QUESTION. OBSERVATIONS. (Hansard, 11 March 1884)

§ EARL STANHOPE

said, he rose to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether the Government would undertake to introduce the proposed Bill to amend the Irish Land Act in the House of Lords? It would be in the recollection of their Lordships that on Wednesday last the Chief Secretary for Ireland, speaking on behalf of the Government, stated that on an early day after Easter either the Treasury or the Irish Government would be prepared to lay before Parliament proposals as to the amendment of the Land Act, and to state how far they were prepared to go in amending that Act. He thought he could show two very good reasons why such proposals should be introduced in their Lordships' House. In the first place, he would remind their Lordships that, in 1882 and 1883, a Select Committee of this House considered the whole question of the Irish Land Act, not with the view of retarding, but for the purpose of facilitating its operations; and the Committee recommended that portions of the Act which did not work satisfactorily should be extended, particularly the Purchase Clauses. Nothing had been done since, though now, tardily, the Government had acquiesced in the de- 1196 sirability of making proposals. The Purchase Clauses were now said by the Irish Land Commissioners, in their last Report to Parliament, just presented, "to continue to operate slowly." And one of the reasons they gave was that purchasers would not come forward Because of the expectation of further legislation granting more favourable terms to tenant purchasers. Another reason why the Amendment Bill ought to be introduced in the House of Lords was that there were many noble Lords in that House who were the owners of land in Ireland, and others who, though not Irish landowners, filled high judicial positions, and understood the sale and transfer of land better than any other people in the Kingdom. He also hoped—though, perhaps, the hope was in vain—that the Government might be disposed to consider other clauses of the Act, which the Select Committee also recommended should be extended—namely, the Emigration Clauses. Lord Derby had publicly stated—and he thought it was a very sound opinion—that public money would be well spent in providing for the emigration of a number of the poor peasants of Ireland. Any noble Lord who had been in the West of Ireland must know that even if the small land tenants there had their land free of all charge they could not keep body and soul together. The principal object of his Question, however, was to ascertain whether the Government would be disposed to introduce this Bill in the House of Lords?

§ EARL GRANVILLE

My Lords, in the speech of the Chief Secretary for Ireland, to which the noble Earl has referred, it was very clearly laid down how far Her Majesty's Government thought they would be justified in making proposals in the direction of amending the Land Act, and I have nothing to add to the statement then made. With regard to the particular Question of the noble Earl, I am sorry to say that I cannot give any such undertaking on the part of the Government as he asks for. Nevertheless, I sympathize with him in the object which he has in view. I constantly press my Colleagues to introduce certain Bills in this House. I sometimes succeed, and I very often fail; but I am quite certain that I should fail this time were I to make the application. It seems to have escaped 1197 my noble Friend's attention that this Bill, of which the basis is finance, is essentially a measure for the consideration of the House of Commons.