HC Deb 29 April 1895 vol 33 cc23-4
MR. VESEY KNOX

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland—(1) whether his attention has been called to the fact that on some eviction notices, recently served on the estate of Mr. Stewart Smith in the County Cavan, the address given as that of the landlord was a false one, and that the landlord is believed, if he is alive, to be out of the jurisdiction; (2) whether he is aware that the conduct of a solicitor putting a false address on a writ, in similar circumstances, has been held in England to be improper, and to render the solicitor liable to pay the costs; and (3) whether he will give the aid of the forces of the Crown to support these practices?

*THE CHIEF SECRETARY FOR IRELAND (Mr. J. MORLEY,) Newcastle-upon-Tyne

I am informed that only one tenant on this property has been served with an eviction notice, and that the address of the landlord and his agent is given in the notice as Dundrum, where the agent resides. I have no information as to the matter referred to in the second paragraph; but upon the point whether a decree for rent or a notice in ejectment can be refused in the absence of proof that the landlord is alive, I am advised that it is open to the solicitor acting for the tenants to cross-examine the witnesses for the landlord, and, if necessary, to summon the agent or relative of the landlord to prove he is dead. If such proof be given, the action is of course stopped, but the Crown have no status in the matter, and any representations which they might make as to the fruitlessness of inquiries made by them to ascertain the whereabouts of the landlord would be of no value. The question is one entirely for the tribunal acting on legal evidence and legal considerations. With regard to the concluding inquiry, no application has yet been made for police protection in the carrying out of the ejectment referred to, but I may observe that the Executive cannot refuse such protection in the execution of process on the alleged ground of incorrect address of the landlord, or any other irregularity.