§ MR. DALYI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that the Chief Land Commissioners recently in County Down, out of sixteen appeal cases heard, raised thirteen and confirmed three cases; whether he can state if any of the Chief Commissioners visited the farms in question; and whether the fair rents fixed by the court valuer were in every case adhered to; and if not, can he state in how many instances the rent was fixed over the return of the court valuer.
§ MR. ATKINSON (for Mr. G. W. BALFOUR)Twenty-four appeals from the County Down were heard by the Commissioners at Belfast in December last. Of these, the decisions of the Sub-Commissioners were affirmed in four cases; in two cases the rents were reduced and in thirteen increased; five cases are still pending. It is not the practice of the Chief Commissioners to view the holdings. In fourteen cases the judicial rents as fixed on appeal were above the estimates of the court valuers; in three cases they were below, and in two cases the same as the valuers' estimates.