§ MR. MURNAGHAN (Tyrone, Mid.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that the tenants who signed purchase agreements on Lord Belmore's Tyrone property were served with notices to pay interest on purchase money to the Land Commission ten weeks before the application of the landlord to the Estates Commission; can he state what official is accountable for sending out these notices; is it the practice of the Commissioners to divide, at the landlord's request, an estate for the purpose of sale under the Act of 1903, notwithstanding the protests of the bulk of the tenantry, who feel themselves unable to agree to terms they consider excessive; and will the Commissioners inform the secretary of the tenants' committee of the date on which the applications are to be considered, in order to give them an opportunity of stating their case, and submitting to the consideration of the Commissioners the reasonableness of their offer.
MR. BRYCEI am informed that the tenants in Question were, in accordance 93 with the Act of 1896, served with notices to pay interest on the purchase money from the date of the purchase agreements. The date of the application to the Estates Commissioners is not the determining factor in the matter the notices were sent out by the Land Commission in the usual way. In cases in which protests are received against the exclusion of part of an estate from the proposed sale, it is the practice of the Commissioners in cases in which they have any doubt, to hold a public sitting, and to hear the parties concerned before coming to a decision. Should necessity arise, the Commissioners are prepared to take such action in the present case.