§ MR. DILLON(for Mr. M'CARTAN) (Down, S.)asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether he can now state how many of the fair rent applications of leaseholders, and also of present tenants, served on the Land Commission from the County of Antrim still remain undisposed of; whether he has received a copy of Resolutions adopted by the tenant farmers of Larne Union District, at a meeting held in the Town Hall of Larne on the 28th March last, complaining of the delay in fixing the fair rents there, and requesting the appointment of a Sub-Commission for the County Antrim; on what date the next sitting of a Sub-Commission will be held for the County of Antrim; whether he can now give the names of the gentlemen who will constitute that Sub-Commission; and, whether Mr. Davidson, J. P., Rademon, County Down, who was among the first appointments of Sub-Commissioners made under "The Land 1058 Law (Ireland) Act, 188]," is one of those recently re-appointed, or whether it is his intention to re-appoint him; and, if not, whether he can state what objection is there to the re-appointment of Mr. Davidson, considering that he was selected as one of the scrutineers to report the prices of produce under "The Land Law (Ireland) Act, 1887?"
§ THE CHIEF SECRETARY (Mr. A. J. BALFOUR) (Manchester, E.)The Land Commissioners inform me that there are now 1,260 unheard applications of leaseholders and 625 of yearly tenants. I have received a copy of the Resolutions referred to. The Land Commissioners state that, as at present arranged, the Sub-Commission which has been recently sitting in the County Antrim will probably return there after May. The names of the gentlemen forming that Sub-Commission are Messrs. J. J. Guiry, H. Johnston, S. Mowbray, and F. O'Callaghan, with Mr. E. Greer as legal Commissioner. The gentleman mentioned in the last paragraph ceased to be an Assistant Commissioner in July, 1883, when the number of Sub-Commissions was reduced. Without in any way referring to the case in question, I would point out that the duty of appointing Assistant Land Commissioners is vested by statute in the Irish Government. In making the appointments they act with a full sense of their responsibility; and they cannot undertake to enter into any discussion in regard to individual cases, from which no public advantage could be derived.