§ MR. CONDONOn behalf of the hon. Member for S. Meath, I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether the Estates Commissioners have asked the assistance of the law officers to find a means by which the commissioners could lease or sell the mineral rights vested in them in properties sold under the Land Act of 1903; and, if not, what steps, if any, they have taken to secure that where minerals may be found or believed to exist, they shall not remain unused, and willing workers in their vicinity compelled to idleness or emigration.
MR. BRYCEI have already assured the hon. Member that this important matter is receiving the closest attention. I am not yet in a position to make a statement on the subject.