§ MR. GINNELLI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland if he has noticed that, according to the latest official statistics of Irish Departments, since 1902, the most important agricultural products have decreased in market value, the cost of labour has increased owing to the continued emigration of rural labourers, the j cost of maintaining the poor and pauper lunatics has increased, and yet the reductions of rent given by the Irish Land Commission, instead of increasing with those burdens, are 5 per cent. less than the scale of previous years; and if, in order to remove the impression that this is part of a policy of forcing tenants to purchase at exorbitant prices, he will direct the attention of the Land Com- mission to the discrepancy between statistics and rent-fixing.
MR. BRYCEI have communicated this argumentative Question to the Land Commissioners, but have not yet received their observations upon it. I think, however, that the hon. Member may rest assured that the question of all the causes which affect the value of land will be kept present to the minds of the Land Commissioners.