§ COLONEL BARTTELOTsaid, he would beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury, Whether the Acts 23 and 24 Vic, caps. 153 and 154, the Act to amend the Law relating to the Tenure and Improvement of Laud in Ireland, and the Act to amend the Law of Landlord and Tenant, has been made use of; and, if so, whether he has any objection to lay a Return upon the Table of the House, or to state the number of persons who have made use of either of those Acts?
MR. GLADSTONEreplied that a distinction must be drawn between the two Acts to which the Question of the hon. and gallant Member referred. The 23 & 21 Vict., c. 154, was an Act which regulated generally the law between landlord and tenant, and it covered all contracts whatever and every proceeding in relation to land. Consequently, it was not within the knowledge of the Government what number of persons had made use of that Act, but the probability was that persons were every day availing themselves of it. The case of the other Act was quite different. With regard to the 23 & 24 Vict., c. 153, which was said to relate to the tenure and improvement of land, it was possible to find the number of persons who had acted upon it. There were certain Returns upon the subject which were presented in 1863, 1864, and 1865, but he was not aware that they had been continued down to the present time, and if the hon. and gallant Gentleman chose to move for their continuation, there would be no objection to their production.
§ COLONEL BARTTELOTsaid, he would give notice of his intention to move for the production of the Returns.