§ MR. MACALEESE () Monaghan, N.I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, with reference to the appeal fail rent cases listed for hearing by the Chief Land Commission at its last or present sitting at Belfast, whether he will state how many of these appeals have been disposed of; in how many cases have the fair rents fixed by the Sub-Commissioners been reduced, confirmed, or increased, respectively; also the names of the Chief Commissioners who constituted the court at its Belfast sitting.
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR IRELAND (Mr. ATKINSON,) (for Mr. G W. BALFOUR) Londonderry, N.There were sixty-three cases for hearing by the Commissioners at their sitting to dispose of fair rent appeals at Belfast during the present month. In forty-eight of these cases the rents fixed by the Sub-Commissioners were increased, in two they were reduced, and in seven they were affirmed. In four cases judgment was reserved, and in two cases the originating notices were dismissed. The names of the Commissioners who constituted the court are within the knowledge of the parties in the cases dealt with at the sitting, their solicitors, and the public generally. It is therefore apparent that the inquiry at the end of the question has not been put for the purpose of eliciting information, but with a view to marking an invidious distinction between different members of the Land Commission, and this being so I must respectfully decline to answer this portion of the question.