§ MR. GINNELLI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland if he will state how many evicted tenants in Westmeath have been reinstated under the Land Act of 1903; how many are still unprovided for; the reason why they have not been provided for in view of the amount of untenanted land in the county; and what steps, if any, the Estates Commissioners have taken to acquire untenanted land for the use of evicted tenants and other persons in need of land.
MR. BRYCEThe Estates Commissioners inform me that six evicted tenants have been reinstated in Westmeath, and that they have received applications for reinstatement from sixty-one evicted tenants in addition. The Commissioners have acquired 229 acres of untenanted land in the county and divided it among small tenants. They were also in negotiation for the purchase of 568 acres in this county, but the owners declined to sell at the estimated price. In the case of another estate the owner has ledged an originating request in respect of the sale to the Commissioners of some 166 acres of untenanted land in this county, and a scheme for the distribution and allotment of this land will be prepared in due course.