§ MR. GINNELL (Westmeath, N.)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, if he will furnish a list, made up to date, of persons to whom bonus has been paid under the Land Act of 1903, showing in respect of each the county in which the land sold is situate, the amount of bonus paid, the total, the number of years purchase paid by the purchasers, and, so far as can be ascertained or estimated, the aggregate amount of relief in addition to price and bonus gained by each vendor from payment of stamp duty, cost of publication of notices, cost of preparation and service of notices on public departments, cost of searches in registry of deeds, titles, and judgments, negotiation fees, deduction 649 of title, and other normal expenses incidental to sale to tenants under previous Purchase Acts, and from which these vendors have been relieved.
§ (Answered by Mr. Bryce.) The Land Commission inform me that the preparation of such a Return as is asked for in the Question would be a very lengthy and difficult task, involving the examination of each ledger account since the Act of 1903 came into operation, and that it would cause delay in the proper work of the Commissioners and their staff. Any estimates of the relief afforded by exemption from stamp duties and the other matters specified in the Question could only be mere approximations, and, in some instances, would be misleading. Under Section 48 of the Act the bonus is not payable in respect of all estates sold, and in some cases in which it is payable, it is only payable in respect of part of the purchase money. In these circumstances the Commissioners do not think it desirable to undertake the preparation of the Return. They add, however, that up to the present date a total sum of £13,892,706 has been advanced by the Estates Commissioners, and the total amount drawn for bonus in pursuance to the Orders of the Judicial Commissioners has been £1,373,739.