeremiah O'Malley, William
Barnes, G. N. Jowett, F. W. O'Neill, Charles
Boland, John Joyce, Michael Parker, James (Halifax)
Bowerman, C. W. Kavanagh, Walter M. Philips, John (Longford, S.)
Clancy, John Joseph Keating, Matthew Pointer, J.
Condon, Thomas Joseph Kennedy, Vincent Paul Power, Patrick Joseph
Crean, Eugene Lamb, Edmund G. (Leominster) Reddy, M.
Cullinan, J. Law, Hugh A. (Donegal, W.) Redmond, John E. (Waterford)
Delany, William Lea, Hugh Cecil (St. Pancras, E.) Redmond, William (Clare)
Duffy, William J. Lundon, Thomas Richards, T. F. (Wolverhampton, W.)
Duncan, C. (Barrow-in-Furness) Lynch, A. (Clare, W.) Roche, Augustine (Cork)
Esmonde, Sir Thomas MacNeill, John Gordon Swift Roche, John (Galway, East)
Farrell, James Patrick MacVeagh, Jeremiah (Down, S.) Scanlan, Thomas
Ffrench, Peter MacVeigh, Charles (Donegal, E.) Scott, A. H. (Ashton-under-Lyne)
Flavin, Michael Joseph M'Kean, John Sheehy, David
Flynn, James Christopher Meagher, Michael Smyth, Thomas F. (Leitrim, S.)
Fullerton, Hugh Meenan, Francis E. (Leitrim, N.) Steadman, W. C.
Gilhooly, James Meehan, Patrick A. (Queen's Co.) Summerbell, T.
Ginnell, L. Mooney, J. J. Taylor, John W. (Durham)
Glover, Thomas Muldoon, John Thorne, William (West Ham)
Greenwood, Hamar (York) Murnaghan, George Walsh, Stephen
Hancock, J. G. Nannettl, Joseph P. Ward, John (Stoke-upon-Trent)
Hardie, J. Keir (Merthyr Tydvil) O'Connor, John (Kildare, N.) White, Patrick (Meath, North)
Harrington, Timothy O'Doherty, Philip Wilson, W. T. (Westhoughton)
Hodge, John O'Donnell, John (Mayo, S.)
Hogan, Michael O'Dowd, John TELLERS FOR THE NOES.—Captain Donelan and Mr. Patrick O'Brien.
Hudson, Walter O'Grady, J.

Lords Amendment agreed to.

Lords Amendment: After Clause 34 insert following new Clause: "Sub-section (3) of Section sixty-seven of the Act of 1903 shall not apply to any land or holding subject to a purchase annuity unless the Land Commission deem it expedient, having regard to the situation, size, and character of such land or holding, to apply the provisions of the said Sub-section thereto."

Question proposed, "That this House doth agree with the Lords in said Amendment."

Mr. BIRRELL

This new Clause, although rather complicated in appearance, is really purely administrative.

Further Lords Amendment: After Clause 40 insert following new Clause: "Where the immediate landlord of any holding or holdings has not an interest sufficient to constitute him a person having power to sell to tenants under the Land Purchase Acts, the next superior landlord having such an interest shall be deemed to be a person having power to sell to occupying tenants under the said Acts, notwithstanding that the said holding or holdings constitute the whole estate of such superior landlord, and Section fifteen of the Act of 1903 shall apply accordingly."

Further Lords Amendment. After Clause last added, insert following new Clause: "(1) Where any land sold under the Land Purchase Acts is subject to any rent reserved under a lease, and no payment on foot of such rent has been made for a period of forty years prior to such sale, such rent shall, for the purposes of such sale and the distribution of the purchase money, be deemed to have been released.

(2) Where portions of any such rent have become vested in different owners, this Section shall apply to any portion of such rent as if it was a separate rent."