HC Deb 21 February 1895 vol 30 cc1273-4
MR. USBORNE (Essex, Chelmsford)

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland if he will agree to pay the Irish landlords who have sold their estates under Lord Ashbourne's Act one-third of the amount of their guarantee deposits on the expiration of one-third of the period for which those deposits were arranged to be held?

MR. J. MORLEY

By the 3rd section of the Purchase of Land (Ireland) Act of 1885, it is enacted that— The Land Commission shall retain the guarantee deposit until they ascertain and by order declare that the person liable for the repayment of the advance has repaid on account of principal money a sum equal to the guarantee deposit, and shall then pay over the guarantee deposit to the person entitled thereto. From this it will be seen that there is no power to release a guarantee deposit or any part thereof until the provisions of the above-quoted section have been fully complied with. Under normal circumstances it will take about 17½ years to repay on account of principal a sum equal to a guarantee deposit of one-fifth of an advance. The Land Commissioners do not recommend the change suggested.