§ MR. JAMES O'KELLY (Roscommon, N.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether, seeing that in connection with the sale of the King-Harman Estate some of the direct tenants in the town of Boyle have their purchase agreements completed, he will explain why other tenants who hold directly have been excluded from the sale; whether sub-tenants have been excluded from the sale and no attempt at negotiation with the middleman made by the Estates Commissioners; and whether such negotiation is one of the functions of the Commissioners.
§ The following Questions also appeared on the Paper:—
§ MR. JAMES O'KELLYI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether, in connection with the sale of the King-Harman Estate, at Boyle, in the county of Roscommon, the entire of the estate of all descriptions has been sold to the Estates Commissioners; and, if not, whether he can state the character of the excluded portion, and why it was excluded.
§ MR. JAMES O'KELLYI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether the Estates Commissioners were duly notified by the tenants of the King-Harman Estate that they agreed to the purchase by the Commissioners on the grounds that the Commissioners would buy up any un-tenanted land, non-residential holdings, or other portions of the estate that might be available for redistribution amongst the tenants; whether the Estates Commissioners have taken any and what steps to secure such lands for the purpose mentioned; and whether several of the occupiers of such lands have expressed their willingness to sell their interests to the Estates Commissioners.
§ MR. ATKINSONThe Commissioners have arranged to purchase the entire of the estate, save the demesne, certain portions of the town of Boyle, the houses in which are occupied by sub-tenants, and certain other portions where the houses are occupied by weekly and monthly tenants at very low rents. The 584 Judical Commissioner has decided that advances cannot be made to middlemen who have wholly sublet their holdings, and in the case of weekly and monthly tenants the Commissioner considers the security for advances inadequate. The tenants' representatives deny that they entered into agreements to purchase their holdings on any such condition as is mentioned, and stated that they did not wish to withdraw from their bargains. Some of the tenants of nonresidential farms have expressed their willingness to sell their holdings to the Estates Commissioners, and negotiations are proceeding.
§ MR. HAYDEN (Roscommon, S.)Have the Commissioners entered into negotiations with middlemen in the town for the sale of their holdings to the occupiers, and are they willing to sell?
§ MR. ATKINSONI must ask for notice of that Question.