§ MR. O'DOHERTYTo ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether applications have been made, under the Land Purchase Acts, for loans for the purchase of part of the estate of the Irish Society; what is the amount applied for, and what stage the proceedings have reached; whether it will be part of the duty of the Estates Commissioners, or of any other public authority, to inquire whether any and what trusts attach to the proceeds of sale; and whether he will inquire as to the possibility of having the purchase money regulated by a charitable scheme, which will secure the economical administration and impartial distribution of these and other funds of the Irish Society.
(Answered by Mr. Bryce.) An originating application for the sale of lands in the county of Londonderry was lodged by the Irish Society on May 25th, 1905. Advances have been sanctioned in this case, amounting to £88,688, and cash to the amount of £230 has been lodged, making the total purchase money £88,918, and it is expected that the advances in this case will shortly be made. I am advised that it is not part of the duty of the Commissioners to inquire whether any and what trusts attach to the proceeds of the sale, though it might become the duty of the Attorney-General to intervene and take action should the society appear to be failing to carry out such trusts as attach to those proceeds. I am not, however, aware of any reason for apprehending that the trusts on which the estates, or other proceeds, have been judicially declared to be held, are not being, or will not be, faithfully observed. The suggestion made in the last paragraph will not escape my attention, but I cannot estimate the possibilities of giving effect to it.