§ MR. MEEHAN (Queen's County, Leix)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that the tenants on the Sandford Wills estate, Garryglass, Queen's County, have signed agreements for the purchase of their holdings; that up to the time of the sale there were 300 acres of untenanted land on the estate, from forty-five acres of which a tenant named John Delany had been evicted; and that, on the eve of the sale, the agent divided the untenanted land between four persons already in possession of large farms varying from eighty-six acres to 400 acres, 984 three being non-resident in the district, one living in Canada and his farms in Ireland let for eleven months grazing; and whether, seeing that 150 acres of untenanted land is good tillage, suitable for allotment amongst tenants of uneconomic holdings on the estate, some of whom are under £5 valuation, and nearly all of whom have to cart manure from four to seven miles to plant green crops which their own farms are not able to grow, steps will be taken to acquire this land for division amongst the tenants of uneconomic holdings on the estate.
I beg also to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that John Delany was evicted from a holding of forty-five acres on the Sandford Wills estate, Garryglass, Queen's County, and that the holding was taken by Joseph Dobbes, of Abbeyleix, who is a large trader, clerk of petty sessions, proprietor of a loan bank, and occupier of about 500 acres of land in the baronies of Cullinagh and Portnahinch, Queen's County; and whether, in view of the objects of the Act of 1903 the Estates Commissioners will, under the circumstances, refuse to sanction the sale to Joseph Dobbes.
I beg further to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether, in the contemplated sale of the Sandford Wills estate, Garryglass, Queen's County, the Estates Commissioners can declare only the tenanted portion of the estate, with a view to refusing to recognise the tenancies created since 1901, and of acquiring the untenanted land for division amongst the occupiers of uneconomic holdings on the estate; and, if so, whether he will instruct the Estates Commissioners to act accordingly.
§ THE CHIEF SECRETARY FOR IRELAND (Mr. BIRRELL,) Bristol, N.Thirty purchase agreements in respect of the estate mentioned were lodged with the Estates Commissioners in February, 1905. In five of the cases the tenancies were created subsequent to January, 1901, one of these being the case of an evicted tenant who has been reinstated. The area of the land comprised in the four other cases is about 230 acres, and the Commissioners directed their inspector, 985 when investigating the matter, to inquire whether this area could be acquired for the enlargement of the small holdings on the estate. The Commissioners have since received their inspectors report and will shortly deal with it, when the facts alleged in the Questions will receive their consideration. The Commissioners have received no application from John Delany, but will consider his case when dealing with the matter.