§ Captain CRAIG (Down, E.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether the Estates Commissioners have dealt with sales of any estates out of their proper order because of local disorder or intimidation, or whether the estates are dealt with in order of rotation as the agreements are lodged; and whether any, and, if so, how many, estates are at present being dealt with out of order of lodgment of applications.
§ The CHIEF SECRETARY for IRELAND (Mr. Birrell, Bristol, N.)The Estates Commissioners deal with sales in the order of priority in which agreements for purchase are lodged, as provided by Regulation No. 1 of the Regulations dated 13th February, 1906. The Commissioners have not dealt with estates out of their proper order because of disorder or intimidation, but in six cases in which they have intervened as conciliators between landlord and tenant under the Eighth Regulation, they have, in order to facilitate a settlement, dealt with the Cases without regard to priority of application. In twenty-one other cases the Commissioners have, in pursuance of Regulation No. 1, accelerated the sanction of the advances for reasons peculiar to the particular cases.