§ DR. AMBROSE (Mayo, W.)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether any negotiations have taken place recently between Lord Sligo and the Estates Commissioners or the Congested Districts Board with a view to the sale of the Sligo estate in county Mayo; and if there is any prospect of the estate being sold in the near future.
(Answered by Mr. Bryce.) I am informed that shortly after the passing of the Land Act of 1903, the Congested Districts Board entered into negotiations-with the Marquess of Sligo for the purchase of his property, but the Board's offer was refused. The negotiations have not since been reopened. The Estates Commissioners inform me that they have been in correspondence with Lord Sligo with a view to the purchase of untenanted land, but so far without any definite result.