§ MR. VINCENT KENNEDY (Cavan, W.)To ask the Chief Secretary to the 1246 Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been drawn to judgments delivered in Dublin on Monday last on nine appeal land cases from county Cavan; whether he is aware that five cases were confirmed, and in four cases rents were raised; did an assessor visit the lands in these cases; did the same assessor act in the nine cases; and, if so, what was his name, and do these decisions which bind the parties for fifteen years show a reduction equal to the average reduction obtaining in like cases in other and similar parts of Ireland.
§ (Answered by Mr. Bryce.) The Land Commission inform me that the facts are as stated in the earlier part of the Question. An assessor visited the lands in each case. Two assessors acted in the nine cases, one in five cases, and the other in four cases. The assessor in each case sits in open Court, and the parties to the case are therefore aware of the composition of the tribunal by which the case is decided. The Land Commission inform me that they do not think it right, in reply to Parliamentary Questions, to discuss the effect of the judicial decisions. They are required by statute to fix the judicial rent in each case, having regard to the interest of the landlord and tenant, respectively, and after considering all the circumstances of the case, holding, and district.