§ MR. M. M'CARTAN (Down, S.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he can state the date and terms of the appointment of Mr. Leonard Calvert as Sub-Commissioner under the Irish Land Acts; whether he is aware that Mr. Calvert appeared as a witness for landlords at a recent sitting of the Chief Commission at Belfast; at whose request and by what authority did Mr. Calvert appear there on behalf of the 1350 landlords; and whether he is still a Sub-Commissioner; and, if not, when and under what circumstances were his services as such dispensed with?
§ MR. GERALD BALFOURMr. Calvert was appointed a temporary Assistant Commissioner on the 24th June, 1897. His appointment terminated on the 31st December last, and he is not now an Assistant Commissioner. Prior to his appointment he had been engaged as valuer on behalf of certain landlords, and when, in November, appeals came on for hearing at Belfast in those cases, he was permitted, on the application of persons interested, to attend as a witness in connection with the valuations so previously made by him. The tenants' solicitors refused to allow his written valuations to be accepted as evidence, and hence his personal attendance became necessary.