§ MR. GINNELL (Westmeath, N.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the 617 Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland if he will ascertain if the Estates Commissioners have power to prevent the consolidation of grass farms in a congested neighbourhood; and, if so, will they refuse to sanction the sale to Colonel Smyth, of Gaybrook, owner of large tracts of un-tenanted land, of a farm on another estate of which he has bought the tenants' interest in a congested neighbourhood.
MR. BRYCEThe Estates Commissioners have no power to prevent the consolidation of grass farms. They have, however, under the Act of 1903, a discretion to refuse to sanction an advance exceeding £3,000 to any one purchaser, and this discretion they duly exercise.