HC Deb 30 March 1892 vol 3 cc249-50
MR. SEXTON (Belfast, W.)

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he will give the particulars, up to the latest practicable date, of the number of applications made to the Irish Land Commission under the Purchase Act of last year, showing the number of landlords and of tenants concerned, and the amounts applied for, sanctioned, and issued, and also showing the number of landlords and tenants, and the amounts concerned, in applications under Section 13 of the Act?

* THE CHIEF SECRETARY FOR IRELAND (Mr. JACKSON,) Leeds, N.

I see no objection to giving this information in the form of a Return.

MR. SEXTON

But I should like to have the information now.

* MR. JACKSON

I am afraid I cannot give the hon. Member the information now. Of course, I must telegraph to Dublin for it.

MR. SEXTON

I shall take the first opportunity of showing the House how communications giving information on matters of public interest are privately made by Ministers for partisan use to Members who are confederates of the Government on this side of the House, while the information is withheld from other Members of this House.

* MR. JACKSON

I may be allowed to say that so far has it been the case that I have given information to those whom the hon. Member is pleased to call confederates; that I gave information, in answer to a written application, to the hon. Member for South Tyrone (Mr. T. W. Russell); and I should equally have given it to the hon. Member for West Belfast if he had asked for it.

MR. SEXTON

I have put down a question, and I have received on reply.

* MR. JACKSON

This question relates, as I understand, to the number of landlords and tenants and the amounts concerned in applications under a certain section of the Land Purchase Act. I can only give the information after-applying to Dublin; and, as the question only appeared this morning, I am not able to give the information.

MR. SEXTON

The right hon. Gentleman can, perhaps, give me a reply to the earlier part of the question—the number of applications made, the amounts applied for, sanctioned, and issued?

* MR. JACKSON

I think I can answer the first part of the question. The information I am able to give is that up to 28th March there has been the total number of 1,253 applications, representing an amount of £444,612.

MR. SEXTON

And the amounts sanctioned and issued?

* MR. JACKSON

That information I am not now able to give.

MR. T. W. RUSSELL (Tyrone, S.)

Perhaps I may be allowed to say, in reference to this matter, that I gave the right hon. Gentleman private notice of a question I proposed to ask him, and he informed me that he had not received the information to enable him to give me an answer at question time; but later on he received the information, and was good enough to communicate it to me.