HC Deb 08 March 1906 vol 153 cc618-21
MR. GINNELL (Westmeath, N.)

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland if he will state the number of cases in which the Irish Land Commission refused, on account of excessive price, to sanction or to advance money in respect of purchase agreements made between landlords and tenants under the Land Purchase Acts prior to that of 1903, the average number of years' purchase paid for land under those Acts, the number of similar refusals on account of excessive price under the Act of 1903, the average number of years' purchase, including the bonus, paid for land under this Act, any cause for the increase other than the discontinuance of inspection for value and the withdrawal from the Commission of the power of refusal; and whether, in view of this increase, His Majesty's Government intend to revive the practice of inspection and the power of the Commission in all cases of sale to disallow prices in excess of value.

(Answered by Mr. Bryce.) The number of applications to the Land Commission for advances under the earlier Land Purchase Acts, which were refused, dismissed, or withdrawn, owing to defects in title, irregularity, insufficiency of security, and other causes, was 7,838, viz., under the Acts of 1885 and 1888, 3,812; and under the Acts of 1891 and 1896, 4,026. It would be impossible, without an examination into each of these cases, to state the number refused on the ground of insufficiency of security. Probably, however, this was generally the reason for the refusal. The average

Classification. Number of year's purchase of rent, excluding bonus. Estimated number of years' purchase of rent, including bonus, actually paid to 31st January 1906.
Direct sales 22.9 25.0
Section 6 22.4 25.1
Section 7 20.0 21.4
Total 22.7 24.9

The figures in the second column represent the number of years' purchase on rent. The bonus, when payable, is

number of years' purchase in cases in which advances were made under these earlier Acts, will be found at pages 93 and 100 of the Appendix to the Report of the Land Commission for the year ended 31st March, 1905. Particulars are also given, with explanatory notes, in a Return to an Order of this House, Parliamentary Paper, No. 90, of the year 1903. With regard to cases under The Irish Land Act, 1903, the following figures have been compiled:—

Table I.
(1) Number of applications for advances entirely refused by the Estates Commissioners, because the prices agreed upon were not secured 128
(2) Number refused on account of insufficiency of security owing to the character of the holding 83
(3) Number of applications for advances refused in part because the prices agreed upon were not secured, lesser advances having been sanctioned than were asked for 482
Total number of cases in which, on account of excessive price or insufficiency of security, the Commissioners refused to make advances, or advanced smaller sums than those applied for 693

TABLE II.

Return showing the average number of years' purchase paid for Estates purchased during the period from 1st November 1903 to 31st January 1906.

calculated on the purchase money of estates, including tenanted and untenanted land. No estimate can be made of the number of years' purchase which the bonus and the price represent on untenanted land. Further, the bonus is not declared to be payable until the purchase money is distributed, and the amount which may be payable has not yet been fully drawn. For these reasons no accurate reply to the Question, as put, can be given as regards the number of years' purchase, including bonus. In reference to that portion of the Question as to the causes of increase in price, it is to be remembered that, under the Act of 1903, the Land Purchase Annuity is 3¼ per cent. as against 4 per cent. under the previous Acts, and the Land Commission consider that to this circumstance the increase of price is to a large extent due. I cannot now make any statement as to the intentions of His Majesty's Government with regard to the suggested alteration of the Land Act of 1903.