§ MR. O'DOWDI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that the Gore-Booth Estate, on which the town of Ballymote, county Sligo, is situate, has recently been sold under the Land Act of 1903, and that the majority of the town tenants are also tenants on the agricultural portion of the estate already sold; and whether, seeing that the purchase arrangements have not been yet completed, and that the vendor is anxious to have the town included in the sale, and is willing to leave the settlement of the price to the Estates Commissioners, this matter will be reconsidered with the view of having the town included in the general terms of purchase.
§ MR. WALTER LONGThe Estates Commissioners are prepared to make advances for the purchase of holdings which are in the main agricultural or pastoral, but, as my right hon. and learned friend has already informed the hon. Member, the Land Purchase Acts do not contemplate advances on the resale of houses in villages or towns. The matter is one for the decision of the Estates Commissioners, subject to review by Mr. Justice Meredith.