§ MR. JOHN REDMOND (Waterford)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he can say if the Estates Commissioners, when they acquire untenanted land for the purpose of settling evicted tenants thereon, have power to make free grants for the purpose of stocking farms; can they also make loans for this purpose; and, if not, will he lay upon the Table the Treasury instructions, if any, which hamper their discretion.
§ MR. WALTER LONGThe whole question of the power of the Estates Commissioners to make free grants and loans was considered by Mr. Justice Meredith on questions referred to him by the Commissioners in the Wills-Sandford Estate. The judgment of the learned Judge is reported in the 5th new Irish 631 Jurist Reports, page 281, and is, I am informed, to the effect that grants or loans may be made for such a purpose as that mentioned in the Question, but that the loans can only be repaid by an addition to the purchase annuity where the estate has been purchased by the Land Commission. In all other cases this must be done by an agreement with the purchaser made at the time. The Treasury regulations, which only refer to the first class of cases, are consistent with this judgment, and in no way hamper any discretion vested in the Commissioners. There is no necessity, therefore, for laying the regulations on the Table.