§ MR. GIBSONasked the First Lord of the Treasury, Whether his attention has been directed to the fact that the appeals to the Irish Land Commission have been almost systematically heard before two only of the Commissioners, whether the 1259 Irish Land Act gives all suitors in the Land Court a right to have their cases
Re-heard by all three Commissioners sitting together, except in the case of the illness or unavoidable absence of any one Commissioner, when any such case may be heard by two Commissioners sitting together;and, whether, since it is of special importance that in the first year of the administration of the Land Act its appeals, which will settle and elucidate its principles and working, should be heard before the three Commissioners selected by the Government and approved by Parliament, the Government will take steps to have the clear requirements of the Land Act as to the hearing of appeals complied with, and to ensure that suitors shall not, save in exceptional cases, be deprived of their right to have their appeals heard before the three Commissioners?
MR. GLADSTONESir, I am under the impression that the right hon. and learned Gentleman has not been quite accurately informed. As a matter of fact, I learn on inquiry that the greater proportion of appeals have been heard, not by two, but by three Commissioners. Recently, however, in consequence of the necessity of having one of the Commissioners in Dublin for the discharge of official business, it has been necessary to have appeals in country places heard by two Commissioners. The Commissioners believe, and the Government concur with them, that this is strictly in accordance with the law, and that when a Chief Commissioner is compelled by important business to be in Dublin, that is unavoidable absence under the section of the Act. But when appeals have been heard by two Commissioners, one of the two has invariably been the Judicial Commissioner.