CAPTAIN CRAIG (Down E.)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether Section 54 of The Land Purchase Act, 1903, applies merely to those cases where an agreement has been signed for the purchase of the holding but where no money has been advanced and the vesting order has not yet been made; and whether the Land Commission has power, and, if so, in what cases, to consent to a mortgage for a larger amount than that allowed by the Act.
(Answered by Mr. Bryce.) Section 54 of the Act of 1903 applies only to cases 532 in which the purchase money has been advanced. The Land Commission hold that, under Sub-section (3) of Section 54, they have a discretionary power to consent to a mortgage for a larger amount than that which, without such consent, the sub-section allows.