§ MR. JOHN O'DONNELL (Mayo, S.)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that two clerks in the sub-sheriff's office, county Mayo, applied for parcels of the grazing land on the Claremorris Estate, recently purchased by the Estates Commissioners; that these men never held any land on the estate; that they are neither farmers nor the sons of farmers entitled to come in under the Land Act of 1903; that two bailiffs on the estate were induced by the clerk Soar to accept payment of one year's rent for an acre of land on each of their holdings, with a view to giving them some pretence of a claim for getting parcels of the grazing lands; and, if so, whether any steps will be taken to prosecute these men for attempting to get a grant of public money under false pretences.
(Answered by Mr. Walter Long.) The Estates Commissioners have agreed to purchase the Claremorris Estate. Messrs.
| Gold raised. | Dividends paid. | Profit tax. | Other mining revenue. | ||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | ||
| 1902–3 | 10,075,926 | 2,855,626 | 116,316 | Prospecting Licences | 279,867 |
| Diggers' Licences | 45,205 | ||||
| Mynpacht Dues | 47,105 | ||||
| Miscellaneous | 18,223 | ||||
| 1903–4 | 14,762,184 | 3,718,797 | 343,014 | Prospecting Licences | 287,448 |
| Diggers' Licences | 37,348 | ||||
| Mynpacht Dues | 20,905 | ||||
| Miscellaneous | 32,041 | ||||
| Six months to 31st December, 1904. | 8,298,435 | Figures not received. | 69,427 | Licences and Miscellaneous Dues. | 167,833 |
§ Good and Black, who, the Commissioners understand, are clerks in the office of the agent, have applied, as tenants on the estate, for parcels of the untenanted land. It is, however, alleged that they have recently got assignments of small holdings on the estate for the purpose of qualifying as such tenants. The question of allotting parcels to these gentlemen is under the consideration of the Commissioners, who will inquire into all the circumstances.