§ MR. LUNDONI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant 941 of Ireland, is he aware that the Sub-Land Commissioners held a sitting in Kilmallock for the fixing of fair rents on the 4th February last; will he say what progress they have since made in coming to their decisions and communicating them to the parties interested and to the public; on what data or on what statistics do the Land Commissioners base their decisions; is he aware that they send persons to fairs to ascertain the current prices of cattle; and will he say how those persons are paid, and what are their qualifications for obtaining such information.
§ MR. WYNDHAMThe Assistant Commissioners expect to announce their decisions at the end of the present month. Fair rents are fixed by the Land Commission after hearing the parties, and having regard to the interest of the landlord and tenant, respectively, and considering all the circumstances of the case, holding, and district, reports on the prices of live stock are made by persons employed, not by the Commissioners, but by the Department of Agriculture. The payments to them amount to about £200 per annum. Full information as to the method of collection of these prices will be found in a Paper recently presented to Parliament. (Command Paper, No. 558 of the present session.)
§ MR. LUNDONWho pays the persons who report on the prices of stock?
§ MR. WYNDHAMThe Department of Agriculture.