§ COLONEL KING-HARMANasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether Capt. Costello, of Edmundstown, county Mayo, has offered to sell to the tenants for sixteen years' purchase that portion of his estate in their occupation, the yearly rental of which is £2,156; whether the tenants have agreed to this proposal, and made arrangements to pay one-fourth of the purchase-money in cash provided the Land Commission advanced three-fourths on mortgage under the Purchase Clauses of the Land Act; whether the one-fourth to be paid by the tenants, or the greater part thereof, has not been agreed to be advanced by a bank to the tenants puisne to the Commissioners' mortgage, the bank considering that they had ample security for such advance; whether the Land Commissioners afterwards, upon the joint application of landlord and tenants, caused the estate to be valued to ascertain if the security offered was sufficient for the proposed loan by them, and whether, as a result of such valuation, the Commissioners intimated that they would not advance more than three-fourths of twelve years' purchase, or thereabouts; whether the landlord, being without any means save the rents of the estate, over which a receiver had been appointed, and which rents were entirely applied towards paying off interest on mortgages, estate outgoings, &c. was obliged to assent to the purchase money being reduced from sixteen to twelve years' purchase; whether the sale is now being carried out at such reduced rate; and, whether the Government intends to take steps to prevent the proper market price of land being depreciated by the action of the Government officials?
§ MR. TREVELYAN, in reply, said, that he had received a Report from the Land Commission, which stated that proposals for the sale to the tenants, under Section 24 of the Land Act, of the plot mentioned in the Costello estate, at an average of 15 years' purchase of the rent, were submitted by the landlord to the Land Commission for approval. The proposals were agreed to on behalf of the tenants, on the condition that three-fourths of the purchase money 1852 should be advanced by the Commissioners. The Commissioners were informed that the remaining one-fourth would be lent by a bank; but they were not informed how the advance would be secured. The Commissioners, under the circumstances, ascertained the value of the land to see if the loan could be secured. The result of the valuation did not satisfy them that the security was sufficient as to the number of years' purchase, three-fourths of which they would have been prepared to advance. The negotiation for sale under Section 24 dropped. The Commissioners offered to buy the estate under Section 26 for £25,000, which, in their opinion, was its full value, and this offer had been provisionally accepted by the Government.
§ COLONEL KING-HARMANgave Notice that on the Estimates he would move to reduce the Vote for the salaries of the Land Commissioners by the amount charged for this purchase.