§ MR. DILLON(for Mr. M'CARTAN) (Down, S.)asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether he is aware that the Lord Lieutenant, with a view to make a settlement with, or to sell their holdings at 20 years' purchase, to his County Down tenants, extended the time within which they could make applications to have fair rents fixed and be entitled to the reduction on the half-year's rent due at 1st November last, as provided by the fifth section of "The Land Law (Ireland) Act, 1887;" whether he can state how many originating notices to fix fair rent were served on the Land Commission by the tenants of His Excellency between the 31st of October last and the 1st of February instant; whether notices were served on the tenants who had not made application to the Court, offering 20 per cent reduction on the old rents; and, whether, considering that there are upwards of 4,000 applications at present entered for hearing in the County of Down, and that one Sub-Commission could not dispose of all these cases for years, he will now consider the desirability of having a new Sub-Commission appointed for the County of Down?
§ THE PARLIAMENTARY UNDER SECRETARY (Colonel KING-HARMAN) (Kent, Isle of Thanet)(who replied) said: I hardly understand the inquiry contained in the first paragraph. In order that the tenants should be entitled to the reduction on the half-year's rent due the 1st of November, the Act requires that the application should have been made before that date. If a landlord desires to give his tenants the benefit of any reduction made in cases in which they made application after the 1st of November, and allow them an abatement on the six months' rent to that date, it is altogether a matter of personal arrangement. I am not, however, aware of the Lord Lieutenant having done so. The number of originating notices referred to in the second paragraph was 19. I have no knowledge as regards the third paragraph. The number of applications from the County Down is 3,645. The Land Commissioners will consider whether any course can be adopted to effect the hearing of these cases within a reasonable time.