§ MR. D. KILBRIDE (Galway, N.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1) whether among the recently appointed sub-Commissioners the name of Mr. Leonard Calvert appears; (2) whether this gentleman is the same Mr. Calvert who was almost invariably employed in recent 384 years to give evidence as to rent for the landlords before the County Down sub-Commission; and (3) whether he received any recommendations for the office from the sub-Commissioners before whom he was in the habit of appearing and by whom he was so well known?
§ THE CHIEF SECRETARY FOR IRELAND (Mr. GERALD BALFOUR,) Leeds, CentralThe answer to the first paragraph is in the affirmative. Mr. Calvert was extensively employed as a valuer in the County Down before his appointment to an Assistant Commissionership, and he frequently gave evidence on behalf both of landlords and tenants in cases where applications to fix fair rents were heard by the Land Commission Courts. It would be contrary to practice to state by whom this gentleman was recommended for appointment to the office in question.
§ MR. M. MCCARTAN (Down, S.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1) whether his attention has been called to the strong observations made by Mr. Justice Ross upon the present practice of taking the reports of Court valuers by the Land Commission; (2) whether he is aware that the Court valuers who send their reports to the Land Commissioners who do not inspect the farms are exempted from the ordinary test applied to witnesses of examination in Court; and that the Chief Commissioners frequently increase the rents fixed by the sub-Commissioners on the strength of these reports; and (3) whether, in view of the fact that these Court valuers have been and are sub-Commissioners, and are often called upon to make reports in respect of holdings on which they had fixed judicial rents for the first statutory term, and which rents have been since reduced by other sub-Commissioners for the second statutory term, he will consider the desirability of having this practice discontinued or amended?
§ MR. GERALD BALFOURI have read a newspaper report of the observations made by Mr. Justice Ross on the occasion mentioned in the Question, as well as the observations on the same occasion of Mr. Commissioner Fitzgerald, which embodied the views of the Land Commissioners in reference to this matter. As regards the last paragraph, I have already stated I have no power to advise 385 the Commissioners as to any action they may think fit to take in such matters. I will, however, draw their attention to the hon. Member's Question. I may add that I have reason to believe that cases of the kind mentioned have very seldom occurred up to the present time.