§ MR. WILLIAM O'BRIENI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he has observed that three hundred and twenty eviction notices were filed in the County of Mayo alone during the last three months; whether he has inquired into the cause of this increase of eviction notices in that county; upon how many and what estates does Mr. Ruttledge, Sub-Sheriff of the County of Mayo, act as land agent; and, in view of the fact that the Sub-Sheriff, who is the nominee of the High Sheriff, is directly responsible to the Crown, by whom he is appointed, will the Government intimate to the High Sheriff the undesirability, on grounds of public 981 policy, of his delegate, the principal executive officer of the law in the county, fulfilling at the same time the functions of agent for the parties who are plaintiffs in actions of ejectment?
§ *MR. JACKSONI am informed that the eviction notices referred to have been issued in respect of ejectment decrees obtained at the April, June, and September Sessions of 1891, some of which were accordingly about to run out of date. It must not be supposed that evictions will necessarily follow on these notices. On the contrary, as a matter of fact, I am informed that settlements have already been made in a large portion of the cases, and further settlements will, no doubt, follow if the tenants are left free to act as they think best.
§ MR. WILLIAM O'BRIENIs it not a fact that the mere receipt of one of these eviction notices deprives the tenant of every legal interest in his holding just as much as if he were on the roadside; and is it not a fact also that the number of eviction notices served, from whatever reason, within the past three months in County Mayo is greater than the number of eviction notices served in any similar period for the last ten years?
§ *MR. JACKSONI do not know the statistics, but I understand that under the Act of 1887, when an amendment of the law was made, the act of serving a notice is held to be equivalent to taking possession. The hon. Member knows, however, that usually a period of time elapses between the serving of the notice and taking possession, and I have no doubt that in most of these cases settlements have been made.
§ MR. WILLIAM O'BRIENI should like to call the attention of the right hon. Gentleman to the fact that he has made no answer whatever to the two last paragraphs of the question.
§ *MR. JACKSONI must apologise to the hon. Member for not having referred to them. He asks me upon how many and what estates does Mr. Ruttledge, Sub-Sheriff of Mayo, act as land agent. I have no means of ascertaining that unless I communicate with Mr. Ruttledge and ask him; I have no power of enforcing an answer to the question, and it would only be by his courtesy that I could possibly obtain 982 the information. With reference to the last paragraph, I have previously expressed my own opinion upon the subject; but I have since learned from inquiries I have made that wherever Mr. Ruttledge, acting as agent, has found it necessary to take proceedings, in all those cases they were carried out by bailiffs and not by himself.
§ MR. WILLIAM O'BRIENInasmuch as the Sub-Sheriff is nominated by the High Sheriff, who is directly responsible to the Crown, I should like to ask if any remonstrance will be made with this Sub-Sheriff on the subject of acting in the double capacity of agent for the landlord and principal executive officer of the Crown?
§ *MR. JACKSONThe hon. Member knows very well that I have no power to interfere with the High Sheriff, and no remonstrance of mine would be of any value. The only result would be that the High Sheriff would ask me to appoint somebody else.
§ MR. WILLIAM O'BRIENIs it not a fact that the right hon. Gentleman has so much power over the High Sheriffs in Ireland that he or his predecessor merely by a stroke of the pen removed from being High Sheriff of Waterford the hon. Member for Dublin County?
§ MR. SPEAKEROrder, order!
§ MR. WILLIAM O'BRIENI shall deal with this question at the first opportunity on the Vote on Account.