§ MR. M'CARTAN (Down, S.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether ho can state when a Return will be given of the judicial rents fixed in Ireland since 1st December last; whether he is aware that for the three months ending on 30th November last, only 502 judicial rants were fixed by the Land Commission in respect of present tenancies in Ulster; and whether, considering that there are upwards of 9,000 fair rent applications served and still undisposed of from Ulster, and that it would at this rate take upwards of four years to hear the applications already made, he will either make some provision to protect applicants from the enforcement of the old rents pending the fixing of the fair rents, or appoint such a number of additional Sub-Commissioners as will dispose of the arrears in reasonable time?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURThe Return of judicial rents fixed in Ireland during December was laid upon the Table on the 2nd inst., and the Land Commissioners report that the Return for January will be presented in a few days. They state that the number of rents fixed in Ulster in the three months ending November 30 was 629, not 502, as mentioned in the question; but they point out that these figures do not afford a true test by taking them as for three months, the Assistant Commissioners having been on vacation throughout September and up to October 8. The total number of fair rents fixed in Ulster during the four months to March 31 was 2,509. Every effort is being made to facilitate the hearing of applications.