§ MR. P. MARTINasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether any suggestions have been made by the members of the Irish Land Commission, or any of them, to the Irish Government, as to the mode in which, and persons by and before whom, the preliminary conditions required to entitle tenants to the benefits of the Arrears of Rent (Ireland) Bill ought to be proved, so as to secure the speedy exercise of the powers proposed to be given; would he have any objection to lay upon the Table of the House such suggestions; and, would there be any serious difficulty in obtaining from the Land Commission the rules and forms under which they propose to exercise the powers proposed to be given to them by the Bill, so that such rules and forms be added by way of Schedules to the Bill?
§ MR. TREVELYANSir, any suggestions such as those alluded to in the Question of the hon. and learned Member must, as a matter of course, have been made for the private use and information of the Government, and, on principle, I should decline to assent to their production. In the present stage of the Arrears of Rent (Ireland) Bill, the Return asked for in the final paragraph of the Question could not possibly be given.