§ MR. COBB (Warwick, S.E., Rugby)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that he has been misinformed as to the circumstances connected with the purchase by the Governors of Queen Anne's Bounty of the estate at Newton Abbot now belonging to them; whether he will make inquiries from persons on the spot who know the facts, and are unconnected with the Governors or the Devon Estate, and state the result; whether he is aware that there are no sea views on the estate, that the estate which belonged to the Earl of Devon was announced for sale by auction, that nearly three-fourths of the leaseholders were willing and anxious to purchase the freeholds, that many of them applied to the Earl of Devon's agents as to prices, and were informed that no sale would be made before the auction, that a few days before the date announced for the auction the Earl of Devon privately sold the estate to the Governors behind the backs of the leaseholders, and that three-fourths of them are now willing to buy the freeholds at a fair price from the Governors; and whether, if he finds that the facts stated in this question are substantially correct, he will suggest to the Governors the desirability of ascertaining how many of the leaseholders are still willing to purchase the freeholds at fair prices, and of selling to them if their number is considerable?
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT (Mr. ASQUITH,) Fife, E.In answering my hon. Friend's question, I must remind him that I have no authority whatever to interfere with the powers that the Governors of Queen Anne's Bounty possess of purchasing in the open market estates on the conditions prescribed by the owners thereof, or of subsequently disposing of such estates under their statutory powers. I am under no Departmental responsibility for the action of the Governors, and I have neither the duty nor the right to make suggestions to them. The answer which I gave the other day was that supplied to me by the Governors. I have, in consequence of my hon. Friend's question and of information privately given to me by my 1359 right hon. Friend the Paymaster General, asked the Governors for further information. They tell me that it was originally intended to offer for sale the Earl of Devon's Estate at Newton Abbot, on which there were 439 leases and 300 tenants, in 35 lots, so that no individual tenant could have secured his own holding. However, it was subsequently arranged to sell the whole estate in one lot to the Governors, and about 20 leaseholders have applied to the Governors to purchase their holdings. My right hon. Friend the Paymaster General tells me that it is now the fact that a large majority of the leaseholders wish to purchase, and the Governors state that if a memorial from the leaseholder is presented to them it will receive careful consideration.