§ MR. COGAN (Wicklow, E.)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that a number of tenants on the Carysfort Estate, in the county of Wicklow, have memorialised the Estates Commissioners stating they have refused to agree to the terms of purchase demanded by the landlord, on the ground that they were exorbitant, and they would be unable to pay them; that in consequence the landlord has since harrassed them in various ways, and by duress sought to compel them to consent to his terms, and requesting the Com- 596 missioners to refuse to sanction the sale of any portion of the estate until the landlord agrees to reasonable terms of sale for the whole estate still unsold, and also requesting the Commissioners to intervene as negotiators and arbitrators between themselves and the landlord, stating they are willing to agree to any terms that may be settled by the Commissioners; and whether the Commissioners will accede to the tenants' request.
(Answered by Mr. Bryce.) The Estates Commissioners inform me that they have received the memorial referred so. They have no present knowledge of the matters complained of, but will have them fully inquired into by their inspector when he visits the estate in connection with the proceedings for sale which have been instituted. The Commissioners will duly consider all the circumstances before sanctioning the sale of the estate.