§ MR. JOSEPH DEVLINI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that in the case of Mr O'Keefe. On the Bligh Estate county Meath, and other cases which have been brought under the notice of the Estates Commissioners, pressure by writs and other contrivances has been applied to tenants for the purpose of compelling them to sign agreements to purchase at prices in excess of the entire value of their holdings, including the landlord's interest and their own; and whether he will instruct the Estates Commissioners to have the landlord's interest in all holdings so affected valued irrespective of any agreements signed under duress, as a guarantee that the land so affected would be sufficient security for the moneys advanced by the state.
§ MR. WALTER LONGThe application for sale includes the holding of Mr. P. O'Keefe, who, it is stated refuses to Purchase, and the vendor has asked that the holding be excluded from the sale. Before deciding the matter, the Commissioners will through their inspector, inquire as to the reasonableness of Mr. O'Keefe's refusal to buy. If any tenant has been forced by duress to enter into any agreement to purchase he has a cheap and easy method under Section 295 10 of the Act of 1885 of having the agreement revoked. If he does not take that course the sale of the holding must be dealt with under the ordinary practice.