§ MR. HEALYasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, "Whether he will call the attention of the Irish Executive to the following extract from The Kerry Weekly Reporter (a Conservative organ):—
Ejectments in. Kerry.—The number of ejectments is becoming alarming in Kerry. Every Quarter Sessions Mr. Bland, Mr. Blennerhassett, Mrs. Drummond, Miss Busteed, and a host of other proprietors are proceeding against tenants. One attorney made over £300 1168 last year law costs by one estate alone. A sickly poor man, who never joined the Land: League, never combined against paying his rent, was served with an ejectment. The priest wrote that the poor man was, very likely, on his death-bed, offering one gale and costs, and offered to become security for the second gale, but was refused. Many of the other cases are of a class with the above;and, whether he can hold out any hope that the forces of the Crown will not be granted to landlords indiscriminately to carry out evictions under circumstances of hardship?
§ MR. TREVELYAN, in reply, said, that he intimated a few days ago that all evictions taking place were reported to the Government, and the Government were informed of the circumstances in certain cases. From the paragraph quoted it would appear that the hon. Member referred to ejectments, not evictions, and they all knew that ejectments were issued which were not always followed up by eviction. In the absence of names and places it would be impossible to ascertain the cases of hardship referred to. The Sheriff had a legal right to protection in carrying out evictions; and he would remind the hon. Member that the Land Act and the Arrears Act were passed to protect tenants from harsh evictions.