§ MR. GINNELLI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland when in the case of a tenanted estate an originating application for its sale is preceded by negotiations prolonged by the unwillingness of tenants to buy on the landlord's terms, and at length three-fourths are overcome by pressure, do the Estates Commissioners, before compelling any reluctant tenant to buy, under Section 19 of the Land Act of 1903, ascertain the value of his occupation interest and improvements, and deduct the amount from the gross value in order not to compel him to buy what is already his own property.
MR. BRYCEThe Estates Commissioners inform me that in the case of an originating application for the sale of an estate which the tenants have agreed to purchase direct from the landlord, all the tenants on the estate as declared under Section 98 must agree to purchase before the sale can be carried through. The requirement as to three-fourths of the tenants agreeing to purchase has no reference to such sales. It applies only to sales to the Land Commission under Section 6 of the Act. In the case of sales under Section 6 to the Land Commission, the Commissioners in each case require a report as to the tenants improvements and the value thereof, and the gross and net fair rents; and in estimating the price a deduction is made from the gross value in respect of tenants improvements. The Commissioners do not require a report as to the value of the tenant's occupation interest, and no separate deduction is made in respect thereof. In cases in which the Commissioners purchase an estate it is their practice before compelling any reluctant tenants to buy under Section 19, to obtain a report as to the circumstances in accordance with the instructions to inspectors.